Hard Wired Trilogy DeAnna Pearce (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📖

“The techs monitor all the virtuals, but kids always try.”

“Nice,” she replied sarcastically. Ari grabbed her leather bag and pulled out her tablet to read.

Tessa stared at the electronic notebook. “Is that the Azio 7.1? Where did you get that?”

“From the tech store.”

“I didn’t think they had anything past a 6.5 here for students. I might have to grab one. I don’t like teachers accessing my custom one, especially with my gaming contacts on it. How did you get one?”

“A friend,” Ari replied not sure how to quantify her relationship with Garrett. Friend felt safe.

Ari didn’t know why she asked her next question. Maybe it was the easy grin on Tessa’s face, or maybe pure desperation. “Tessa, would you ever be willing to tutor me?”

Tessa narrowed her eyes, lined with heavy black eyeliner and mascara. “Do I look like a tutor?” She shook out her colored hair, edgy techy clothes, and a dark green shirt that read: “My other body has wings and claws.”

Ari motioned to her own dark hair, that unlike most people, she constantly wore down to hide her port, her homemade clothes, and shoes that had glued back together more than once, making her stand out amid her classmates. “Do I look like a virtual programmer?”

Chapter Eight

Ari set an alarm for her meeting with Garrett and then pulled up some reading on her tablet. She stayed awake until Tessa dropped off and then got to work on her HUB. After reading the instructions, it took her about thirty minutes to get it set. Granted, wiping her nervous sweaty hands every couple of minutes didn’t help.

By the time she finished rewiring her HUB, her alarm went off. Her stomach churned with nervous energy. She pulled on a dark hooded jacket. Once she stepped outside her dorm, the crisp night sky set Ari on edge. The idea of sneaking into school property sent fear, and a bit of excitement, coursing through her veins like caffeine. The last time she’d snuck out her brother had urged her to do it.

When she’d began her eighth year of training, the other kids at school had often harassed her for her fear of VR. Ari had already missed out on birthday parties and games, but some bullies never let up. Marco fought them for a while, but he thought Ari needed to get her own revenge.

Trying to help, Marco had hacked social parties and retrieved pictures of kids in compromising situations. Having printed the pictures in poster size, Ari and Marco posted them all over the school campus. The administrators probably knew who had done it, but Ari never heard about it. Apparently, they thought some people needed to be held responsible for their actions. Hopefully, tonight would be as successful.

Ari continued out into the night. The dim security lights gave an eerie feeling to the silent campus. She walked in the shadows alongside the path to the student lab, the silver buildings turning into menacing mountains, looming over her like robotic monsters with so much power silently sleeping.

A slight tune traveled down the darkened path. She wrapped her arms around herself, fighting against the chill. Garrett’s dark figure leaned against a tree, whistling his melody.

“Hi,” she said, grateful to see him.

Dressed in dark colors, he casually pushed himself off the tree. Even his hair was black as night.

“You changed your hair.” No wonder Ari hadn’t seen him near the tree.

“Yeah, I thought it fit in with the whole sneaking around thing. This will be fun.”

“If you think hanging around a phobic girl who may burst into hysterics any minute sounds like fun.” As much as Ari wanted to agree with him and to enjoy the night, in the back of her mind remained a nagging reminder of what lay ahead.

He gently picked up a piece of her hair and twirled it around his fingers. Her stomach fluttered at his closeness. She wondered if he was trying to distract her on purpose.

The simple gray tech building stood behind the student union, where Ari first met Garrett. He used an electronic card to unlock the door, and the gray glass door slid open in a silent rush of air.

“Won’t someone realize we came? You know cameras, data records or something?” Ari searched the empty room while crossing the threshold.

“Cameras are never looked at unless there is an unlawful entrance.” Garrett waved the key. He spoke at a normal tone, but the empty building amplified his voice, reverberating in the dark metal cavern. “I will hack into the virtual records to alter the time of use. It’s easier than deleting and that way your teacher can see that you have been practicing.”

“Can they see everything we do inside?”

“No, it would take way too much data to record every student’s usage. When it’s open, they have monitors, sort of like Dr. Coleman sets up in class. Tonight, it’s just us.” Garrett inserted his card and entered an electronic code.

With a swoosh, the door opened. Bright light flooded the room. Blinking repeatedly, Ari glimpsed rows and rows of padded reclined chairs with computer terminals, hooked up next to them. The VRs held an infinite world of possibilities and places to go, if only she could let herself relax.

“You ready?” He startled her out of her thoughts, standing close enough for her to smell the coffee on his breath. He teasingly traced a path down her arm, which brought her back to the present.

Pull yourself together. Standing here, alone with a cute boy, a third-year at that, who was trying to help her, overwhelmed her a bit. She stepped back and tried to force a smile.

“Come sit down.” Garrett took her hand and led her to a nearby chair. His casual touch surprised Ari. She assumed it probably didn’t mean as much to him as it did to her.

He booted up the system. Staring at her from above, he connected the data port in the back of her neck. She shuddered at the feel of