about.”
I had no idea what he meant by that and his grin could have been for me or for my eminent demise at his parents’ hands… err, claws.
“Good. It’s nice to meet the kid who put Delwood in his place. He needs a regular thumping, especially when I’m not around,” Delwood’s father said. He had the same dark hair and eyes and while maybe an inch shorter than his son, out-massed him by at least thirty pounds.
“Ah, nice to meet you Mr. Singer,” I said, shaking a hand that made three of mine and had the power to jelly my bones. His mother stepped up and shook my hand almost as powerfully. She too was tall, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
“This is our daughter Clary,” Mr. Singer said, directing my attention to the tall, pretty brunette next in line, who was maybe a year younger than Del. I shook her hand, uncomfortable with her direct gaze and sly smile.
“I’m a big fan of anyone who beats up my brother.”
Delwood growled and I turned to him. “Ah, just what have you been telling them?”
“You know. How we’ve traded some blows and then you sucker kicked me in the junk and crushed my throat.”
“Oh, and did you mention caving in my ribcage and breaking my jaw?” I asked.
“I love it!” Mr. Singer clapped his hands. “He gives it right back to you,” he said to Delwood.
“Yeah, he’s a pain in the ass. But how many others here, besides me, can say they got to fight with the only Champion class student?” Delwood asked.
“What?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, my. He’s humble, too?” Mrs. Singer exclaimed.
“Yeah, still a pain, though,” Delwood said. “Hey let’s go eat. They’re setting up for dinner upstairs. The food here is really good. Clary, you’re going to love next year when you get here.”
Their attention shifted to food, the family Singer moved as one toward the stairwell, Clary smiling back at me over her shoulder.
The space they vacated was suddenly filled with Chris and Tanya. Stacia, Katrina, Lydia, Nika, and Arkady all appeared on either side of them.
“Declan, that game was magnificent,” Tanya said. She looked genuinely excited by it.
“Yeah, but we lost. I lost for us,” I said, trying to smile as I did.
“Bah, you destroyed your enemy, who died touching your flag,” she said. Over her shoulder, I met T.J.’s stare. It was shockingly full of hatred. For a split second, I didn’t understand, then I remembered turning off his robot. He was furious with me.
“Yeah, that was really good tactical work by both you and that werewolf kid, Delwood,” Chris said, pulling my attention back to the conversation.
“He’s actually a really good strategist. I’d rank him and Caeco as the top two in the class. Me, I’m more of a close quarters tactics guy.”
“Yeah, we saw the footage from your semi-final game. You brutalized almost the entire other team by yourself,” Stacia said.
“I was in the middle of a fight with Caeco and I sorta took it out on them,” I said.
“You guys okay?” Chris asked.
“Well, yes and no. We’re having some issues, but we’ll figure them out.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Stacia said. “Hey, changing the subject completely, is there any way I could run one of those things?”
“Yeah, me too,” Lydia asked.
Fifteen minutes later, I had them all, except Chris, hooked up with our spare avatars. They were tumbling about the course, tackling each other and climbing things, running around like little kids, Katrina showing them how it was done with her own avatar.
“Can we chat a minute, Declan?” Chris asked. I nodded, still watching the dirt dudes cavorting on the game course.
“So do you have any plans for the summer?” he asked.
“No, it’s only March. I’m just trying to get through my courses,” I said.
“Well, we’d like you to work for us this summer, sort of an internship, but nothing that formal.”
“Would it pay?” I asked, then mentally kicked myself for being an ass.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I think I’m an ass. You’re paying for my entire college; the least I can do is help you this summer.”
“Well, you’re wrong. It definitely pays and the scale may surprise you, but we can talk later. I just want to get my offer in before all these others descend on you with offers of jobs, money, and concubines,” he said, waving to the people who were still mysteriously still down in the basement when the action had long ended and the dinner