I actually enjoyed that. I just took orders and delivered drinks and food, pocketing my tips. Kennedy Keyes was at the bar. I worried that she and Danny were still quarreling, though he might be at his other job at the home builders’ supply place. Kennedy was subdued and dull, and I was sorry; but I didn’t want to find out any more about her relationship problems—anybody’s relationship problems. I had enough of my own. It’s a conscious effort to block out the thoughts of other people. Though I’ve gotten better at it, it’s still work. I don’t have to try as hard with the two-natured, because their thoughts are not as clear as human thoughts; I catch only a sentence or emotion, here and there. Even among humans, some are clearer broadcasters than others. But before I learned how to shield my brain, it was like listening to ten radio stations at a time. Hard to act normal when all that’s going on in your brain and you’re still trying to listen to what people actually say with their mouths.
