NOVEL NEXT Chapter Ten: On The Second Day They Brought
Some people say that they have to drag themselves out of bed in the morning. Today, I don’t have that problem. As I hit the floor a string of curses comes out of my mouth as I glare at the offending party. In front of me stands a tall woman with almost snow-white hair and even paler skin. Her two cybernetic arms are holding my mattress up in the air.
“Anika, why the fuck are you here?” I ask, not hiding the venom in my voice. “Don’t you have puppies to kick or something?”
“No, puppies are too cute to kick, unlike you,” she says while raising her leg. “You are late; the miss has requested your presence at the gala tonight.”
“Well, that explains why you are here. Wait, tonight, it's TEN! Fuck, I overslept a bit. But still, it's morning, not evening; you're early.”
At this, she just gives me an evil smile. “You are correct, but the Miss family will be there, so she requested that we go shopping for proper clothes and such.”
When I hear this, I feel all the blood drain from my face. “So, no chance you just kick me unconscious instead?”
“Nope,” she says, with a smile rivaling a street cat that found the tuna factory.
I pick myself off the floor. “Give me a few minutes,” I say while gathering extra clothing and underwear into a bag. I sneak my mask in there as well. Then, I take some clean clothes and jump into the shower for a quick wash. After that, I sling the bag around one of my shoulders and follow Anika out the door. I really need new locks.
We get to one of the landing ports where a fancy self-driving car is already waiting for us. I throw my bag inside before jumping on the couch. Say what you want, but these things are amazing; there are two couches facing each other at either end of the vehicle, a little bar in the middle, and since this is Cierra’s personal car, there is even a projector screen with a game console attached to it.
‘Say, how many points would it take for Maniac to get one of these cars?”
Lyssa would advise against buying any vehicles.
‘why not? Is it not worth the points?’
This is mostly due to your Stoneheart catalog having a more efficient means of transportation. They have a set of cybernetics that allows them to fold space for more expedient travel.
‘Wait, are you saying that I would be able to teleport? What are we waiting for? Let's do it.‘ I feel myself already getting excited. Teleportation would allow me to truly be free; no one would be able to harm me anymore.
It is a very rudimentary form of teleportation. But what you need mostly is points. Including your daily allowance, you only have 305 points, which is insufficient for everything you need.
‘Ah, that sucks. Wait, did you just say allowance?’
Yes, every Vanguard is rewarded 10 points every day.
‘Ooh, that is nice, my first wage. Anyway, what do I need to teleport?’
You need the entire system installed. Then, it would be best to have a good supply of a fuel type called O9.3 Gama7 to allow you to warp around effectively. You will also need to upgrade your skin tissue against the strains. A program to teach you how to use the system properly would also be advised.
My face drops at that. ‘So it's going to take a while before we get there?’
Correct.
“What is wrong with you?” Anika asks. “You first look extremely happy and then disappointed again.”
“Ahh, uuh, just some stuff on my media feed,” I say, “Why are you worried about me?”
“I could care less about a parasite like you. But if you look unhappy when you are with the miss, she will think I did something to you.”
“Well, she would not be wrong now, would she?”
“I did no such thing; I just always chose the most expedient path to get results.”
“If that's what you call throwing me out of bed, then sure, let's go for that.”
After grunting, she becomes quiet after that, so I decided to load up some games to play. I barely get halfway through my first quest before we arrive at the clothing boutique. Why we can’t just buy clothes online like normal people is beyond me.
We are greeted by a clerk who already has an entire assortment of dresses laid out for me. Well, this is going to take forever. I pick up the first dress and head to the changing room. When I have it on, I walk out so that Anika can take some pictures to send to Cierra. After that, I take it off and put on the next one.
This rhythm goes on for a while until I received an unexpected text message from Bubbles
[ Maniac, are you free today? Sparkling Magenta Explosion would like to talk with you]12:13
12:13 [Sorry, I can’t. I am busy with work today. Maybe some other time]
I decided to add on a bit more and sent her a picture of me and the yellow frilly dress I am wearing
12:15 [Dressed_up_perfection.png]
12:15 [what do you think?]
12:15 [do I still look pretty?]
[fuck]12:16
[Maniac, why do you look like that?] 12:16
[you look so proper it's not like you at all] 12:16
12:18 [what do you mean, of course I can look proper]
12:18 [I still have a normal job, you know]
[ooh right, sorry] 12:19
[you look good] 12:19
12:20 [thank you]
[ Sparkling Magenta Explosion was wondering if she could put some videos online of you that were recorded using my augs] 12:20
12:21 [as long as it is not the one of me being topless, I am okay with it]
[don’t worry, I deleted those already] 12:24
12:24 [well, I need to go back to work. Have a good day]
[bye] 12:25
As I close the application, I return to taking the dress off and putting on the next one in the lineup.
“Can you hurry it along in there? We don’t have all day,” Anika shouts from outside.
“I mean, the gala is in the evening, so technically, we do have all day,” I say while walking out in the sea-green dress I have just put on.
“Well, we also have to go to the salon to get your hair and makeup done, so no, we don’t.”
How is it possible that, somehow, being back in the incursion instead of right here sounds much better? What can you do about it? I spent a considerable amount of time wearing dresses until I saw the other clothing being brought in. For some reason, the next set of “clothing” is just lingerie.
“Uhm, what is that for?” I say
“What do you think?” Anika asks, “Probably for after the gala.”
“Well, fuck, no rest today as well, then.”
“That would be the goal, yes.”
I throw an unamused look at her before I get back to work. I refuse to get out of the changing room, though. I have lost too much of my dignity already. So I just stand in front of a mirror, take some pictures, and sent those off to Cierra.
12:57 [pink_option.png]
12:57 [blue_option.png]
12:57 [red_option.png]
[Oh my gosh, Evelin. Those are sexy, but I am still at work. Why are you sending me this?] 12:59
12:59 [well, I am fitting for you. Have you not received the pictures of the dresses?]
[No, I have those, I think the blue one looks good on you] 13:00
13:00 [thank you]
13:00 [so we are fitting the underwear right now]
13:00 [so the pictures are so you can choose]
[Evelin] 13:01
[my love] 13:01
[the underwear was just there for you] 13:01
[you can pick whatever you like] 13:01
[no need to show me] 13:01
[not that I mind if you do show me] 13:01
[I am making the pink one my new screen saver] 13:01
13:01 [ooh okey]
13:01 [I am going to kill Anika now. See you tonight]
I look at myself in the mirror again and see that I have turned completely red. I quickly put on my regular clothes and storm out of the changing room.
“We’re leaving,” I say as I storm past everyone back towards the car.
“What about the clothes?” I hear Anika shout after me.
“We are taking the blue dress and the pink underwear,” I say as I walk out the door.
I find my way back to the car and head inside, trying to calm myself down. Why am I this upset? I should not be. I have been naked in more compromising positions in front of her before.
‘Lyssa, is there something wrong with me? I feel a bit weird. I should not be this angry.’
You would be correct; your strength enhancers can have side effects. They can cause a heightened emotional state, leading to anger issues.
‘great, super. How long will those effects last?’
It should be less than a day, but Lyssa can inject you with some emotional stabilizers if you like.
‘your willingness to inject me with drugs is starting to concern me.’
Ahh, don’t be like that. So far, Evelin has performed within the bounds of Lyssa’s experiments.
‘I am not your fucking lab rat.’
Correct, you are Lyssas Lab Evelin. It would help if you controlled your anger before you make a mistake.
I take some deep, centering breaths and almost have a heart attack. Suddenly, the car door swung open. Anika threw some bags inside and came inside herself.
“you know what? I am pretty lenient with your usual bullshit, but this goes far even for you.” She says
“I am sorry,” I say, “The medicine I took yesterday has an effect on me.”
“Well, you better be on your best behaviour in the salon. I don’t want to deal with an angry stylist.”
‘fuck it, Lyssa, give me the stuff to calm down.’
Are you sure? You were against it a minute ago.
‘well, if I am going to be around the internet families, I better not blow a fuse.’
New Purchase: Eclipsing Serenity
Points reduced to... 300
After that, we drive to the salon, a fancy store in one of the nicer parts of town, which makes sense, since only the rich can afford their services, I always find it funny how different the advertisements on the buildings are in these areas. I mean, girls in underwear instead of being completely naked is an improvement, I guess, but you're not fooling anyone. Also, why is she advertising a cereal like that, anyway?
Inside, I get put into the new dress. Then, they start the task of getting my nails done. They give me these long acrylic extensions, making my fingers turn into claws; sadly, they are nowhere near sharp enough to actually be used like that. How utterly disappointing. Well, after that colossal waste of time, they started doing my hair, and holy, do they have a lot to say about that? Like splitting here, tangled mess this, drying out there.
“Like, girl, as long as Cierra can properly pull it, it’s fine.”
I definitely should not have said that out loud. They are all looking at me like I am insane. Send help. After they finish fighting my hair, they start putting on makeup. Ooh, boy, do I not like people poking my face with stuff. It also feels like a giant scam. Why was I even forced to do plastic surgery to get a better face if we are going to cover it up all the time?
After all of that, it is finally over. We get back in the car and slowly start driving to the venue.
“So tonight we dine in hell, huh?”
“Just stop touching your face; you'll mess up your makeup.”
“Yes, mom.”