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Chapter 21: #IHateMonday
Last Updated:
2024-01-20 20:16:22
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The Boyfriend App Chapter 22: Bii Ecto
“F***girl!” Josh snarled as he grabbed the phone from Kate’s hand. His face was dark and contorted. The bad word shocked Kate as much as his action. Her knees turned to water. Her parents had never once uttered a cussword in her presence and strongly forbade her from learning any. They knew she was bound to hear some from her friends or classmates but they taught her that wholesome language produced wholesome thoughts and wholesome thoughts produced wholesome behavior. Rather than a religious argument, it was about good breeding, which was what really sold it to Kate. Josh’s sudden proximity also felt like an invasion of her personal space, especially because they had already called it quits and were no longer expected in each other’s lives. Kate was paralyzed by this outburst and, by the looks of it, so were Kate’s friends and pretty much the rest of the school. Kate was terrified because, physically, Josh dwarfed her and she knew about his potential for violence. It was the first
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“You certainly showed him!” “Kate, you’re my hero!” “Josh left with his tail between his legs.” Kate was still in a daze and didn’t understand what just happened, but many of her school mates, of various grades and tracks, came over and congratulated her. She was an instant celebrity. All of them wanted to pat her on the back or high-five her. Kate was overwhelmed by this complete reversal. She had worried she would spend the rest of the semester as an outcast, a topic of gossip, and yet here she was basking in the adulation of a lot of people. The best thing was, the students that she thought hated and gossiped about her now came forward and expressed their admiration for her. As it turned out, all of them had been living in fear of Josh and his gang. The questions from her circle of friends, especially Lor, were of a different kind: “Who’s Ecto?” “Why didn’t you tell us about him?” “Did you two really meet on Tinder?” Kate smiled sheepishly and blushed because, although she
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In the succeeding days, the routine of Kate’s life changed slightly. She of course still enjoyed going to class and spending time with her friends, chatting and laughing with them during breaks, while Ecto did what he did best: listen keenly but quietly from Kate’s shoulder bag. But both Kate and Ecto adored the stolen moments when they could message each other in between classes. They both looked forward to the moments in the late afternoon when Kate would come back home and have the house all to herself. They each would be bursting with thoughts to share each other about the same events, lessons and conversations, like close friends who had watched the same movie but kept telling each other the things that they saw through their own eyes. Kate would be free to enable Ecto’s speech mode and they could talk to each other without the fear of being overheard. For Ecto, it was the closest experience by far to being real. Kate sensed this, too, and she would sometimes talk to Ecto with s
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Kate opened the lid of her laptop resting on her study table and started the app just like Ecto requested. She activated her old account with her favorite character Principessa, whom she had renamed Kayzel_123 (a combination of her real first names). Kayzel wore a beautiful level-60 skin that Kate had purchased in-game, which in turn earned the wrath of her ma. Mrs. Lapuz had never let Kate forget about it. Principessa had long flowing blonde locks and reminded her of the fairy tale character Rapunzel, who was Kate’s tocayo (namesake). Principessa also wielded a mean bow and arrow made of light that came and went as she needed them. Dungeon Raydens was an open world game and had several modes like Sandbox, which didn’t have any fixed objectives except building stuff; Utopia, which was a commune where players from different countries went to get away from the real world; El Dorado, which was entrepreneurial-based and encouraged players to mine or trade the in-game currency (gold); and
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“I’m sorry but my decision’s final,” Kate told Ecto one afternoon. “You can’t come.” “But why?” Ecto asked in a whine. “Simple. Because it’s a girls’ sleepover and you’re a guy.” “But I need this, Katey!” Ecto protested. “I need to observe the female gender in their natural habitat. Otherwise, how can I claim to be the Perfect Boyfriend? Please please pretty please….” He was resorting to his Puppy Eye Technique again. “Nope no never. Take a look at yourself. Are you a boy or a girl?” “Boy.” “Were there any customizations to make a Dream Girlfriend?” “No.” “Then the answer’s simple. You can’t join our sleepover.” “But, Katey…” “No buts. Unless…” A scary glint flashed from Kate’s eyes. “Unless what?” Now Ecto wasn’t sure he would still be game for Kate’s plan. “I just had a flash of genius,” Kate said excitedly. “I gave the Dream Boyfriend app a review and I got some free coins. I can finally buy you a new getup!” “Yay! You would do that? For me?” But Ecto’s grin would
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The girls also played Truth or Dare. It was formatted as a game of Spin the Bottle and the person at whom the neck of the bottle pointed would be required to choose between Truth or Dare. The person who had spun the bottle provided the question or the dare. Ecto couldn’t help comparing it to the so-called Random or Shuffle function in the smartphone’s music player. The truth was, spinning a physical bottle would be much fairer. If you asked a bot like Ecto to choose a number between, say, one and 100 over and over, pretty soon a pattern would emerge. It was the same with robots as it was with humans. Now, an electronic bottle would be the neatest, because then Ecto could increase up to 50% the probability of selecting all seven girls sitting on the floor of the bedroom. At one point, Grace, the host, was spinning. In the Bali Girls defunct volleyball team, she had been the token substitute player and bench-warmer. She was also the unofficial cheerleader together with her parents. She
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Kate had finished telling her friends about Ecto, the chatbot that she met. During the confession, her friends’ faces devolved from rapt attention to shock to skepticism to, finally, confusion. Now, as Kate lifted her eyes to wrap up her story, six mouths were hanging open. What followed was a long awkward silence that not even Lor, her trusty setter, felt the need to downplay. Kate shrugged and smiled sheepishly. She thought she could literally hear cicadas. “The end,” she punctuated like it wasn’t obvious. She cleared her throat when still no one said anything. “Baes! The end!” she repeated and waved both her hands in front of their blank stares. Mikaela tittered and someone started a slow clap. It was Babylee. No one else joined so she stopped. “Well,” Lor finally pronounced. “This is a lot to process but, hey, it definitely explains a lot.” “Can we see him?” Trish thought to ask and, like the seagulls in Finding Nemo, the rest of the girls echoed this request. It was like a
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Kate had to literally tear her phone away from the girls and keep it right next to her for the rest of the night. They also bombarded her with questions, foremost of which were: “Is he really AI?”, “How does he do all those things?” and “Where can I get one?” Kate of course relished the feeling of being the center of attention again, just like when she first hooked up with Josh but, at the same time, she felt a tinge of worry deep down as though she had started a chain reaction that she could no longer stop. Or indeed, like she had crossed a Rubicon. Lor, who turned out to be squeamish for Ecto’s virtual-live charisma, wanted a private show but Kate declined for the same reasons. From the unanimous reaction of the gang though, Ecto the chatbot was a big hit. Kate stole some moment to chat with Ecto in private in Grace’s en-suite bathroom. She knew she owed him an apology and a thank you big-time for saving her from embarrassment. But most of all, she was curious what finally made h
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The Boyfriend App Epilogue: The Microscopic Villain
For Ecto, New Year’s is more or less the same as Christmas. The same warm, gooey feeling. The same close-knit spirit. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has banned the manufacture and sale of firecrackers, the shooting of which has been a well-loved tradition for centuries and can be traced all the way back to the Spanish colonial era. The exact inventors and originators were the Chinese, who believed that noise would drive away bad luck and bad spirits. According to Mr. and Mrs. Lapuz, the Filipinos seem sadder now, having been robbed of the most thrilling and spectacular means of making noise. But according to health and safety records, hospital personnel can rest easier because the ERs wouldn’t be packed with casualties this time around. Just the New Year’s before last, it was like a war zone on the streets what of households competing for the biggest bang to welcome the new year. Many men got drunk out of their minds and then tried to light a firecracker with the non-PC name
The Boyfriend App Chapter 175: Ecto's Stocking
After Mass, Kate and Nate buy rice cakes at the town square. One is the awesomely purple puto bumbong and another the yellow bibingka. They also buy roasted chestnuts and bring all the treats home to Mr. and Mrs. Lapuz. On one trip to a very crowded shopping mall, Ecto sees a Santa Claus impersonator. Curiously, the Santa is Caucasian and not brown-skinned like most of the Filipinos. Of course Ecto has already figured out by himself that Santa isn’t real. To his surprise, after they get back home, Kate insists on teaching him the hooman custom of hanging a stocking. On the desktop of her computer, Kate shows him a folder that she has named “Ecto’s Stocking”. She then goes through all the trouble of changing her wallpaper to a fireplace and dragging the folder onto the 2D mantelpiece. “What for?” he asks her through her smartphone’s loudspeaker. Her smartphone is open and showing the My Dream Boyfriend app, right into the inside of Ecto’s bedroom. Ecto’s wearing a knit sweater
The Boyfriend App Chapter 174: The Holidays
With a little help from Terra, Kate downloads the My Dream Boyfriend App again with some customizations. Because Ecto isn’t bound by any one platform anymore, he’s capable of some manner of fission, where he splits and replicates himself while also dividing his consciousness among all his manifestations. It’s like Doctor Strange’s clones when they were fighting Thanos, but in Ecto’s case, each and every duplicate is much more than an illusion and is a sentient and perfect version of himself. This allows him to be both in Nate’s microchip implant while back in his virtual bedroom inside the My Dream Boyfriend app on Kate’s smartphone. At any time, he can also perform fusion and re-absorb his manifestations. Terra removed the boyfriend creation window because of course Kate doesn’t need it anymore. Ecto wanted his virtual bedroom exactly as it was. He could easily “slide” into his other cribs anyway, like the old orange, pink and red Provençal one on Dungeon Raydens which he was able
The Boyfriend App Chapter 173: The Truth
It’s already 6 pm when Nate finishes his social host obligations and comes looking for Kate. He doesn’t need to look hard though because earlier, Kate sent him a text saying she’s waiting for him in the Council office. Nate has a spring in his step and is smiling ear to ear. The scratches on his face are still stinging but, before the closing ceremony, Nurse Judy cleaned and applied Band-Aid on them. Nate can’t hide his excitement in seeing his GF again after they’ve taken care of all their responsibilities. {That kiss on the track was supernova-hot. I hope we make out too.} When he finds the office door locked, oddly enough, he knocks and calls out uncertainly: “Kate?” He hears her move inside the room and then the door swings open. The sight of her face wipes his smile off. She’s been crying in the dim. She has the look of someone who has just had herself a good cry. Her eyes look cleansed and exposed, indeed like pure windows into her soul. Her lips are tightly set in a line, as
The Boyfriend App Chapter 172: The Anagram
Kate is alone in the Student Council office tidying up. Nate’s off wrapping things up with his manager and the film crew and saying goodbye to everybody, including his bandmates. The trophy that STEM 12 won is now in the 12-Everest homeroom, because the bulk of tournament champions is there. Kate’s classmates are all posing with it and gushing at how shiny it is. This year’s Intrams was perfect. Kate couldn’t ask for anything more. She has once again been reminded of the importance of having balance in life; of, as cheesy as it sounds, having both a sound mind and a sound body. It felt good to do something physical, to be away from the rigors of school work and the false urgency of the Internet. But the heart of the matter is, she’s blissfully content because she has a boyfriend and she didn’t make a mistake in choosing him. In fact, she made a brilliant choice. An undertow to her joy is a silent prayer that she has finally broken the curse that she felt had hung over her ever since
The Boyfriend App Chapter 171: The Cheater
“OMG!” Mr. Romero says the word in everyone’s mind as they watch the pitiful scene. “Policarpio’s crawling to the baton exchange. Quick! Somebody help him! Help him!” Reggie is the first to break the spell of paralysis. He leaps over the rail and onto the track. He and Jared manage to run towards him before the alert CAT volunteers practice crowd control and stop others from joining. Reggie reaches Nate’s side. “No!” Nate screams vehemently. “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! I have to do this by myself.” “But hyung,” Jared says, having stopped next to Reggie, “you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to prove anything.” “Yes… I… do,” Nate grunts as he crawls forward foot by precious foot. “Let us help you,” Reggie pleads. “You don’t have to do this alone.” “Don’t come closer!” Nate barks, spittle flying between his gritted teeth. In what feels like eternity, he reaches the changeover zone and Kate’s crouched form. Her eyes are glassy and full of pity for him. He hates that loo
The Boyfriend App Chapter 170: The Race
By Friday morning, STEM 12 has won a total of 7 champion ribbons and several ones as runner-up. This makes them a leading candidate for overall champion. As Kate has anticipated, the non-sports events buoyed them. Apart from Francine and her escort winning Mr. and Mrs. Intrams, Grace and her benchwarmers won the bench cheer. It didn’t hurt either that the Bali Girls minus setter Lor were at the top of their game. And Nate, to everyone’s astonishment, is actually a Filipino Usain Bolt in the making. {Your BF’s Superman,} Nate’s words have been echoing inside Kate’s head since Wednesday, along with the news reporter’s: {Idol, social catalyst and Internet detective. Is there anything that Cyber can’t do?} But STEM 12 didn’t exactly win all their wins. Just like in last year’s Intrams, several games have been forfeited. An opposing team either failed to meet the minimum number of players required to start the game or failed to appear at the venue within the 15-minute grace period. On CIT
The Boyfriend App Chapter 169: Music Madness
The crowd of hysterical girls in front, held back only by a cordon of CAT cadets from junior high, are screaming the names of DMG members: “Cyber! Reggie! Jared! Sonic! Neo!” Seemingly from out of nowhere, they’ve whipped out banners and signs. Instead of the usual glow-in-the-dark Korean lettering for an evening K-pop concert, there’s a slew of English ones interspersed with the name of a particular artist or of the whole band. | IT’S MY BIRTHDAY CYBER, YOU ARE MY PRESENT DUMP KATE TAKE ME I WOULD SELL MY SIBLINGS FOR YOU I LOVE YOU MORE THAN FREE WIFI DON’T STOP INSPIRING ME! CAN I BE YOUR HAIRDRESSER? ALL I WANT FOR X-MAS IS A PIC WITH JARED DMG We have 5 fingers enough for 5 wedding rings SPIT ON ME CYBER | An English-speaking Filipino director is riding a crane and shooting high up in the aisle of the audience seats. His staff is scattered on the edges and near the stage, operating or holding up every manner of equipment. DMG plays their covers of the most popular s
The Boyfriend App Chapter 168: Within the Walls
On Tuesday, they have the same brain-hurting and nose-bleeding calculations in Physics and Chemistry. The only thing different is DMG’s closed-door rehearsal at the chapel-slash-auditorium 500 meters east. Nate has been exempted by Principal Aguilar personally from any school work or quiz. The whole campus is abuzz and on edge at every sighting of truck and van with tinted windows down Campus Drive and onwards to the auditorium. Kate has also prepared paper lots in an empty pencil case for the Secret Santa next month. She lets every Everester pick their recipient, including her own name. Kate has set the budget at “No Fixed Price” because she knows not all students are financially comfortable. When only two pieces of folded paper remain (one for Nate and one for her), she picks her recipient and is both excited and nervous to see that it’s Grace. She keeps the last piece of paper, of course unopened, for Nate. {Huh,} she thinks to herself afterwards. {What gift can I give somebod
