My alarm is early, but it’s not Ophelia’s fault this time—it’s Maddi’s. I scowl at the chipper voice that I can hear in my mind telling me to wake up and greet the day. I stayed up too late playing console games with Kavita to be that happy to see the sunrise.

  After a scalding power wash in the shower, I traipse into the kitchen to start the coffee before heading back in to my room to get dressed.

  “Now that’s something nice to wake up to.” Someone’s already in my house?

  I look over to the noise and see my team-mate in sweats, staring at me while holding an e-reader. I look down to see that I’m in boy shorts and a tank top. I turn red yet again, turn around and pretend I’m not half naked in front of the woman who asked me out yesterday while I walk into my room and shut the door behind me.

  “Gods I am so embarrassing. Can I put ‘died of embarrassment’ on the form for a sick day?” I groan and know I won’t miss a meeting with Maddi for anything less than being in the hospital.

  I pick a lavender and pink skirt with a pixelated wave pattern on it and pair it with a cream cross your heart blouse. Cream sandals and a silver hair ribbon complete my clean but quirky look and I’m ready for the day.

  I make a bee line to the coffee maker and take a few sips before sighing into the steam coming off of my cup.

  “If you’re going into the office like that, I’m wondering who you’re excited to see. You look date cute, Selena.”

  “Jealous, Kavita?”

  “A little, yeah. You’re not my girlfriend yet, but I’d still want to be seen out with you looking like that.” Her gaze is a little hungrier that I could have expected. It’s flattering in a way, worrying in another.

  “This is how I dress around my friends. We have a high dissonance group meeting this morning and then I get to find my new office after. Orion’s chill about dress code unless you have a big meeting.”

  “Oh? Does that mean I have an office too? Or do I just practice on my own?”

  I shrug, “They set me up with a testing job because I am their literal edge case. But if you don’t have a job with the company besides ‘gamer’, then I can show you to the two facilities set up for us. You’ll have to go to security first and ensure that your credentials and digital signatures are all set up and verified. That will probably take you to lunch, so I’ll reach out and see about food and your afternoon, yeah?”

  “Yeah sure Zhan, sounds good.” She doesn’t seem ‘good’.

  I walk over grab her hand. “You know that I wouldn’t have said yes to the date or invited you over if I wasn’t interested right?”

  “Yeah?” She looks up at me with some uncertainty.

  “Yeah, now go put on something confident, go deal with security and then go wreck some fools to put that arrogant smirk back on your face. Then you can be seen with me while I’m ‘looking cute’.”

  Focus returns to her eyes and a growl rumbles in her chest, “Oh it’s on, Princess.” She turns toward my spare room and shuts the door behind her.

  I exhale the breath I was holding. “Fuck that growl was hot.”

  ***

  “Group, this is Damon. Damon stabilized at a high dissonance yesterday afternoon, and they need our support.” Maddi introduces the tired-looking waif that I would not dare guess a gender for.

  We all say hello. “This is not a normal group session, Damon, this is more of a support group where each of these lovely people require support and acceptance to either lower their dissonance or accept that this life is not for them and walk away. And while I promise to never put you on the spot, or to force you to discuss your life before this, I’ve made no promises to Selena and she’s our current high score.”

  “Great, Maddi thanks.” I roll my eyes. “As she says, I’m the high score, the reason Orion has disclaimers and a robust medical plan. My dissonance was above 80% when I arrived and I stabilized just under seventy five. I’ve been here a year now, so I have clearly chosen to stay. At my rating, staying has made the choice more or less permanent. If I logged out completely at this point, I would have a high dissonance with my biological body and my mind would likely reject it.”

  “Sounds horrible, but I did make the choice to stay. If you don’t know harm, no foul and you’ll receive the mental health and physical therapy that you need to return to your life without the ATC.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Why would you pick a fake world over the real one?” Damon asks.

  “I would appreciate if you didn’t call it fake. I live here. Also, your brain is processing these inputs in the same way it processes reality. That said, everyone with high dissonance has a disconnect from their mental ideal to their physical reality. I never try to figure out what that is for anyone here, I just know that accepting who they chose to be helps both of us stay stable and often times reduces that dissonance we all suffer from.”

  “Thank you Selena. It seems that Damon is not quite ready to accept themselves here, so I will spend the rest of the day with them and see what we can do.” She stands and leads Damon to the back of the meeting room. “Have a nice day, and I’ll see you next week.”

  We are quiet for a moment before Sabrina opens her big chatty mouth. “That was a short one, I bet they decline by the end of the day.”

  “Sabs, really?” I scoff.

  “Yes really. Until they want to be here, why would I invest. I have you all and I’m satisfied. Well I want another party, but all of you will be invited. Then I’ll ben satisfied.”

  Rufus snorts in amusement. “Sabrina, you just want to have a pool party so you can ogle people’s fitness.”

  “Guilty!” The group laughs at Sabrina’s shamelessness and mills around talking. I see my best friend walk directly at me.

  “Whatever you are thinking, it can’t be epic, I don’t have the time for that.”

  “Booo. I’ll settle for memorable. Do you know a pool we can invade?”

  Gods, this ass must have a utility radar or something. She always knows who to talk to. It just so happens, I have a few acquaintances that I’ve fixed some persistent bugs for.

  “You sure you don’t want a beach thing? Beaches are fun.”

  “Noo, I want an afternoon into evening thing with clean bathrooms and no bonfire. You’re my location queen. Give me a location, Sellie.”

  “You are insufferable. Let me check.”

  I reach out to Laramie Montague—what a name—and ask if the pool deck at his complex is rentable. He responds immediately with when and asks how many he can invite. Guh, fine. I don’t want to party with that man, but his people might be cool.

  “I know one person, but they have conditions.” Sabs squeals in delight.

  “How much?” She asks.

  “No rental, but he wants to come and bring a crew.”

  “Easy, what’s the crowd limit?”

  “Ugh, I think I saw a sign for 60 on the pool area and maybe a hundred more for the courtyard around it?”

  “That’s tight, Sel, you sure he’s you’re only contact?” I punch her arm in reply. “Fiine, I get it. Tell him 15 max for the pool area for his guests, I need five for DJ and catering staff.”

  “You’re not opening a club Sabs!”

  “It’s a pop-up, sweetie. Now peddle the idea to Ophelia so we can get funding by taking a few shots before hand.”

  I groan at her suggestion, but if I don’t set up a meeting with my media boss, she and Sabrina will both get on my case about it. Much to my annoyance, Sabrina knows how to bait a photo op and Ophelia is hungry for more content.

  “Why am I your friend again?”

  “I talk you up, socialize you and get you laid.”

  “You were just saying that I could pull anyone.” I grump.

  “Selena, bestie, you have crippling anxiety sometimes, lord knows why you’re an amazing person, but I say that in hopes that one day you will believe in yourself as much as you believe in others.”

  ***

  “Selena, you brought Kavita. Pleasure to see you both. Now talk to me about this party.”

  “Sabrina wanted a pool party. The only pool I know is at Laramie’s complex. “

  “Ew. You’ll be doing the shoot before he arrives. What’s the plan?” Ophelia asks.

  “Athletic bo’s and Bettys playing volleyball, chicken, etcetera.”

  “That’s not enough, and I doubt Sabrina’s planning was that shallow.”

  “Fine, she wants to post a pop-up club and says we should tag it, #ATCLiving or some such.”

  “Laramie’s fine with this?”

  “He was an Ivy league partier, Phie, he posted the noise warning immediately and offered a $50 a head compensation. No issues.”

  “Damn. I hate her short trigger antics, but you both know how to execute.” She takes a breath, “If this does well, we’ll pay the facility fees and the DJ. Everything else is on you. I will set up a consent for general photography for the event.”

  I sigh with relief. “Thank you, and sorry for the short notice. You’re the best.”

  “Look, Selena, I like you, and if I wasn’t your boss I would gladly be your friend. The ‘but’ comes in the form of you interrupting my very busy day. The only reason I tolerate them, is that these interruptions have only failed to make me money once, and it was because my team did not respond in time. Only your impeccable track record keeps me from being irate that you invited someone to my executive lunch without asking first. While I enjoy our relationship, you have angered me and you will not be eating with me today.”

  Oh. I stand sharply, tug on Kavita’s shirt and quickly walk to the elevator. Once the doors firmly shut I explode. “I almost got fired, I almost got fired. Holy shit I almost got fired.”

  I’m collected with long arms, “Chill Zhansta. She was annoyed, not raging. Just do your brand shill stuff for the camera and make her happy.”

  “Are you coming?”

  “You’re hosting a party, of course I’m coming. Plus, like, models in bikini’s right?”

  “Yes. Do you have appropriate attire? Or do we have to go shopping?” I smile and waggle my eyebrows.

  “No chance princess. I have an idea and you’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Well then I guess you have a place to stay?”

  She smirks at me and kisses the side of my head. “You won’t leave me on the street out of pettiness.”

  Ugh, I wouldn’t either. Stupid sexy confidence.