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seemed even remotely possible in a long time, but right now, it was looking very, very promising.
    December 15, 1995
    Shane already knew that when it came time to compose his resume, he was going to have to fudge a little. He was about to apply for a job at PNM — Public Service Company of New Mexico, Albuquerque’s gas and electric company — to work with computers. He was fairly certain the “powers that be” would be a lot more impressed with his credentials if he beefed up a few of his accomplishments.
    In reality, he hadn’t even finished high school. His highest level of education was passing the GED test. He felt it would be a lot more spectacular if he indicated that he had two college degrees; one in computer programming and one in health care administration.
    He also felt it would help if he embellished his Navy career a bit as well. He noted on his resume that he had a distinguished four-year career as an emergency room corpsman. In real life, he hadn’t even finished basic training. In fact, he had been asked to leave the service after just five weeks.
    Shane thought it totally acceptable to dispense with the tedious technicalities that unnecessarily detracted from his awesomeness. Besides, everyone lied on resumes.
    Additionally, he felt it would be wise to leave out some of the less awesome aspects of his life. For example, he didn’t like the part of the application that asked whether he had ever been arrested or convicted of any crimes. That seemed nosy. He accidentally checked the wrong boxes on those two questions. Whoops.
    On the bright side, his deceit worked out in his favor and he was hired. It was a dream come true for Shane, one where he could finally use his superior mental abilities and get the praise he so longed for. He loved it. They even gave him a stack of PNM business cards to hand out, which he did every chance he got. He passed them out to clients and friends as well as total strangers on the street, hoping to impress each and every one of them. Like Esther, Shane’s world was moving along at a super amazing clip; he was making good money and his self-esteem had gone through the roof.

Chapter 4
    “It is always the best policy to speak the truth — unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar.”
    J EROME K . J EROME
    January 7, 1996
    For most people, visits to the laundromat are a necessary evil. Scrounging for quarters, searching for available dryers, dealing with the weirdos that frequent such establishments is usually not considered pleasant.
    On the other hand, if you didn’t have anywhere else to go, it might not be that bad. If you didn’t have a place to call home, then you just might consider the laundromat a warm, fuzzy place to hang out. That was what Raina thought.
    Raina was a free-spirited girl with long, frizzy, strawberry-blonde hair and a fondness for thrift store jewelry. In the sixties, she might have been called a hippie, and she would have taken that as a compliment. She did not believe in judging other people, and in general took a very metaphysical, Buddhist view of the world. She even wore a Dalai Lama pendant around her neck to show the world her beliefs.
    About a month earlier, Raina had decided to stop living in her money-sucking apartment and try something different. She opted instead to reside in her big green Volkswagen van. Sure, there were drawbacks, she knew that. No electricity, no plumbing. But the tranquility was priceless and the financial benefits tremendous.
    While folding her laundry at the Campus Laundromat on Central one cold winter day, she noticed a tall guy with long, dark hair standing on the opposite side of the table, smoothing out wrinkles in a tie-dyed t-shirt.
    “Hi,” he said with a dazzling smile. “I’ve learned how to fold my shirts perfectly in two seconds flat. Want me to show you how?”
    “Sure,” she said, and watched him do a quick three-fold process. He finished with his hands in the air as if completing