In Between Codes

Chapter 3

"--> Say this: Keep talking, man. I've seen your 'stealth' runs. You walk louder than my mom's Roomba.<--"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Samantha sent instruction.

"--> Say this: And his kill-death ratio's a hate crime.<--"

The team practically howled.

The teasing kept going for a few more minutes — until one of them said it:

"Hey, for real though — your cousin? The one in the video? She's hot, man. If she's single, hook a brother up."

Tomy froze for a beat.

The laughter dulled in his ears. Something clenched in his chest — not anger exactly, but discomfort. He reached out to grab his water bottle, but bumped the stack of clothes with his elbow.

Thud — they toppled to the floor.

"I'm out," Tomy said abruptly, slipping off his headset. "Later."

He didn't wait for their replies. The muffled voices of his teammates faded as he turned his focus to the pile of clothes now strewn across the carpet.

With a sigh, he got on his knees and started folding them again.

Shirts, shorts, one sock with a hole in it...

He opened his closet and began to put away his clothes. But when he opened his underwear drawer he paused.

Sitting right there, carefully placed on top of his underpants were a set of pink cotton panties, patterned with tiny prancing unicorns.

Tomy stared at the panties for a long moment before he picked them up. He held them with  both hands, unfolding them and revealing them fully. They were soft to the touch. They smelled of detergent. Clean. Fresh. Recently washed. Recently placed.

This wasn't an accident, Tomy thought.
She didn't forget it.

Alison had deliberately put them there

He looked over his shoulder toward the door, as if someone might be watching, then turned his gaze back to the panties and said quietly, "Samantha?"

The soft female voice of his AI's voice responded into his earpiece. "Yes, Tomy?"

"Do you see what I'm seeing?"

"Affirmative. Fabric item: pink panties, unicorn motif. Your size. Alison left them for you."

"What... what does it mean?" he asked, voice low, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

"I'll begin analysis."

Tomy waited as Samantha scanned her knowledge banks and cross-referenced the web

Finally, Samantha replied:

"Symbolism inconclusive. No immediate cultural or semiotic interpretation matches the gesture precisely. Estimated confidence in accurate interpretation: 17.6%."

Tomy frowned. "You don't know what she meant?"

"I cannot determine her intention based on available data," Samantha said. "Shall I initiate a deeper internet scan and review sentiment archives from previous interactions?"

"Yes," Tomy said firmly. "Do a full sweep. Everything you have. Socials. Private logs. Online behavior patterns. Dig deep."

"Understood. Running extended analysis."

A long pause.

"Tomy... while I do my research, you may get your answer quicker if you ask Alison directly."