Somewhere a bell rings, and Karen stands. “Jerk,” she adds, and walks away.
An eleven-year-old girl rolls up next to Andre, who has his chin in his hands. The girl has big dark eyes and a scooter. Her name is Corbin.
“What’s the matter?” she asks.
“The usual,” sighs Andre. “I cast a spell so she’ll go out with me, I mention that pronouncing the longest word in English will break it and bam! ‘Pneumo-ultra-microscopic-silico-volcano-coniosis’ and she’s gone. Stupid Google.”
“Ah.”
“I should’ve picked something harder to say,” says Andre glumly.
“I think you’re addressing the wrong problem, Andre,” says Corbin.