“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Simon gave the brunette a smile and gestured at the window. Outside, the heavy downpour made the day hard to see from inside the crowded cafe. “Mind if I join you? My name’s Simon,” he added.
“I’ve seen better,” Hanna chuckled and nodded at the seat closest to Simon. “There’s a good chance you’re the only one in here that thinks so; the rest of us are in here to avoid the rain.” Simon set his cup down, then took a seat with exaggerated motions. So far his plan was working, but he needed her eyes on him when he pulled his phone out.
He pulled a clear, glassy rectangle the size and width of a playing card from his pocket. He put it on the table next to his coffee while he settled in his seat, and he waited for a comment. Usually, it came in the form of, “What’s that?” or “Wow is that a phone?!” and his favorite, “Where did you get that??”. Simon watched her so intently, he noticed when she saw it; but, no comment came. Her eyes casually ignored it like any normal cellphone. She continued drinking her coffee and surfing the web.
Simon found himself at a loss. The interest his node drew was supposed to lead to the rest of the conversation where he could show off his magical app. Luckily, fate was in the mood to wingman for Simon; his phone rang and a picture of his blonde sister popped up.
“Hey, sis, how’s it going?” He answered with careful word choice. “You want me to what?” he asked at hearing her request. He leaned closer to the table and dropped his voice to a whisper; though he made sure Hanna could still hear him.
“I can’t just make it rain on command for you,” he said, then laughed after a moment. “Yes, I know I can but I shouldn’t. Fine,” Simon said. “Just a small shower for the kids to play in. Alright, have fun. I love you too.” Simon hung up the phone and flashed Hanna his biggest grin.
“There are few things five-year-olds love more than splashing in rain puddles.” Simon then focused his attention on his node while he tapped and swiped his way through it. “They’re out in Florida, but I’m gonna send them some of this rain,” Simon tapped his screen one more time.
Immediately the rain outside the coffee shop stopped. The dark grey clouds vanished and left behind a bright azure sky. Simon scrunched up his face like he made an inconsequential mistake.
“Oops, too much,” he chuckled. Simon was glad to see he finally got a reaction from her; she giggled too with her eyes on his node.
“You should probably learn how to use it better,” Hanna said. “Maybe do the tutorial.” Simon narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
“Huh?” he asked. It wasn’t what Hanna said that confused Simon; he hadn’t even heard her. He was too busy wondering why she wasn’t showing more surprise or interest. Something that showed she was impressed by him sending away the rain. Instead, she seemed to be telling him he was doing something wrong.
“The tutorial,” Hanna grabbed her purse and started to dig through it. “Maybe your version didn’t get it. That’s alright; I can copy it over.” As she finished her sentence she pulled her own node out. Simon’s jaw dropped when he saw she had one too.
“Where did you get that!” he asked. Hanna smiled.
“This is an official node bought directly from Sharp Development. Where’d you get yours?” Hanna tapped and swiped at her node the same way that Simon did.
“I don’t know, I found it,” Simon said.
“Yeah, that happens alot-,” Hanna cut her words short, and she glanced up at Simon. It looked like a stray sunbeam caught her in the eyes. Simon saw a flash of gold; but, Hanna did not blink. “Huh,” she said.
“What?” Simon asked. Hanna gave a quick shake, then smiled.
“Nothing. Anyway, sorry. It turns out our models are incompatible. I can’t copy the tutorial over, but you’ve more or less got the hang of it. You’re not missing anything.”
“What more is there to miss?” Simon grinned. “I can control the weather. Can you control the weather?” he asked. Hanna shook her head.
“No. Not here anyway,” she said.
“I can control it here, Florida, anywhere.” Hanna nodded and Simon realized her demeanor cooled off considerably in the last few minutes. Simon needed to impress her fast; he noticed her gathering her laptop even as he made the realization.
“I can make it snow inside!” he blurted. “We could literally SharpFlix and chill,” he chuckled and stood; because she stood.
“No thank you,” Hanna said.
“Don’t date weather gods?” Simon asked. Hanna shook her head with a giggle.
“Weather GOD?” she laughed.
“Look,” Hanna said. She slid her bag over her shoulders and crossed her arms. “I’m not normally a rude person, but I think it’s okay here,”
“Uh… okay,” Simon said.
“I’d never date you. Weather god? You don’t control the weather, you supervise it. You can tell it where to go, and sometimes what to do but that’s it,” Hanna wiggled her fingers at the air; a tall black portal opened next to her. “But, the real reason is something else…,” Hanna’s eyes softened; pity filled her face.
“I got an error message when I tried connecting my node to yours,” She stepped one foot into the portal. The reason you don’t have a tutorial; the reason you can interact with the weather at all,” Hanna stepped into the portal completely. She leaned forward out of it and gave Simon a shrug.
“I don’t date NPCs,” she said. “You’re not real; and, the worst part is: you’re aware of it.” Hanna leaned back and disappeared into the black hole; it closed and vanished.
