Terms and Conditions

Chapter 10

"Yo, that fight last night was dope as hell, I ain't gon' lie." Manny pushed the coffee shop's door open as we exited out into the afternoon sun. After a night of playing for longer than usual, we woke up well after breakfast. Rather than bother our grandmother for food, we changed into clean clothes and stepped out for some.

Well, Manny did. All I wanted was coffee.

The door shut behind us, a quiet chime echoing in the wind. I didn't look back at it, or my cousin. My eyes were glued to my phone. Slowly, I sipped my coffee.

"I felt the rush of the fight, ya know." Manny had his hands in front of him, a bag of food hanging from his wrist. His fingers stretched out as if he could feel the power in them. "I didn't think some Thief could have skills like that, but shit, I did." He laughed. "It was cool shit."

"Mhm." I listened to my cousin, hearing his excitement. He wasn't the only one who felt that way. In my emails was an article Bio-Lab sent all their beta players. A website was praising the company for thinking of Love or Nothing. Notes from beta testers were displayed for public view, and of course, it was only good notes. Yet maybe the extra hype and attention were what Love or Nothing needed this early on.

I think it'll benefit society. Everyone plays games, anyway.

"Hellooo." Manny bumped me with his shoulder. "You listening to me? Or you're scrolling through Love or Nothing messages?"

"What?" My head shot up, and I pocketed my phone. "No, I was—"

Manny didn't let my phone slide into my back pocket. He snatched it from my hand, unlocked it with his thumb, and pointed at the notification at the top. The single rose I'd ignored since we crawled out of bed was flashing.

Love or Nothing pending inbox notifications.

I gulped.

"Is this him? What's his name again? Luis?"

I tried to take my phone back, but Manny held it over my head like we were kids.

He laughed. "Your phone's been pinging all morning, girl."

"Boy—" I tried to hop and grab it but missed. "—give it back. You were asleep. How did you know the messages were from him? And—"

"No, no, no." Manny shook his finger in front of me before giving me my phone back. "These notifs are loud. Yours buzzed like six times; I was ready to throw it out the window."

Shocked, I pressed my phone against my chest and shielded it with my coffee cup. "But why?" I whispered.

"Because he's blowing up your phone." Manny pointed at my hand. "Message after message. I know you saved the guy's life, but damn!"

What Manny said hit me—I had saved his life. I mean, his digital life, but still, he didn't need to respawn at the beginning of some world map because of me. I swooped in and pulled him out of harm's way. Maybe the constant messages, though creepy, were his way of thanking me?

I slid open the first notification. It wasn't him. I frowned.

"Well, what did he say, hm?" Manny hovered over my shoulder. "And, you know I don't wanna press but, you going to tell me about how it was when you met him? Clearly, he wasn't bothered by it."

The Love or Nothing message was bright on my phone's screen. Not from Luis, it read, "Congratulations on reaching level twelve! The open-world access is available to you. The next time you log in, ask your Guide about what's accessible to you at this stage!"

My frown deepened. After what Manny said, I expected the messages to be from him. The second wasn't either; or the third. Game alert after game alert. Nothing from a human being.