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he wants to work in International Treaties, the legal side, like Mum and Dad. I’ve heard this one before. It’s where they met, so it’s like, his destiny or something. The way his feet are planted, he’s used to getting a certain response, and I can rely on Seven for that.
    ‘ Monkeyface Adams’ is Day’s least favourite teacher- and suddenly there is his big bearded face on the head of a stuffed toy monkey. It’s a genius gift. Better than a phone bride on a wedding cake? Blimey though, you wouldn’t want that thing in your bedroom at night. Too realistic. In retrospect, Monkeyface Adams has a lot to answer for, he’s the reason my guard was down.
    The teacher/ stuffed monkey toy is taking a tour of the room on Day’s hip, meeting and greeting like royalty. Day’s older brother James is leaning on the doorframe watching but hanging back, and that’s when my peripheral vision catches something it can’t process. At first I assume it’s a trick of the shadows- anyone would, because Updated eyes fill the room. But these eyes definitely don’t gleam. My skin prickles, I do a double-take but get the back of his head and the turn of his heel and James is gone.
    “So what do your folks do?”
    I realise from the silence that Dali is talking to me. It takes a moment to gather my thoughts.
                  “Dad’s into painting right now, fast cars, that kind of thing. Classic mid-life crisis- never, never , agree to look at his art. Once, he painted a middle-aged man flying.”
    Seven snorts with laughter in all the right places. Clutches my forearm.
    “But what do they do, you know, for a living?” Dali says
                  “Oh that. Dad does a late night shift at the NanoAssembler plant.”
    “What level?”
    “Level Two.” A shrug comes when I admit to his level. Of course it pays for all we want- any NanoAssembler shift work does. “Mum does a couple of mornings in the school office.”
    “I must’ve seen her.”
                  “Yeah, maybe, they have this huge rota. It’s like a social club.”
    Seven jumps in.
                  “My step-dad trained up to Level Ten Supervisor at the NanoAssembler plant. Can you imagine, eighteen years doing the same job? He wanted to get into Assembler design.”
                  “So what happened?” Dali says
                  “It’s so competitive at that level. He was hardly around when I was little-” I interrupt Seven with the sad violins. She raises her voice over me: “But it’s got a happy ending! He met the love of his life: gardening. Now we’ve got a rainforest out back, he grows rare species. Ugly whopping great leafy things, keeps him out of the house though.” Seven leans into Dali. “Ask me what I want to be when I grow up?”
                  “Doesn’t every girl want to be Merlot?”
    We both glare at him. I go back to watching for James.
                  “I’m going to design Merlot’s next face.” Seven says. “I’ve got the careers tour lined up at Ultiface: ‘Taking the human form to new levels of perfection.’ Create a connection with a look. It’s all about the psychology of attraction...”
    Dali grins, kind of helpless now. His eyes are cobalt blue with shifting layers of iridescent green between white-blond lashes, under darkened brows. (A bit of advice here: too many Updates start to look desperate.) Seven lets them adore her; I must remember to use my lips like that one day- at somebody else. Dali is persistent, he pulls his Dollar-inspired smile, going for the gut tug. He looks nothing like Dollar, I decide. (That Update was a waste of money.) Their conversation has run its course and Seven’s brown eyes soothe as she floats away, to occupy the centre of the room. I dodge the stuffed teacher/monkey and head for the exit.
                  If I can get a proper look, just one long look at James, I’ll be