said she kept trying to dive under the water.”
Attempting to sound casual, Bright said, “Like she was trying to find something?” She was thinking about the bizarre behaviour of her client, and all his talk of looking for the light.
Bluefoam yawned and picked one of her shiny white teeth with a pointy blue fingernail, painted to match her modified mermaid outfit, which trapped her legs so close together she had to shuffle. “I don’t know. I don’t pay attention because I have a permanent sinus infection from being wet all the time. Sometimes—” Bluefoam’s voice dropped so low that Bright had to lean in close to hear her—“I think the Deciders messed up by putting me in a water house.”
“A favour at our house fell off a balcony a few months ago,” said Slater. “He kept saying, ‘Blinded by the light, yo! I’m blinded!'”
Bright cast another anxious glance at the parachute bag. Was the one on her helmet the only light? Was the House of It doing a recruitment drive? She and Fon must be lead candidates. Except for a little passing out, they’d had no problem with the light. A thrill ran through her at the thought that she could soon be working in the most superelite house in the Store.
“Life happens,” said Fon, awkwardly turning her whole body until her haloed head faced Slater and Bright. “It’s best not to think too much.”
Bluefoam shrugged inside her glittering, scaly blue bodice. “I second that,” she said. As she moved her legs into a more comfortable position, she knocked over a tray of All-Health Post-Op fruit-like drinks.
No one moved to clean them up. There were service bots for that.
And just like that, the discussion moved on to who had the highest credit score and what awesome things they were going to buy and experience with those credits.
Fon was, as usual, at the top of the charts. She thought she might have as many credits as some of the favours at the House of It, only they didn’t report their credit scores. They were too elite for that.
Jane-Smith took her smart but sexy glasses off and allowed two frown lines to form in her forehead. She had left that part of her face untoxed for that express purpose. She leaned toward Fon. “Your ability to stay on top, week after week, is a major inspiration to me,” she said.
“I agree,” said Bluefoam. “Even though my sinuses are killing me all the time and sometimes my eyes get so fogged up that it’s hard for me to see, let alone pay attention, I still admire you and your scores.”
“Hey, you,” whispered Slater. His lips brushed Bright’s ear. “Did I ever mention that I dig your style?” He always seemed to know when Bright needed to hear something nice. Her jealousy at the compliments being firehosed allover Fon eased. She felt herself growing warm all over, almost like when she got a second-release accessory or was one of the first in line for a new surgery.
The power of her emotion was so strong that she said, “Anyone want to go to Mind Alter?”
“I do,” squealed Fon. “I can drive us!”
Bright looked at Fon’s blankly perfect face inside the brilliant halo of pink twinklers and thought of how the halo might affect Fon’s driving ability, which was weak to begin with.
“Great,” Bright said. “But I’ll drive.” She looked at the others. “When should we meet?”
Slater said once he got back to the House of Boards it would take him forty-five to fifty minutes to prepare a good look. Jane-Smith said she’d need an hour and a quarter to change into Librarian Gone Wrong, which was what she always wore to Mind Alter. Bluefoam debated whether she should change out of her mermaid costume and decided against it. “It’ll take me a full hour just to resurface my nose, I’ve been blowing it so much,” she said. Cirque, who was extremely nimble, said fifty minutes.
Fon broke into an enormous smile that revealed gleaming veneers. “It will take me an hour and a quarter,” she reported.
Attempting to sound casual, Bright said, “Like she was trying to find something?” She was thinking about the bizarre behaviour of her client, and all his talk of looking for the light.
Bluefoam yawned and picked one of her shiny white teeth with a pointy blue fingernail, painted to match her modified mermaid outfit, which trapped her legs so close together she had to shuffle. “I don’t know. I don’t pay attention because I have a permanent sinus infection from being wet all the time. Sometimes—” Bluefoam’s voice dropped so low that Bright had to lean in close to hear her—“I think the Deciders messed up by putting me in a water house.”
“A favour at our house fell off a balcony a few months ago,” said Slater. “He kept saying, ‘Blinded by the light, yo! I’m blinded!'”
Bright cast another anxious glance at the parachute bag. Was the one on her helmet the only light? Was the House of It doing a recruitment drive? She and Fon must be lead candidates. Except for a little passing out, they’d had no problem with the light. A thrill ran through her at the thought that she could soon be working in the most superelite house in the Store.
“Life happens,” said Fon, awkwardly turning her whole body until her haloed head faced Slater and Bright. “It’s best not to think too much.”
Bluefoam shrugged inside her glittering, scaly blue bodice. “I second that,” she said. As she moved her legs into a more comfortable position, she knocked over a tray of All-Health Post-Op fruit-like drinks.
No one moved to clean them up. There were service bots for that.
And just like that, the discussion moved on to who had the highest credit score and what awesome things they were going to buy and experience with those credits.
Fon was, as usual, at the top of the charts. She thought she might have as many credits as some of the favours at the House of It, only they didn’t report their credit scores. They were too elite for that.
Jane-Smith took her smart but sexy glasses off and allowed two frown lines to form in her forehead. She had left that part of her face untoxed for that express purpose. She leaned toward Fon. “Your ability to stay on top, week after week, is a major inspiration to me,” she said.
“I agree,” said Bluefoam. “Even though my sinuses are killing me all the time and sometimes my eyes get so fogged up that it’s hard for me to see, let alone pay attention, I still admire you and your scores.”
“Hey, you,” whispered Slater. His lips brushed Bright’s ear. “Did I ever mention that I dig your style?” He always seemed to know when Bright needed to hear something nice. Her jealousy at the compliments being firehosed allover Fon eased. She felt herself growing warm all over, almost like when she got a second-release accessory or was one of the first in line for a new surgery.
The power of her emotion was so strong that she said, “Anyone want to go to Mind Alter?”
“I do,” squealed Fon. “I can drive us!”
Bright looked at Fon’s blankly perfect face inside the brilliant halo of pink twinklers and thought of how the halo might affect Fon’s driving ability, which was weak to begin with.
“Great,” Bright said. “But I’ll drive.” She looked at the others. “When should we meet?”
Slater said once he got back to the House of Boards it would take him forty-five to fifty minutes to prepare a good look. Jane-Smith said she’d need an hour and a quarter to change into Librarian Gone Wrong, which was what she always wore to Mind Alter. Bluefoam debated whether she should change out of her mermaid costume and decided against it. “It’ll take me a full hour just to resurface my nose, I’ve been blowing it so much,” she said. Cirque, who was extremely nimble, said fifty minutes.
Fon broke into an enormous smile that revealed gleaming veneers. “It will take me an hour and a quarter,” she reported.
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