THE MOMENT
"Pull over, please. Dad," Gregory had been so focused on the white van following him, that he forgot he had a daughter. He looked at her short, rainbow hair in the mirror for a moment, then focused on the van again. "You didn't go at the station??" He tried not to let his worry show, for her sake. But, he wasn't sure he succeeded.
"I need you to pull over," she repeated. She used that certain tone of voice he couldn't deny. He would just have to be extra vigilant and hope the van drove by.
"Okay, honey," he nodded with a sigh. He steered onto the shoulder and the girl was out of the car before he came to a stop. He undid his seatbelt and cracked his door open; but, he remained in the car. He wanted to be ready for anything.
"Ohthankgod!" he exhaled heavy relief as the white van sped by. He saw a red scissor logo on the side with the name 'Sharp Development' and chuckled to himself. They were just some workers headed to an out-of-town job. Or maybe even back home already. Except, the sudden sense of relief brought a new feeling with it.
"Wait a minute...." Now that he wasn't worried, Gregory had a sudden moment of clarity. ".. I don't have a daughter."
"I hope not, if you're calling phone numbers on the bathroom stall," the same teenage girl stood at his passenger window. "Hi, I'm Monday," she said. Gregory jumped out of the car even as he realized he should have driven off. But, he panicked and crossed the road backward to keep her in front of him.
"Would you stop running away please; you're wasting everyone's time," she said. From behind him.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" he whirled around. The teen was pale and she wore a crisp white suit with a red tie, and a red scissor logo on the front of her blazer.
"To give you what you asked for!" Monday said curtly. She thrust her hand up at Gregory and he flinched. It took an extra second for him to realize he wasn't being hurt. He looked at her hand and she appeared to be holding a streak of light. She moved it forward gently; it was a card-sized glass pane. "This is a node. Use it like a smartphone, you'll find a tutorial on the home screen," she said. Gregory didn't move to take it; but, she didn't withdraw her hand.
"We don't make mistakes; but, just to catch you up to what's going on. You did call Dana Sharp, right? Obviously, she's too busy and the number on the stall is an old line anyway. It's all automated; but, you wouldn't let our people do their job.
"I called the number...," Gregory nodded. His mind was starting to work; but, he didn't reach for the node yet. "...you promised adventure. What kind of adventure...?" he asked.
"It's in the tutorial," Monday replied. "Would you please take this? I can't force this part," she said. "You need to decide for yourself."
"I don't know what you're offering!" Gregory shook his head.
"Then how do you know you don't want it?" Monday asked. "You called the number," she shrugged. "So, you can have whatever you were expecting then. But, I'm sure you'll change your mind once you see how much more is out there and available to you." Gregory didn't know what he was expecting. On the surface, he told himself it was just for a laugh. It wasn't the usual bathroom stall listings, he'd seen plenty of those. This one promised adventure; and, at the center of many jokes lies a kernel of truth. He did want adventure.
But what exactly did Sharp Development consider adventure? What did he for that matter? It was such a vague, hopeful term that he never had anything specific in mind. Not when he made the call, nor any time before that really.
"What's out there?" he asked.
"I don't have time to be having this interaction right now," Monday replied. "I certainly don't have the time to be reading you an infinite list."
"What if I don't like it?"
"Stop." Monday answered. "Look, Sharp Development functions on very specific rules for very specific interactions. This number you called is a one-time opportunity. If I leave with this, you're not eligible to get another one."
"Do I want it?" Gregory asked.
"You called the number." Monday shrugged. "That's your last question. If you ask another one, or if you take longer than 30 seconds to decide, I'm leaving with this." She flicked the transparent card and red digits appeared on its face. 30:00 began counting down as Gregory watched.
30 seconds wasn't a lot of time to make a decision that big. There was too much to consider. Despite his outward confusion, he'd more or less managed to keep up. Monday could appear and disappear seemingly anywhere, and she could influence him. So, at the very least there was supernatural magic involved. Or advanced technology judging by the node. That meant she could probably give him what he asked for. But, he didn't even know what he asked for.
20 seconds wasn't a lot of time, but the decision was getting easier. Monday wasn't giving him what he asked for; she was giving him the chance to get it. And, he didn't even have to know that to accept the chance. His decision wasn't as big as he thought.
15 seconds was plenty of time to make a simple decision. He didn't have to know what he wanted. It was enough to know he wanted more than he had to get started.
"Thank you, Monday," Gregory relaxed and accepted the card with 11 seconds to spare. As soon as his fingers clasped it, she began sinking into a black hole at her feet. She waved with a flat smile.
"Just doing my job.”