“You’ve got to swear, Adam Reynolds,” Anya said, her brows drawn together in stern disapproval of her young friend. “I’m gonna go, and that’s all there is to it. But if you tell….” She stepped toward him, invading his space. “Remember how many times I haven’t told your parents about something you’ve done.”

Adam looked up at her in dismay. “It ain’t the same,” he insisted. “What if somethin’ were to happen to you? You may think you’re grown, but you’re not, you know.” He raised himself to his full height, which was still considerably shorter than that of his current antagonist.

“I can take care of myself,” Anya replied, stuffing her duffel bag angrily as she spoke. “And besides, part of the way there I’ll be on the Hit or Miss anyway. Captain Marcus wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me.”

“But he won’t even know you’re there, if you stow away,” Adam said angrily.

“That’s right,” Anya replied. “And you’re not gonna’ tell him or anybody else.”

Adam sighed in frustration. “You won’t be able to hide it. My mama’s a Reader, you know.”

Anya paused for a moment, struck by that indisputable fact. “But she hasn’t come to stop me,” she said after a beat. “So, she must not know yet.” She looked at Adam speculatively. “How come she hasn’t figured out it was you that broke the leg off the couch in the common area?” She paused, a thought coming into her determined head. “You can shield some things from her, can’t you?”

Adam began to shake his head in denial, not wanting to pursue this particular line of thought. Anya shook his shoulders. “Tell me the truth, Adam. You can, can’t you?”

Adam looked into her intensely blue eyes, and his shoulders slumped. “Sometimes,” he said. “But it ain’t always foolproof or nothin’. Most of the time, she finds out … eventually. I…” He stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts for a last ditch effort at keeping his best friend from doing something stupid. “I can’t always keep her from knowin’ a thing.”

“But you can try, right?” Anya said