text: And there was a bit more, something about Qi being a "bare branch," which is apparently a low-income, low-status man who is typically unmarriageable, so they become the endpoint for a family tree. In China, there are 117 boys for every 100 girls. So not every boy will have a chance to meet a girl to marry.
  
  Then there was news of Qi's pal, Xiong, who was the motivation for all of this. He was alive when they got there, but barely. He is now in a coma and may not survive.
  
  And then when everyone had finished, Senior Superintendent Wang presented us with letters of appreciation from the Chinese government, copies of which Bobby distributed, all grins and winks, while the originals are being sent. Detective Tsarnowsky then presented us certificates of recognition from the New York Police Department, both of which will look great on those college apps, but of more immediate importance, they are like "get out of parental jail free" proclamations.
  
  And don't think Tsarno doesn't know it. When we got to mine, he leaned over very quietly and said, "I think this means you might owe me one someday."
  
  We both laughed.
  
  So now, I'd love to tell you we are all flying high and feeling heroic, or at least vindicated, but the reality is far different. The truth is we are all feeling emotionally over-whelmed, maybe even a bit despondent. The anticlimax of this one is tough.
  
  Ze came by school during lunch, to tell us ze's returning home to China. Seeing our parents in the room that night, especially Imani's, and then Qi's parents huddling in the background, unleashed a need for zir.
  
  I don't ask, but I really hope Xing isn't going with Ze. There's no real reason, except Xing gives me the heebie-jeebies. And I don't like the heebie-jeebies. Feel free to extrapolate.
  
  And with no robots to code and no world to save, I am a bit lost, so I join Imani's crew in taking down "the set," trying to find a sense of normalcy or at least a way to keep busy. I'm under the stage, stacking old flats, saving them for another day. Which won't be mine. Because I will have moved on.
  
  Melancholy anyone?
  
  And as I finish tucking the flat upright, I see the gang coming to find me. "Hey."
  
  "Hey." Vikram pushes slightly ahead. "We all wanted to say thank you because we know we never would have found Qi if you weren't so ..."
  
  And as Vik pauses to choose his best option, Jimmy sees the opening and jumps in with, "Dog with a bone." Which he accompanies with a wink.
  
  And apparently that's not all, folks. Step right up and give the wheel a spin. We are playing apology-go-round.
  
  Next up is Ari. "Yeah, I know. I also want to say I'm sorry. I know I sort of pushed the whole Mae Ann thing, but wow, I truly had no idea. I just knew she had this crush on you and I thought, hey, why not? Maybe it would be fun. I mean we all knew she was a bit nutty; we just didn't know she was cray cray ...cra-ay!"
  
  And see, just like I said, cat paw/lick!
  
  Imani rolls her eyes and pushes forward, carrying a package. "Ari is now, and forever, out of the matchmaking business, and since all of us have a hundred reasons to feel bad, we all chipped in and got you a present."
  
  I'm really stunned. And touched. And I take the wrapped package and open it to find a hardcover copy of Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill. As my hands pet the glossiness, a tactile, sensory delight, I hear Ari say, "It's a first edition."
  
  I gently flip the pages, and knew I was wrong. I wasn't really stunned two seconds ago, because now I am really, truly stunned. There, in the middle, is a ticket to Comic Con. I look up at my friends, each of them grinning super big and wearing a matching ticket, dangling from around their necks.
  
  It's almost as if I have been dropped into another world. I become a third person to myself, as I realize Sid the Word-ster is struck dumb. She opens her mouth several times, but she has no idea what to say.
  
  Finally, I close my mouth, take out my matching ticket, hug the book to my chest, and just smile. The gift is perfect. No. That's not it. The gift is fabulous and wonderful and just right. But what is perfect, in this moment, is everything ...especially my friends.