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"You ain't gotta be eatin' other folks' garbage, foo'!"

Lev froze, certain it was a security guard ready to haul hirin, wearing attitude like it was a cologne "Let irl orking at the Wicked Wok Chinese food concession, flirted with her for a few-

"I think I'll stick to leftovers,'' Lev had told hiettin' on toward closing tiet rid of all the food they made today They can't keep it and reuse it tooes? I'll tell you where it goes It goes home with the last shift But the people ork these places ain't gonna eat that stuff on accounta they are sick to death of it See that girl I was talkin' to? She likes me I told her I worked at Shirt Bonanza, downstairs, and could get her some overstock maybe"

"Do you work there?"

"No! Are you even listenin' to et ive her a sonna do with all that leftover food?' And she'll be all, like, 'Whatcha got in e chicken heaven, with enough to feed an arh, it happened exactly like he said it would Lev was a his fist in the air, "and as God is ain" Then he added, "That's from Gone with the Wind"

"I know," said Lev Which, in fact, he didn't

Lev had agreed to go with him because he knew the two tilled a need in each other CyFi was like a preacher with no flock He couldn't exist without an audience, and Lev needed someone who could fill his head with ideas, to replace the lifetime of ideas that had been taken from him

A day later, Lev's shoes are worn and his muscles are sore The memory of Risa and Connor is still a fresh wound, and it doesn't want to heal Chances are, they were caught Chances are, they've been unwound All because of him Does that make him an accomplice to murder?

How could it, when Unwinds aren't really dead?

He doesn't knohose voice is in his head anyry He'd rather hear CyFi's voice outside of his head than whatever voices were inside

The terrain around theh shrubs and a sreen, sorow up between the train tracks, but not too tall

"Any weed duets decapitated by the next train that coh Decapitated--that means 'head cut off"'

"I knohat 'decapitated' atives and stuff"

CyFi stops right there in the middle of the railroad tracks and stares at Lev like he's trying to ot a probleot a problem with an Old World Umber patois?"

"I do when it's fake"

"Whachoo talkin' about, foo'!"

"It's obvious I'll bet people never even said things like 'foo,' except on du on purpose"

"Wrong? What ? It's classic, just like those TV shows--and I ain't appreciating you disrespecting my patois Patois means--"

"I knohat it h he isn't entirely sure "I ain't stupid!"

CyFi puts up an accusing finger like a lawyer "A-HA! You said 'ain't' Noho's talking wrong?"

"That doesn't count! I said it because it's all I hear from you! After a while I can't help but sound like you!"

At that, CyFi grins "Yeah," he says "Ain't that the truth Old World Uious It's dominant And talkin' the talk don't hest readin' and writin' score in otta respect h so I could be here Sure, I can talk like you, but I choose not to It's like art, you know? Picasso had to prove to the world he can paint the right way, before he goes putting both eyes on one side of a face, and noses stickin' outta kneecaps and stuff See, if you paint wrong because that's the best you can do, you just a chump But you do it because you want to? Then you're an artist" He sht there, Fry You can take that to the grave, and dig it up when you need it!"

CyFi turns and spits out a piece of gum that hits a train rail and sticks there, then he shoves another piece in his ot no problem with it--and they're lily-sienna like you"

"They?" Cy had said "dads" before, but Lev had figured it was just so

"Yeah," says CyFi, with a shrug "I got two Ain't no thang"

Lev tries his best to process this Of course, he's heard of --or "yin families," as they're currently called--but in the sheltered structure of his life, such things always belonged to an alternate universe

CyFi, however, doesn't even catch Lev's surprise He's still on his brag jag