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about Frankie’s,” I said.
    â€œProbably drooling,” Julia said.
    â€œMaybe a little bit,” I admitted.
    â€œI don’t know how you can even think about eating there,” she said, sounding suitably disgusted.
    â€œTo tell you the truth I was thinking about how to have people not eat at Frankie’s.”
    â€œYou were?” Julia leaned forward across the table.
    I nodded. “I have an idea.”
    â€œYou do? What’s your idea?”
    â€œBefore I tell you I have to give you some background.”
    â€œOkay, shoot.”
    â€œTo begin with, it’s not realistic to expect people to never, ever eat at Frankie’s again,” I said.
    â€œI don’t see why not!” Julia argued.
    â€œThere are lots of reasons. Sometimes there’s no other place to eat, or that’s the place where your father wants to go to eat, or maybe because, let’s face it, some of their food just tastes good.”
    â€œIf poison tasted good would you eat it?” Julia questioned.
    â€œProbably only once,” I admitted. “But lots of people like Frankie’s. They probably have the best fries around. Even Oswald would agree with that,” I said, gesturing to him.
    His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. I didn’t know if he was feeling afraid or confused. Maybe he was confused about why he was so afraid of Julia.
    â€œCome on, Oswald, just answer the question…honestly.”
    â€œWell…they have pretty good fries.”
    Julia shot him a look and then folded her arms across her chest. Obviously she’d let go of his hand. Maybe that’s what he was afraid of.
    â€œSo,” I said, cutting through the tension, “what is realistic is to ask people to eat lessat Frankie’s or to make Frankie’s change the food they serve.”
    â€œNot eating there at all is eating there less,” Julia maintained.
    â€œBut not realistic. I’m suggesting we pick a day, one day, and we don’t eat there.”
    â€œThat’s your idea?” Julia asked in disbelief. “That for
one
day we don’t eat at Frankie’s?”
    â€œThat’s part of my idea.”
    â€œThen it’s a pretty
stupid
idea! There are lots of days when people don’t eat there. That guy in the documentary is the only person in the world who ate at Frankie’s every day.”
    â€œMy plan isn’t stupid. Just shut up for a minute and listen. I’m not talking about you and Oswald and me not eating at Frankie’s. I’m talking about
everybody
.”
    Julia snorted. It was quite the feminine-sounding noise—if the female was a pig.
    â€œSo should I just climb up on the table and yell out an order that everybody is forbidden to eat at Frankie’s next Tuesday?” Julia taunted.
    â€œLet me see…um…wrong…wrong and, yes, wrong again.” I paused for dramatic effect. “First, it isn’t going to be an order, but an invitation. Second, Tuesday is too soon. I was thinking the Friday after this Friday. And third, I’m not talking about everybody here,” I said, motioning around the cafeteria. “I’m talking about every
body
, every
where
.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Oswald asked.
    â€œIt means all people…here…there… everywhere.”
    â€œYeah, like we know everybody,” Julia said.
    â€œYou don’t, but you do know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody else who knows every other person on the
entire
planet.”
    Julia looked confused. Oswald looked even more confused than usual.
    â€œLook, you know that project I’m working on for computer science,” I said.
    â€œIt’s about the Internet, right?” Oswald said.
    â€œIt’s about how the Internet can be used to spread a message,” I explained.
    â€œAnd you think if we sent out a couple of messages, we can talk our friends into not eating