Awakened: Book One of the Mind Agents series

Awakened: Book One of the Mind Agents series, Chapter 13

Before Jack has a chance to even catch anyone's eyes or get a lay of the land, one of them jumps off the couch and shakes his hand. He's a young Asian guy with short hair and muscles bulging out of a tight blue long-sleeve shirt.

"Another victim," he says with a big smile. "Chris."

His handshake is firm and confident.

"Jack."

On the couch facing away from him is a fountain of nappy, brown and orange hair. It turns around to face him, and frames a beautiful face with caramel skin. "Hey partner," she says with a smile. She drops the r in "partner." Jack can't place where her accent is from.

"Okay, partners. Yeah," Jack says, feeling like he couldn't have possibly said anything stupider to a cute girl.

He glances around the room. It's spacious and clean, like the inside of a rich kid's house.

Chris takes the initiative and point out a small girl with straight blonde hair sitting on a bench against the wall at the back of the room. "Jack, that back there is Sabine. I think she's a little nervous."

Sabine is small, maybe eight or nine years old, with pale skin. She doesn't look up when Jack waves at her.

Jack walks around the small room. There's a huge TV against one wall. A pool table in the next room. A full shelf of books lines one wall. As he passes the bookshelf he trips over a rug. He catches himself before he falls, but it's a close one. He almost falls flat on his face.

"Watch yourself," Cutie says.

"That was — I meant to do that," Jack says, pointing to the floor, and not sure if he was able to stave off the rush of blood to his face.

Chris jumps over the couch from behind it and lands in a sitting position on it in one slick motion, almost as if to purposefully contrast Jack's clumsiness. He's probably already made moves on Cutie, Jack figures.

"So, Jack, where do you come from?"

Jack looks around. "Seems like really far away from here. How about you guys?"

"The Bay Area. Maya here is from — where did you say again?" He looks at Cutie and smiles, making his dimples show.

"I didn't." She stands up and shakes Jack's hand.

"No propers. Where are people's manners?" She looks askance at Chris. "I'm Maya."

"Yes you are," Jack says, feeling extremely unimpressed with his lack of wit so far in this interaction with her, and his general nervousness. But one thing he's glad about is that it seems Maya is not too interested in Chris. His initial assessment of them was way off.

"That's a good name," he tells her.

"Thank you. It's always worked for me."

"And that accent. Let me guess . . ."

"Oh, this never ends well," Maya says, sitting on the arm of the chair and smiling big at Jack. She bounces on her calves in seeming anticipation of his bad guess.

"Well, now, I don't know what to say," he demurs.

"Oh, you have to guess, now. Chris wouldn't even try."

"Wait, I'll try!" Chris protests.

"Jack first, now," she cuts him off.

Jack thinks for a moment, and then blurts out, "England."

"About thirty thousand kilometers off," she says.

"Whoa," Jack says. "I give up then."

"I got it," Chris chimes in, although the conversation is really between Jack and Maya now. "Australia."