Chapter 24 (1/2)
Dan paused upon entering Abby's home. Something was different. He glanced at his friend as she shut the door behind him, before snapping his head back to the open foyer. Something was different, and he was socially obligated to comment on it. He just... couldn't quite figure out what the difference was.
His eyes roamed up and around as he walked deeper into the house. There was a silver chandelier hung above the entrance. That had always been there, right? The place was always been well lit, so it seemed a safe assumption.
The color of the walls was probably the same, not that he had ever paid attention to it. They were a sort of creamy... brown? Now that he was actually looking, he could see that the color sparkled a bit in the light, as if it had been layered with dull glitter. That would not have been Dan's first choice. The walls of his room on the space station weren't even painted; they were gunmetal grey, dull, imposing, and zero maintenance.
Probably safer for him not to comment on other people's color schemes.
What else was there? The floor was stone tile, had always been stone tile, that Dan could remember. Abby kept the house temperature hovering at just above freezing, and the uncarpeted parts of the house were a nightmare on Dan's feet.
There was a little bench against the left wall for guests to sit on, and a cubby hole shelf for shoes. Dan stuffed his sneakers into it as Abby approached his side. He smiled widely at her, not having to feign his emotion in the slightest. It had been a while. Three weeks of email exchanges while Marcus taught him how to sew wounds shut and judo throw the elderly.
Dan was a little startled to realize that Abigail was his best friend in this reality.
So when she smiled prettily at him and asked, ”So what do you think?” while waving at the blank wall behind her, he might have panicked a little bit.
He defaulted to his father's advice on talking to women, given to him when he had first entered high school. ”I think you look terrific!”
He didn't quite facepalm after, but it was a close thing.
Abby's smile widened, though, if briefly. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, right up until she rolled them good-naturedly, and patted Dan on the chest.
”That's sweet Danny, but I meant my shiny new projector system!” She flourished her hand at the wall, and the brown-glitter paint bloomed into a kaleidoscope of colors. A grid of black lines swept across the wall, forming hundreds of colorful squares that seemed to pull themselves off the wall. Dan recoiled at the optical illusion, even as the colors resolved into clear images.
A movie played on the wall, one that he didn't recognize. Abby bounced in place slightly and let out a muffled squeal of excitement.
”I covered my house in Smart Paint!” she proclaimed proudly, gesturing at the screen with both hands. She turned back to Dan, still beaming.
”It's... nice?” Dan offered.
Abby's face fell, much to his dismay.
”I don't know anything about it!” he quickly clarified. ”I'm sure it's very impressive, though.”
”You don't— Ugh! You're such a Luddite!” Abby stomped her feet angrily.
Dan held up both hands in a warding gesture. ”I'm just a little ignorant of some modern technology. That just means you get the chance to explain it to me!”
Dan glanced over her shoulder, keeping his hands posed defensively. ”So, what does 'Smart Paint' do?”
”Hmph.” Abby folded both hands across her stomach. ”Technically speaking, it can alter itself according to the signal that it receives. Practically, it lets me broadcast my television and computer screens anywhere in the house. It even makes sound!”
She clapped her hands together and the screen rippled. The distortion flowed outwards to the edges of the wall, where Dan could make out slight vibrations.
Noise filled the room.
”You covered all your walls with this stuff?” Dan asked, raising his voice over the foreign tones of an Asian drama.
Abby nodded, her smile slowly returning. ”It's the newest thing from Summerset. Super exclusive right now. I can't believe you haven't heard of it!”
Dan shrugged helplessly. ”I've been busy.”
”It was advertised for months Daniel,” she informed him with a huff.
”Well, it's very neat. So no more crystal super television for you, then?”
Abby bit down nervously on her lower lip. ”Technically my old TV had a slightly better picture, but it wasn't anywhere near as cool as this. You called it weird the first time you saw it. You still do!”
”Um.” Dan grimaced. At the time the words had just slipped out. He hadn't expected Abby to actually pay attention to them.
”I hope you—” Dan paused, chewing over his response. There was no way she bought this just because of him. Besides, she got it from her family's company. It couldn't have been that expensive.