=====================
1 week ago. The day after Bea and her parents visited Mark's house.1The day after chapter 4.
After the teacher dismissed class, Bea picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, sliding her arms though the straps.
"Bea, you coming with us? We're gonna play pool." her friend offered. A few other girls by her side are also looking at Bea across the room.
However, the person in question shook her head. "Nah. Not feeling it today." she shrugs.
"Alright. Take care, sis." the girl waved, and the others behind bid farewell to Bea too. "Yeah, yeah. Don't stay out late. It's already 7 PM, you bums." Bea waved back.
Since her place is relatively near, she walks home instead of commuting. Normally her walk home would be as uneventful as ever, but not today. "Help! Ahhh! Go away! Go away!!!" a woman's voice pierced the quiet night air. "Shit-" Bea clicked her tongue before bolting in the direction of the noise.
Soon she arrived at the scene. But instead of someone getting mugged or maybe even a murder, what she sees is a middle-aged woman clinging desperately to a lamp post. And underneath is a dog barking at her. "What the fuck...?" Bea muttered. Somehow, the woman heard that and snapped to Bea. Her expression brightening immediately. "You! Help me please! Make this dog go away, please!" she pleaded.
"Ha... Alright. Wait right there." Bea sighs. Even if this situation is ridiculous, as a future police officer, she can't really turn a blind eye. "Oi! Shoo! Shoo! Go!" Bea yelled at the stray dog, stomping her foot hard against the pavement. The animal turned to her for one second before turning tail and running away. 'Seems like it didn't have rabies. Or at least not aggressive.'
With the dog gone, the middle-aged woman slid down the lamp post. "Thank you, kid! My limbs were starting to get sore. A minute longer and I would've fell." she says, approaching her savior. Bea turned to face the woman. Her eyes scanning her appearance. 'Middle-aged Filipina, black ponytail, rose gold earrings, rectangle glasses, mole right above her left collarbone, wrinkled dress shirt, black slacks, and dark brown loafers.' she assessed.
"Hey, uh... I know you just helped me, but could I borrow your phone? The dog chased me so far from the restaurant that I don't know where I am. I'll just call my work colleague to pick me up." the woman asked. "... Sure." Bea dug into her pant pocket and took out her phone. 'She doesn't look like a thief. And I can catch her easily if need be.'
The woman received the device with both hands. "Thank you, thank you- !!" her eyes blew wide open after looking at the phone screen. "Miss, is your phone a... HyPhone 3?" she asked. Glancing back at Bea. "? Yeah. I bought it secondhand from a classmate a couple years back." Bea raised a brow at the odd question about her phone. "So it's been passed on and no longer in the original owner's posession..." the woman muttered to herself.
"Did you say something?" Bea narrowed her eyes slightly on the woman. "Ah- Nothing!" the woman looked back at the phone screen. Her fingers flying all over the screen, tapping in a rapid pace. Although, the duration of the tapping felt longer than necessary, arousing Bea's suspicion. She took one step closer, intending to check what the woman is doing on her phone. But before she could get close enough, the woman looked up at her. "Thank you again, kid!" she says, handing Bea back her phone. "Uh, yeah. You're welcome." Bea took back her device, putting it back into her pocket.
"Haha... It's fate that we crossed paths. I wish you luck, kid." she says. "? Okay?" Bea accepted the gratitude, though, confused by the whole "fate" thing the woman is talking about. "I'm gonna go now. Stay away from dogs next time, ma'am." Bea waved farewell to the woman as she turned around to leave.
After several seconds, Bea is no longer in sight. "Heh... Fate really is strange. To think I'd come across a functioning early generation HyPhone. It's a shame I could only give her the beta version, but I'm sure it'll be useful to her."
A wide grin stretched across the woman's lips. "Enjoy yourself, kid."
.
.
Bea's room.
"Ahhh... So good..." Bea exclaimed. Having removed her backpack, she dropped back-first to her bed. The mattress dipping under her weight. "To think I'd see a person turn into a monkey and cling to a lamp post like that just because of a dog... I thought that only happened in comedy films. Hahah..." she laughed to herself.
'What classes do I have again tomorrow?' Bea wondered. To check, she took out her phone. Turning it on, the device asked for her fingerprint. Pressing her thumb on the screen, the device unlocked after a second. "Huh? What's this?" Bea furrowed her brows, her eyes landed on a peculiar app she's never seen before. "Hypno Music? I don't remember downloading this."
Curious, Bea tapped on the app.
[Processing...]
[Error: Unrecognized Fingerprint Detected.]
Ding
[Developer Command Activating.]
[Fingerprint Acquired.]
[Registering New User...]
Looking at the system messages, Bea's eyes blew wide open. "What the fuck!? Did that bitch install malware on my phone?!" she yelled. Her face contorting in anger. "I'm going to beat her up the next time I see her... No, wait. I can't prove she installed it. Shit!" she cussed. "Ha... I'll just get a new phone. I got this because I only needed a decent phone and that classmate of mine sold it to me for 4000 Pesos (~$68) only." Bea sighs, resigned to having lost her phone.
Ding
[Welcome, New User, to Hypno Music (Ver. 2.5). Please enjoy our selection of unique tracks.]
"... Let's see what this malware app has. It'll be useful to gain experience dealing with this sort of thing in the future. My data is fucked already, so I might as well get something out of it." with that thought, Bea closed the system message and began exploring the app.
"Huh? There's only one track. They couldn't put in the effort to add more? Lazy fucks." pissed off that the developers of the supposed malware app didn't add more music tracks, Bea cussed them out. "Bet this isn't even music. Just a random audio file." with that assumption, Bea selected the lone track and pressed Play.
Shortly after, soft, soothing sounds echoed from her phone. "Is this classical music? ... Not bad. Though, they probably just stole this from somewhere." she commented, listening to the music.
As Bea is listening to the deep sounds of a violin, the sound of knocking could be heard coming from her door. "Bea, come downstairs. Papa finished cooking dinner. We're having menudo tonight." Bea's mother called out from behind the door. "Yes po!"2"po" is a term Filipinos add to their sentences as a way of showing respect to the other person. Bea shouted back.
With that said, Bea paused the music and quickly changed into something comfortable; a cotton shirt and a pair of shorts. Having changed, she grabbed her phone, put it into her pocket, and went downstairs where her mother and father were waiting for her at the table. Across from them is a lone empty chair designated for Bea. She sat down, a familiar action she's done countless times.
With the whole family gathered at the table, the three performed a sign of the cross before beginning their meal. "How was school today, Bea?" her father asked, the same question every school day. Yet, no matter how repetitive, it's something he always does to stay connected to his daughter. "Just some lectures. Nothing much happened, papa." Bea replied as she pressed her rice into shape. The sound of cutlery hitting porcelain echoed through the house.
"Oh, actually, on my way home I saw a manang3a respectful term used to refer to an older woman. "Manong" is the male version. clinging to a lamp post because a stray dog chased after her. So I scared the dog away." a smile on Bea's lips as she recalled the comedic situation. 'It's better not to tell them that bitch installed malware on my phone, though.'
"Heh- Wish I could have seen that." Bea's mother commented, a small laugh escaping her. "Was the woman okay?" Bea's father asked, concern for the stranger's wellbeing. Bea nodded in response. "Yes po. I even helped her contact someone to pick her up before I left."
Bea's father smiled and nodded. "Good. You did a good thing, Bea." he replied, proud of his daughter. "By the way, when I came to get you, Bea, I could hear something nice coming from your room. Could you let me hear it?" her mother asked before eating a spoonful of tomatoey pork and rice.
"Sure po." Bea replied, putting down her spoon so she can reach for her phone in her pocket. Unlocking the screen with her fingerprint, the Hypno Music app from earlier appeared. 'Let's play it from the start.' with that thought, Bea rewound the track back to 0. She then pressed play, starting the lone track the app offered. Soft, deep classical music echoed from her phone. Filling the dining room.
"Hm... That sounds... nice..." Bea's father trailed off, his voice going quiet mid-sentence. "Wow... It's very... relaxing..." Bea's mother trailed off as well. The two blinked, twice. ""....."" Bea's parents soon wore blank, dazed expressions, appearing as if their minds are empty. Seeing her parents suddenly act like this, panic started to build up inside Bea. "Ma? Pa?" she asked, looking between the two.
Ding
[Two targets successfully entranced. For the next 3 minutes, the User may implant suggestions into the targets. After 3 minutes have passed, the targets will follow the suggestions received.]
Reading the system message, Bea's eyes widened in confusion and shock. "What the fuck..?" she muttered. 'Nah. No way this is real...' she says to herself, but a part of her wants to try it out, just in case. "Ma, could you please increase my allowance po?" Bea asks, testing the waters.
Her mother nodded weakly. "Yeah... Sure..." she muttered quietly. "What? Really?" Bea asked again, making sure she heard her mother correctly. 'Mama would always refuse when I ask for an allowance increase...'
Bea's mother nodded again. "Yeah... I'll increase your allowance..." she repeated. Bea's mouth went agape, processing what she just heard. "Then could you increase it to 500 Pesos? (~$9)" she asked, a wide grin on her face. However, her mother's brows twitched and her lips turned into a frown. "No way. Are you stupid?" she replies. "What? So the app-"
Ding
[Suggestion denied. When the suggestion or request is unrealistic for the target, they will reject the suggestion. If the target is strongly against the request, rejection will also happen. Repeated rejections will break the hypnosis state early.]
"... I guess 500 Pesos per school day is asking for too much." Bea then turns back to her mother. "How about 300 Pesos, ma? Is that okay?" she asked. After a couple seconds, Bea's mother nodded. "Okay..." she muttered. "Yes..!" Bea fist-pumped. 'But... What else can I do with this?' the girl wondered. Never before has she had the power to make demands to anyone like this.
Yet, it didn't take long for an idea to pop up in her head. "I can use it to make Mark mine..." a wicked grin stretched across her lips. Bea looks between her parents. "Ma, pa, how great would it be if I got a boyfriend like Mark?"
======================