Episode 11: I Need Contact

The day that everyone in the tenth grade (and eleventh and twelfth graders too, for that matter) was dreading was right around the corner.

Final Exams.

Mari, however, was dreading it the most. Out of everyone in the Can Do Anything Club, she was the least prepared one…

Basically, because she never liked studying in the first place.

Every time her club members studied in the club room, she just couldn’t do it. Even when she was at home with minimal distractions, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Do I have ADD or something?

She felt like she did.

And now here she was, with two days left until the first day of final exams. Mari wanted to try her best to study that night.

I’ve got to do this, mostly for my grades.

Her grades, by the way, were in the lower Bs and Cs. Not very good but still not horrible, somehow.

I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna fuckin’ CRUSH these study guides and textbooks!

★

It was that night—Sunday night, to be exact, and Mari was already not doing what she told herself she was going to do…

… Which was studying.

What was she doing instead?

Browsing the Internet, of course.

Mari was in her usual rhythm—9Gag, reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Cracked, all while a YouTube video was playing in the background.

It was what she did every night before she went to bed, school night be damned.

As she was browsing r/softwaregore while listening to a live concert of Ghost, an idea hit her.

Hey Mari, wouldn’t it be really cool if you could teleport into the Internet? You should contact Tomo about that!

For a split second, however, a word flashed through her brain. The word appeared so briefly that even she wasn’t sure what it said. All she remembered was that the word started with the letter “S.”

Ah, well. I shouldn’t think about it too hard.

“Wow!” Mari said aloud in fake amazement, still focused on the brilliant idea she just had. “How have I never thought about doing that before?”

The girl seriously hadn’t.

With a dramatic gesture of her hand, Mari grabbed her phone and called Tomo since she took forever to text.

Brrring, brrring…

“Oh, Mari-chan, hi!” Tomo said cheerfully. Mari couldn’t help but smile when she heard her friend’s voice.

“So, Tomo… Can I borrow the spell book~?” Mari said this in the sweetest voice she could muster.

“Hm, hm.” Mari could hear her friend mutter to herself through the phone.

A brief moment later…

“Okay. What would you like to use it for, though?”

Mari giggled nervously. “Ah, eh-heh. So, I’m thinking of using one of the spells in there to make me go inside the Internet.”

“Eh?” She paused. “That’s so cool! That sounds like a sick idea! I should try that sometime! I’ll be over in a few minutes, okay?”

After they hung up, that “S” word came back into Mari’s mind, although she still couldn’t figure out what word she was thinking of.

It’s on the tip of my tongue…

And so, a few minutes later (exactly three, Mari kept track), Tomo finally arrived, teleporting into Mari’s bedroom with that purple aura like always.

Strangely enough, though… there was something off about the look on her face. She almost looks…

… Annoyed?

Her eyebrows were twitching too. This scared Mari.

The only other time I’ve seen her like this is when we talk bad about her favorite boy bands… which we don’t even do anymore.

“Here’s the notebook,” Tomo said darkly, handing Mari the item she specifically asked for.

“Um, you mean spellbook, right?” Mari tried to say this in a joking manner to calm the nerves that were now forming inside her.

Tomo giggled, but not a giggle that Mari thought was happy or anything. “Make sure you give it back to me when you’re done!”

With that, Tomo was gone in another glowing purple thing.

Mari heaved a huge sigh. “What the fuck was that about?!”

She still didn’t know, and it was totally bugging her.

There was clearly a reason why Tomo was mad at her, but she simply couldn’t place it.

Was annoying her by calling her or something?

It was racking her brain, but she decided to leave it be for now. After all, she had the spell book, and now it was time to make a potion.

Mari began to madly flip through the book-that-wasn’t-really-a-book, which actually didn’t take that long since the teleportation spell and potion was near the beginning. Mari wanted to make the potion because its effects would last less.

As much as I’d want to have the teleportation power, I’m better off with only using it once. That was what she figured.

Possible ADD and teleportation…? What a bad mix.

“Woot WOOT! Let’s do this!” Mari cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

It turns out that, in order to make the potion version, you needed water, a bunch of grapes (literally) turmeric, and some sugar.

The potion was simple enough that she could make it with stuff she found in the fridge. As for what she’d say to her parents who were watching TV in the family room…?

“I’m making myself a drink with a recipe that I found online!” she yelled to her parents, and then proceeded to take the ingredients she needed and ran up to her bedroom.

“UM, OKAY?!” her mom yelled confusedly from the couch. “AS LONG AS IT’S NON-ALCOHOLIC!”

Mari chortled and rolled her eyes. “IT IS, MOM! IT’S LIKE A HOMEMADE KOOL-AID!”

A homemade Kool-Aid with magical properties, that is…

Somehow?!

★

Mari couldn’t help singing to herself as she mixed the ingredients together in a small plastic water bottle. The song in particular[3] was one that Mimori had recommended to her a few days prior.

“‘Ask them if you want

I’ll tell you what they say

A hundred million people

Voting my way now!’”

She had no idea the lyrics were about voting or whatever. For what Mari had no idea since the song was released in 2002. Midterm elections, maybe?

Well, none of that really mattered. What mattered the most to her was how catchy the song was.

Thank you, Mimori-chan for another awesome song rec!

She liked that a lot about Mimori. She was practically a human iPod and music recommender—if the recommendations stopped in 2011, that is.

Mari was now done making the potion, which actually didn’t take that long to make at all.

Oh my God. I’ve never been more excited in my life!

Alright, she could think of a few other occasions that were slightly more exciting—one of them being when she got her powers for the first time—but none of that really mattered right then.

What mattered was what adventures she was going to go on after drinking the potion.

“Welp—bottoms up!” With that strong declaration, Mari downed the drink, which once it hit her tongue she realized didn’t taste that bad at all.

Hm. Vaguely grape-tasting. Not bad, not bad.

Just then Mari looked at the spellbook one more time to see how long it would take for the potion to set in.

Only a minute for this one. Huh, interesting.

And so, Mari spent the following minute humming to herself the rest of that “Hundred Million People” song that both she and Mimori liked so much.

I should give Treble Charger a try, huh?

Once the minute was up, Mari closed her eyes and thought about the Internet, with its binary code and its URL links.

Then, all of a sudden—

Vshoooom!

All of her senses shut down for a split second, and then when Mari opened her eyes…

She saw a world of white.

Okay, so it wasn’t entirely white. When Mari looked up, there was a large, colorful logo that looked like it was ingrained on what was probably the ceiling.

The logo in particular was Google.

Ah. Of course, it’s Google.

“WOOT WOOT!” Mari hollered as she did a little dance. “Now what should I do? I should just start with Google, right?”

After all, it was her homepage.

The rest of the world felt, strangely enough, senseless. There were no smells to smell, and the temperature in the world may as well have been nonexistent.

So this is what the Internet feels like, huh? Interesting…

Deciding, however, was hard. Especially for someone who had many favorite websites to go onto.

As she was thinking about all the choices potentially ahead of her, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

“What are you doing here?”

“AH!” Mari couldn’t help it. She squeaked.

Turning around, the person behind her was in fact…

Cone?! Like, young Cone?!

It was in fact the version of Cone that hung out with Mimori in the clubroom.

But…

“The fuck are you doing here?!”

Cone chuckled awkwardly. “I could say the same for you!” He looked fairly innocent while he was saying this, but the look he had in his eyes made Mari feel nervous for some reason, just like Tomo’s vibe when she gave her the spellbook.

Also, now that we’re this close to each other… Why am I feeling funny all of a sudden? Like, all fluttery around him?!

Mari put a hand on her chest. “I’m treating myself right now!”

“Oh really?” Cone said, raising an eyebrow. That almost murderous look was still in his eyes, and Mari had to admit that it was kinda hot. “Shouldn’t you be doing something else right now?”

“Um, no?” It was Mari’s turn to chuckle nervously. “I don’t remember having to do anything important tonight.”

“Thought so. Anne-way. I’m off to…”

There was a big, long awkward pause. Mari was waiting for him to say something else.

Any minute now…

“Yeah.”

Seriously? That’s all he said?! What is he, my ninth grade history teacher?!?

Mari looked at Cone again and finally noticed something—

Damn, he’s really pretty. So pretty that it’s kinda creepy. He’d actually look better as a girl now that I think about it. He’d be HOT.

Wait, what?

The boy, she decided, was making her think some truly weird things.

“Okay, how am I gonna do this? Um…” Mari cleared her throat and then spoke again in an announcer’s voice. “Okay, Google! Take me to YouTube, please!”

“Hm. So that’s what you’re gonna do?” Cone sniffed and waved goodbye to Mari. “I’ll be on PornHub watching that watermelon-carving tutorial agaen.”

At that point Mari was in the middle of teleporting away, and when she heard him say that she had to replay what she thought he said a few more times in her head.

The fuck? A watermelon-carving tutorial on PornHub?

It had to be a euphemism. It had to be.

★

Ah, YouTube. A website that stored thousands and thousands of memories for the girl, most of which were of music videos, memes, video game reviews, and the reviews that her friend Tomo did.

Oh, and the occasional horror and psychology video.

The Youtube homepage inside the Internet was pretty amazing. The whole space around her was covered with videos, the search bar at the very top, as well as the logo. It felt like she was in an interactive library.

But also like I’m using a VR headset… for free!

Mari puffed her large chest out and chuckled heartily.

“What an excellent thinker I am!” she said in an old man's voice with a thick Cockney accent. “I should do this more often!”

It was a way to save money, especially for something (the VR headset, of course) that she actually really wanted but couldn’t exactly afford due to not having a part-time job… yet.

Even still, I could always ask Jopi to materialize one for me but I wanna put effort into earning money for a headset.

This was about the closest she’d get to actually “summoning” one, but it was different enough that her point still stood about wanting to earn money in order to get the actual thing.

Someday, Mari. Someday.

“Anyway. What should I watch inside YouTube today, huh?” she chuckled again after saying that.

The girl sat in silence for a minute, thinking about what she could possibly watch on what was basically an infinite screen.

“ … Let’s go with Caddicarus.”

Right as she said that the homepage morphed into the channel page for one of her favorite video game reviewer YouTubers.

But I don’t wanna watch a video game review today…

Nope.

She wanted to watch one of her all-time favorite reviews of his—

For Snow White and the Seven Clever Boys.

Even thinking of the title of the video made her chortle.

“But how am I gonna get there? Hmm…”

Mari tried doing something stupid: Walking down the vast, practically endless screen which showed all the videos on it… and it worked.

After a little bit of walking, Mari got to the video she wanted and…

Walked inside it.

After showing a black screen (which she thought was the video starting up), the intro theme played, and she was staring at the Hidden Block logo as it was forming on the screen.

Holy SHIT I DID it!!

“WOO HOOOO LET’S FUCKING GOOOO!!!” she hollered like there was no tomorrow (which there may not be if she was on the Internet all night—although the potion could only last twenty-four hours).

The next thing she knew, Caddy was only a few feet away from her… which was what she thought would happen.

If there was any slightly disappointing thing about the whole “Going Inside the Internet” thing it was that it didn’t exactly teleport into the world of the video, but that would admittedly require some other kind of magic that Mari didn’t use.

I’d have to ask Miharu about that one.

Mari continued to watch the video from a safe enough distance away that it wouldn’t hurt her eyes (if that could even happen in a world such as this one—she didn’t want to take any chances, though).

After the video was done, she decided to watch the music videos for “Bodies” by Drowning Pool and “B.Y.O.B” by System of a Down to see what they would like on the super-big screen.

They looked fantastic, of course, as they were both in HD. It was almost like Mari was right there in the video with them.

Guess I don’t need that reality-altering spell anyway, huh?

With the novelty of “being inside” music videos slightly worn out, Mari found herself back at the homepage of Google.

… And so had Cone.

“AH!” she shrieked, feeling startled yet again. “What are you doing here?!” The girl did a dramatic point just because.

To that, Cone simply pouted and looked away.

Is he playing with me or something?

“Got nothin’ to say, huh, Pretty Boy?”

That was when his pout turned into a snarl that even freaked Mari out.

Oh shit. What did I do to trigger this boy?!

“Ahh, eh heh heh heeeh…” Mari, at a loss for words to say, decided to look up at the Google logo and think about how much she missed the older version instead.

I’ve gotta think of something to say. C’mon, Mari! You can DO this!

“Ah ha! I’ve got an idea!” she finally said after what felt like forever. “Let’s do something together! Like, play Line Rider or something!”

“Why?” Cone said, cocking his head to the side. Mari noticed how much his clear blue eyes creeped her out.

“Oh, well, um! Let’s do something more interesting then! Like… look up some interesting psych articles!”

“Hm?” Cone seemed mildly unfazed about that as well. “I mean, I guess so. I keep forgetting that you like that kind of stuff.”

“Yeah, I do! I have hidden depths too, you know? Just like how Mimori’s actually a ball of anxiety every day and Kasumi has the self-confidence of a roach!” Mari paused purposefully. “Like a papa roach, ha-haaa, you get me?”

The boy’s eyelids were halfway open in a cartoony way. “Yeah. Uh-huh, I have absolutely no idea who you’re talking about here… but I guess I’m in.”

“Ha-ha, heeey! Knew I’d getcha one of these times!”

★

It took a little bit to find a good article to read (and, more specifically, one that would interest both Mari and Cone) but in the end, she finally found one that interested her, and it would was about one of her favorite topics too: “Why Are Teenagers So Addicted To Their Smartphones?”

“Sounds riveting,” Cone said in the flattest voice a human could ever muster. Is he joking or what?

“It is!” Mari went with that instead of challenging his monotonous tone. After all, I don’t wanna make him angry again or anything! Yikers!

“Let’s go in!” she cheered.

The two walked into the link for the article, and the first thing that appeared before them was obviously…

The text of the article.

“Ooo hoo hoo~!” Mari sang (but not imitating the thing that Mimori did all too often). “Let’s DO this!”

Cone sniffed, tilting his head slightly upward. “Soarry, but I am not reading that whole thing. It’s way too much.”

Yikes, edgy.

In turn, Mari shrugged. “Oh, well. Suit yourself. Guess I’ll be the one to read it then!”

Mari then turned her attention to the wall of text, walking up to it so she could be at an appropriate distance to read it at. While she was absolutely into the article, she couldn’t help but feel like there was still a presence within the room. Eventually, it got to be too much for her so she looked around.

Cone was still standing there, looking at the wall that was next to her, where there was an article pulled up… that certainly had less text than the one she was reading.

I mean hey, not everyone can read academic journal articles like I can. I get it now. But he could have at least given it a try…

Curious about what he was reading, Mari went over to his wall and found out that he was reading an article entitled the “Best Clash Songs of All Time.”

Heh. That does seem pretty in line with him though, I have to admit.

“So, question: Are you here to help guide me out of this world or something?”

Cone shrugged as he glanced at her. “I guess so, but it’s mainly for a different reason.”

Wonder what that reason is?

“Huh. Well, anyway. You can help bring me back into the real world after I’m done with reading this article, okay?”

“Umm, okay then.”

Wait—how is he able to teleport me out? How does he know this stuff?

★

After reading that fascinating article, the two were back in Mari’s bedroom, the time being the same as it was when she teleported into the Internet.

“Great… what am I gonna do now?” Mari said defeatedly as she flopped onto her bed, thinking once again of life. As she was in bed, Cone was still standing there for some reason, looking out the window.

Number of “cute” guys in my room: Now 1.

When he didn’t respond, Mari responded to herself.

“Hm. I guess I could play some Pokémon Moon or something—”

“I really don’t wanna do this,” she heard Cone mumble.

The next thing she knew, the boy was almost on top of her on her bed, his eyes locked into hers.

Oh. And his eyes were red.

“STUDY, okay?” His voice was about an octave deeper, which Mari didn’t even know he was capable of doing.

Oh. And he also had fangs.

Oh my God.

Mari was scared shitless, but also somehow… enamored?

That’s what the “S” word was!!

“U-um, okay! OKAY!” The girl got up from her bed and made her way to the table on unsteady feet. “I’LL DO IT, I’LL DO IT! As long as you bring out that scary-ass demonic voice and face ever again, okay?!”

“Yeah, okay. Sounds good. I’ll check back with you in an hour to see how you’re doing.” Mari didn’t look up at the boy again but she noticed that his voice was back to normal… Thank God.

In a beat, Cone (somehow?) teleported out of the room.

Since when did he gain the power of teleportation…? What the fuck?!

★

It was the day of the last exam, and Mari had just finished taking it. Luckily, it was a full day, so her venture to the CDAC room came much, much quicker.

Well, her venture was sluggish because she was all worn out, but still.

“Ugh,” she said breathlessly. The girl practically fell into her seat in a way where she hit her head. “Ow! That hurt!”

“What, did you think the test was hard or something?” snarked Kasumi. “Makes sense, considering you didn’t start studying until, like, this week.”

“It was hard!” Mari shrieked. “But I powered through it! Thanks to… Cone.” When she said his name, her face (which was now marked up) went dark.

“Hm, really?” Asuka’s eyes looked curious for someone. “Could you tell me what happened?”

“No.”

With that, the subject was abruptly changed.

“Um, guys…” Kasumi cleared her throat. “I have an announcement to make. My cousin, Ayaka, is going to be staying at our house for her high school years and she desperately wants to join our club next month for whatever reason.”

“Oooh…!” Behami oohed. “Fresh blood, huh?” She cracked her knuckles. “Noice.”

“Well, uh, it was kinda my fault that she got so interested in it. I kinda let slip that we do some, um… interesting things around here—you know, not book reading.”

“Mm hm, mm hm.” Tomo looked understandably excited about this.

“I don’t want you guys to get too excited though. You don’t know nothin’ about my crazy cousin.”

Mari’s eyebrows raised. “If she’s crazier than any of us in here,” she said in an Italian mobster’s voice, “then that’s gonna be some real trouble.”

“Huh.” Erica took this into consideration. “But still, a new member… Do we wanna take this on, guys?”

All of the girls looked at each other and nodded.

“Alright, let’s do it! New school year, new challenges!”

The girls whooped and hollered after that. Mari could feel her pulse quickening as well.

She was excited.