Now that I was out the protection of either Judge Hanover's sentence or Venus' contract, I was free game again and it seemed that Lester had decided h... wanted to find me." But why?" I don't know. it's not like I could ask him. I just got lucky that I recognised him waiting in the lobby of the hotel I had staying in during December and I bolted before he could see me. I left all my things behind save for the backpack of essentials that I carry with me at all times in case I needed to do a runner. And everyone has to prove to anyone else in thegroup — on demand — that they really are bare-assed, right?” I grinned. “Naturally. But no one has to say *anything*about this to anyone else.” “Naturally. This is a *private* public thing.” She grinnedback and glanced around. Jan seemed doubtful but tempted. Thenshe began whispering to Annie, who was the most stubborn and(relatively) the most conservative of the group. I nudged Katie. . "That is correct. Since I just turned fourteen today, I really didn't see the point of taking it before now. My parents felt it would be better to wait until I'm older before getting tested," I explained."While it's usually a good idea for young people to adhere to their parents' wishes, the decision of when to get tested is entirely up to you, as of today."As I'm sure you are aware, the Consensus is made up of more than just the Char. There are several species that will have input into whether. And a genius to boot. My trying to teach her calculus last year was an absolute joke. She did just wanted to... well, flirt is a very polite word for it. But she has such a playful personality, getting brushed off didn't bother her at all. She just shifted her desire to wanting friendship... And you're right, she's become a great friend..." Let's not test her friendship by being late. She's mission operations chief for the * windows *, and we both know how conscientious she is about safety...".