In the blue dim light room, a cold, leaden weight of loss settled in Garret's chest, an unyielding presence.
The pressure in his jaw intensified, a silent scream trapped between his teeth.
Garret rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the echo of endless loss.
He needed something else.
With a deep breath, he forced a lightness into his voice, letting the sound of it coat the tension in the room.
"What's up, Cubie? What's the plan?"
His tone, playful and teasing, drifted through the stillness, a languid gesture following, all while his mind scrambled to maintain some control.
"Garret, you are... adequate."
The cube's voice, glitching and playful, cracked as it delivered its sarcastic phrase.
Then, with a sudden flicker and a faint, high-pitched whine, the radiant neon-blue core of Cubie-chan materialized beside him,
encased in a delicate lattice of polished alloy.
The alloy shimmered with an almost liquid iridescence, two thin lines of light flickering in, what looked like playful eyes.
Across its surface, incomprehensible glyphs pulsed with soft luminescence,
a faint curve of light accentuating the line beneath its eyes.
Garret's jaw locked. His eyes widened as he registered the cube's sudden presence, his breath catching in his throat.
"Adequate? You're malfunctioning, Cubie."
"At least..." Cubie-chan flickered, its voice crackling.
"I'm not a goofy human, like you. [^U^]"
Garret's jaw tightened, and a dry, humorless scoff escaped him.
He exhaled slowly, shaking his head.
His shoulder hitched, and his palm slapped his forehead.
"As a human," he said with weary exasperation,
"I can't even begin to clarify what you just said."
He took a deep breath, a strange insult ringing in his ears.
"Because you're just a little dingbat..."
The cube pulsed, and suddenly a magnificent smile stretched across its light display.
"And you're just an untrained bot."
Garret's voice dropped low, his eyes narrowing with a hint of amusement.
"No, I'm not an untrained bot. I'm Cubie-chan, the cutest sentient being in this universe."
Its voice, laced with a childish playful tone.
"Oh, Cubie-chan," Garret said, rolling his eyes with exaggerated affection.
"For real, you're definitely the cutest thing in this universe."
Cubie-chan's eyes lit up, the light from them flashing in response to Garret's flat stare.
The smile on the cube flared, and a sudden burst of light filled the room,
pink blushes appearing on its surface.
"I appreciate it, Garret."
Garret's laugh bouncing off the blue-lit walls.
The faint hum of the cube's core resonated with it.
This thing was insane, he thought.
"Cutest?" he muttered, his voice still dripping with sarcasm.
"In a 'last two standing' scenario? Congratulations, you are the winner."
Just as the last word left his lips, his phone vibrated,
a holographic, randomness brainrot flickering across the screen.
It was a distorted, electronic version of wake-up call.
"Happy death day to you.
Twinkle twinkle little star.
You Stupid Ahhh.
Nothingness and puppeteer.
4k Spinning fish."
The brainrot alarm, a blender of broken circuits board and forgotten nursery rhymes filled the blue dim light room.
Cubie-chan's light flickered, its normally playful eyes morphing into a straight, perplexed line,
it's light mouth formed a flat, unmoved line.
"What the heck did I just hear"
Garret hesitated, then he dashed to the plain wooden table on the corner of his room.
As he neared, the phone synced to his bio-signature in this sector, projected the lock screen, its chronometer display counting down to 07:00, each tick a hammer blow in his ears.
A harsh pounding of his heart while his hand trembled as he reached for it.
He snatched it up, the stark gray light of the phone screen washing over his eyes, casting sharp angular shadows across his face.
His breath catching, his eyes darting across the flashing number of the time display:
07:00.
"Seven o clock?"
The brainrot alarm's aftershock, a chaotic blend of static and nursery rhymes, still echoed in his ears.
"Morning assembly of first day semester? Half past seven? We're late!"
Garret's voice cracked, a gasp escaping him.
Then he continued.
"Cubie, we got to go!"
The cube pulsed, its glowing mouth dropping open in a silent '0'
"Oh sure, let's go to the
Cosmic Ranger academy in those pink pajamas..."
Garret ripped open the closet, hangers clattering like a frantic percussion, his movements a blur of panicked energy.
---
Now, the Academy uniform, a stark black coat over a crisp white shirt and blood-red tie, encased him.
Black trousers and polished shoes completed the severe look as he faced Cubie-chan.
"I'm ready!" Garret's deep voice resonated.
He glanced at the floating cube.
"So handsome!" Its voice high, and feminine.
Cubie-chan noticed Garret's eye rolled.
It pulsed slightly before continuing. "Anyways let's go.
As Garret approached the door, his fingers brushed the biometric sensor.
A faint hum vibrated beneath his palm as the door hissed open, revealing the luminescent footpath, that ran along the street filled with sleek, silver cyber cars.
"Hurry up cubie! the teleport centre is 500 meters ahead."
Garret's voice stuttering, his breath coming in shallow gasp.
Cubie-chan, floating by him, pulsed faintly, its blue core brightening in response.
The boy and the cube, dashed toward the glowing footpath. Then, they noticed the teleport centre.
A streamlined dome of polished chrome and shimmering energy fields radiated in the distance.
Its entrance, the glowing portals, a vast, triangle shape pulsed with a soft violet light.
As his shoes clicked on the cold granite floor, the sound resonated across the centre. Behind the counter, a tall man with an undercut and a toothbrush moustache looked up, his smile a practiced curve. "Good morning, young one. How can I help you?"
"Ew, mister!" Cubie-chan's high-pitched voice piped up, a mischievous trill in its tone. "Your moustache looks like a toddler's drawing. Garret's eyes widened, his face flushing a bright red as the tall man's hand flew to his moustache. Without hesitation, Garret linged forward and slapped his hand over Cubie-chan.
"I sincerely apologize for my bot's immaturity, sir."
The tall man's eyes flickered at Garret's bow, a soft chuckle rippled from his lips.
"Never mind, young one."
Garret let out a soft sigh, a subtle sense of relief washing over him.
As the low hum of the crowd's frustrated voices vibrated around Garret, a tangible pressure amplifying his own rising panic.
He gripped his phone from his pocket, his hand trembled, the device slick with a nervous sweat that made his grips unsteady.
His eyes darted towards the ticking second of the clock.
07:14.
Its harsh gray light reflected his eyes, cut through the neon violet of the teleport centre.
His thumb fumbled across the transport app, finally locking onto the location address.
He held his phone to the tall man, the screen a silent plea in his trembling hand.
"Cosmic Ranger academy... sir."
The employee took his phone, the scanner emitting a soft blue light as it processed the app.
Suddenly, Cubie-chan pulsed, two glowing lines of light widened in surprise.
"Why do you have to scan the phone? Why not just press the button?"
Its voice, high and feminine, held a note of genuine curiosity.
Garret paused, a quick, silly image of himself popping up and down like toast in a broken elevator flashing in his mind.
"Well,"
he started, a slight wry smile touched his lips,
"I used to just do that... And I got struck."
Cubie-chan pulsed softly, its synthetic eyes swiveling towards the sudden flare of a commotion nearby.
A woman, her voice edged with entitlement, sparred with a weary-looking transit employee. "Two ICD? Are you kidding me? It used to be one-point-six! Highway robbery, I tell you" Heads snapped around. A wave of Embarrassed gazes fell on the women, a judgment of disapproval.
But just as Cubie-chan leaned in, its interest piqued, a soft ding from its mobile interface cut through the tension.
"Transit fare: 1 ICD deducted. Have a safe travel."