Twilight Recollection - Ch 1

                                  Twilight Recollection

                                        Idea Phone
                                   <-----Chatroom----->
Toven: NN, you there?
NN: I'm here, man. Wassup?
Toven: I'm back in Norma now. I decided that home education should come before studying abroad.
NN: Really? How far did you go?
Toven: Honestly, I only got as far as New York before I got second thoughts.
NN: You try their brick oven pizza?
Toven: I did, actually. Quite delicious.
NN: So which school are you going to? Or are you just going to Norma's?
Toven: Norma's.
NN: Catch up with friends?
Toven: Of course not. I have none.
                                    <-----Norma----->
                                          School
A young student sits through Mr. Pillar's math class. He is paying attention, but is bored all the same. The part of his mind that isn't thinking about equations is remembering his chat with his online pen pal, NN (N-Two).

NN: No friends? That's gotta suck.
Toven: Not really. There isn't anyone here I can see myself getting along with.
NN: Like?
Toven: Well, there's Dave, for example. He's a muscle-bound jock with the intellectual patience of an irritated bull. His default solution to any problem is to charge at the opposition. I don't know the state of his grades, but I suspect he's only passing through sheer momentum.

The jock in question, Dave Baskel, is only half paying attention to Pillar, doodling in his notebook. A stick figure of himself is punching out a dinosaur.

NN: Well, you aren't the athletic type, so I get why you wouldn't get along with him. Anyone you could have intellectual conversations with?
Toven: That would be Maria. She's top of our class, but her ego is… irritating. You know those TV shows where an antagonist would be an arrogant cheerleader captain who's loved by everyone? Think that, only with brains.

Maria Astrum, admired for her looks and smarts, has already solved all equations in today's class, and now checks the state of her fingernails.

NN: Okay, that's another one down. Is there anyone a bit more… humble?
Toven: Closest thing to that would be Bill. There's really nothing special about him.

Bill Carlson is also present… and that's about it.

Mr. Pillar: And that's it for today's class. Remember to hand in homework next week, alright?
Dave: Hey, Bill! Me and the boys are hanging out in the park. Make sure you bring drinks!
Bill: Uh… I actually have to, er…
Dave: C'mon, man, lighten up!
Bill: Oh… all right… my homework will have to wait.
Maria: (On cell phone) Listen, I'm going to the park now. Why? 'Cuz Dave's going there, of course!
Bill: …
Maria: Hold on, Dave's tagalong is looking at me. (To Bill) What?
Bill: Er… nothing!
                                   <---------->
                                       Park
Toven is walking through the park to get his exercise for the day when something falls onto his head and lands at his feet. After recovering from the impact to his skull, he sees that it's a strange cell phone of some sort. It has the letter "I" on its casing, and is somehow still in working order after a fall like that. As he sits on a bench and toys with it a little, Bill has rejoined the football team and Maria's posse with soda.

Dave: See! Told ya he'd come through! Macky, pay up!
Maria: So, Dave, how do you think you'll win the next game? With a throw, or are you gonna run for it?
Dave: Aw, I'll just do whatever. Won't know until the time comes, right?
Bill: But… but, doesn't football need some strategy or…?
Dave: Listen, my man, some things you need to know in life. Thinking isn't everything; sometimes you just gotta have passion, you feel me?
Maria: Or talent. Exhibit A! (Points to self)
Dave: Yeah, talent can also help. So, how was the walk here?
Bill: Well, I got the drinks, but then that biker gang showed up.
Dave: Agh! Did you get away?
Sari: Dave, he's standing right there.
Dave: …Oh.
Bill: Yeah, I lost them.
The Puma: Or did you?

To put a damper on this day, the discussed gang of delinquent bikers has arrived. Toven watches this action, glad he had the foresight to bring popcorn.

Bill: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Macky: Dude, stop screaming!
Bill: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Maria: My ears!
Bill: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The Puma: My god, how is he even doing that? You, shut him up!
Thug: Got it, boss. (Punches Bill down)
Bill: …ow…
The Puma: Much better… All right, maggots, listen up! The Puma's gonna tell you how things work now. As you know, we've been trying to get this park as territory since we came to this town, and now we're finally getting this turf. Any questions?
Bill: Yeah, wh—
The Puma: None? Good. Boys, put out our signs.
Dave: Dude, what gives? I already handed your butts to you twice.
The Puma: You know what they say. Third time's the charm.
Dave: Good point. Maybe this time I'll get you to leave for good.
The Puma: I wouldn't do that.
Maria: Hey, what're you—

One of the thugs has successfully restrained Maria and another of her posse.

Sari: Agh! Leggo!
Dave: Wow, you're dumb. You're supposed to be fighting me, genius!
The Puma: Oh, I am.
Dave: What? Uh…
The Puma: You do anything stupid, and your girly friends get hurt.
Dave: …?
The Puma: …Oh, for the love of—I have hostages!
Dave: …Ooooooh…. Oh.
Maria: Don't let this stop you, Dave! This pathetic Neanderthal can't do anything to me! I can take whatever he can dish out.
Sari: What about me!?
Maria: Us! Can't do anything to us, that's what I meant.

Throughout this exchange, Bill is cowering in the corner, his fear overwhelming his desire to protect his fellow students. Toven toys around with his new phone and finds a peculiar app. It displays some sort of graph or diagram, and when he points it at Bill, the app displays Bill's name. Curious, Toven selects one of the sections of the graph and increases the number next to it. Meanwhile, Bill suddenly acts strange.

Bill: Stop it…
The Puma: Huh? Whazzat, shrimp?
Bill: Stop hurting my friends… please?
The Puma: Oh yeah? What if I don't, what are you gonna do about it?
Sari: Hey, is he our friend? I thought he was just Dave's gofer.
Maria: I'm more concerned about what he's about to try. Hey Dave, tell your buddy not to stick his neck out like that!
Dave: Dude, they have a point! You'll be wasted in seconds!
Bill: I… I can't back down.
Dave: What?
The Puma: Oh, this is rich! I could make you pulp in seconds, shrimp. But… I guess I'll play along. How about a bet?
Bill: A bet…?
The Puma: Yeah. Arm wrestling. I win, the park's mine. You win, we go away. Deal?

The thugs drag one of the picnic tables here, and the match begins. Bill is clearly at a disadvantage, unable to budge the Puma's arm in the slightest, and the man himself isn't even trying yet.

Maria: He's not gonna make it.
Sari: Are we doomed?
Maria: …I have an idea. Dave's not gonna like it, but we have little choice. Bill! If you win this match… I'll go on a date with you!
Bill: !?
Thugs: Huh?
Dave: What!?
Toven: Didn't see that coming.

Toven notices a section in Bill's diagram, "Motivation To Win", has grown a bit. He tries upping this one's number a bit, and a new fire sparks in Bill's eyes. The Puma's arm budges a bit, surprising the whole gang. The big guy gives a little more effort, but Bill is gradually increasing his arm strength somehow.

Dave: I don't believe it…
Sari: You sure that was a good idea, Maria?
Maria: I didn't except this!
The Puma: What the hey!? Where's a pint-sized punching bag like you getting all this muscle?
Dave: Wait a minute… He's found it!
Macky: Found what?
Dave: The thing I told him about! He's found… passion!

Bill finally slams his opponent's arm into the table, actually cracking it a little. The Puma is, of course, shocked by his sudden burst in strength, though not as shocked as Bill himself.

Thug: You punk—
The Puma: Don't move, boys!
Thug: But boss, he—
The Puma: …What's your name?
Bill: Huh? Oh, uh… Bill. Bill Carlson.
The Puma: …Boys! We're packing up. A deal's a deal. You, let the girls go.
Maria: Finally!
The Puma: You've got a strong follower, Dave. I look forward to fighting you both again sometime. Later. (Gang leaves)
Dave: Dude! You actually did it! Way to go, that's my little bud!
Bill: I… guess I did…
Dave: Aw, looks like that passion wore off already.
Macky: What happened, anyway?
Bill: I don't know… I suddenly felt I just had to win, and adrenaline took care of the rest… I think.
Dave: (Gives him a noogie) Oh, you wanted a date with Maria that badly, huh?
Bill: No, I mean, I—
Sari: What now, Maria? You've gotta go out with him now.
Maria: To be honest, I didn't think he'd actually win. I was trying to have him buy time so I could come up with a better plan. Still… that was an intriguing victory.
                                       <---------->
                                         Chatroom
NN: OMG, that sounds intense! You sure it was the phone that did it?
Toven: At first, I thought it might be just coincidence. It was the second try that convinced me otherwise.
NN: Unreal… you found a phone that can mess with people's heads. So, what next? Are you gonna try changing people's personality?
Toven: Not likely. A lot of the phone's functions seem locked. And from the looks of the app I found, I was only able to amplify feelings and thoughts that were already there.
NN: Huh… So, if you found someone who was 100% sad, you wouldn't be able to make them 100% happy?
Toven: Not unless at least some joy was already present.
NN: You mentioned some apps were locked. How about you link the Idea Phone to my web page.
Toven: "Idea Phone"?
NN: Gotta call it something. That "I" on the casing helped me think of a name.
Toven: How will linking it to your page help?
NN: If you do that, I'll be able to take a look at it from here.
NN: Hello? You there?
Toven: Sorry, I just finished figuring out how to do it. Are you getting anything?
NN: Yep! The whole system! All right, it's gonna take me a while to work this out, so call me back later.