8. Backup
8
Backup
People made mistakes. Often. At least it kept me employed at True Tech.
One girl in her late teens with a floppy ponytail handed me a plastic food container. “My phone fell in the bath, but I put it in rice overnight,” she said, her voice wavering.
Nice. I examined the fluffy contents. “It’s not supposed to be cooked,” I said.
She tilted her head. “It’s all I had. It’s dry, and that’s what matters, right?.”
No. Not even close. “I…will see if I can fix it.” I clenched my teeth in a grimace-smile and handed her a tablet to complete her paperwork. “Normally, we’d text you an update. Is there another number we can call?”
“Yeah.” The girl bit her goopy lacquered nails, her gaze darting across the ledge.
“We’ll salvage everything we can,” I promised.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “It’s just that I don’t think my parents would help me buy a new one. And phones have gotten really expensive.”
No one needed the newest models, though. “Perhaps you could get a refurbished one.”
The girl gnawed on her thumbnail. “Do you sell those? ”
“No. But there’s a good website at…” Was I allowed to say or were they competitors? I needed to reread my contract. “Anyway, we’ll see what happens. Worse comes to worse, you can buy from them, and we can transfer your files with or without the support of your parents.”
“Okay, thanks.” She smiled and clasped her hands. Hopefully, that happy thought prevented any more nail-biting.
As soon as she left, I got to work backing up her phone in case it wouldn’t reboot. So many fucking videos. I sighed and drummed my fingers on the desk. The progress bar inched along, then froze for minutes at a time. This was going to take forever. I might as well multitask: read an article or play a game.
Sal played Craft Cove at work. Plus, True Tech had it installed on all the computers to show off graphics. Ash kept busy by browsing her phone when customers weren’t around, so it’d probably be fine to play as long as I was just waiting on this sync. As soon as I logged into Craft Cove, a message popped up.
Sync GameUp contacts?
Sure, whatever. I just came in to collect resources. I fished by the sea, watered some plants, and combed the beach. A pink stone had washed ashore. The description said, ‘Rose Quartz: This stone may bring you love.’ So, would this help me build relationships with the islanders or what?
My phone pinged with successive screenshots of my cove in GameUp.
Sal: Where did you get that cape? And that robot vac?
Me: Custom mods
Sal: You made them yourself???
Me: Yes
He sent me a mid-blown gif.
Weirdo. Lots of people modded Craft Cove. Usually, it was just a T-shirt redesign, but it was easy enough for kids to do it .
Seconds later, he barreled into True Tech. “Zero, I have to ask you something.”
I arched my eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to mind your store?”
“Yes. But I’ll just be a minute.” He waved it off, then plonked his upper body onto the ledge. “I have a favor to ask you.”
I ground my teeth. Those words never bode well. Also, pizza never adequately compensated for hours of free manual labor.
He upturned his palms. “So, my girlfriend loves Craft Cove. It’s the only game she plays. For her birthday, I was trying to make her dream house in-game.”
“Okay?” That was sweet, but what did that have to do with me?
“The base game stuff is a little, uh, limiting. Could you help me mod a few things?” He clasped his hands, his face shining and flushed.
“Why are you sweating?” I offered him the tissue box.
“I don’t know. I’m nervous. Plus, I ran over here.” He wiped his forehead on the sleeve of his mustard-colored shirt, then snagged a tissue.
I wagged the tissue box at him as he wiped down. “Next time, you should text. Or walk. Now, you have a weird sheen.” Who’d want to buy toys from a damp salesman?
“Gee, thanks.” He grinned, then tossed the crumpled tissue at me.
I squeaked and slid away fast enough to dodge it. Idiot. My cheeks flexed with an incredulous smile. “Now, I’m definitely not doing you a favor.”
“Wait, wait, I’m sorry.” He ran around the counter to pick up the tissue, then knelt at my feet. His earnest gaze bore into me. “Please, Zero? Will you take mercy on me? You’re my only hope of pulling this off.”
I wanted to say no and turn away. He needed to get his ass behind the dividing wall with the rest of the peasants. Instead, I sat there with the weird vibe he was proposing to me. But he wasn’t. This was a transactional request. For another woman. Something he’d ask a friend. And he did have my back with the drone thing.
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I slowly rolled my chair away. “I-I don’t know. I don’t know her. It’s a lot of work, and this isn’t an emergency.”
“Her birthday’s next week,” he said.
“Next week?” I massaged my forehead with both hands and mentally flipped through my calendar. How many items did he need? Modding could take anywhere from minutes to months. This wasn’t a teeny-tiny favor, this was a Thing. “I don’t know, Sal. It seems unlikely.”
He crawled toward me and gave me puppy-dog eyes. “You’re the smartest person I know. If we–”
“Hey, stop harassing my employees,” Ash snapped.
I cringed and closed my tabs. Shit. Did she think we were goofing off? Or…flirting?
Cheeks burning, I tugged my cap down and snuck a glance at Sal, who trashed the tissue. He didn’t seem particularly frazzled, so maybe I was reading into things. It wasn’t like he’d said I had brains and beauty. He was begging me for tech help.
“I’m not bothering anybody.” He gestured to the empty store.
“She’s working. Something you should be doing,” she said.
“Working.” He smirked and shook his head at me.
I slumped over my PC and glowered at him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t rat me out for crafting.
He lifted his chin. “I was just asking her a question, but I’ll leave. If my presence is too distracting, I’ll stay out of your way during closing too.” He held his hands up and strutted out the store with a mocking sway to his hips, like he was making a show of his exit for an audience of two.
Ash rolled her eyes. “Oh, no, we’ll be all alone with wi-fi. Whatever will we do? ”
“I know you’ll miss me,” he said, retreating to the mall.
She scoffed and strolled over. “Was he annoying you?”
“No, he was okay.” Overenthusiastic, but okay. “He wanted help with his girlfriend’s birthday present.”
“He tried to rope you into that?” Her eyes widened, and she leaned onto the ledge. “Hey, you don’t have to do shit for her, okay?”
“I know.” Why were they both being so weird about this? “Did he ask you for help too?”
She turned as if to make sure he was out of hearing range.
He’d shoved his hands in his pockets and slunk back to his toy store, no trace of the showman left.
“He won’t take my advice,” she said, watching him.
“On how to mod a special island?”
She set her mouth in a grim line. “I told him to break up with Janice.”
“Oh. Well, that wouldn't make a very good birthday present.”
“I guess.” She laughed, dragging her tablet off the counter. “He’s a nice guy. I just think he deserves better.”
“Right. Yes.” I didn’t want to gossip. That was wasteful. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t research them. “What’s his last name? And hers?”
Ash smirked and wrote down their information. I flexed my fingers over the keyboard. One way or another, I was going to repay my debt to him.