[completed] Nova Carter knows exactly what the next few years of her life will look like: she will work harder than anyone else (as she didn't get into New York University to slack off); she'll be keeping her head down and prioritizing getting her a...
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Chapter Four | Pictures Of Girls
♫Pictures Of Girls by Wallows
The building in front of me sits slightly tilted, its entire left side swallowed by green. Atlas turns around and faces me where I've paused on the pavement, taking in my amazed look as I gaze at it.
"It's even better on the inside, believe it or not." His hair is caught by the wind, sweeping over his forehead and grazing his dark eyebrow. At first I think he's mocking me, but he looks at the windows and takes another step. "Are you coming?"
I nod and follow him into the café, that's buzzing with life. The interior is what my mother would call industrial, with brick walls and black shelving units and tables made out of a shiny iron. The same green that swirls outside hangs overhead, creeping up walls and circling table stands to meet around the silver lampshades. Between the strands of the plants hide miles of fairy lights, a golden glow that stretches everywhere around me. I realize it's the exact golden glow I always imagined New York to have, alive right in front of me. If I didn't know any better I'd think I can hear it buzz.
"This is Tessellate Pit," says Atlas. He pulls his hands from his pockets and rubs them together as he glances around. Our backs are still to the doors and someone brushes past us to head to the counter at the back. "It's like your regular lunchroom slash café, except they've digitalized everything. You sit at your table and fill in your order on the table, which has like this built-in screen, and they bring it to you. You gotta get your own drinks, though, if you want something cold."
"Did you somehow drag me into the future without me noticing?" I ask, following Atlas as he claims a booth by the window.
He grins at me. "This place is amazing, isn't it? This is one of those spots I mentioned at the party on Monday, where I feel at home? I remember my Dad took me here the day it opened, I thought it was one big joke, like a social experiment or something." He shrugs off his coat and bundles it up, stuffing it between himself and the window. "He's always said that these amazing things, these groundbreaking, futuristic breakthroughs are already coming to life all around us. We've grown so accustomed to amazing technology that we forget to be amazed with how submerged in it we actually are."
"Is your dad very into that kind of thing?" I ask. I follow his example and let my coat slip off my shoulders, bundling it up and laying it down next to me with my bag. I debate laying my phone on the table, but I don't know how it works. Maybe it'll connect to the restaurant's screen via Bluetooth, or the same way wireless chargers work, and display all of my notifications or something like that. In any way, I'm not willing to risk it and keep my phone clutched between my thighs underneath the table.
"What, technology?" Atlas checks.
I nod and he purses his lips, shrugging his shoulders.
"He's in the technology branch, so I guess he kind of has to be. He's one of those people who refuses to lose touch with the world's developments as he grows older." Atlas sweeps his hand across the screen and with a sound that resembles a text message being sent, a virtual leaf blows across the iron and reveals the menu. "Anyway, we came here for lunch, did we not?" He laughs at my amazement.
