Chapter Five

This has to be a trick.

Nicole browsed through the new icons. They seemed harmless enough. The first button had a cute puppy face. An icon of a burger and a soft drink cup were on the next. There were buttons with a shirt, a bed, a firework, and a robot on it. And there was something else Nicole hadn't noticed before. The reset button was gone; replaced by life bar. Except, where in normal games the bar started off fully green, Roxie's bar was empty.

"Hey, Roxie, I'm going to try hitting one of the buttons. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I think it's harmless. You like dogs or cats? Huh? Oh, right." Nicole had forgotten she had kept Roxie on silent since the beginning of all of this.

"Dogs."

"Here goes nothing," Nicole said as she pressed the dog icon.

A digital corgi puppy appeared in a burst of hearts. Nicole's fear of the dog being a vicious brute that was going to tear Roxie to shreds disappeared as the puppy was all wags and cuteness. Roxie lifted the puppy, and her face was covered in puppy kisses.

The bar at the top began to fill in with some green.

Okay. So maybe once that bar is full, Roxie will be freed.

Nicole began to press every button unafraid. Another puppy, a golden retriever, was added along with three kittens. The cell itself became an awesome bedroom. Nicole was able to add in a bed that was an open clamshell. Beyonce music began to play. An old fashioned 50s diner soda fountain was in the back; Nicole customized it to create root beer floats, cherry cola, and hot fudge sundaes on demand. An unlimited wardrobe was added, and Roxie was able to change into anything she wanted from a verbal command. The floor was a skating rink, and when Roxie put on roller skates the puppies and kittens got mini versions of their own. Surprisingly the animals were all good skaters. The finishing touch was a disco ball. To Nicole's surprise, giving Roxie, her bully, all these awesome things was even a little fun.

But the bar remained short of full power.

Nicole yawned and looked over at the clock. She had been "playing" for several hours. It was time to go to bed.

Maybe it'll be full after we've gotten a full night's rest.

"Good night," Nicole said. Only because it felt a little awkward to not say anything at all. Roxie was a bit preoccupied playing with the puppies and kittens to notice.

The app was downsized, and Nicole went through her bedtime routine. As Nicole laid in bed, she looked around her room, dimly lit by the moonlight. Her room wasn't nearly as cool as the one she had created for Roxie. The carpet was a boring gray; her walls were white, spotted with posters she had gotten as gifts. Nicole herself wasn't into bands or any particular fandoms. Her bed was the normal twin, sans a headboard. Her closet was full of clothes her mom bought for her. Nothing she was excited about; the things she did like her mom reminded her was "too expensive".

Why is Roxie being rewarded? Was Nicole's final thought as she drifted off to sleep.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The next morning, Nicole willingly opened the app as she ate breakfast. It was disappointing to see that the "health" bar had dropped. Roxie was currently still asleep in the bed surrounded by all the pets. Rather than disturb the sleeping beauty, Nicole got ready for school and even crammed in doing some of her homework, which she had forgotten about yesterday. Before her first class, Nicole opened the app again to see Roxie just getting up. She quickly pressed a few buttons and gave Roxie a full pancakes and bacon breakfast.

The day passed at a normal pace. Nicole felt peaceful with Roxie's absence from the halls today. There was still no panic with her disappearance, and Nicole received no insults. And she didn't have to fear someone spilling spaghetti on her jeans. Whenever she could, Nicole checked on her digital prisoner. No matter which buttons were pressed, the bar kept decreasing. Nicole tried clicking more puppies; more kittens. A never ending buffet of lobster, hamburgers, pizza, mozzarella sticks, fries, chocolate cake, and fried chicken were available for Roxie to pick from. Nicole added a TV which, as far as she could tell, actually provided every streaming service. A pinball machine was added, along with an old Pacman arcade game. The room was getting quite crowded, except the app had slightly expanded, giving Roxie more room to accommodate everything by having Nicole scroll to the left or right to move around.

"Roxie," Nicole said when she was back home after school. Talking to her phone with a missing person inside was something she was unwilling to risk. Roxie had been at the pinball machine when the app was brought up. "I think I know how you can get out of here. I don't know if you can see it, but there's like a health bar at the top. Except, I think it's a happiness bar. And, once it's full, I'm guessing you'll come out."

Nicole looked at the bar again. It was closer to being empty than full. "So, you need to tell me what you need to be happy. Then this can all be over. Hello?"

Roxie's full attention was on the pinball machine. Two of the kittens were laying on the top board and the rest were laying contentedly at her feet. A nearby drone held a box of mozzarella sticks Roxie would occasionally take one from to munch.

"Not now. I'm about to get a high score."

"Unbelievable."

What do I have to do? Nicole fumed as she made dinner. Why is it my job to make Roxie happy? I've pressed every button. Does she need more puppies? More kittens? Another pinball machine? What?

Nicole ignored her phone until the next day. It was Saturday, so Nicole opened the app after a cereal breakfast. Roxie was lounging on a couch watching TV and eating pizza.

"Morning."

"Hey." Roxie's eyes never left the TV screen. The bar was completely empty.

"Look, I really want you out of my phone. So, just tell me what you need to fill the happiness bar and we'll be done. Sound good?"

"Hmmm. I don't suppose you could give me a unicorn? Oooh, or a jet pack? Ooh, ooh, ooh, or a roller coaster?"

"A roller coaster? Um…" Nicole searched through the icons. There were no jet pack or roller coaster items. The best she could do was add a carousel (complete with unicorn horses) and a pony to add to the menagerie.

But no green appeared in the bar.

"Okay, that didn't work. At all. So, dig deep. What do you need to be happy?" It wasn't the pony. Roxie was still on the couch, ignoring the new toys. The pampered prisoner just shrugged and went back to eating pizza.

"Aaargh!" In frustration, Nicole left to go on a walk to clear her head. Unfortunately, her phone had to come with her.

Nicole wracked her brain. Each time the app had changed, it was because Nicole had refused to harm her bully. But this time, the app was forcing her to be nice. And, if Roxie was to remain a prisoner, wasn't it Nicole's responsibility to provide aid?

"Help?" Nicole asked out loud, staring at the jail in her pocket.