"What do you think of this?"
Joel held a small red phone with a rather minimalist design in his hands.
"It's pretty," Sheila replied with a smile as she took it from him.
"Processor?" asked Benjamin, who was standing behind Sheila.
"It has a snapwo36," Joel explained immediately, without hesitation.
"Treit… if it's not too much trouble, what do you use your phone for?" Benjamin asked seriously, and Sheila began to remember.
"Well... I use it to send emails, watch videos, and... analyze reports," Sheila explained, trying not to give away too many details.
Although Benjamin was starting to grow on her, she didn't want to reveal her identity.
"And do those reports require any program that makes your phone slow?" Benjamin asked, keeping his serious gaze.
"Well... when I watch videos on my phone, it works wonderfully, though when I used a certain app… it got a bit slow. Still, I'm used to it, isn't that normal in all phones since they are smaller than a computer?"
Sheila made that comment innocently, since at her job there were computers that were very fast and never froze, unlike the small devices she had.
Benjamin felt a direct stab in the heart upon hearing that statement, but still, he maintained his serious look.
Joel, on the other hand, was considering what options to offer Sheila in case she didn't like that phone.
"I would have agreed with you... 90 years ago. Phones have changed, Treit. They are now almost as fast as a regular computer."
"Really?"
Sheila's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Yes. How long has it been since you last changed your phone?"
That question from Benjamin sent Sheila back in time for a few seconds.
"This… it was a gift… when I was a child," said Sheila slowly, but then she covered her mouth.
She had almost said too much.
Benjamin's serious look softened, and he turned his gaze towards Joel.
"Find her the best phone you have that also has a nice design."
Joel immediately nodded and hurried off to fetch the device.
"Hey, Benjamin, but I only want something…"
"I'll pay for it," Benjamin declared, cutting Sheila off.
Sheila frowned, but before she could open her mouth, she heard Joel's voice.
"Can you follow me?"
Sheila and Benjamin nodded.
◇◆◇
"Done..." said Emily softly as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
She had succeeded.
For some reason, a patient she had previously treated successfully had started to suffer from an attack that she managed to stop thanks to the use of golden needles, but...
It was strange.
"Hey," said Emily, raising her voice a bit so that one of the people who had helped her could hear her.
"Do you need something?" the man asked, confused.
"Did someone do something to this patient?"
For a moment, Emily noticed doubt in the assistant's eyes, but as she maintained her gaze, the man soon declared:
"Well, from what I saw, Miss Isabella was close before the patient had his panic attack, but I don't know what she did."
"I see..." said Emily while nodding her head.
'Then the marks from before… no, I don't think she tried to… that,' Emily thought silently.
◇◆◇
"It's awesome!" Sheila exclaimed, delighted to see how everything opened right away.
"See? Welcome to the modern world, Treit. Now your phone can run any game or execute those cat videos you love in the highest possible quality," Benjamin said in a teasing tone, and Sheila turned to look at him sharply without saying a word.
She wanted to hit him.
Why did he treat her like a caveman?
"And that's not all."
Joel intervened.
"You can also activate this setting so that…"
Sheila's mouth fell open as she watched Joel interact with the phone icons.
They were changing size very quickly!
"Yes, that's the fire of technology," Benjamin commented sarcastically, and Sheila ignored him.
Clearly, she heard him, but she decided to ignore him to try out the functionality with her own hands.
It was so… weird.
"That said, I don't recommend touching the screen with dirty hands," Joel remarked as he handed her a small sheet warning her of things that could damage the screen.
"Treit, what laptop do you use?"
Sheila averted her gaze, knowing he was going to tease her again.
"That's none of your business, I just came to buy a new phone. I'm not interested in a new computer."
"It's called a laptop."
"That."
Benjamin let out a small chuckle as he saw how defensive Sheila became.
She looked so cute.
"Joel!"
A young girl's shout made Joel tremble for a few seconds.
"Excuse me... I'll leave you for a few seconds, I have to attend to something…"
Trying to maintain a serious business face, he stopped his speech upon seeing a familiar face.
"Why haven't you come to play?"
A girl Sheila had never seen before, for some reason, seemed familiar to her.