“Mom, you made it.”
With her mom here, maybe they could straighten this out. Her mom pulled her into a tight hug. Ari squeezed her mom’s thin frame under the stiff blue uniform. Her long hair streaked with silver was wound up into a bun for work.
“You don’t have to go,” her mom whispered in her ear.
Ari pulled back. “They made a mistake. They must have.”
“No, sweetie. I talked to your principal, but you don’t have to go. You can stay here with me.”
Ari wasn’t surprised. Her mother could be self-sacrificing to a fault. This assignment could lead to a career and money that her family desperately needed. An opportunity she could never have working in the factories. Ari tried to paste a smile on her face. “It might not be that bad.” She attempted the lie, though her eyes swam with tears.
“Look at the bright side,” Marco interjected nearby. “You can hook me up with VRs for free.”
Ari turned to glare at her brother. “Really?”
“You’ll fit right in with all those geeked-out kissups.” Marco slugged her lightly in the arm.
Ari tried to return the hit, but he skirted out of the way.
“Marco,” Mom chided him, while holding tight onto Ari’s hand.
“Maybe you are smarter than we thought,” Marco shrugged. “They say some of the best programmers can never quite enjoy the VR themselves. They complain about how artificial it is. Not being able to see past the program.”
Maybe, but it didn’t change her predicament. Before she could reply, Taidem came barreling into their conversation. “Congratulations.” She gave a weak smile. “I guess. You okay?” She leaned in and hugged Ari.
“Yeah,” Ari said. “I’ll be fine. Congratulations on teaching. You’ll be great.”
“Thanks.” She flashed a smile in Marco’s direction. “Graduation. Crazy, huh?” She tucked a curl behind her ear, giving a nervous laugh. Taidem had been crushing on Marco for years, despite Ari’s warnings that her brother was a huge flirt.
“You’ll be a great teacher, Taidem.” He leaned in closer to Ari’s friend.
Taidem was one of few people that put up with Ari’s phobia and enjoyed hanging out in the real world, getting coffee and listening to music. With her blonde hair and tall curvy figure, boys were often attracted to Taidem. Ari had more of the stick figure look going for her with the dark hair and skin that was common in the Southwest.
Taidem gave another encouraging smile to Marco. “Going to celebrate?”
“Of course.” Marco never missed a good party. He was usually in the middle of most of them.
“Great,” she said with enthusiasm, then turned to Ari. “We’re all headed downtown.”
“I’m going home, but have fun.” Ari needed time to wrap her brain around her assignment and figure out what came next.
“No way.” Taidem’s eyes narrowed into her familiar stubborn gaze. “We only graduate once.”
“I just—”
“Go.” Her mother squeezed Ari’s hand. “Be with your friends tonight.”
Ari wanted to refuse, but her mother couldn’t hide the emotion in her eyes. There was no good answer for Ari’s future. Going to school, fitting in, these were things her mom wanted for Ari. Maybe ignoring responsibility for a night would help? She had the rest of her life to work.
Star, another classmate, appeared. “Ready to go?” On her arm was Marco’s best friend, Reed. He didn’t look quite as enthusiastic as Star with her bright red lips pulled up in a smile.
Taidem grabbed Ari’s hand. “We’re coming.”
And with little left to say, Ari was dragged into the throngs of celebration.
The club was a horde of bodies dancing, moving, drinking as if they were all one collective organism, thriving on the energy and sensual excitement in the air. Ari shied away from the sweaty bodies for the most part and drank soda at the bar.
Taidem and Marco were close by, too close really. Taidem bit a cherry out of his mouth, and Marco cheered with excitement. Ari turned her head. She couldn’t quite match their enthusiasm. At least they weren’t going to the same school next year. Marco went through girls like games, and Ari didn’t want him to hurt her friend.
A cute guy approached, taking the seat next to Ari, looking vaguely familiar. He was probably from a neighboring school. His gaze flickered around the room for a moment, and the metallic glint told Ari he must have the new contacts. She grimaced at the idea.
He gave one final blink and then turned his attention to Ari. His dark hair was slicked back with more hair product than Ari used in a month. He wasn’t bad looking, just not her type. He lifted a brow in her direction. “Wanna tab?”
Ari had already had a drink in front of her, a dark cola. A tab would turn her drink into something more. In the olden days, kids used alcohol or drugs, but after countless people were killed by overdoses or strung-out with addiction, tabs were created. The clear small pebble-like pills dissolved in any drink or even under your tongue—all the high without killing yourself. Unfortunately, throwing up or hangovers were still a reality. The government wanted some negative effects to keep the kids from getting wasted all the time.
“No thanks.” Ari had been of age since she’d turned sixteen the previous month but had no desire to act like an idiot.
He shrugged and turned to the bar. His eyes darted erratically around as if watching something she couldn’t see.
Ari stood up, ready to leave. She’d tried to have fun—she’d even danced one song with Taidem—but her future loomed over her, mocking her like the twisted clown from the virtual carnival.
Star stumbled towards the bar with Reed in hand. “You’re not leaving, are you?” Star leaned slightly towards Ari, the sickly-sweet smell of drink overpowering. “The fun is just starting.”
Ari gave her a thin smile. “Lots to get ready for.”
“Oh, I have stuff to do before I leave. But it’s not at home.” Star laughed loudly and turned to latch onto Reed. He bristled at first, but he didn’t bother to pry Star off even when she began kissing his neck.
“Nice,” Taidem called out.
“More tongue,” Marco coached.
“Gross.” Ari turned back to the guy still sitting next to her. “I think I’m ready for that tab now.”
He smirked and waved down the bartender. He dropped a tab in each of their drinks. They fizzed slightly as they dissolved.
“I want to erase that picture out of my mind forever.” The drink tingled as it traveled down her throat with a sour taste. Placing the drink back on the bar, she gasped.
The rest of the night blurred past with drinking, and dancing and talking to classmates. The pressure in her chest lessened with every tab. The worry of tomorrow faded, and the surrounding chaos lulled her into a sweet numbing blur.
Collapsing at the bar, Ari rubbed her temples to ease her spinning head. Marco and Taidem were propped against it, tangled in each other’s arms. Marco leaned down to whisper something in Taidem’s ear, and they both stood to leave.
Ari grabbed Taidem’s hand. “Where are you going?”
“A virtual.” Taidem pulled back, her face flushed with excitement. “Go dance. We’ll be back later.”
“No, no. He’s not supposed to do virtuals.” Their mother disapproved of Marco going in virtuals outside of school—not that he ever listened.
Most parents pushed the virtuals. It was a way for their children to act out their urges, whether sexual, physical or otherwise with no consequences. No unwanted pregnancies or police calls in the middle of the night when it stayed online.
Ari stood and Taidem swayed—or maybe that was her swaying.
“It’ll be okay, Ari. It’s a quick trip to the beach, and we’ll be back before you know it.” Taidem headed off across the floor, and Ari tried to follow.
Pushing her way through the crowd, she lost Taidem’s blonde hair and somehow ended up on the dance floor. It was warm, too warm. People spun around t
he room, or maybe that was Ari, swaying, turning. She was going to be sick. She clawed her way through the bodies in search of fresh air.
The guy from at the bar, the one who bought her the tabs, grabbed her hand and pushed himself up against her, trying to dance. She shook her head. Shoving him back, she tripped, tangled up in his long arms and legs. She found herself on her hands and knees. Feet knocked into her, bodies kicking her out of the way.
A pair of strong hands pulled her up from behind. Remembering the guy who groped her, she struggled out of the stranger’s grasp.
“Ari, Ari, it’s me,” Reed spoke in her ear.
His voice calmed the panic inside as she leaned into him. “Reed.”
He pulled her into the darkened alcove off the dance floor.
“You wanna dance?” She slapped a hand over her mouth as words flowed out without any conscious thought.
He continued to hold her upright. “Where’s your brother?”
“Making out on a beach with Taidem.” She tossed a hand up dismissing them. “Or worse. Oh no, you don’t think that they would do that here?”
Reed laughed. “Don’t worry about him. I think I need to take you home though.”
“Are you going into a virtual with Star?” Ari slurred. “She has big teeth you know, along with big other things.” She fell into his chest, and he smelled good, like musky cologne, sweat and Reed.
He tucked Ari’s hair behind her ear. “Star’s dancing. She won’t miss me.”
Ari stared up into his face, distorted by the strobe lights. His hazel eyes turned to silver in the changing lights. “You have beautiful eyes, Reed.”
“Um ... okay.” His lips parted, so soft, so close.
She wanted to touch those lips and wondered, not for the first time, how it would feel to kiss them. She had a crush on him as a young girl, but it was long forgotten, or so she thought. Her vision blurred as the world spun around her. All thoughts of romance fled as she bent over and threw up on his shoes.
Something bounced her awake in the chilly night air. It took a minute to realize she stared at Reed’s backside, upside down. Not bad. He must have thrown Ari over his shoulder as he walked the familiar path home.
“Reed,” she mumbled as she wondered how to get down.
“Glad to see you’re awake,” he said, but didn’t make a move to put her down.
“Didn’t you want to stay and dance?” Ari asked, not forgetting about Star.
“No. Someone threw up on the floor.”
She snorted, wondering if he was mad or amused by it. “That sucks.”
He gave a light laugh. She loved his laugh. Silence filled the night, the yellowed street lights lining their path home. His feet constantly plodded along the concrete.
He broke the silence. “Are you going to accept your assignment?”
If anyone outside of Ari’s family knew the pain, the fear that consumed her since her father slipped into a coma, it was Reed. He had been friends with Marco since she could remember, and his own father had left town when he was young.
Ari considered the sobering question, but she wasn’t sure of the answer.
The sun sliced through the blinds, the morning rays like sharp knives piercing Ari’s head.
“Shut them, please.” Ari begged her mother, who was picking up clothes and random pieces of equipment from off her floor. With little money to spare, Ari had become a pro at refurbishing old tech.
“Sorry, honey, but we need to talk.”
Talking was the last thing she wanted to do with a dry mouth and her brain too fuddled to form complete sentences. “Water.”
With an exaggerated sigh, her mother headed to the kitchen. Their family clean bot entered the room with its noisy hum and occasional clunk. Ari would have to look at it again. The small machine had been torn apart and fixed countless times. Last year, Ari glued on two long eyeballs with gems in the middle and long eyelashes and dubbed it Pixy.
Her mother returned with a glass of apple juice. “Water alone isn’t going to take care of that taste, dear.” She sat on the edge of the bed and offered Ari the juice with a straw. It’s what her mother often did when Ari was sick as a child. Ari sipped slowly, unsure of what would stay down.
“I’m not sure who I’m angrier at, you or Marco. He told me he would keep an eye on you last night. I didn’t think that would include tabbing until you passed out. I thought you would know better. You’re usually my sensible one.”
That was true. Ari took over many of her mother’s household responsibilities as she worked two jobs.
“Don’t worry. Never again.” After a few sips, Ari laid face down on her bed while her mother rubbed her back. Her head throbbed, and her body refused to move.
“Why do people get wasted?” Ari moaned.
“Lots of reasons. Not many of them worth it.” Ari’s mom rarely drank or used tabs but that probably had more to do with money.
“I have a double shift today or I wouldn’t have woken you,” her mother said.
“I know.”
“Have you decided what you’re going to do? I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to. But if you don’t go, you’ll need to put your name in at the factory to find a position before winter.” Her mother’s hands, dry and cracked from work, smoothed out Ari’s blanket. Maybe that’s why people drank or did virtuals. It was better than real life.
Ari had another choice besides the life her mother lived. With a higher education, Ari would have better paying jobs. The choice wasn’t only about Ari not wanting to work in the factory, but a chance for her mother to leave the factory. Her mother had to work two jobs just to keep her husband’s feeding tube full.
Six years ago, Ari’s dad took a VR vacation down the Rhine River and never came back. Six years since she truly spoke to him. Six years of after-school jobs, of discount food, and watching her mother wither away every day. Ari watched her mother’s hope turn into foolishness. Ari hoped he would drown in that damn river.
When Ari graduated from the VR Academy, she could afford to buy a place for both of them. She also wouldn’t be completely alone there. Reed and Marco went to the same campus for training in computer security. The thought of Reed and what she did last night made her moan all over again.
“It’s okay, honey.” Her mother stood. “One more day won’t hurt. I’ll talk to Kent, my manager—”
“Yes.” Ari would do this, for herself, for her mother, for a chance at a real future.
“Yes? Put in for the position?”
“No, I decided. I’m going to accept the scholarship.” Ari turned her head away, not wanting to look at her mother’s concerned face. Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the world for a few more hours.
CHAPTER 4
Her choice made, Ari reported to her principal with her final decision. With only a week to pack and say her goodbyes, the time flew by. When the morning of her departure finally came, she boarded the tram with Marco and, of course, Reed. Break ended for all them, and the boys were returning for their final year at school. She sat apart from the pair, not wanting to revisit her mortifying behavior from the party. Slumping down on the cold plastic seat, she watched the only home she’d ever known disappear.
Last night, her mother had insisted that Marco and Ari visit their father before heading off to the Academy. Normally, Ari refused since her father didn’t acknowledge anyone. This time she went and soon became edgy and unsettled.
She hated watching his withered frame and sunken face. He didn’t look like her father anymore and stopped being her father years before that. It didn’t help that the facility reeked of old people, dying people.
Ari’s mom carried on a one-sided conversation with her unresponsive husband, but despite her efforts, Ari wouldn’t play along. She was done pretending this was okay when it wasn’t. Instead, she fixated on the computer tied to his vitals and feeding tube. With coma patients, you could turn off the computer or whatever VR they were in, b
ut their brains wouldn’t wake up. Subconsciously their minds stayed in the virtual world even without the plug. They didn’t want to wake up, not even to eat, drink or survive.
That one little box of wires and parts controlled their lives. She bit back the tears that burned her eyes. He didn’t deserve them anymore.
Trying to block out the memory of the trip, Ari pulled up a book on her old tablet and read for the rest of the trip. A mechanical voice pulled her back to reality and informed them of their upcoming stop. Standing, she pulled her old leather bag onto her shoulder. It was her dad’s or had been. The only reminder she had of him. Not sure why she even kept it anymore, she reached for the battered suitcase above her seat.
Reed appeared at her side and helped pull it down. “How are you feeling?”
Like an idiot, she wanted to say. Instead she kept her eyes down and mumbled, “Fine.”
“Don’t worry. School’s not that bad.”
Marco appeared between them. “Oh, my sis will do great. Once they strap her down for her VRs.”
Ari glared at her brother and stepped off the tram.
“It’s not like every class is in the VR.” Marco kept close behind her. “Unfortunately.”
“Whatever, Marco.” Ari kept moving with the flow of the other students. People had spoken about making all of the Academy’s classes purely VR, so the cost of schooling would be cheaper, but they found students suffered from too much VR use. VR comas were on the rise, malnutrition ran rampant, and muscular atrophy increasingly common. Ari grimaced at the thought of her future working with these wonderful machines.
Ari arrived at the gates and wasn’t sure what bothered her more: the armed guards waiting to let students into the Tech Academy, or the high electrified fence that wrapped around the school. Was it to keep people in, or out?
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