The Artificial Girl

chapter 7

 Whoever had decided to build a restaurant in the LifeTech complex must have been an idiot. After all, E-Lites don't eat.

The restaurant is empty apart from a few tables which are occupied with staff. Dustin and Aiden are sitting on a group of sofas, looking extremely bored.

"Hi!" I say, perching on the edge of a purple, velvet armchair.

"Whose idea was this?" Dustin mutters.

"Aiden's. And he asked us to meet up for "dinner"," I hand gesture exclamation marks and Dustin laughs lightly.

"Well, it's easy to forget," Aiden protested. "So, where do you wanna go instead?"

There is an awkward silence, and then I get up. "Well, I didn't dress up for nothing!" I point to my dress.

"Oh, you got new clothes then," Aiden says as if he's just noticed.

"You look great," Dustin says.

One of the advantages of being an E-Lite - you can't blush.

I cross my arms and attempt to blow my hair out of my eyes. The trouble is, the only air that comes out of my mouth is the air that allows me to speak through the artificial larynx.

"Movies?" Dustin says after a moment of quiet.

We all nod in agreement and then cross the building to the entertainment suite.

It includes a small cinema, a swimming pool, bowling alley, skating rink and outside are a stable of horses.

The movie showing is about the Past. When people still had Kings and Queens, and when newspapers still existed. Nowadays, we get a news feed from electronic arm-bands.

It is a documentary film about a rich man who falls in love with a poor woman. The woman eventually dies from an incurable disease which was eradicated years ago.

"How did people live like that?" I say.

"Must have been a miracle," Dustin agrees.

"Listen, guys," Aiden says. "I'm going to go...so goodnight," Aiden says.

"Ok, see you tomorrow," Dustin says.

I give a small wave, and watch as he disappears out of the building.

"Right, what are we going to do now?" Dustin says.

****

"NO!! AGH!" I cry, falling to the ground and hitting my knee off the ice.

Dustin helps me up, laughing. "Come on. At least attempt to skate."

I blink and take baby steps with my skates. Then, I'm gliding across the ice.

Dustin's hand finds mine and he gives me a thumbs up.

"You're a quick learner," he encourages.

"Did you skate..before?" I say. He's way better than me.

"Yes, I was a hockey player," he tells me.

The only sound that can be heard is our blades scraping across the ice.

Then, disco lights come on, flickering across the ice. Music follows. A slow violins song comes from the speakers in the ice rink.

"Why did you decide to become an E-Lite?" I say, curiously.

"I suppose I was fed up with my life. I didn't have any family or anyone to understand me. So when there was an advert about the LifeTech thing, I jumped at the chance."

My eyes widen. "Do you regret it?"

"No! It's much better. I can do more now that I ever could have done before. And this place..is awesome." He waves his hand over the ice rink. He turns to me. "Why did you decide to do it?"

"I didn't decide to it. I was in a car crash..and, well, my body had died. My parents made the decision." When I think about this, anger rises like a fire inside me.

"They had no right to...to do that. THEY HAD NO RIGHT!" My foot slips on the ice and I fall backward. My head cracks off the ice and I wince.

"Nina!" Dustin voice echoes in the distance. I see his face in front of mine, his lips moving slowly. I can't hear him. I try to raise my arm, but it's stuck to my side like glue.

I can't move anything. I'm paralysed. I watch Dustin's face disappear and I scream. "Don't go! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

I look up at the disco lights on the ceiling, flashing on and off and on and off.

Then I black out.

 ** 

I open my eyes to find I'm in my bed, hooked up to the charging machine. Dustin sits on the end of the bed, his eyes wide and alarmed.

"Dustin?" I sit up. "What the heck just happened?"

He explains that a part of the 'control centre' got damaged in the fall, there was a malfunction and that was how I blacked out.

"Don't worry. They've fixed it," he says. "Are you alright?"

"I guess," I say just as Aiden storms into the room.

"Nina! Are you alright?! What happened?" he says, shaking my shoulders.

"Yes! I'm fine. Will you stop shaking me?" I say.

"A minor fault occurred up here," I tap my head. "And I blacked out, and they fixed it. I'm fine. Don't worry," I assure him.

He calms down a bit. "Sorry," he says. “I was so worried.” He stares at the ground for a while.

"I guess I'll be leaving then," Dustin says, shrugging on his coat.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I say.

Aiden moves to the edge of my bed, an anxious look still on his face.

"Aiden. I'm fine."

He still keeps the same expression.

“Aiden. I. Am. Fi-“

I am interrupted when he takes my face in his hand and kisses me. The feeling is unusual. His lips are cool and soft. Not like real lips. But it still feels like a real kiss.

 Aiden pulls away, his hands still resting on my cheeks. He drops them quickly.

“I’m sorry.”

I find myself leaning forward and we’re kissing again. We only stop to breath.

We finally stop and look into each other’s eyes. The golden colour of his burn into mine like fire.

The door suddenly clicks and we both move apart quickly. Peter is standing in the doorway. It’s obvious he knows what happens.

“Er, I was just..Nina. You don’t have to come to training until later tomorrow. So I’ll see you at 12 o’clock,” Peter stammered.

I tried to hide my smile. “Yes, that’s good.”

“Right, I’ll just..I’ll just go now,” he said, awkwardly closing the door behind him.

After we were sure he was gone, we both burst into fits of laughter.