"What's the furthest you've ever been from home?" he asked, already bored of the question.

"A few counties out. Nothing too interesting. I went to the lake once, when I was still a kid. But that's as far as it is, and really the lakes are pretty much the same as here. If you can see the other shore without getting your feet wet it's not a lake, it's a puddle." Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she spoke. "It's marketing."

"Not a big fan of the glossy arts?" He stirred his coffee. Too much light came in through the front of the shop, and it made his face even greasier than it really was.

"Not a big fan of liars."

"Well, this isn't a lie: you really did win the contest. You're going far away."

"So is this a 'last starfighter' deal or a 'harry potter' deal?"

"The last starfighter almost died. Harry Potter did die." She raised a finger. "For a minute. Still dead. Still counts. But this isn't anything like that. You're going to go on much more beaten paths. You're going to experience the world exactly as seventy five billion other people experience it."

"There are only seven billion people."

"That you know. Honestly, I've been around, and those seven billion aren't that great on the whole. There's a few standouts, a few with a good spot of self-awareness, not too many. You're not missing out on much."

"But I can't call my parents?" she asked, sipping slowly.

"Long distance doesn't go quite that long, no." He smiled.

"Excellent. Let's kill some jerks."