Chilled

Untitled Part 1

  16 year old Shay Umbrianna unzipped the front pocket of her Captain Bloodsinger backpack, sliding out a teal pencil box. One could come across copious tools in this container-markers, erasers, a bottle of White-Out, pencils, colored pencils, art pens, q-tips and charcoal sticks. Her fingers began to rustle around for her 2B pencil while she mused. What could I draw on my card that could make Grammabelle's 80th birthday special? Grammabelle was the nickname she gave to her grandma Annabelle. She appeared atypical compared to a stereotypical grandmother; she made nachos in place of cookies and she greeted you with fist pumps instead of cloying embraces. She tapped her pencil against her chin. A birthday cake would be too typical! Besides, Grammabelle doesn't even like cake! She prefers key-lime pie or mint fudge. If I drew that, it wouldn't really scream "Happy Birthday!"-

  "Slurp!" Shay felt pressure on her right shin, followed by moistness on her nose. Her kitten, Gnocchi, seemed to be giving her a kiss! Shay ruffled the feline's silver that sat on top of his tiny head.

  "I love you too!", Shay chuckled. "But I'm kind of busy right now." She felt the creature nudge against her creature. "Hey now!", Shay exclaimed. "I really need to think of an idea for my card!" Gnocchi curled up in Shay's lap, resembling a kickball. He nudged against her torso, which was blanketed with a Hinekureta Hi sweatshirt. Shay raised her thinly-woven eyebrows. "Hey..you've given me an idea!" Shay raised her left fist in excitement, shooting a wide grin at the characters on the posters around her bedroom. "Grammabelle does enjoy anime, especially that one we spotted on Webfilms! The one about the celeb who is secretly a fly at night!" Shay reached over to her nightstand to fetch her laptop , blowing off the thin layer of dust on the front. "I hope I can find a tutorial, though. Kasumi-chan is so hard to draw with all that bling-bling and those gold curls. As she opened the PC, the laptop emitted a melodious "Mmmm" sound, flashing the Cyclorama 8 logo on the screen. Password? She smirked as she wrote, "butteryroll sama". Not the most orthodox password, and she was a bit concerned if someone discovered it. But hey, it would be challenging to guess, right? Her desktop picture was stunning, at least in her eyes. The main character from Otoko no Uta cropped onto a unicorn, who was galloping through a terrain of rainbows and butterflies. Scattered around were a range of programs; a roleplaying game called Dianthrus: The Final Emperor, a software creator, an image editor, a video creator, and what she was seeking- her trusty web browser, Boogle Gnome. As the blank white webpage popped up, she began to type, " how to draw Kasami from-" RING! RING! "Stupid ad!", Shay groaned. She aimed to not bounce in irritation so she wouldn't gall Gnocchi, who was currently relishing in dreamland. "Although.." Shay's teal pupils darted back and forth as she analyzed the crimson text on the pop-up.

"I'm even prettier than I imagined"- Joline G.

"I was almost certain that he was my twin brother!"-Brody K.

"I've worked in the graphic arts industry for years, and this is not the result of photo editing."-Fauna L.

 Have you ever wondered what it would like to have a twin! Or be in a group of triplets? Even sextuplets? Research exhibits that,on average, there are 6 people across the globe that look just like you! Sign up today to get access to millions of pictures and see for yourself!"

 "Probably some ad that will grant me the gift of viruses." Shay snickered. "I'm sorry to sound so blunt, but this is not the greatest method of getting customers.", she admitted to her computer screen. Oh come on?, said the voices in Shay's mind. Don't you wanna see another person who looks like you? "It does sound tempting.", she breathed. The fields had requested the usual-Email, new username and password, location. Clenching her first, she muttered, "Smarten up, Shay! Don't fall for their trap!" She paused for a few moments. "Fine.", she managed. "The tutorial can wait. I think I wanna check out how ridiculous this site is first!" Shay didn't intend to sound heartless-she wasn't-but things like this had given her problems in the past. She typed in "shaygonnashake ", followed by ShayEcho141 as her username and lemondrops22 as her password. Last item, her zip code of 23586 and she was all set. The background of the webpage was the color of cinnamon candies, an array of tabs offering info for newbies and regulars alike. But she wasn't permitted to explore just yet! "Submit picture" was inked across the screen, with an empty frame and a camera button. Click! "Not bad." she murmured. Her raven braids weren't greasy, her narrow eyes weren't sulken, and her pale skin appeared pristine. Her bangs were fringe-like, hiding the 3 freckles on her forehead. Shay decided to brush them apart and show off her freckles so there would be more accurate results. She placed her hand on her chin to display her "piano fingers", as Gramabelle called them. 3..2..1. Zap! The image had captured her cheeky grin, making Shay release a soft guffaw. The picture zoomed backwards and popped up again in the bronze frame. This was the moment Shay had been waiting for, to test how this site would actually work. How are you guys gonna find someone as fabulous as me?, she joked in her head. "Good luck-"

"Yo, Shay!" The high pitched voice caused Shay to squeak, making Gnocchi widen his eyeballs and leap away. Her 12 year old sister, Mira, had her head peering through the doorway. "Quit talking to yourself and come help Mom!" Shay sighed, tilting her laptop at a 45-degree angle. "Oh, and while your at it, you should get your gloves on!"

 Shay slid of her mattress and trotted over to her burrow, sliding the top drawer and pulling out her silky cornflower gloves. "I was in the middle of something!", Shay responded as she slipped her digits into the fabric.

 "Snooty teenager.", Mira hissed. "We need to shovel up this snow! Now move it or lose it!" She scurried back down the hallway, already prepared as her boots clunked with each step.