“Nobody says that to me,” she said. She had to fight to not get too choked up about it, the dam breaking and everything flooding out. Holding back, she tried to give words to the resentful feelings. “Nobody says I’m right even when I am, nobody listens. They just tell me what to do. You saying that… it’s all I want to hear. Except I want it to matter more. No offense.”

“Your mom and dad are kind of jerkasses, huh?”

“Aunt and uncle,” she said. “And this is Eleni, who… can you hear, Eleni?”

The kid was too caught up in the game to pay any attention.

“My uncle’s a massive, capital-d Dildo,” she explained. “Stiff and fake and pointless, with zero warmth, and he doesn’t get that you have to get real sometimes if you’re going to get anything done. And my aunt’s—I have this theory, I imagine she’s always got this giant dildo stuffed up her butt—”

Sam was laughing now, he tried to get a word out, and failed.

Bemused, she watched him. “What?”

“Why all these dildos?” he managed, face crinkling up as he continued laughing.

“Because they absolutely are,” Hunter said, amused at how funny Sam seemed to find it.

“I didn’t expect that from someone like you,” he said.

“Well I’m pleased I messed with your expectations, Sam,” she told him.

Eleni paused her game, a big pause sign appearing in the middle of the screen, and pulled one of the headphone speakers away from her ear. Hunter reached over and put the speaker back, and when Eleni fought her in trying to listen in, Hunter reached down and hit the pause button, resuming the game. Eleni made a small noise of alarm, stuck out her tongue at Hunter, and resumed playing, headphones in place.

“I don’t hate them,” she said. “I actually love them. They’ve been so kind to me since my parents… were in New York when Scion attacked it.”

The sentence didn’t make sense, but Sam nodded.

“I just wish they’d listen. I wish they’d realize I’m not Eleni’s age.”

“I don’t get much choice either,” Sam said. “It’s not because my parents are dildos, it’s because my dad doesn’t get much choice. He has to live close to a hospital, and he can’t do a lot of work.”

She nodded.

Eleni perked up. Hunter looked, and saw her aunt and uncle approaching, her uncle smiling.

“Don’t say anything,” she warned.

“My lips are sealed,” Sam said.

“Success,” Uncle said. “They might have an administration post open. Goes to show you, you just have to know how systems like this work.”

She nodded. “We’re going to get a house then?”

“Tent,” he said, making a face. “But we’ll have a house before you know it.”