Free Minds

Chapter 7.

"Mum?" I kicked the door shut with my foot while struggling to set down the heavy box I had found on our doorstep as I tried to get in through the back door from school. "I think there's—"

   I cut my announcement short when I noticed something particular about the delivery.

"You were saying?" Mum called from the living room.

"Never mind!"

   My curious gaze met with two inscriptions at the right side of the large box.

   BETH SIMMONS.

   It took me a while to lift my curious gaze from the package and draw my phone from my backpack to text Tali.

"Don't you dare do this without me!" She burst through my bedroom door a few minutes after my text, eyes wide and sucking heavy breaths.

"Of course not." I remained cross legged on my bed as she joined me.

   Now we both had our eyes cast in the opposite direction, towards my study desk where I had placed the large, colourfully wrapped box.

"What do you think is in there?" Tali turned to me while asking.

   I shrugged, although I had a fair idea. A fair idea which contributed to my decision to stall—I mean, wait–to get it open.

"We won't find out sitting here." She slid off the bed to get a closer look.

"Wait!" I couldn't help reaching out as she tore out the wrapping surrounding every inch of the box.

   I took the smile she had downwards to be a 'not bad' sign and walked over to peek into the box. My guess was confirmed. Mr. Speck's Virtuo package had rolled in. It contained a Multi-sensory Virtual Reality mask, headset, bodysuit, basically everything needed for the full experience. I almost felt bad about my decision to not go to the dance.

   Almost.

"You have got to let me help set this up!" Tali's face was still shining in awe. "It's official. I'm helping you get ready for the dance tomorrow."

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said, walking back to my bed. "I'm not going."

"You have got to be kidding me." I turned to see her making wild hand gestures to the box. "We're looking at the same thing, right?"

"We are. But that doesn't —Ow!" Her weight remained pressed against me despite my groans. "Tali, get off me."

"Not until you say you're going."

"Oh come o— Ow!" I glared up at her smug face. "I am this close to body shaming you. Get off of me!"

"What do I have to do to make you go?"

   On a normal day, I would have been cajoled by the whine in her tone and those dark, guilt-instilling eyes but I couldn't even glance into them without remembering the disaster that was lunch today.

   I was not going. Just like how I was never going to show up at that lunch table ever again. And risk facing even more humiliation?

   No, thanks. Sorry, Minji.

   As insincere as what I was about to say was, it had to be enough to lay her off my back.

"If you're able to somehow be a part of all this–come with me, I mean, I promise to do this with you hand in hand." I said, struggling to cross my heart under her oppressive butt.

   So why were her lips morphing into the biggest grin I had ever seen?

"Actually..."

   I gulped. What had I done?