“That bad, huh?” He leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder.
She clicked off the device and looked up.
Garrett wore a wary expression, his shoulders tight as if preparing for an incoming punch. Ari decided that the glimmer of innocent mischief in his eyes was just that, innocent and meaning to be helpful.
“If you ever try anything like that again, I’ll hurt you. Bad.” Ari glowered at him. “That being said, it was my best trip through the virtuals.”
Ari proceeded to tell Garrett about the virtual and Dr. Coleman’s threat.
“Somehow I have to figure out how to do this sober in three days or I’m a goner.” She leaned her head back against the bench. The cloudy sky darkened.
Garrett leaned back as well, his arms barely touching her. “I can’t believe you’ve never been to the ocean.”
“Really?” Ari straightened up. “That’s what you got out of that story? I have bigger issues than my lack of traveling.”
“I’m serious.” His gaze remained sky bound. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“If I’m around long enough, maybe you can, but let’s see if I survive to next week.” She checked her HUB again; no message from Marco.
He pushed himself up. “That’s easy, I’ll help you.”
“No drugs. He’ll fail me.”
“You’re right. Today was only supposed to show you that you can do it.” Garrett leaned in close to Ari and pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into her face. It felt intimate, even though he barely touched her.
Glancing up, Ari spotted Reed nearby, talking with a black phone in his ear. Once he noticed her, he faltered for a moment, his brow furrowing. She waved slightly.
“Hey, Reed.” Garrett leaned back next to Ari.
Reed regained his composure, gave a forced smile, and headed off, continuing his conversation with someone in his ear.
“Careful,” Ari said as Garrett accidentally knocked over the remains of her coffee. She wiped at it with a napkin. “What is this master plan of yours that doesn’t involve drugs?”
“We’ll go to the lab tonight to practice.”
“You have access to the lab at night?”
His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Yes, one of the perks of working there.”
“Is anyone else there?”
“Depends who I let in.” Back came Garrett’s mischievous smile. “Being a third-year manager has its advantages. Meet me out front at midnight.”
“What about my HUB? Wouldn’t the school realize I’m not sleeping or even in bed?” The electronic device strapped to her wrist kept constant tabs on Ari. She found the health alerts quite annoying and had to disable them, like she didn’t already know her heart rate and stress levels were through the roof.
“You have to break into your HUB and put it into a loop.” He reached for her wrist and pointed to a small crease in the edge of the screen. “You can pry the screen open from there and I’ll send you the schematics for the rest. You switch one wire. Use tweezers or pliers and change it back when you’re back in your room. It’s pretty simple. Everyone does it. Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry. Really? Anyone who knew Ari, knew that those two words were impossible for her, but she had to try. First week at school, and she was moving on from tabbing to sneaking out. The school security guards might get the chance to kick her out before Coleman did.
After saying goodbye, she headed back to her dorm, hoping to get through some homework. In the dorm room, Tessa wore her head phones, engrossed in her game, like the example of a perfect VR student. She probably had a waiting list for her game’s release.
Ari dropped her bag and fell on her bed. Tessa logged out of her computer and grabbed a soda from their fridge.
“Hey, roomy.” Tessa leaned back in her chair and kicked up her black boots that probably held more tech than Ari’s HUB. “I didn’t see you in the virtuals today when I awoke. Did you freak out again and I missed it?”
Ari gave a dry chuckle. Laughing was always better than crying. “No.”
Tessa didn’t bother holding back her belch. “Oh, well that’s good. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess. What are you working on?” Ari motioned to Tessa’s computer.
“A new planet in the Pultzer Galaxy was causing a few glitches.”
“A few glitches ... that sounds like me.”
Tessa laughed. “Don’t worry about it. This program is full of geeks hoping to be at the forefront of virtual programming. You’re an alien to them. The only decent girls they come into contact with are in virtuals, and most of those are just overly sexualized versions the guys dreamed up. There are only five girls in this program. Remember?”
Tessa took a drink. “And it’s all about pecking order here. The first week is spent finding out who has sold what and to whom, and you are a virgin.”
“Virgin?” Ari knew they weren’t talking about her sexual experience, though if they were, Tessa would be right. She didn’t even date a lot at her last school.
“A virgin to programming and going inside your first creation. Granted, the pervs here use that term in other ways.”
“Ewwww.” Ari shook her head in disgust.
Tessa laughed at her again, lifting her head back and putting a hand on her belly. Most people, especially rich people, would have taken care of that little extra fat with a few simple procedures. But Tessa was definitely not status quo. Ari liked that about her.
Tessa pushed back a few strands of hair escaping the knot on top of her head. “Sorry, I know the mental image is a little much. I hate using the open lab for that reason.”
“They don’t do that
