Classes were going pretty OK for me by this point – to my great relief I was discovering that a lot of what Bob had taught me was really useful now.  I had a head start over the other first-hours in a lot of ways, and I was glad of it.  And really grateful to Bob for giving me the chance to learn when I was probably too young and scatterbrained to deserve it.  But hey – I had learned stuff, 'cause I was remembering it now – and in classes like Intro to Game Sprites and Virus Identification it really helped.  I was acing them.

The other classes – the regular school-type ones – were a lot harder.  I'd never been all that great at those at home and they were where I was having a hard time concentrating now.  I'd be sitting in Fortran or Algebra and thoughts of home and Lisa and Zip would tend to creep in and before I knew it, I had no idea what the teachers were saying. 

Fortunately for me Linux is pretty smart about that stuff, and he helped me a lot when I started to get behind.  Since I knew a lot more about games than he did I helped him out with those classes, so it kind of evened out between us.  Laser said we were a good match, and it turned out he was right in a lot of ways.  More on that later.

Games were good, too – another cube dropped and I got to go in with three cadets I didn't know and Mr. Bernoulli.  It was a pretty easy game – Center Ice IX, the hockey game with the quicksand patches hidden under the ice and the exploding pucks.  I rebooted as goalie but I didn't mind – I always liked playing goalie, 'cause you can watch everything happening on the ice in front of you and everyone is depending on you to keep the team in the game.

Playing games is nothing new for me but it's still fun, and being on a team with four other sprites was different than what I'd grown up with in Mainframe.  We played other team games, too – not the game cube kind.  We'd go out on the fields and play soccer or football or softball, just to keep us in shape and get us used to being a team and working together.  And to have fun, too – at the Academy it was OK to have fun, as long as you didn't let your teammates down. 

One thing I thought about a lot was what Mouse had told me – about how I might not be old enough to keep my priorities in order when it came to Lisa and my classes.  Well, I really wanted to prove she was wrong about that – show her and everyone else that I was old enough to worry about stuff like girls and still take care of my responsibilities.  It's not like Bob and Dot and Matrix and Andri aren't mooning over each other all the time, and they still manage to keep Mainframe from being deleted.

I have to be honest, though – I'm glad Mouse said that to me when she did, because there were times when I felt myself really starting to lose my focus when she'd pop up in a thoughtwindow, real as life – "You might not be old enough to keep your priorities in order."   Crash, it was tough!  I thought about Lisa all the time, either a little bit at the edge of my processor or a lot, eating up my whole brain.  We saw each other at lunch every cycle, but the scraggy thing was we didn't get that much time after classes during the minute – we had lights out at thirty-hundred, our dorms were off-limits to each other, and Lisa was a pretty serious student, too.

The worst thing of all was that we couldn't really do anything on campus without worrying about someone seeing us – sometimes we'd hold hands for a little bit, but that was about it.  User, I thought about kissing her and hugging her and it wasn't easy to stop myself from doing it, sometimes.  I dreamed about her every night, seems like, and the dreams were so real sometimes that when I woke up I was sure they'd actually happened.  It was pretty intense, I can tell you – like an actual pain in my body from wanting so much to be with her.

When the minute ended I don't think my feet touched the ground all the way back to my dorm after my last class, and I wasn't even using my zip board.  Lisa and I were gonna have dinner in the town again, and that meant we were off campus, and maybe we'd walk around after we ate and find a nice quiet spot somewhere.  That would be better than dinner.

When I was in my room, getting ready to go, I made a decision – I was gonna break out my surfboard.  I hadn't used it since I arrived, for a lot of reasons – mostly because I didn't want to do anything to stand out and make it that much more likely I'd get picked on.  But I'd had a couple of good cycles without any problems in that area and besides I thought maybe it would impress Lisa a little bit, so I decided to go for it.

I wore a shirt I'd never worn before, one Dot uploaded for my birthday.  It was a black button-up shirt with a collar, and Dot said it looked really good on me, not like I could tell.  It was a kinda grown-up style, though – not like what I usually wore when I wasn't in uniform.  Which was still most of the time, by the way – I love that thing.  But I thought, this once, I'd try and look older and if I kept telling myself I was 1.7, maybe I'd act like it.

So I 'booted into my snazzy shirt and my nicest jeans and I grabbed my board and tucked it under my arm, and headed out the door with a wave to Linux.  Linux always looked like a drowned null whenever I was going out to meet Lisa, and it made me feel really bad.  Not bad enough to ask him to come with us, though.

I was on the ground floor headed for the main doors right as Quantum was walking in.  It was the first time I'd seen him since he'd saved my ascii, and I still wasn't completely sure what to make of that file.  I was really grateful to him but still kinda scared of him, too.  He was so strong and not only that, he knew he was tough – you could just tell.  If I was gonna use a big word like Dot does I'd call him formidable – that's what he was.  Not someone you wanted to mess with.

He eyed me and when I got a few steps away from him I smiled nervously and stopped.  "Hey."

He nodded back.  "Hey, Sprout.  What the heck is that thing?"

My board!  "Uh…  It's a surfboard.  You know - transport."

"Oh yeah – I've seen Ray Tracer cruisin' around on one of those a couple times.  Looks like fun."

"Er – yeah, kinda.  It's cool.  His is a lot more sophisticated than mine, though."

"He give that to you?"

I blushed.  "Yeah.  He and, uh, Mouse did.  For my birthday a couple hours ago."

Quantum chuckled and shook his head.  "You and your friends in high places, Kid!"

"No big deal, he-"

"Chill!  I don't care, I was just asking.  Big night on the town?  Hot date?"

I giggled.  "N-no – just having dinner.  Y'know – no classes tomorrow and everything…"

"Yeah, well – don't stay out all night, Sprout."

"No!  I won't."

"Good." He chuckled again. "If you get back in time, stop by my room – 115.  Couple guys are comin' over, we're gonna hang out.  About twenty-nine-hundred, something like that."

I gaped at him for a nano.  Was he inviting me to a party?  Puny little rugrat me?  "Uh…"

"Maybe I'll see ya."  He popped me on the shoulder and I gritted my teeth, trying not to wince.  "Later, Kid."

"Later.  I, uh…  I'll be there!"

"You do that."  I stared after him for a nano, rubbing my shoulder.  Basic – Quantum inviting me to a party!  That was the last thing in the net I expected to happen.  I thought about calling after him to see if I could invite Linux, but he was on the elevators and the doors were closing and besides, I didn't want to press my luck.

I tossed my board out in front of me and hopped on.  It felt strange, at first – it'd only been a couple of minutes since I surfed but I was rusty, and the surfboard was totally different than a zip board.  So much faster, quieter, and so much more sensitive to every move you make.  At first I tried to control it like a zip, just out of habit, and ended up making some wild, out-of-control turns.  I decided to practice for a few millis before I headed over to the girls' dorm, just so I wouldn't look like a total geek in front of Lisa.

Once I'd more or less gotten my feel back I took a big looping turn and headed towards the girls' dorm.  A few cadets stared at me as I surfed through the campus and that made me a little self-conscious, but it felt really good to be back on my board.  It felt like home – Mainframe I mean - 'cause that was the only place I'd ever ridden it.  Maybe this place was even starting to feel like home, a little, if my mood was just right.

Lisa was waiting for me outside the dorm, dressed in burgundy slacks and a shirt or blouse or something with puffy sleeves.  I dunno how she did it, but every color she picked seemed to work perfectly for her.  Maybe I'm biased.  I waved to her and turned a little more sharply than I probably had to and glided to a perfect stop right in front of her.  "Hey!"

"Hey!" she grinned.  "Where in the net did you get this?"

"What – my board?  Ray and Mouse gave it to me when I turned 1.0.  Cool, huh?  Like it?"

"Yeah – it's graphical."  She ran her hand over the board, right by my feet.  "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I guess.  User – you look really beautiful."

"Thank you!"

I held out my hand.  "I thought maybe we could ride to town on this – that is, if you don't mind.  It's really fun!"  So much for acting 1.7 – being close to Lisa I was about 1.1 again.

"Cool!"

She took my hand.  "You better stand behind me 'cause otherwise I, uh, won't be able to see around you."  I gave a tug and she hopped onto the board behind me.  "Grab my waist and hang on tight, OK?  This thing doesn't come with a parachute!"

"OK!" Lisa laughed.

I was very aware of her hands on my waist.  I hadn't thought of that.  "Uh… All set?"

"All set."

"I'll go kinda slow, OK?  And I won't go too high up or anything."

"Go as high as you like!"

"Here we go…"  I grinned over my shoulder and took off, slower than slow.  I realized now that this was the first time I'd ever steered with someone else on the board, which probably made it kinda stupid for me to be doing what I was doing since it totally changed the way the board felt under me and reacted on the turns and stuff.  But I was committed…

"Kick it out!" Lisa giggled.  "Don't worry about me, I'm not scared!"

"K!"  I sped up a little, avoiding any sharp corners or anything.

"Graphical!  This is a total blast!"

"Yeah – it's pixelacious!" I shouted back, and it was.  It felt awesome up there, sharing something I really loved with Lisa.  I almost fell off the board, though, when I felt a quick kiss on my cheek.  "Uh…  Thanks!"

"Hey!"

I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.  Off to my left I saw two figures on a surfboard headed towards us.  I slowed to a hover.  "Hey."

"What's all this, then?" Mouse grinned, gripping Ray tightly by the waist. 

I felt myself blushing, wondering if they'd seen the kiss.  "Hi Mouse.  Hey, Ray.  This is uh, my friend.  Lisa."

"Pleasure to meet you, Lovely Lady." Ray took Lisa's hand and kissed it regally.  That made Lisa giggle like crazy.

"Hey there, Darlin'.  You two goin' off for a night on the town?"

"We're having dinner and stuff.  You know." I smiled, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Stuff, huh?"

"Looking pretty good on that board, Lad.  You sure you're ready for passenger service?"

"I'm being careful, Ray.  Taking it nice and slow."

"You be sure and do that, Handsome." Mouse chuckled. 

"You two are Enzo's friends?" Lisa asked, sounding a little awed.

"We gave him that board, back in Mainframe when he was a nipper." Ray smiled.  "Haven't seen much of you since then, have we Kiddo?"

"Not enough.  Like twice in three hours before I came here."

"Is the little devil sweepin' you off your feet, Honey?" Mouse asked slyly.

"Mouse!  We're just friends, stop it..."  This was more than a little awkward for me – I mean, technically speaking me and Lisa weren't doing anything wrong but even so, Mouse and Ray were teachers as well as friends.  I wasn't sure just exactly where we stood with all this.

"He's trying.  He's a charmer." Lisa giggled.  I doubt very much my face could have gotten any redder.

"Well – you friends enjoy your supper." Mouse smiled.  "Remember our chat, Pumpkin – you hear me?"

"I will Mouse – promise."

"All right, then.  Have fun, you two."

"You two too."  Ouch!  Geek city…

"Nice to meet you, Lovely Lady.  Maybe we'll see you in town."  Ray flashed a dazzling grin and bowed, and he and Mouse took off towards the city.

"Wow – he can really ride that board." Lisa whistled.

"Yeah, well – he's the surf baud.  He gave me some lessons back home but I'm nowhere near as good as he is."

"What a stud!  I wish I had a class with him."

"Oh, Uh…  Next hour I guess."  I'd always known Ray was an unbelievably cool guy, but this was the first time I realized just how uncool I looked compared to him.

"I still like you better though." Lisa giggled.  "Are we surfing or not?  I'm getting hungry!"

"Sorry!"  I gave the board a kick and we took off again, and I resisted the urge to try and surf like Ray.  I guess my desire to show off for Lisa was less than my terror of wiping out and smearing us all over the sidewalk.  Once I got off campus and we made a straight line towards town, though, I was able to get up some pretty good speed.  I felt the wind in my hair and Lisa's hands on my hips and heard her laughing and giggling in my ear and felt like the luckiest kid that ever compiled.

Dinner was nice – we had baud burgers and ram chips and energy shakes and sometimes while we were eating I'd reach over and touch Lisa's hand and she'd smile and not say anything.  After dinner we held hands and walked around the streets, looking in a few shops even though I was really only paying attention to Lisa anyway.  I was already thinking about where we were gonna go afterwards.

There was a little park near the edge of town, just a few directory trees and some grass and benches and a little data pond.  It was small but it was nice – quiet and not crowded and when it was dark, I suggested that we walk through there and Lisa giggled and said OK.  So we walked through the park and I spotted a nice bench under a tree near the pond.  I steered Lisa over there and we sat down.

"Why Enzo." She grinned.  "I think you're starting to have a one-track processor."

"What?"

"Nothing.  It's all right."

"I just like being with you." I sighed.  "Just us.  You're incredible."

"Enzo…"  She brushed my hair out of my eyes.  "I just can't believe how sweet you are sometimes."

"It's true.  You are."

She kept brushing her fingers through my hair, driving me offline.  "You look very handsome tonight, Enzo."

"Really?"

"Sure!  I've never seen you dressed up before.  It's nice."

"I…  I don't do it very often."  I resolved right then and there to do it more often from now on.

"If you want.  It's not important."

"If you like it, I will."

"Stop that!" she giggled.  "I like you just fine any way you dress.  You look cute in your uniform, too."

"Thanks."  I started to brush my hand through her gold hair too, just to see if it felt as good as hers did in mine.  It did.  "Uh – Lisa?"

"Hmmm?"

"Could I kiss you?  Is it OK?"

"Hmmm.  Let's see...  Yes – I think so!"

"Alphanumeric!"  I grinned and she grinned back, and I pursed my lips and went in to kiss her but I guess I got anxious and we were going too fast, and our noses bumped.  "Oof!"

"Sorry!" Lisa giggled.

"Omigosh – you OK?"

"Fine!"

"Sorry.  Can I…  Can I try again?"

"Please do."  I took a deep breath and inched forwards, a lot slower this time.  Kisses always seem better when they're slow, anyways.  I didn't really plan it but my hands went out and I held her cheeks real softly, and I was still holding her when I tilted my head and our lips touched and my processor exploded.  It was amazing.

"Wow." I gasped.

"That was nice." Lisa purred, and she put her hands on my neck and drew me in again and my hands were still on her cheeks, so we were touching with all our hands when we kissed again, and it was even more incredible than the last time, maybe.  And I discovered that if I pulled away just a little we could take tiny little breaths and rest our lips for a nano and then go right back to kissing again, and that way we could kiss forever with only a little break so it was almost like one long kiss.  I'm surprised it wasn't daylight again by the time we were finished.

"Cursors and crashes…"

"You sure you've never kissed anyone before?" Lisa whispered, smiling.  Her lipstick was smeared a little.

"No!"

"Could've fooled me."  She kissed me on the cheek and put her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her.  "Tell me about Mainframe.  What's it like?"

"It's amazing." I sighed, still feeling very light-headed.  Too light-headed to talk long, actually.  "Hey – you promised you'd tell me about where you came from next time."

"Oh, Enzo…"

"C'mon – tell me!  I really wanna know about you.  Please?"

"It's not very interesting."

"Everything about you is interesting.  Besides – I told you all kinds of stuff about me, so it's only fair."

"Hmmm."  She shifted around a little, sort of settling herself down in my arms.  "I guess you're right, Cutie.  What do you want to know?"

What didn't I?  "Everything.  Anything you want.  I don't even know where you came from."

"My home system is called Wozniak.  Ever heard of it?"

"Uh…  I think so.  Sure, yeah!"

Lisa giggled.  "You don't have to lie to me, Enzo – there's no reason you should have.  It's nothing special."

I bet I blushed, but she couldn't see me.  "Sorry!  I guess I haven't.  Is it nice?"

"It's home." She sighed.  "I grew up there.  It's a small system with ports to the net, like a thousand others.  But I could show you a lot of special places you'd never know about unless you'd lived there your whole life."

"Yeah." I whispered, thinking of Mainframe.  "Maybe I'll get to see it some cycle."

"Maybe.  I'd love that."

"Uh…  If you guys had ports to the net, how come you weren't, you know – infected?"

Lisa stiffened for a nano, but then she looked up and smiled.  "My Mom.  She's a hacker – one of the best.  She set up security protocols and safeguarded the URLs.  So we've been lucky so far.  We joined the alliance of free systems and that's how I found out the Academy was online."

"Super cooled!  I bet her and Mouse could have some interesting chats – she's the best hacker I've ever seen."

"So I hear!  Maybe my Mom will come for a visit sometime and they can compare notes."  Lisa sat up and kissed my cheek.  "I want her to meet you, too."

"Really?"

"Sure, Cutie."

"Wow."  I kissed her on top of the head, which was starting to become one of my new favorite things to do.  "Bob and Dot are coming next semester, he's gonna teach a class – so you can meet them then!"

"Graphical.  What class?"

"Web survival skills.  I guess we'll both be taking it." Lisa stiffened again, just a little.  "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." She said softly.  "How…  How does Bob know about web survival?"

"Uh…"  Another unpleasant part of my past – it seemed like there was no end to those, sometimes.  Except it wasn't even really my past.  "He was trapped out there, I guess.  Megabyte – he's a virus – shot him out there and closed the portal, and he was lost for a long time.  My br-…  Uh, he found his way home finally.  But he had to survive out there for a long time.  I don't ask him about it very much…"

"Wow."  Lisa hugged me, and I hugged her, and neither of us talked for a few nanos.

"Where's your Dad?" I asked, finally.

After a few nanos of silence, she answered "Gone." in a soft voice.  "It's just me and Mom now."

"I'm really sorry."

"I feel bad about leaving her all alone.  I hope she doesn't get too lonely."

"You don't have any brothers or sisters or anything?"

"No." she sighed.  "Just me.  But Mom's got plenty to keep her busy, I guess – trying to keep the system safe and all.  She's an amazing sprite."

"Sounds like it."  I kissed Lisa's head again.  "Sorry about your Dad.  I know what that's like."

Lisa didn't answer me – she didn't say anything for a long time.  I didn't either – I just petted her hair a few times and let her think about whatever she was thinking about.  I knew what missing parents was like.  Finally she sat up and turned to face me.  "I really like you, Enzo.  You know that?"

Naturally that felt really good to hear – although after a nano I started to worry about why she was saying it.  "Lisa, that's…  That's alphanumeric!  I really like you too."

She smiled and kissed me on the nose, then sighed again.  "You can't ever tell anyone what I'm gonna tell you now, OK?  I mean it  - not anyone!"

"What?  I…  I won't tell-"

"Promise me.  It's important"

I gaped at her.  "Sure – I promise.  I'll never tell anybody."

"Enzo…  If you don't like me anymore after I tell you, that's OK.  I won't blame you.  But even if you hate me you still can't tell."

"Lisa!  I'll like you, I promise!  I'll always like you, you're incredible-"

"Don't be so sure."  She looked away from me, down at the ground.  "It's wrong for me to even tell you – it's not fair to ask you not to tell.  But I like you and I really want to tell someone…"

"What?  What is it?  It can't be that bad…"

"Oh, Enzo…"  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  "You remember how I said my father was gone?"

"Sure."

"Well, he is – but he's not deleted.  He might be, I guess – I haven't seen him in four hours."

"You…  You mean he just left?  That's terrible!  But it's not your fault-"

"Enzo!  Just hush, let me talk, OK?"

"Sorry."

"He did leave.  I've only seen him a couple times, since I was born. Four hours ago was the last one.  Enzo, my father-  He's…"

"What?  What is it?"

"Enzo, he's a Codemaster."

"What?" I gasped. 

"Yes.  Have you ever seen one?"

"No, but I…  Yes, sort of."  My mind was racing – I'd heard about Lens and the run-in he had with Bob, and he sounded pretty scary.  But then there was Mister Pearson, too – although he wasn't really a Codemaster anymore, I guess.  "You mean he went back to the net and you haven't seen him since?"

"No." Lisa whispered.  "Not to the net, Enzo."

I frowned, totally confused.  Then it hit me.  "No!"

"Oh, Enzo.  I shouldn't have told you-"

"No!  It's…  It's all right.  I just-"

"I'm sorry I told you, Enzo.  I wanted to tell someone and I guess I thought you should know.  I'm sorry."

"Lisa, I…  He's from the web?  And he's your father?  What happened?"

She smiled sadly.  "He visited Wozniak.  They can travel freely, you know – anywhere in the web or the net."

"Yeah – I know."

"Well – he met my mother.  I don't know what happened – Mom never told me exactly.  But I think they sort of fell in love, basic as that sounds.  And here I am."

"Wow."

"Yeah - wow.  Enzo – if the staff knew about this I'd be kicked out of the Academy, you know that!  I know you don't like me now but please don't tell anyone-"

"Of course I like you!  Why wouldn't I?"

"But-"

"I won't tell.  I promised I wouldn't and I won't."  I hugged her, tightly.  I know I didn't really understand what any of this meant yet, but she was Lisa and she was right there in front of me and that was all that mattered.

"Enzo, I'm different.  My father – he's part of me.  Codemasters aren't allowed to be Guardians, believe me."

"You're not one.  He was, not you."

"But he is part of me, Cutie.  I wasn't even sure myself…  But the last time he came to Wozniak he…  He took me with him.  To the web."

"Dude!  You've been to the web?"

"Yes, Enzo." Lisa whispered.  She was clinging really tightly to me now, like she was cold.  "I told you – my father is part of me.  I have his code in my systems.  I can do things, Enzo.  Like survive out there, in the web.  I was terrified when he took me, but I can survive it.  I can do other things, too – that's why they'd kick me out of here if they knew."

"Wow…" I gasped.  "How long were you out there?"

"Only a few cycles.  I was terrified when he took me, but it was really beautiful, in a way.  He asked me to stay with him."

"He did?"

"I was tempted.  The web is an amazing place, Cutie, if you can survive it.  But I couldn't – I didn't really even know my father.  I've only seen him twice in my life, Enzo.  I couldn't leave Mom, she was my real family.  I wasn't sure he would, but he let me go back.  That was four hours ago and I haven't seen him since."

I still wasn't really sure what to make of all this, to be honest.  But Lisa was still clinging to me, and she felt warm and soft and I loved being with her.  That I was sure of.  "That's amazing.  I can't believe it…"

"My father…" she laughed softly.  "I don't want to be a Codemaster – they come and go as they please, and play their little games of 'High Spar' like they're so important.  I want to help protect places like Wozniak from Daemon.  Guardians are the opposite of Codemasters, Enzo – they go out of their way to get involved.  It's their life."

"I know."  And boy, did I ever.

"Codemasters never want to get involved in anything but their own little societies.  They never use their power to help anyone.  I want to be a Guardian – but I can't be, not if they ever find out.  They won't let me."

"I won't tell.  I'll never tell.  I swear, Lisa."

"Enzo…"  I won't deny that it felt a little different hugging her, now that I knew what I did.  Part of me was a little scared of her, but I tried not to show it.  "You really are the sweetest thing, sometimes."

"I want to tell you something, too." I said suddenly.

Lisa looked up.  "What?"

My ears burned.  "I…  I want to tell you a secret.  About me.  Since you told me something really big about you."

"Enzo, you don't have to do that-"

"I want to."  It felt right – she trusted me, I needed to show her I trusted her, too.  "I know you won't tell anyone.  It wouldn't get me expelled or anything but I'm embarrassed about it…"

"Whatever it is, it won't matter.  So you don't have to-"

"I'm a backup."

"What?" she frowned.

"I'm a backup." I sighed.  "A copy.  I'm not the original Enzo."

"Not…  The original?  I don't understand."

"I'm a backup." I whispered.  "Mainframe crashed, hours ago.  It was Megabyte – that virus I told you about.  He wasted the system, destroyed it and left it to die.  Bob engineered a system crash so the User would restart and restore the system from the backup – it was their only chance.  Matrix was there – I mean, Enzo.  But he'd been in the games for a long time and his icon was in game sprite mode-"

"Game sprite mode?  Why?"

"I'll explain later.  Anyway, the system didn't recognize his icon, so it restored me along with the rest of the system.  From the last backup.  So I'm a copy."

"Enzo – that's amazing!"

"So if you don't like me anymore, that's cool.  I know it's freaky-"

"What?" Lisa laughed.  "What difference does it make?"

"It makes a lot of difference!  I'm not even the real Enzo Matrix!"

"But you have the same code, don't you?"

"Well – yeah.  But-"

"Don't be silly.  Kids are really just a backup of their parents anyway – a backup of their code.  So it's kinda like that.  I think it's cool."

"What?"  Part of me wanted to believe her and be really relieved – and part was sure she was just trying to spare my feelings.

"Yeah – it's graphical.  I think it's great that you're here because of something amazing like that, a whole system getting saved.  That's awesome!"

"You really don't care?  You promise?" I whispered.

"Not a byte.  You're sweet and cute as a pixel and I love being with you and that's all I care about Enzo, promise."

"Lisa!"  I grabbed her and hugged her as tight as I could.  "You're amazing!"

"Ow!  Not so hard!"

"Sorry!"

She giggled.  "So now we both know something about each other.  Is there another you running around Mainframe?"

"Well – not exactly.  Matrix – he's the other me – he was lost in the games for a long time, and game time is faster than real time.  So he's around 2.5 now."

"Oh – that's cool.  I'm kinda glad, actually – I like you being one of a kind."

"Yeah!  Thanks…"

"So you have another you at home – but he's twice as old.  That must be kinda weird."

"Yeah!" I nodded.  "It's very weird – but it's not bad, now.  I just think of Matrix like a big brother and it's OK.  We fought a lot at first but now things are actually pretty good.  He's a really great guy."

"How could he not be?  He's you!"

"Stop it!" I giggled.  "He really is, though – even though he's different than me in a lot of ways.  He and AndrAIa were trapped in the games for a long time, and it was really rough for him."

"Who's AndrAIa?"

"Uh…" That was an area I really hadn't planned to visit with Lisa.

"Enzo!  Come on – who is she?"

It was basic but I was really nervous, all of a sudden.  It felt funny talking to Lisa about Andri.  "AndrAIa is…  She's Matrix' friend.  They went into the game together and they were lost together.  Now they're sort of… Well, not married exactly-"

"She's his girlfriend, huh?  Is she nice?"

"Oh, yeah!  She's a babe – she's really nice, and beautiful…"

"Beautiful?"

"Um…  Well – yeah, she is.  Not like you, though."

"She's beautiful, and I'm not like her.  What a nice thing to say…"

"No!" I gasped.  "Crash it, that's not what I mean!  She-"

"Oh, it's all right.  I know what you meant." Lisa sighed.

"Sorry.  I mean – I think you're totally beautiful, Lisa.  But AndrAIa is, too.  You're just different is all."

"How so?"

I could feel myself starting to sweat.  "Well, she's big for one thing."

"And that would make me-"

"Awww!  No, I…  Crash!  I just mean she's tall and stuff, and you know, she's a grown-up and everything so she's…  I guess-"

"Hmmm."  She smiled a little.  "You have a crush on her, huh?"

"What?"

"It's OK – I understand.  She sounds pretty graphical."

"No, she…"  I sighed, wiped my forehead with my sleeve.  "AndrAIa's the only girl I ever really knew, Lisa.  Other than my sister, I mean.  You know how there's no other kids in Mainframe, like I said.  She is pretty incredible – she's beautiful and she's an amazing person.  But I've never met anyone like you."

"Hmmm.  Really?"

"Honest!  AndrAIa is awesome – but she's with Matrix.  She's just a really good friend, that's all." I knew that wasn't completely true, even as I said it – but it was mostly true.  And the next part was all true.  "You're totally pixelacious, Lisa – you're the most amazing girl I ever met.  You're beautiful and nice and smart and I want to be with you every nano."

"Oh, Enzo."  Lisa giggled and kissed my nose.  "Stop it.  I don't mind that you think she's beautiful – honest I don't.  You are a boy, after all."

"OK." I said softly.  "You're not mad?"

"No.  And I'm glad you told me about your brother – I know it wasn't easy.  I don't know why you thought I'd care."

"I dunno.  Every time I think about it I just feel like a freak."

"Stop that."  She giggled and tweaked my nose.  "My little freak – that's what you are!"

"Oh, I like that a lot.  Very nice."  She laughed and put her head on my shoulder again.  "We're just a couple of freaks, I guess…"

"Guess so."  I should have been jaggied out by what she'd told me, I know it – but if anything I actually felt closer to her, basic as it sounds.  I guess it's because she trusted me enough to tell me – and 'cause I told her my secret and she didn't seem to care.  I guess being a backup or a codemaster – half-codemaster – is no freakier than being a game sprite or a 1.1 Guardian on your own.  Maybe it's not so bad being a freak after all, as long as you find another one who understands what it's like…