chip company can figure out where it is Dogs cats horses snakes even rare fish get microchip implants Fish and chips I say How could a fish get lost Ivan asks Ivan is smart about smart things but not about normal things They get stolen not lost Some koi are worth more than a car Just then Ivan’s father’s car rattles into the parking lot down below Definitely more than that car I add Ivan’s car is held together with bungee cords Ivan’s dad honks Ivan grabs his backpack Thank Mrs Zupan for the galoshes And don’t forget to invite me to your orbit-completion celebration 5
I snort Who else would I invite to my birthday party I spend another hour at the computer I get sucked in The screen is basically a window showing the whole world The windows of our apartment only show the buildings next door 6
Chapter Two Our apartment building is like a brown shoe box It’s squeezed between other brown shoe boxes on Third Street East The town’s name is Bording It’s a clump of low buildings stuck to the edge of the big city Like a growth Bording is named after a pretty town in England I looked it up on Google Street View Bording in England has narrow streets stone houses and cute 7
