Beep. Beep. Beep.

My eyes opened, assailed by the bright, invasive light of the LCD. Pressed to the fiberboard surface of my desk, my face was plastered with drool and my neck ached terribly. Yawning, it seemed, was out of the question. I rubbed my eyes weakly. Had I really passed out at my desk again? Just as well. I probably couldn't have slept on the bed if I wanted to, as much junk as had been piled there. Grumbling incoherently, I shut off the alarm, only to do a double-take when I realized the time.

7:00 AM!?

I sucked in a breath, clutching my chest as I turned every shade of blue and purple. No way, no way, no way. I swiveled back to my desk, knocking over stacks of manga and trash. How could I let myself fall asleep at a time like this? The deadline was in an hour and I had only written—

My mouth fell open as I scanned the monitor. I furrowed my brows, blinking disbelievingly at the wall of xors and semicolons on my screen. Three hundred lines of code? How did I manage to squeeze that into my six-hour snooze? It was done? With an hour to spare? Wow. I must have really been in the zone! Yeah, the Twilight Zone, I pretended not to have thought. I rubbed my eyes vigorously and looked a little closer. Sure enough, the counter still read a magical three hundred.

I thought this over only for a moment before shrugging and hurrying off to the kitchen. No point looking a gift horse in the mouth, right?

Groggily, I flipped on the lights and reached for the coffee maker, only to find, to my horror, a moldy coffee filter still festering within. I grimaced in disgust. Well, how about some juice, then? Sure enough, I opened up to a completely empty fridge. There wasn't even a bottle of ketchup or a forgotten takeout box. Literally nothing. My stomach groaned.

That's right, I thought. Mom always did the grocery shopping.

I slammed the fridge door, turning to find a massive pile of dishes in the sink. I wrapped my arms around my torso in surprise, a curse slipping from my lips. Where did those come from? Oh yeah, I thought. Mom always did the dishes.

My chest ached again, and I could do nothing to stop the swell of emotions. Was I always so completely useless? I never noticed it before… but as I wrapped myself up in a thousand layers of focus, who was it that shuffled around in the background, gathering up the discarded wrappers and Styrofoam cups?

I pursed my lips. I couldn't keep dwelling on that. More importantly, all of these dishes… Someone should really do them. I should really do them. I rubbed my arm—the insubstantial, battery-powered, plastic shell that I called an arm. I really, really ought to do those dishes. After all, they reek, and if I leave them, there will be bugs before long. Heck, there probably already are. I mean, it would be easy. I just have to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. No biggie. Ten minutes, tops.

…

Sighing, I turned away from them. But no! No, no, no! I spun back on my heel, slamming my hands down on the counter. I really ought to do these dishes, damn it! Breathing heavily, I stared blankly into the pile. Come on, Akane! Just… But how do I even start?

My muscles loosened and I collapsed back on my heels, defeated. I wiped my sweat on my sleeve. Maybe I should just watch some anime or something. Yeah.

That was when I heard it. Faint at first, but sure enough, there it was: the electronic tones of Koi wa Sensou, blaring through a million layers of dirty clothes and a crackling, low-def phone speaker. My ringtone, painstakingly cropped, had been completely unheard for the last two weeks. After all, mom was the only person who ever called me. So, who could this be? Some extremely persistent bill collector? I broke into a sprint and zipped across the house, digging through a mountain of unwashed garments. Before long, I found it.

I found myself sweating as I gazed down at the unfamiliar number. Should I answer it? No. No no no no no! Talking on the phone was almost worse than talking in person, and I… I chewed on my lip. But what if it was important? I had never included my phone number on my resume, so it couldn't be for work. All of the bills were payed online. The bank always contacted mom via E-mail. All of her affairs had been settled, too. So why? Who on earth would call my phone?

Hands shaking, my fingers hovered over the touch screen. What should I do? Shutting my eyes in a panic, I swiped quickly to the left, rejecting the call. Suddenly, all of the tension in my body seemed to melt away. I let out a big breath, thoroughly relieved. But then…

It started ringing again.

I let out a shrill exclamation of distress, pulling at my hair. What!? They called back!? Oh no oh no oh no what do I do? Just answer it, I tried to pretend I hadn't thought.

"Okay… okay okay okay okay… It's just a phone call, so…" I gulped hard, steadied my breathing and, wincing, swiped to the right. Tremblingly, I lifted the speaker to my ear.

"Hello!?" I practically screamed into the phone, eyes wide, pale and rigid.

"Oh my—uh—Hello? Might this be Akane-chan?"

I furrowed my brows. How long had it been since the last time someone called me that? How long since I heard my name spoken at all? I started to answer, but instead, my lips moved soundlessly, like a fish out of water, gasping for breath, only to realize that its lungs weren't meant for the cold, dry air of man.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

I shook my head. This was no time for a case of nerves! Speak!

"Y-yes! This is Akane!"

"Eh? Akane-chan!? Wonderful! I was hoping to catch you awake. Do you know who this is?"

I frowned. My face was so sweaty. I was holding the phone so tight. My heart was pounding. But this person was none the wiser, so maybe phone conversations had their perks.

"N-no…?"

A hearty laugh. "I didn't think you would remember me. Last time I saw you, you were barely waist-high! My name is Doctor Kuseno. I'm an old associate of your father's."

I straightened a little bit, the pounding in my heart momentarily alleviated. "Of… my father's…?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to Sakako-chan—eh, well, your mother. She was much too young."

I winced. She was too young. And I was an idiot. I was too scared to leave the house even to see her at the hospital or attend her funeral. I imagined her weeping in heaven at what a hopeless girl she raised.

"Yeah…"

"Oh! I should be ashamed of myself for reopening fresh wounds so recklessly. I'm afraid I only just found out today. This old man has been too wrapped up in his work, it seems. Tell me, Akane-chan, how are you doing?"

I tilted my head. What a strange call. I wiped some of the sweat from my forehead. "Um… I…" My voice croaked and I winced anew, clearing my throat. "I'm…" I paused to look around at the wreckage and filth that was my room. Was that a moldy sandwich poking out from under the laundry? Yeugh…

"Akane-chan?"

"I-I'm fine!" The words came out a little harsher than I meant.

"…Oh. Well, I'm glad to hear it. Hrm… Eh! Now, if I remember correctly, there was a certain young lady who was very talented with her studies! You must be in college right about now?"

I frowned. "Well… that is…" I hadn't gone. I never even finished high school. Mom always used to scold me about it, but I just couldn't go back. Not after what happened. Besides, who needs school? You can learn everything you need on the internet.

"Hmm? Is the connection bad?"

I sighed. "I… uh… I'm finished with school…"

"Ohh! As one would expect, Akane-chan! What was your major?"

I was beginning to feel light headed. Did I forget to breathe again? I shuffled my feet. "Um… Software engineering?"

"Ohhh! Taking after your dear father, eh? He would be very proud. I think he always hoped you'd inherit his love for science. Are you working in the field yet?"

I rubbed uncomfortably at the base of my neck. So, so sweaty. "Er… I'm freelancing."

"Tsk, tsk! That won't do. Some nameless little contractor is so easily forgotten in today's market. And you're on your own, so you should really have stable work, shouldn't you?"

"Uh… I make enough to get by." Barely.

"Nonsense! You should aim higher! A young woman of your talent should have ambition!"

This was a familiar line. My mother used to say the same thing. "Uh… No, it's fine… it's pretty tough to find steady work from home. Most places want you to go in from nine to five…"

A pensive silence. "I see… Well, I'm a bit of a night owl myself…"

I blinked. That wasn't really the problem, but… I guess normal people probably didn't live in self-imposed seclusion, after all. He couldn't possibly imagine what I was living with. But is this really living? I pretended not to have thought.

"Well, say, I happen to be looking for an assistant myself. Are you still living in City Z?"

My eyebrows shot up and the sweating resumed. "Uh—Yes, but—"

"Perfect! Why don't you come to my lab tomorrow and feel it out? I assure you, the work is much more fulfilling than debugging login pages. Say… noon? Ah, make it one, that way you can have lunch with us. I'll text you the details!"

Abruptly, he hung up, leaving me slack-jawed and stunned. No way was I leaving this house. No way, no how! And certainly not to meet with some stranger. And… did he say us? I shuddered. Not a chance.

A/N: Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit short, too. It's going to be a few more chapters before we really start seeing any action, though, so please bear with me. If you want to see some artwork of Akane, check out my devART page. The username is ZeroHope2Survive. :3 Reviews are deeply appreciated!