Part 1 (2/2)

CHAPTER 1:

Lift Off

”Please reent said Adam unlaced his Converse sneakers He yanked off his socks and tossed theray plastic bin The security agent rolled his eyes ”Just your shoes”

Adarabbed his socks and fumbled to put them back on He blushed as he tried to avoid the eyes of the passengers behind hient, all seemed to be experts at this airport security drill Why hadn't he just followed his sister Amelia to the line without the body scan? Naturally, she had preferred a pat-down to a government-authorized body scan (who knehat they did with the iht now a pat-down sounded far less uncoent

Ada on the conveyor belt As it sluifts, Adahtness in his chest as he remembered that there are rich, happy families who fly to Hawaii to celebrate Christmas The holidays had always been a dark reive or receive, and no faent asked

”Oh Yes” Adam had recently inherited a MacBook Air from Amelia Given to her by Toift for joining his tech incubator, it was by far theAdaave it to hi someone to come to his door and claiht”

One day, Adaht, he'd be a pro at this routine and look back and laugh But for now, this was only the second flight he'd ever taken and his eiddy excite to Maui on a fully-paid weekend trip, courtesy of the annual Maui Waves of Disruption tech conference

Organized by TechCrunch, the leading Silicon Valley blog, the conference showcased thirty pro companies that would show off their products at the two-day expo Journalists, investors, and spectators fro out the new coht

Adam and Amelia's start-up, Doreye, had been selected for the expo on November 15, exactly a month earlier, and Ada since A free vacation was nice, but even better: Lisa was going to be in Maui the very sa Adaood fortune: finally, fate or God or whatever was starting to make up for the shabby life he and Amelia had had until now

He was fairly certain he had bombed all his final exams for the term, but he didn't care Who could think about schoolhen he was about to be on a Hawaiian beach with the super hot love of his life?

”I think the gate's that way,” Amelia said when he joined her on the other side of security He couldn't help but be impressed by his sister's calotten co with the press around it, and she seeh flying to Maui to stay in a five-star hotel was a normal part of everyday business

”Aren't you even a little excited?” he asked as he zipped his bag shut

Arin ”I don't think I've ever been so excited for anything” She had been working around the clock for the past threeto balance Doreye with her schoolwork The only break she ever took was on Wednesday nights when she went to the Lair to play VOSTRA, the virtual reality gae had introduced her to Otherwise, her autus with her engineering teah homework not to flunk out She and Ada outside of Doreye, and she was glad they had the flight-just the two of thehed as Ada to be such an epic weekend

CHAPTER 2:

Hawaii 20

When they exited the tern that read Adam and Amelia Dory

The twins looked at each other ”Our driver,” Adarin They had a driver And that was after the first class seats and flight attendants who had actually known their nane and real silverware for dinner, along with a little package of socks, mints, and a tooth brush

The Land Rover pulled into the Ritz Carlton, a ardens, fountains, and pal that the trunks of the palhts, A holiday carols when it was 90 degrees outside A beautiful Hawaiian woreeted them with leis made of real flowers and led theht reflected off the teak alls and floor Two queen beds with plush white comforters faced French s that opened onto athe whitest sand and bluest water Amelia had ever seen

Amelia walked out onto the balcony ”Ada through his suitcase for his phone charger He had forgotten to shut off his phone on the plane and the battery had died; he had been stressed about finding a power outlet since landingthe phone into the wall and furiously tapping a text et ahold of?”

Adaot here”

A to be here for the Hawkins-Bronson wedding and orried she'd be a distraction to Ada to see her?”

”Probably,” Ada to see her even if it killed hi out?”

Amelia sed She also knew that Sundeep was here, and that Lisa had yet to break the news to Ada Sundeep

Alish class Of all the classes she rarely paid attention in, the freshlish class she'd failed last spring was the one she paid the least attention to Which is probably why she'd never noticed that Lisa sat a fes behind heruntil the day the professor had announced partner assignments for the final project, and she had heard hi Measure for Measure” Stunned, she had turned to see Lisa, whose face had gone white Amelia had put her head in her hands Seriously? What were the chances?

Amelia had planned to dart out of class and e- this whole project could be taken care of virtually, but Lisa caught up to her and suggested theyto review the text and reed

All of the next day, Aot to date Sundeep, and angry that she was also cheating on her brother Most of all, though, Auilty that she still hadn't told Adaht of his sadness and disappointment It was the only secret she had ever kept froe table at CoHo, the ca with her when A A for Amelia to take a seat at the table

”Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt,” Amelia said tartly

”You didn't,” Lisa said

Silence

”So, I was thinking” Lisa took a deep breath and turned her attention to the text opened in front of her Her notebook, full of diligent notes in careful handwriting, was also open, and she tapped her purple pen lightly as she spoke ”I was thinking that the analysis on Measure for Measure is always around Angelo and Isabella, butto think about the relationshi+p between Mariana and Isabella”

Amelia hadn't actually read the play, but she had skimmed the Wikipedia entry on her iPhone on the way to the , and now she scrambled to remember who Mariana was ”Sure,” she said ”That works”

Lisa waited for her to sayto, went on ”I think we could set up an interesting dissection of the supporting female characters, and the similarities and differences between Isabella and Mariana, whose moral stances are pretty ether, the wo and Lisa started to realize she hadn't read the play ”And, of course,” Lisa continued, ”consider the i Mistress Overdone-the prostitute-in the work Like, is Shakespeare trying to drop a hint that we all prostitute ourselves for so, even a nun like Isabella?”

Aood”

”Okay,” Lisa said She was beginning to sound a little frustrated by Amelia's neutrality ”Well, I actually really like this stuff, so what if I take a stab at the outline and I'll e- to stand up If she sat there any longer, she was certain that Sundeep would walk in and join them, and she'd have to pretend not to care

Lisa looked at her in disbelief Was A to let her do this whole project? Lisa wasn't letting her off that easily ”Let's ain later this week to talk about it,” she said

A She sighed ”Yeah, sure”

By the folloeek, Lisa had e-h outline of her proposed thesis A class It actually , which led her to read the play Well, ain, Amelia had been a little more animated Lisa had proposed that they write that Isabella used Mariana for her own gain, and, therefore, was no better than Mistress Overdone, the Madame in the local brothel But Amelia insisted Isabella had done as necessary to stick to herand respectable Besides, she said, Mariana didn't have strong et married