G-Phone

Tynan looked at the clock as he waved goodbye to yet another customer. Why did time go by so slowly today? There were still ten more minutes before he could clock out. Normally, the part-timer would have enjoyed working any extra hours at all. The money he earned would have been useful for paying bills and rent. However, that was any other day. Today, Tynan just wanted to head back home. He just received an SMS from the courier company that they'd left his long-awaited package at his doorstep. The convenience store cashier simply wanted to run home to unbox his latest purchase - the G-phone.

Slowly but surely, it was time to go home. Tynan threw off his apron and rushed to the lockers. It didn't matter if he toppled over a box of cup noodles, his co-workers would sort that out. Instead, the glasses-wearing part-timer apologised and ran off with his backpack. Kamie shook her head. Tynan was a great guy when he worked but he could be quite the klutz sometimes. She sighed and picked up the fallen cup noodles and wondered if Tynan had found himself a girlfriend for real this time. The technology university graduate was good with his hands but when it came to relationships, Kamie didn't think he was the brightest about what girls wanted.

As feet thundered on the pavement, Tynan felt his heart race in excitement. So what if he wasn't rich enough to afford an i-phone? The G-phone was a relatively unknown brand that could do exactly the same things the i-phone does. As a graduate of Information Technology, Tynan had faith in his technical knowledge. He read all the tech specs and researched for consumer reviews. This G-phone was godsent for poor people like him. This purchase is also probably the first thing that had gone right for him ever since he graduated with his degree.

Jamming his keys into the familiar door, Tynan let himself in. There was no need to turn on the lights as the bulb had blown a few days back. The part-timer simply didn't have enough time to get a replacement for it yet. Besides, it was late afternoon, he could make do with the sun. The light from the monitor was bright enough at night anyway, it wouldn't make a real difference.

The six feet tall man kicked his dirty sneakers off and bent down to pick up the box by the shoe rack outside. Yes, the box was addressed to him and already, Tynan could tell that G-phone's company took pride in its brand. The box had G-phone printed all over it and a small quote introducing their company's slogan on the top.

"G-phone - the revolution for lonely people... what's that supposed to mean?" Tynan frowned. According to the marketing campaign, the G-phone was like a lover. It would always be by the owner's side and basically worked as a digital personal assistant. But making such a statement... Was the company taking it too far?

Regardless, Tynan started unboxing his phone carefully, not wanting to damage it at all. He had the phone cover and screen protector ready beforehand. These were must-haves and a true man would never compromise on protection against scratches. If the phone was like the wife then a man must cherish it like how he would cherish his wife.

With gentle hands, Tynan placed on the tempered glass protector expertly. Truth be told, if the convenience store didn't pay him better, he would have worked at a mobile phone store to help people replace screens and paste protector sheets. Nothing brought him better joy than caring for products of technology.

After the protector was on, Tynan fit the leather phone cover casing and smiled. It was a perfect fit and the colour suited it perfectly. Usually, people would be satisfied with that but for Tynan, the initiation ritual would not be complete without a name. So far he'd named his computer, his laptop, his keyboard, mouse and old phone. Now that his old phone of four years was dying on him, it was time to say goodbye and welcome a new member into his harem.

"What should I call you?" Tynan blinked at the G-phone. Names like Sandy and Yuki were already used. His last phone was Ruby and the new phone needed something special. He just knew that buying himself a G-phone would be the biggest turning point in his life. Tynan never had the money to treat himself to expensive food or clothes. His computer was also salvaged from parts and built together from scratch. G-phone was the first luxury product he bought for himself so it had to be something special.

"Laura... The name means victory and I like starting the new chapter of my life on the right foot. With you around, let's accomplish great things together, shall we?"

Unknown to Tynan, something magical happened the moment he said that. The man was happy to plug the new phone in for it to charge while he went for a shower but the phone flickered to life even with zero percent battery.

On the screen, an image of a girl started to rub her eyes and look around. The girl had pink hair tied up with a bandana that was decorated with a cute skull. She wore a red tracksuit and looked very athletic. If anyone recognised her, they would know her as the Princess of the Dirt Track from five years ago who met a freak accident during one of her stunts. Her name was Laura and she was a professional dirt biker who performed stunts all across the globe before she vanished at the age of nineteen.

Laura was perplexed. She was staring into an enlarged version of someone's messy room when she woke up. The last thing she remembered doing was flying through the air before a rookie came slamming into her with the front wheel of his bike from the side.

"What the fuck?"