Adran Haines, in the 31st Century

(Authors note: hey all, this chapter is mostly setup, more fun stuff to come soon)

*BEEP. BEEP. BEEP*

*THUMP*

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

Barely figuring out what being alive is in the morning is a bad time to roll out of a photon mattress.

Clambering to my feet, I muted the dreaded alarm next to my glowing bed. Doing so caused the mattress to power down, and vanish, and, before I can brace myself, the curtains in my dorm slide open.

"So this is what it's like to be blind," I said in my usual deadpan voice. After my electric blue eyes adjust to the hideous light of the morning star, I am once again able to focus on the towering neon city outside. I take another moment to gag at the sight- it was too pastel and clashey for my taste, but living in the 31st century was bound to have some downsides.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I mused on why I needed to be up this early on the weekend, anyway. I know I had promised to meet Sereya for lunch, and I was looking forward to it, but I was really starting to think about calling a rain check and going back to sleep. As I contemplated, my holowatch vibrated on top of my nightstand, bringing me back to earth.

I turned and picked up the watch-like device, slung it around my wrist, and turned it on to check my notifications- a well ingrained part of my morning ritual.

There were three, it seemed: a missed call, probably spam; a message from Sereya, and, curiously, an install notification. I click on the third, and a message expands, saying 'CG successfully installed!!!!'

"Probably just Axel messing with me again," I said to myself. My curiosity still managed to get the better of me, and I opened it up anyway. I find myself greeted with a black screen with gold and pink accents, and a terms of agreement page. Clicking the accept icon (without reading anything) brings me to another screen with a welcome message:

"Welcome to Custom Girls! The fine gals at the CG team wants to thank you for participating in our beta testing phase! As one of the first people in this timeline with this app, you will receive 10 free gems per day for life! Now, its worth noting that the customizations change every day, so make sure to check back frequently! We sincerely hope that you enjoy this app, and all it has to offer! :D"

Immediately closing out of whatever the hell that was, I find myself hesitating on clicking on Sereya's message. I've had a crush on her for years, now, but she's made it clear she's not really interested in men, so I knew this was strictly platonic. I want to go, but it always feels awkward being around her, so should I tell her I'm on the way, or should I go back to sleep for another hour, like part of me wants to?