The air vibrated with life from the collage of noises produced by the masses going throughout their day. Birds chirped, magi-cars honking, merchants advertising their wares. People chatting and laughing. It was a stark difference from the sanitized white linoleum walls. The sounds of the city felt natural and alive, unlike the dull dying sounds of the faint white noise produced by the buzzing of fluorescent light bulbs. It felt liberating as Serena took a deep breath to take in the sights. She opened her wallet and checked her funds, she smiled proudly looking down at the small savings she had accumulated from her own efforts. It felt nice, unlike the hollow feeling she would get when she would receive a reward from men and women in lab coats whenever she “passed” a test.
A beep from her lacrima powered cell phone notified Serena that she received a message. It was from her mother. The text message said: You are not to activate your core protocol under any circumstances…. Enjoy your day today….That is all. It was a message from Alicia Sinclair, the woman who had taken her in and rescued her from a life of needles and experiments. Alicia was stern, cold, but Serena could tell she meant well. She began typing a message that said: Thank you, mother. She looked at the letters on her screen and gave a bittersweet smile before deleting the message altogether. She retyped this time texting, Affirmative Ms. Sinclair. She quickly put her phone away and went back to her mission, to try out this so-called famous sponge cake that she had heard about from the other Rune Knights.
She began navigating the streets, getting lost not one but thrice along the way. She could have easily asked her A.I. Companion for help but she was determined to find the bakery on her own. With a little luck and a few questions she was able to find what she was looking for. To her surprise there was a que to get into the bakery. She walked up and took her place back of the line and inquired one of the waiting customers.
“Excuse me mam, is this a line for the special sponge cake?” Serena asked a blonde woman, the woman nodded. “Yep, hopefully they’ll still have some left in stock for us hahah.” The women laughed. Serena smiled “Yeah I hope so too, thank you.” She said as she tip-toed trying to take a peek how long it might take to claim her prized cake. There were a few tall individuals that blocked her view, Serena sighed, a part of her wished she was in her armor. Then again if she was in her armor she doubted she could wait in line like a normal person. Regardless, Serena was happy cake or not, the experience was enough for her.
_____________________________A beep from her lacrima powered cell phone notified Serena that she received a message. It was from her mother. The text message said: You are not to activate your core protocol under any circumstances…. Enjoy your day today….That is all. It was a message from Alicia Sinclair, the woman who had taken her in and rescued her from a life of needles and experiments. Alicia was stern, cold, but Serena could tell she meant well. She began typing a message that said: Thank you, mother. She looked at the letters on her screen and gave a bittersweet smile before deleting the message altogether. She retyped this time texting, Affirmative Ms. Sinclair. She quickly put her phone away and went back to her mission, to try out this so-called famous sponge cake that she had heard about from the other Rune Knights.
She began navigating the streets, getting lost not one but thrice along the way. She could have easily asked her A.I. Companion for help but she was determined to find the bakery on her own. With a little luck and a few questions she was able to find what she was looking for. To her surprise there was a que to get into the bakery. She walked up and took her place back of the line and inquired one of the waiting customers.
“Excuse me mam, is this a line for the special sponge cake?” Serena asked a blonde woman, the woman nodded. “Yep, hopefully they’ll still have some left in stock for us hahah.” The women laughed. Serena smiled “Yeah I hope so too, thank you.” She said as she tip-toed trying to take a peek how long it might take to claim her prized cake. There were a few tall individuals that blocked her view, Serena sighed, a part of her wished she was in her armor. Then again if she was in her armor she doubted she could wait in line like a normal person. Regardless, Serena was happy cake or not, the experience was enough for her.
WC: 477 words
