MICHAEL'S POV
"Naomi was taken by the lights" The same words echoed in my head as I sank into the teline booth's floor.
"Hello, Michael? You there?" Gareth repeated from the dangling phone, before he decided hang up.
I felt bad for not replying Gareth, but that didn't matter now, Naomi had been taken by the lights, and I had no guarantee of seeing her again.
Naomi was the first friend I met at Neosoft, or rather I was the first friend she made at Neosoft. I left Dumbley, that very day, against the protests of my parents, to Neosoft in Neocity. I left Dumbley with high expectations to "the most technological advanced city in Minerva", only that my high expectations were an understatement of what I met on my arrival.
Neocity was beautiful in every aspect, with its neon lights and high-rise buildings. It surprisingly didn't look technologically saturated, it was the perfect blend of nature and technology, with trees forming canopies on its streets, giving the roads a tunnel like appearance.
What even made Neocity more amazing was its famous super highway. The super highway is a magnetic highway, that formed a network above Neocity. It was called the super highway because, magnetic cars could move as fast as they could, without any traffic and without any accidents because of the magnetic repulsions between the cars, and the road.
"I have to drive there someday" I said staring at the super highways above me.
"Yeah, it's cool right?" I heard a voice say behind me, startling me.
"Uhmmmm... hello" I said, turning towards the source of the voice.
"I'm Naomi" the stranger said extending a hand towards me.
"Uhmm... I'm Michael" I said, shaking her hand.
Naomi was a bit shorter than me, and judging from our relative heights, I could have said she was a 5'5. However, Naomi's appearance seemed to complement her height. She had white hair, which she had cut to shoulders length. Her skin was pale, white as snow, as it had no spots. Her eyes most of all were a beautiful shade of blue, which seemed to twinkle. I couldn't help but stare at her eyes continuously.
"Uhmmm... could we walk to Neosoft together?" she asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"H...how did you-"
"Well, you have a bag pack, you are wearing a Neosoft branded hat and you were also staring at your phone screen for quite some time ... that was Google maps yeah?" she cut in, with her strong south Minervan accent.
"Oh yeah" I said with a defeated expression.
"Chill out, I only knew that, because a while ago, I looked exactly like you" she said, revealing a Neosoft hat in her bag pack.
"Oh wow, are you also a new recruit?" I asked her
"Yeah, I am. You should take of that hat, it won't really make a good first impression if that's what you're thinking. Plus, isn't your head overheating or something?" She said pointing at the scorching sun above us.
"Oh, y..yeahh" I said, taking off the hat, shoving it into my bag pack.
"We should get going, before it gets dark!" She announced, walking forward.
"Okay" I said, rushing to join her side.
We both walked for the next few hours, instead of taking a taxi, because Naomi wanted to "enjoy the scenery" and "explore" the city. We also made a lot of unnecessary stops, because Naomi wanted to get souvenirs, and also because she had forced me to get some unnecessary things too. However, I surprisingly didn't get irritated or annoyed by the constant stops, this was probably because I preferred it to hearing my father's blaring voice.
"Uhmmmm... Naomi? I have a question" I asked Naomi, while she was selecting some android shaped toys.
"shoot" she replied, totally engrossed in the sight of the numerous android toys.
"Why did you want to walk with me to Neosoft? I mean you could have gone on your own right?" I asked
"Well, you're right. I heard some rumors that it wasn't safe to walk alone in this place, especially if it was your first time. So, I wanted to go with someone for safety" she replied.
"Oh yeah, that makes sense" I said, wondering why there was a trace of disappointment in my voice.
"Plus, it is more fun this way, right?" she said, with her usual bright smile.
"Yeah, it is" I said, my face forming a smile.
"You should try to smile more often, you look better that way" she said nudging my shoulders.
"Yeah, I'll try" I said.
"Well, that concludes todays shopping, lets go!" she said after paying for the android toys, and a box that had "secret toy" scribbled on it. And we continued our journey to Neosoft
"Would you like to get to Neosoft... with a magnetic car, on the Super Highway?" She asked me, breaking the silence between us.
"Yeah, I would love to" I replied.
"Good, lets go!" she said, pulling me towards a repulser.
"Why are you taking me to the repulser?" I said, bringing the two of us to a halt.
"Uhmmmm... what do you think? It would repel us to the super highway of course" she said, still trying to drag me towards the repulser.
"Look, I don't know if you realize ... but we don't have a magnetic car!" I said, resisting movement.
"Of course, I know that, so I would get one for us" she said, taking out her credit bracelet.
"I don't think I can let you do that Naomi" I replied
"Why? Because I'm a girl? Would you have let me pay if I was a guy?" she replied, with a hint of offence in her voice.
"No, it's because I just met you 5 hours ago" I replied.
"Oh yeah, you're right about that, sorry for the questions I asked you" Naomi replied, letting go of my arms.
"Well, if it helps, you could say I am going to Neosoft, and you are coming with me" she said.
"I don't know, magnetic car rentals are extremely expensive" I said, pulling the locks of my hair.
"Come on Michael! It's going to be fun!" she said, taking my arms to drag me towards the repulser.
"Ok...kay" I said, reluctantly walking after her.
On getting to the repulser pad, Naomi spoke to a driver a bit far from me, and after spending some time there on what seemed like negotiations, she finally motioned for me join her and the driver next to his magnetic car.
"Hey kid! Is this your first time in Neocity" the driver asked as I approached his car
"Yeah?" I replied with a puzzled look
"Cool then, I am going to give you and this lady here a first timers discount of 80%" The driver said collecting Naomi's credit bracelet, rubbing it on the scanner.
"Thank you, sir" I said
"Hurray to our first time in Neocity" Naomi mumbled, as I stood next to her.