the biology of love | chase davenport

scramble the orbs

In gym class, Maeve sat on her mat and stretched out. She looked over to see Leo talking with a girl. The girl was pretty, with long, curly hair. Eventually, she walked off, seeming slightly over Leo's antics.

"Who was that?" Maeve grinned slyly, getting up to talk to Leo.

He rolled his eyes and smirked. "That was Janelle. We're... kind of a thing."

Adam approached, laughing. "What do you mean, Leo? Janelle hates you."

"Wha-" Leo exclaimed. "I'll have you know, we have been on several dates together."

"Ohh," Adam rolled his eyes dramatically. "How could I forget the time you froze her with Mr. Davenport's freeze gun?"

"What?" Maeve laughed.

"Okay, that was an accident," Leo clarified.

Maeve chuckled. "Well, I think you guys could be cute together. But, if I could offer you some advice - most girls don't particularly like to get frozen."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Okay, I get it. You guys can all move on now."

-

That afternoon, Maeve had headed to Tech Town to hang out with Bree and Chase. The previous day, Chase had told her about a design-your-own-app contest Tech Town was hosting. Whichever employee created the app that got the most downloads would win a $500 gift card. There was a crowd of people glued to their phones chatting throughout the store.

"Bree, what's going on?"

Bree smiled. "Scott unveiled his app early. It's a game called Cavity Crushers. Super addictive! You save the world by smashing evil candy."

"Uh, the candy's not evil, it's just misunderstood," Scott corrected.

"Who would ever want to play that stupid game?" Chase scoffed.

The crowd cheered at their phones.

"Apparently everybody!" Bree answered.

Chase stood on a display stand and raised jis phone. "Behold my app, Structure Scan! You can scan any item and it lists the elemental makeup of its molecular structure! For example, this pen is... 30% ink, 64% polymer, and 6% steel. Come on, people! How fun is that!"

Scott did an exaggerated fake yawn and then clicked a button on his iPad. "Attention, Cavity Crushers, I just unlocked a new level. Follow me! We're going to Lollipop Lane!"

"I don't get it," Chase frowned.

Bree chuckled. "Of course you don't. See, these people are having what we call fun."

"Well, structure scans can be fun," Chase protested.

"Oh, sure they can!" Scott said. He put his iPad in Chase's face and pretended to scan him. "Oh, look. 100% loser!"

The crowd of Cavity Crushers laughed before following Scott to the other side of the store. Chase stepped down, dejected. Maeve half-pouted, half-smiled at him.

"I can't believe this. Why does no one want to try my app?" He frowned.

"Three words: late stage capitalism," Maeve answered. "In today's modern society, capitalism has destroyed our attention spans to the point where we rely on these flashy mobile games to feel even a second of fleeting joy in a world of hard labor. It's all a corporate ploy to keep us addicted to our phones and reliant on the systems of oppression that run this society."

Chase stared at her, still upset.

She paused. "What I'm saying is... it's short-term. People want something that will give them a 15-second endorphin rush... but they'll lose interest in it soon enough."