Terms and Conditions

Chapter 01

June 1st, 2031.

Virtual reality had changed since I was a kid.

Long gone were the big, bulky headsets. The headaches, the lagging, irritating motion sickness was gone with them. What Bio-Lab mailed me to complete my beta-testing was sleek, small, and almost invisible. Just two tiny balls meant to be pressed against the temple.

Holding them in my hands, I giggled.

"Charines!" my grandmother called from downstairs. "Where's Beba?"

Beba, my cat, always wandered around the house late at night. I could imagine her furry orange coat leaving hairs all over the house. My grandmother HATED that.

Put some extra breath in your 'h' when you say it.

Besides, who wanted to vacuum tiny cat pelos off black couches? Not me.

"I don't know, abuela!"

I didn't want to get up from my bed. It took months for Bio-Lab to approve my beta application, and another two months after that to send me the spheres for their new game. Now that everything was ready, my bed was my comfy place. To say I was excited was an understatement.

Play games and get paid for it? I mean, hello! Every gamer's dream!

"If that gatita dirties this house, Chari, I swear!" my grandmother shouted.

I squeezed my fingers around the devices in my hands, closed my eyes, and hummed.

"Chari! You hear me?"

I nodded as if she could see. Opening one eye, I expected to see her standing at my bedroom doorway, chancletas impatiently tapping at the floor as she waited for me to answer.

Instead, it wasn't her who pushed my door open. It was Beba. She meowed at me when she walked in.

"Well, shit," I laughed, shaking my head as my cat stared at me from the foot of my bed.

"Well, shit, yeah."

Turning my head, I looked at my laptop. I forgot my cousin video-called me to start the beta test. Seeing his face on the corner of the screen, I squealed. And felt underdressed. Manny had on a white tee, which left space for his gold chain to catch all his room's light.

I was just in my pajamas.

He laughed. "Chari, you sure this game is for me?"

"Manny." I took in a deep breath, then squinted at my cousin's camera feed. "This for you."

"Yeah?"

When I was accepted for the beta run, Bio-Lab sent me not one, but two sets of their VR spheres. They explained the more data they received, the better; every tester could bring a friend. Since I wasn't much of a people person, I invited the only friend I had—my cousin.

On his end, Manny placed one of the spheres against his temple. It glowed blue on contact, highlighting his dark-brown skin. "Why is this for me, hm?" He pressed the second sphere on the opposite side and shook his head as if to see if they'd fall off. "You know I don't play this fantasy shit."

Just like he had done, I pressed my spheres against my skin. They tickled on contact.

"I don't play this fantasy shit," I mocked him before looking back at my camera. "I know you don't. But the game is free. You like free, right?"

"Bitch." Rolling his eyes, he chuckled. "You trying to say I'm cheap?"

"I mean," I pulled back on my knees as I rocked against my pillows, "if the shoe fits."