I never felt so relaxed, even though the room Cicada setup was the furnished, fluffy equivalent of a metal box. Everything was gray. After changing into my pajamas, I laid in bed.
I kept my phone beside me, though I didn't touch it. I didn't want to. Everything that was going on was way more interesting than anything I could ever find online. It was dead, anyway. Even though I would prefer a bit of noise, something about the ambience of the Mind comforted my ears.
Besides, the TV was on. They had cable, or something very similar, with some streaming services, or something very similar. I only say that because I didn't know if it worked the same way it did on Earth.
Everything we found felt... retired? Old? Dated? But in a good way.
The movies and shows we saw were so crystal clear and vibrant that it could've been real, if not for how tiny the people would be if they were. Imagine if your eyes were cameras and your ears were microphones. The screen was almost nonexistent.
Cynaline sat on one of the beds, pulling stuff out of his bottomless bookbag to show us:
"This is my phone, my driver's license, my comb, my FaceIt—"
"What's FaceIt?" I asked.
"It's what I used to change my face. I got a free sample downtown."
He held up a small, black lotion tube and flicked open the silver cap. After lathering some white, glittery paste in his hand, he rubbed it all over his face and pressed something on his phone.
In less than a minute, every feature on his face slowly morphed into Theo's. It was gradual enough to not notice how different he really looked. And I realized that even though Theo was white, Cynaline looked more Southeast Asian. It could've been the morphing of his features that caused the difference. I dunno.
Dorothy gritted her teeth. "Does that hurt?"
"Not at all," Cynaline said. Or would it be Theo?
"So you can just make yourself look however you want?"
"Pretty much. And when I'm done..."
He clicked something else, and his face faded back to Cynaline's.
"It doesn't feel like anything, but I like to wash my face when I'm done."
He put it back in his bookbag, pulled out a sleek, black eyeglass case, and handed it to me.
"I almost forgot. The optometrist told me to give this to you, Jack. They're new glasses."
I opened it to find a pair of glasses with transparent, gold frames and squarish lenses. I put them on, and the room became insanely clear—clearer than my old glasses.
"They suit you really well," he said.
He picked up a remote sitting beside him and turned on the TV at the front of the room.
Dorothy yawned and curled up in her bed. To be honest, I was super tired too.
"Is it that late already?" Cynaline said, zipping up his bookbag. "Guess I should go now, then. Goodnight... Call me if you need anything."
YOU ARE READING
Heaven Gilded Zarcroft Hybrid
Teen Fiction[CANCELLED AND MOVED] "Were you able to get out of bed this morning?" he asked, staring into the water. His voice was soothing, with the rasp of a fire. "I..." My breathing spiked. "I don't remember. I think so. I'm here now, right?" "But did you ha...
