Absolute Ford

CHAPTER 1: MICAEL™

It was another day of her dull and boring school routine. It was almost impossible to crawl out of bed for the 20-year-old college student as she knew that this day was going to be one among the others. She'd get out of bed, attend classes until 2PM, go to work from 4PM to 10PM, do school works until she needed to fall asleep. It was a very tedious routine that made Nessa want to quit.

But of course, she couldn't do that. She had responsibilities. She had dreams.

After all, she was graduating next year. She only had to endure this for one more year and then she could go to New York to pursue greener pastures there. It was her biggest dream, her corkboard plastered on her dormitory wall had photos of the New York skyline littering its every available space. Nessa wanted to run away, she wanted to be free from the mundanity of her life here in Manila.

But for now, she had to go to university.

Her usual walk from her dormitory to the gates of her university was... more eventful than usual. There were the old ladies talking about how technology had gone too far as they pointed angrily at the morning newspaper. There were the old men yelling at the television on a sari-sari store at how ridiculous science was getting and Nessa didn't even want to know what people were ranting about this time around. She had more important things to think about.

Pre-occupied with her own thoughts and with the earphones plugged into her ears, she didn't see her bestfriend coming to wrap her in the tightest bear hug as if they didn't see each other for years when in fact, it was only yesterday when they were talking and eating kwek kwek outside the university.

Nessa stumbled backwards a little as Dianne practically launched herself onto her friend. "Uy, tangina! Ano ba yan!" Nessa cursed playfully as she regained her balance, returning Dianne's hug, although her grip wasn't as tight. She loved Dianne, really, but she could be really clingy and really excited at times.

Dianne, with her arms still around Nessa was jumping around, cheering something incoherent to the other girl but what Nessa could comprehend was that, there was good news for Dianne.

"Oy teka nga, umayos ka, jusko! Ang aga aga mong hyper, anong meron?" Nessa asked as she pried Dianne's arms away from her, holding her at arm's length away so she could look at her bestfriend properly. Dianne was blushing, her dimpled cheeks were bunched up into that very Dianne smile and Nessa couldn't understand what was there to be so happy about this early in the morning.

"You remember robot-boyfriend? Yung website na sinasabi ko sa'yo dati pa?" Dianne spoke with so much enthusiasm and so much excitement about that website that Nessa had an easy time remembering it.

As she walked, she dragged Dianne along with her to their building. They had to go to class, after all. "Oo? Yung bibili ka ng robot boyfriend?"

Honestly, Nessa didn't find the appeal of buying a boyfriend, an actual robot boyfriend. Did it even meet moral standards of basic humanity? Did you have to spend actual money to find and have love that wasn't even real? What the hell was that all about? Sure, techonology was great and everything but buying fake love that was made up of codes from a machine that looked human seemed to go a little too far for the teenager's moral compass.

"Nagbukas na yung website nila, officially! Meron din Philippine branch which means, I can buy my own AI boyfriend now!" Dianne explained, voice so innocent as she clutched onto Nessa's arm.

But all Nessa wanted to do was smack some sense into her friend's head. Seryoso ba 'to?

Dianne was beautiful, she had long locks, fair skin and round eyes. There were guys ogling at her every time they walked around the campus and sometimes Nessa had to pretend to be her girlfriend just so guys would stop bothering her so... why? Why would Dianne need to buy a fake boyfriend when she could... just... get one right now?