"How'd you get that cut?" he asks in the usual low, gravel tone. I look up at him from the various web pages I've been studying, surprised, my head resting on one hand. He's got his arms folded and his pose looks comfortable, as if he's been considering me for quite some time. That creeps me out.
"Huh?" I reply, ever the eloquent one.
"That cut," he repeats slowly, like he's talking to an infant, pointing to my face. It takes a moment to register.
"Oh, that," I mutter lightly, raising a hand to touch the small, raised line, before brushing it off with a lie. "Shaving." I turn back to the computer, scanning the list of search results disinterestedly. This would be so much easier in the ARI, the reclusive elysium that's rapidly replacing reality.
"Bullshit," he sneers, not missing a beat. "You're not old enough to shave." Not able to tell whether it's a joke or an insult, I sit back in my chair with a heavy sigh. Here we go.
"Is it really that important?" I ask him. He shrugs like whether it's important or not is important. I watch him carefully, unsure what to say, then look away. "There was some guy I knew that couldn't handle the ARI. One day he goes crazy, lashing out at everyone, and..." I gesture to my cheek with a small shrug and Blake narrows his eyes, nodding slightly. That's all the information I'm willing to indulge, I decide as I switch the computer off. The fact that he ended up killing himself wasn't something I wanted to say out loud... especially not to Blake.
"So that ARI," he begins, rocking back in his chair like he usually does when he's piecing his clues together. I feel like one of his investigations, like a project. Before he can continue his train of thought, somebody appears at my desk. Grace Mars is here to see us.
"Huh?" I reply, ever the eloquent one.
"That cut," he repeats slowly, like he's talking to an infant, pointing to my face. It takes a moment to register.
"Oh, that," I mutter lightly, raising a hand to touch the small, raised line, before brushing it off with a lie. "Shaving." I turn back to the computer, scanning the list of search results disinterestedly. This would be so much easier in the ARI, the reclusive elysium that's rapidly replacing reality.
"Bullshit," he sneers, not missing a beat. "You're not old enough to shave." Not able to tell whether it's a joke or an insult, I sit back in my chair with a heavy sigh. Here we go.
"Is it really that important?" I ask him. He shrugs like whether it's important or not is important. I watch him carefully, unsure what to say, then look away. "There was some guy I knew that couldn't handle the ARI. One day he goes crazy, lashing out at everyone, and..." I gesture to my cheek with a small shrug and Blake narrows his eyes, nodding slightly. That's all the information I'm willing to indulge, I decide as I switch the computer off. The fact that he ended up killing himself wasn't something I wanted to say out loud... especially not to Blake.
"So that ARI," he begins, rocking back in his chair like he usually does when he's piecing his clues together. I feel like one of his investigations, like a project. Before he can continue his train of thought, somebody appears at my desk. Grace Mars is here to see us.