Ava stared at the sun, feeling the sky in her eyes, a far cry from the VR arcade game she was in before walking away.

  For context, she was wearing regular clothes (leggings with a casual shirt; the decal on the shirt, fixed on the front middle, was a cartoon cat’s head) as she approached a random male in the streets of Sector 451.

  Ava brightens her smile and waves her hand towards the guy, her eyes inviting, saying, “Hey, wanna go to the karaoke with me, just you and me? ”

  The young man was a regular person wearing a hoodie with a t-shirt and trousers, his gonial angle showing a rather fine ideal jawline with a cute face, and his hair seemed black. The young man was shy; he raised his hand and just walked aside, rejecting Ava’s offer.

  Ava’s eyes stared at him, and she asked, “So, you don’t want to go to the karaoke with me?” clenching her fists with solemn eyes, her beautiful, deep-green eyes were locked with his.

  The young man backed off a bit and ran away. Ava felt disappointment as she saw him run away.

  She looked for another man to have karaoke with; she explored the city, asking people if they wanted to be her partner in karaoke.

  But they all refused for reasons unbeknownst to Ava; most of them seemed to not want to get into harm’s way or something she is not aware of, but they shared the similar pattern of blocking themselves with their arm—no explanation, just simple refusal.

  She headed around with her hands facing down, her spine somewhat slouched, and her face all solemn and lonely—tired. Until a guy with a round face who appeared to be in his 30s with a lean figure approached Ava, she was on the counter about to pay for herself with a solemn face.

  He approached her by touching her shoulders, surprising Ava. “Is there anything I can do for you? ” said in a polite manner.

  The man nodded and said, “I would like to have your company with me and my pals.”

  Ava looked up at his eyes and said, “Alright, I can join you. Having company is enough, better than being alone.”

  The guy responded, “Awesome, let me buy you a ticket out of courtesy,” with a sense of volunteerism.

  He stepped forward, then handed out his card for a ticket to the receptionist, who complied and gave him a ticket.

  The man pulled out his other hand and introduced himself to Ava. “My name is Raphael. How about you? ” The palm was open, gesturing for a handshake.

  Ava reciprocated by grabbing his hand while looking at him and said, “My name is Ava; nice to meet you.”

  Both of them shook their hands together with fervor before he and Raphael headed to a room with a proclamation, “Likewise, Ava, today we are going to be singers in one room.”

  Ava followed Raphael to a room, where the karaoke transpired; a few boys were gazing at Raphael, who welcomed an unexpected guest, bewildered and awed at the doll-like elegance of the guest.

  Her jet-like black hair was wavy, her eyes were captivating, her skin porcelain-like, her jaw was balanced with enough roundness to maintain its elegance, and her face was heart-shaped.

  Her figure had curves but was slender, to the standard of modelesque, with the right balance of not being too thin nor fat.

  Their eyes were wide; Ava’s appearance was enough to make an impression.

  Inside the room were three people: one who is Black with Afro hair wearing a beanie, the other who has fair skin and is quite short with round features, and the third who appears to be Asian and is wearing eyeglasses resembling a stereotypical nerd.

  One with Afro hair wearing a beanie lifted his, then pointed at her, his face looked at Raphael, and said, “Ay now, our boy Raphael just brought some unknown guests. What the heck are you up to this time? ”

  The Asian-looking guy with eyeglasses looked at Ava while sitting and asked, “Hmm, can someone like you”—he paused mid-sentence before saying—“even hang out with us?” His face was skeptical.

  Raphael made an attempt to dispel doubts and said, “Now, now, we don’t want to alienate Ava—let’s practice some courtesy and hospitality, folks.”

  Raphael pointed at the Afro guy with his hand turning to an open palm and introduced him, “Ava, this is Drew.”

  He then pointed at the short guy with round eyes, “This is Herbert,” and then Raphael brimmed with ecstasy and friendliness and then took steps, then pointed at him and said, “This is Yuan.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The Afro guy looked at Raphael with disrespect. “Yeah, yeah, you sure about this? Mate? You are crazy; if this Lass turns out to be boring or burning with attitude, that’s on you! ”

  “You got that.” His eyes looked at him, seemingly threatening and sharp, but Ava stepped in, with her hands at the back of her torso. “I can assure you, I won’t make this boring, and I won’t be entertaining your silly impressions—especially your underlying cute suppositions.”

  Her eyes were keen at him, squinted towards Drew, where Drew excused his behavior, “Nah, nah, this is over. We are about to get ruined so badly.”

  Ava stepped forward, and as she headed to the couch with a smirk, she said, “You will learn to relax near my presence, Drew.”

  Drew nodded in a conceding, whiny way. “Uhh mannn, alright, Ava, prove yourself the queen of this karaoke now.”

  Ava then returned to her default attitude; her eyes stared at Raphael, and she asked, “Who is going to be singing? ”

  Raphael touched his own chin with a contemplative silliness and said, “Hmm, how about you, Ava? Can you sing? ” Ava’s eyes pondered the question as she scratched her chin.

  She continued scratching, cogitating his request, and she eventually tentatively nodded. “I will try; this is my first time singing.”

  Ava stood up and grabbed the microphone. The surroundings started to shift, and the hologram technology started to do its magic, changing it to a mountain with the starry sky where Ava sang.

  “I can’t stop.”

  “The loneliness”

  “Should have never met that girl.”

  Her voice turned clunky, different from the brief attitude shown towards Drew; it sounded monotonous and robotic, but she persisted in singing her heart out. The stars in the sky virtualized by hologram technology were vibrating in sync with the microphone’s signal processor and her neural patterns.

  Soon Drew and the others started to relax, while Ava sang on her microphone.

  (I can’t stop the loneliness by Anri)

  Ava continued to sing the lines out loud, her rhythm clunky, but her state showed euphoria as stings in her heart vibrated.

  The short guy with round eyes named Herbert started vibing and chugging beer, and so did the Afro Black guy. The nerdy-looking guy named Yuan began to record her as she sang her heart out.

  Ava puts a hand on her chest as she thrusts it forward in the air; she rotates her limb to the left side of her torso.

  Ava continued singing while flexing her hips; the boys began to drink. Raphael appeared enthused by her singing, even if it was clunky.

  Ava was lost in her singing; the holographic technology in the room was enough to simulate an immersive environment.

  Soon enough, Ava finished singing the karaoke, Drew stood up from the couch and grabbed a microphone, and the scene shifted to the top floor of the condominium tower with bright skies.

  His taste in music was casual, selecting some kind of New York-like spring music.

  (Playing Good Time by Owl City)

  (Music starts playing.)

  “Woke up on the right side of the bed”

  ”What’s up with the spring song inside my head?”

  ”Hands up if you’re down to get down tonight.”

  “Because it’s always a good time.”

  (Drew continued singing.)

  Ava started to relax, where she muttered, “Good vibes.” This unfamiliar yet atavistic feeling was before the world entered its hyper-technological era.

  He continued singing, as she and the others started to vibe while drinking wine.

  Soon enough, Ava joined in, and the others sang as well; the four started while cheering with each other.

  Ava sang, holding her own microphone; birds in the simulated scene flew as the wind from the sky flowed vividly.

  “The atavistic ambience,” Ava said as soon as she moved the microphone away from her mouth.

  Ava started to vibe, and her hips and hands started to shake as the boys looked at Ava before turning to the screen.

  They even begin singing other music with text and changing holographic scenery. Where they drank all the booze together, Ava started to display alcoholic consumption, as she is on the coach drinking at least 3 bottles.

  Trying to enjoy herself even when inebriated.

  Raphael then played ‘Billie Jean’ by Michael Jackson and began singing the lyrics. Raphael continued singing the song by himself while others, like Ava, the only girl in karaoke, were cozy.

  An hour has passed, and those boys had a good time with a random female stranger. The boys started to leave the room where Ava was alone on the couch, inebriated. Before waking up, her eyes stared at the television screen, and then she used a remote to open the menu and checked the history of songs she and a group of people sang together.

  They sang a lot of songs.

  Ava stood up and headed out of the room and to the exit of the building; she continued walking as her body felt languid, breathing in the fresh air.

  The night was nocturnal; owls were active, as they could be heard meters away with their noises.

  She straightens herself as she walks with the futuristic scrapers, making her feel even smaller than ever. The ecosystem was still wonderful, but the breeze was cold and fresh; each walk she made, she regretted not wearing a sweater.

  Catching back on the scene with Raphael, who invited her to the karaoke party, then left the building and walked the boys. Herbert then approached Raphael curiously, “Why did you invite her? ”

  Raphael answered with a chuckle, “Maybe I wanted the company of a cute girl,” where Ava would never see them again.

  Ava continued walking; her fun time this Saturday was over. She arrived back at her room and changed her clothes into her nightgown, brushing her teeth before heading to sleep

  She lay on her bed, closed her eyes while the blanket was atop her torso, her head on the pillow as she slept.

  She gained traction, while sleeping, in the digital world, a small growth in the notifications started to follow, gaining ‘thirst-traps’ in the process. The phone would flash time-to-time