Lead me to Heaven

New Cellphone

Her mother was surprised to hear her make up her mind about changing shifts after opposing her arguments in favor of the morning shift too often, but didn't ask, fearing that talking too much about it might make her change her mind. The woman had been trying to change her daughter’s nocturnal habits for years. Sending her to the afternoon shift seemed like the only way she’d get some sleep, but lately, even that wasn't enough. Sandy would stay up until four am and then wake up early to do her homework and make herself some early lunch before going to school. Then there was violin and french and Japanese and gym and the band rehearsals, yet she was OK with that. In her eyes, the problem wasn't that her daughter had too many extra curricular activities, but the aversion to going to bed at a normal time. She had tried everything and anything from threatening to grounding her to mold her schedules, but even when Sandy did get to bed early, she’d just toss and turn most of the night. She could hear her from the next room, as easily as she could the never ending tapping of her fingers in her computer’s keyboard.

“Fine. I’ll talk to the Headmaster.” She agreed without a second’s hesitation. “He’s not just gonna let me switch, you know.” Sandy replied, her eyes on the road. “I’ll tell him that you’re gonna start working on the family business or something like that.” She said unworried. If there was a person capable of convincing anyone of anything, that was Sandy’s mom. “If you say so...”

The following day, Sandy left school in a hurry. She walked a couple of blocks, took the subway and picked her mother up from her job. Happy to see her and in a good mood because of the idea of getting a new cellphone, Sandy’s mom was glowing as they walked a couple of blocks through a really busy street until they got to the right shop. It was a small place, almost a cave among bigger shops and department stores, but everything in it was clean and tidy.

A young woman asked if she could help them and Sandy’s mom explained the situation to her. They showed her the broken phone and Sandra interrupted the saleswoman’s speech to ask if there was a way to fix her old phone. She was sure that would be cheaper than buying a new one and she knew their domestic economy wasn't great. It was getting better since her parents had divorced, but they still couldn't spend loads of money on gadgets.

The woman explained that there was a new technology available that included a microchip capable of storing the phone numbers of all the contacts instead of the phone memory, so that if the phone got damaged, the information could still be salvaged by taking out the chip and placing it into a new phone. It was state of the art technology and, of course, Sandy’s mom got dazzled by the saleswoman and she wouldn't hear about repairing the old piece of junk.

After a while of having the woman compare all the features of three different phone models and brands, Sandy had started to feel a little interested in them despite herself. Being her uncle’s niece, she had a thing for technology and her mother had taught her how to program in FoxPro when she was little, just to keep her entertained. She had heard a bunch of instructions from her mother before she started experimenting on her own with a really thick book as guide and anything technological fascinated her.

Her mother was indecisive between two models, because she swore she couldn't tell the difference between the functions in those two and was too confused by the technical details to remember much, so she turned to her daughter and asked which one she wanted.

The three options available were, of course, the cheapest in the market, but then again, there wasn't much to choose from. It was either those, or the latest models, which were the first ones with color screens.

Unlike her mother, Sandy had been paying attention to the woman’s explanations and was torn between a newer version of her old nokia or a silver alkatel with a horrible orange screen. She really loved her old phone, but the new model, although cheaper than the alkatel, was unable to send text messages and didn't allow the user to compose his or her own ringtones either. It was a tough decision because she really didn't want her mom to spend any more than was necessary but at the same time, she loved the idea of being able to send text messages and compose her own ringtones, even if the screen was monochromatic.