The Soulmate Curse

ORANGE (for fun) - Part 2

The door to Zhen's room opened. On the couch, Finn went through Zhen's more than predictable morning routine, counting out the minutes by heart. Door opens at eight. Shower starts five minutes later. Shower stops after six minutes. Dressing up took seven minutes. Then she would walk to the kitchen, set up the 3D food printer for the perfect stack of four pancakes, which she topped with maple syrup and three cubes of butter. She'd then pick a glass, fill it with ice and top it with orange juice before grabbing a fork and knife and sitting on the dining table to eat.

"You're still watching that?" asked Zhen, between mouthfuls.

"You're talking to me," Said Finn, her eyes glued to the floor-to-ceiling screen showing the serial killer trial.

Zhen ignored that statement. "What's the big deal with that case anyway?"

"Something doesn't add up," said Finn, slightly more seriously than the response warranted and more to herself than out loud. The presenter said something about the evidence and Finn quickly took notes on her tablet. For a few moments, she forgot about Zhen.

"The dude had incriminating pictures hidden in a safe in a cabin he purchased under an alias," said Zhen. "And a manifesto about his hatred for women. Especially prostitutes. It's a little cliché if you asked me. But incriminating nonetheless."

"He wrote that manifesto when he was 16, and it was an essay for a creative writing course, based on rants from an unhinged neighbour," Finn mumbled. She was writing out a chart that documented the data presented to the jury so far. She asked Gavyn to replay one of the prosecutor's rants. "It was a terrible choice for an assignment, but not criminal."

Zhen stayed quiet for a moment and they both watched a little more of the proceedings. Finn revelled in the scent of buttery pancakes that had quickly become a staple in her life. A way for her to know that she was home. And warm. And safe. Finn was tickled by how Zhen and her military-like predictability did that for her.

"So that's going to be your whole weekend?" Zhen asked, getting up to load her dishes for washing.

Finn perked up, forgetting her notes, and turning to Zhen. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," said Zhen, stacking the dishwasher and putting away the maple syrup to complete her breakfast ritual. She was going to start getting ready to leave for astronaut training. "Just thought, after four days of work, you'd want to capitalise on the weekend. You already spent the whole evening yesterday obsessing over that case."

"If you must know, I'm going home tomorrow," said Finn. "My sister's in a band. It's their first gig."

Finn got up early the next day. The sun wasn't up yet. Gavyn put up the red lights to help her slowly wake up. The ghostly apartment space was strangely delightful. Over time, all spaces built up energies and she bathed in the surprisingly positive energy wafting and forming beautiful eddies all around her. To compliment the moment, she slipped her headphones on and played slow songs, drowning in that satisfying longing for nostalgic love that some songs brought up, especially when you'd been as single as all hell for years.

Before leaving, she programmed Gavyn to set off an obnoxiously loud alarm every fifteen minutes throughout the day, including the night, for the next two days. The alarm's tone would be the chorus of the latest, catchiest, cheesiest, most annoying pop song. With one of her mum's encryption algorithms on both her door and the AI assistant, Zhen wasn't going to be able to stop it. Just a little payback for that five to eight in the morning death metal rock song snooze fest she'd been enjoying from Zhen for the last two weeks.

Finn walked back into the apartment in the late afternoon, two days later. She had on her cochlear buds, bopping her head to the songs from her sister's new band. They usually played in VR, but they'd become famous enough for their fans to request them to hold physical destination concerts. Finn's sister, Ina, had booked a warehouse building that had quickly filled to the rafters. The other four band members had booked four similar venues in their hometowns spanning the globe, and those had sold out too. Then there was the VR option too, which had commanded the attention of several thousand other fans. The whole experience had been a mix of holograms, AR, and VR, and the band had brought the house – houses – down! It had been amazing to be a part of. Finn and her family had spent most the rest of the weekend together in celebration.

Finn looked up from her bopping to find Zhen on a stool at the kitchen island, her eyes bleary and red-rimmed. Finn stopped in her tracks and looked back at Zhen questioningly.

Zhen spoke first. "Your mum still working with blockchain cryptography?"

"Yeah," said Finn. She didn't trust that she wouldn't burst out laughing if she said more. Zhen looked haggard. Finn struggled to keep the smile off her face and shrugged, hoping it seemed nonchalant enough.

Suddenly, the shrill tone of an annoyingly cheery pop song started playing in the background. Finn had programmed the alarm tone to play only in her room, but to play in one more additional room with every attempt to hack into the program to stop it. It was currently playing in every single room of the apartment. She was surprised the neighbours weren't trying to break down their door, asking them to keep the noise down.

"Gavyn," said Finn, above the din.

"Yes, Finn."

"Please deactivate the alarm I set up two days ago."

"A password is required for this action, Finn."

"Make Zhen pay."

"Password accepted," said Gavyn. The noise suddenly cut off.

Zhen narrowed her eyes at Finn. "You do know, this means war."

"Bring it on," said Finn with a sugar sweet smile.