Terms and Conditions

Chapter 05

Night slipped into the morning. And morning dragged into an early afternoon.

My grandmother poured coffee in a tall, red mug beside the sandwiches she made for lunch. With my finger to my lip, I watched the steam rise from the cup. It danced with no wind, carrying the scent of freshly brewed coffee and cream. I took in a deep breath before I reached to grab it and drink.

"So, tell me." My grandmother made herself comfortable across from me, holding her coffee cup in her hands. The short curls on top of her head blocked out parts of the sun coming in from the kitchen window. But at that angle, it gave her a glow, like a halo. "What is this game you're playing again?"

A halo was fitting for her. After dealing with me for so many years, filling into the mother and father shoes when I lost mine, she was my guardian angel. From caring for me, raising me, and trying to learn the little details of the hobbies I liked.

"A game." I smiled, sipping my coffee. "It's just a game, abuela."

"Oh?" Her pencil-thin brows shot up. "Just a game you and Manny play all night?"

I kept the cup to my lips, staring into her dark brown eyes. How did she know Manny was playing with me, too?

Her cup made a small clink sound against the glass table when she put it down. The floral tablecloth did nothing but make the sound echo. "Suzette called me," she said.

Oh, of course. My tití Suzette was always the one to ring early in the morning and gossip with her mother. And Manny, her son, was usually the topic. It was never anything bad; she was proud of her son.

But Manny was... well, he was Manny. A character. And we loved him.

"We weren't playing too late," I said in both of our defenses, in case that had been the morning gossip. "But he was online with me, yeah."

"Yeah?" She leaned back in her seat and tugged at her pink and white bata, adjusting the wrinkles around her stomach. Sometimes I thought she wore that one for me because it was the first set of pajamas I ever bought her.

That and the matching bunny slippers.

"Yeah," I repeated with an awkward smile.

"But Suzette says this game makes him... a zombie?"

My eyes widened.

"He is just sitting there with his eyes open, not moving. There are little dots—" She put her index finger close to her thumb, pretending to make a small circle in her hand. "—on his face. Son como pimples."

They're like pimples? I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Leave it up to my aunt and grandmother to describe the technology Manny and I used today.

"They're a part of the game, abuela," I said, drinking my coffee. "Like, it puts us in virtual reality, but in a new way. Not like the other headset I have."

"You mean that big hat that cost so much money?" She batted her eyelashes. "Can I return it?"

"No." I averted my gaze and bit my lip. "I still use it."

"Mhm." My grandmother reached for her sandwich. "So, then, this game, what is it?"

My eyebrows slid under my curly bangs.

She took a bite. "Is it fun?"

I bit my lip.

"Will you play it again?"

"I—" I opened my mouth, ready to respond with one of the million options that popped up in my head. But before I could make the selection and say any words, the back door to my grandmother's house opened.