...this is exactly the kind of store that makes you want to buy a book about a teenage wizard. This is the kind of store that makes you want to <i>be… - Robin Sloan

I'm making progress of my own: Kat invites me to a house party. Unfortunately, I can't go. I can never go to any parties, because my shift starts at precisely party o'clock.

But when people are past a certain age, you sort of stop asking them why they do things. It feels dangerous.

These days, the phone only carries bad news. It’s all “your student loan is past due” and “your uncle Chris is in the hospital.” If it’s anything fun or exciting, like an invitation to a party or a secret project in the works, it will come through the internet.