‘That’s right.’ Dad did that dorky pointing thing with his index finger that he always did when he thought he was saying something smart. ‘We’re not mad because you wanted to have sex.’
Kip would’ve given anything in that moment – anything – for an oxygen leak, a stray satellite, a wormhole punched in the wrong place. Anything that would swallow him up and bring a merciful end to this conversation.
But instead, Mom kept talking. ‘That part’s okay. That’s normal.’
‘Absolutely,’ Dad said. ‘I remember what it was like to have all those hormones going around, all those urges – I couldn’t stay out of the clubs when I turned twenty.’
‘Me neither,’ Mom said. ‘Twice a day, sometimes.’
Kip buried his face in his hands. ‘Can we . . . maybe . . . not?’
Grandma Ko looked over from her plants and laughed. ‘It’s not like you and your friends invented sex, kiddo,’ she said. She pointed back and forth between his parents with her gardening clippers. ‘You wouldn’t be here otherwise.’
A rogue comet. A Rosk battlecruiser. A face-eating alien plague. Anything.
‘The reason you’re in trouble,’ Dad said, ‘is because you lied and you broke the rules.’
‘He broke the law, Alton,’ Mom said. ‘Not just Fleet law. GC law.’ She looked at Kip with that look that meant the next tenday or so was really going to suck. He could already picture the lengthy list of chores that was going to appear on his scrib after this. ‘The only reason you’re talking with us and not a patroller right now is because that host at the club cut you and Ras a break. Tampering with your patch is not a joke, Kip.’
‘I know,’ Kip mumbled. The faster he agreed with them, the faster this might be over.
‘That hack you boys used could’ve uploaded anything. It could’ve carried a virus that messed with your bots. You know that’s what happened to those people on the Newet, right?’
‘I know, Mom.’
‘One person went to an unlicensed mod vendor, and the next thing you know—’
‘My patch is fine,’ Kip said. ‘You made me scan it, like, five times.’
‘That’s not the point,’ Mom said. ‘The point is, you did something illegal and dangerous. You got lucky.’
‘Not in the way he was hoping,’ Grandma Ko laughed.
‘Grandma,’ Mom said. ‘Please.’
Grandma Ko put up her hands in surrender and kept working.
‘Tika lu, okay?’ Kip said.
The look on Mom’s face somehow got even frostier. ‘In Ensk.’
Oh, stars, was she really going to get on his ass about that? Fine. Fine, whatever it took to get him out of there. ‘I’m sorry. All right? I don’t know how many times you want me to say I’m sorry.’
‘We know you’re sorry,’ Dad said, ‘and we also know you want to get out of here. But you need to know the score, son.’
‘I get it,’ Kip sighed. ‘I do, okay? I get it.’
Mom tapped her fingers against her mug. ‘When do you start your next job trial?’
Ah, shit, Kip thought. He mumbled a response under his breath.
‘What was that?’
‘I haven’t signed up for one yet.’
The look on Mom’s face got worse. Kip could see three more to-dos being added to his list. ‘You were supposed to sign up for another before your last one ended,’ she said.
‘I forgot.’
‘Kip, we talked about this,’ Dad said.
‘Okay, so, first thing tomorrow, you’re signing up for a job trial,’ Mom said. ‘And until it starts, you come straight home after school so you can help your hex. No sims, no cafes, no hanging out wherever it is you hang out. There are a lot of projects in the neighbourhood that need some extra hands right now.’
Kip reeled. ‘But I probably won’t start another trial for a tenday.’
‘Yep,’ Mom said.
No way. No way. ‘That’s not fair!’
‘You’re home instead of in detention. You don’t get to complain about fair right now.’
Dad put his hands flat on the table. ‘All we’re asking is for you to clear your head and get focused,’ he said, his voice irritatingly mellow. He often did this thing where he wanted to sound all reasonable and cool even though he was just agreeing with Mom. It drove Kip nuts.
He tried to negotiate. ‘Ras and I are going to the waterball game on second day. We have plans.’
Mom’s mouth tightened. ‘We think a break from Ras might be a good idea, too.’
That did it. Kip exploded. ‘This wasn’t his fault!’ he said. It was totally Ras’ fault, but that wasn’t the point. ‘Stars, you guys are always hating on him.’
‘I don’t hate Ras,’ Mom said. ‘I’m just not sure he’s—’ She looked up at the ceiling, thinking. ‘It’d be wise for you both to take some time to think about the kinds of choices you’ve been making.’
‘This is bullshit,’ Kip muttered.
‘Hey,’ Dad said.
‘No, it is,’ Kip said, getting louder. ‘It is bullshit. Look, I’m sorry I messed up tonight, but the only – the only reason I went along – the only reason we went there is because there’s nothing to do. It sucks here. What am I supposed to do? Go to school, do chores, learn how to do a job that’s basically more chores?’
‘Kip—’
‘And now you don’t even want me to have friends.’
‘Oh, come on, Kip.’ Mom rolled her eyes.
‘Of course we want you to have friends,’ Dad said. ‘We just want you to have friends that bring out the best in you.’
‘You guys don’t understand,’ Kip said. ‘You don’t understand at all.’ He pushed away from the table and walked off.
‘Hey, we’re not done,’ Mom said.
‘I’m done,’ Kip said. He went into his room and punched the door switch behind him.
‘Kip,’ Dad called through the metal wall.
Kip ignored him. Stars, fuck this place. Fuck these stupid rules and stupid jobs and fuck being sixteen. He was getting out. The day – no, the second, the very second the clock hit his twentieth birthday, he was hopping on a transport, and he’d be gone, university or not. He’d find a job somewhere. He didn’t care where or what. Anything was better than this. Anything was better than Mom’s lists and Dad’s stupid voice. Anything was better than here.
Behind his door, he could hear them still talking. Kip knew listening in would only make him madder, but he put his ear up anyway.
‘Maybe I should go talk to him,’ Dad said. ‘Y’know, just me and him.’
‘He doesn’t want to talk to either of us,’ Mom said. ‘Or were you not here for this conversation?’
‘But—’
‘Let him be,’ Grandma Ko said.
Mom sighed. ‘He’s so impossible right now.’
‘Yes, well,’ Grandma Ko said. ‘You were a dipshit at that age, too.’
Kip snorted. ‘Love you too, Grandma,’ he grumbled. He flopped down onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow, wishing he could erase the entire day. Dammit, Ras, he thought, but he wasn’t mad at him. Well . . . kind of. But not, like, a forever kind of mad. He knew Ras hadn’t meant for it to go wrong.