Chapter 6: Commiserating
Abigael sat on a white plastic chair outside a street-side cafe. Her legs were crossed and she she was subconsciously tapping her nails on the underside of her phone as she used the free wifi to watch her current drama obsession. The wind ruffled her hair loose of the already skewed ponytail, the scrunchy falling to the pavement unnoticed and her hair floating around her face in in the breeze.
Despite the drama having many romantic scenes and the love triangle between the main character and her rival's partner becoming exposed to the rival in a shocking turn of events there was no reaction from Abigael. Her face was like a mask and her eyes were still and vacant.
Her left hand was clenched tight and hidden away under the rim of the plastic table she was leaning on. She didn't even want to see the horrid thing strapped tight around her wrist, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. There was something strange about that watch.
'Aaaaaabbiiiiiii!' the squealing started Abigael from her ruminations. She wiped the hair from her face and looked up at where the sound was coming from.
A tall woman wearing a tight grey dress with a white collar and stylish buttoning was waving at her from across the road. As she came closer Abigael could see expensive looking silver earrings and a naturally beautiful face with only the most necessary of make up. As always, Selena made the very ground she walked upon look like a runway.
'Abi, how are you? I haven't seen you in ages!' She said as she pulled Abigael up into a hug, she was a lot stronger than she looked and managed to maneuver around the plastic furniture to get the best angle for grabbing the wrist Abigael was trying to subtly yet unsuccessfully hide behind her back.
'And what is this? Abi! You should have asked me! This watch had it's day about five seasons ago. You know I have your best interests at heart when I say this right? I know! Let's head to the mall, if you want a watch I'll help you pick one. We'll have you wearing the absolute perfect match for your wardrobe!'
Abigael sighed at her friend's overly enthusiastic way of cheering her up. Unfortunately she had brought up the thing Abigael was trying to avoid in doing so. But that wasn't her fault, she didn't know. Abigael plastered a smile on her face, forcing it wider than usual so that her eyes would smile and make it seem semi-convincing.
'But I thought it looked nice, you know retro and all...'
Selena's face told her she wasn't convinced, 'What's the matter with you Abi? You don't really expect me to believe that do you. You have more sense than that, and wipe that disgusting plastic smile off you face, if it's not real I don't want to see it.' Selena dumped her bag on the table and pulled her in for another hug, mumbling quietly next to her ear 'I'm worried about you.'
Abigael sent off a quiet prayer to whatever god cared, thanking the universe for Selena as she hugged back. Selena slowly pulled back and held her at an arms length, her grey eyes flicking to the watch once or twice as she carefully observed her friend. Abigael's hair had come done and was in a windswept birds nest of tangles about her face, she had clearly put make up on this morning but hadn't seemed to be bothered touching it up throughout the day and now it was wearing off. Her clothes were a little too bright and there was a little too much purple but that was just Abigael.
Selena's eyes narrowed and she pulled Abigael down to sit with her on the plastic chairs. Calling over the waitress she quickly ordered two coffees and a bowl of waffle fries before turning and asking very seriously 'What's the matter?'
Abigael looked away but stuck out her left hand, letting the watch speak for itself.
'And? You chose the wrong design?' Selena looked confused and Abigael realised she needed more to go on than just seeing the watch.
'It won't come off and... it insulted me.' She said, turning her head away as her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. She slowly told her tale of the raffle and subsequent harassment from the watch, it took a little longer than expected and the coffee and waffle fries arrived before she had finished.
Selena's eyes widened at the tale as she stuffed one waffle fry after another into her mouth, but she didn't scoff or laugh, she just took the story as it was and eventually decided to have a look for herself. Turning Abigael's wrist over a few times and poking the watch here and there it didn't take Selena long to reach the same conclusion, it was definitely stuck.
'Call the manufacturer.' She said, tapping the watch to see it's reaction and getting none, 'You can go back to the tech store tomorrow to get it off but you should definitely complain. This thing's given you lots of problems after all.'
Abigael nodded, now that she talked about it she started thinking that maybe she was making a big deal out of nothing. Wasn't it just a watch? Sure it was broken and caused a lot of inconvenience, but it wasn't like it was changing her life or anything. Maybe it was a mistake to worry about this so much, Selena really didn't need to hear her rant about all this... But she had, and for some reason just the idea that someone else was on her side and willing to listen made Abigael feel better.
'So, let's see then.' Selena had pulled her plastic chair over close enough to lean over Abigael's shoulder and see the display of the watch, sneaking another couple fries as she did so. 'Give me the guided tour and we'll insult the nasty little thing right back.' She said, her grin was dazzling and worked exactly as she had planned, getting a half-smile response back from Abigael as she pressed her finger to the screen.
The first thing that popped up was the home screen. There was no annoying flashing notifications tab anymore as she had turned it off but a few of the apps were highlighted, indicating changes. Abigael felt a little tense but soon relaxed, she had backup on her side now, and the ability to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. The watch didn't seem nearly as daunting or malicious as it had yesterday when she was alone.
One of the highlighted apps was {Daily} and she chose that one first at random.
{History} and {Bad Credits} were flashing, she decided on {History} first.
{Goal: GC/BC}
{GC: open the door}
{OR}
{BC: kick it}
{Goal: 'open the door OR kick it' Achieved: kick it. 1 Credit (Bad) has been added to your account}
Selena had a puzzled frown on her face, 'Is this what you meant by 'insult' Abi? Why did you kick a door?'
'I never kicked any door Sels, the stupid thing just decided that by itself.'
Selena pouted for a moment then pointed at her own fitness tracker. 'This can tell lots of things, like how many steps I do, my heart rate and even my sleeping patterns! It's great for reminding me to do my physio and cardio as well. Maybe you really did kick something and it just noted it, can you remember?'
Abigael tried to think back but it was a strain. She didn't even know the time of day she might have done the said 'kicking.' That being said, she was sure there was something but she was so tired yesterday, she really couldn't remember. 'I don't know Sels, I might have I suppose. But I definitely didn't kick any doors I know that much.'
'Alright then, lets forget the weird fitness trainer thing. What else is on here?'
Abigael exited Daily and tapped the next flashing icon {Stats}. A row of information was displayed that she slowly swiped through.
{Health: Good}
{Stamina: normal (at rest)}
{Heart rate: 75 bpm}
{Fame: (Local) 5}
{Title: Nobody}
Nothing much had changed there except that it wasn't notifying her about the wound on her wrist anymore after it had healed. It was still kind of strange being called a nobody by an app but Selena quickly asserted that the watch wasn't even a 'body' at all, trying to make light of the app with poor taste.
The final flashing icon was the {App Store} but the apps were still greyed out, the only change was the addition of 2 Credits to her account.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone