thoughts. Maybe she was already programmed this way. Either way, this
was no world for honesty. At least the blanket story wasn’t completely a lie;
he did cover himself in the fabric.
“How are you stitching them?”
“Um…” Even if she wasn’t real, he knew that how he answered
her would affect how she’d respond to him in the future. He didn’t know
anything about sewing, and like an idiot he never bothered to Google
something for this situation. “With a blanket stitch?”
“I’m sure you know what you’re doing. It’s your project after all, but,
you know that blanket stitches are mostly for reinforcing the edges, right?
I mostly work with clothing, but I’d say for a quilt you’d be better off with
using a back stitch.” While she was saying this, stocky man in a Joann’s
apron tiptoed from the cash register and worked his way around. He faced
David and put his finger over his lips in an Elmer Fudd fashion. This male
cashier was about to grab her. Was this a trick? Was this man another
hologram? Were they going to touch each other to try to make Natasha
appear real? Maybe he was another real person like David. Maybe this
cashier had also figured out the ultimate secret of the universe and was
about to reveal it to the world.
“Hug attack!” the cashier suddenly yelled, grabbing Natasha from
behind.
The color left her face, even the freckles. “Let go,” she said flatly,
nearly inaudibly. David thought he should say something, that he should
save Princess Mononoke. She gasped for air, struggling out of the hug.
The cashier finally noticed something was wrong and let go with
his hands up in a “don’t shoot” fashion. She snatched the fabric shears
and leapt onto the counter, struggling to pull her feet up. She yelled, “I will
murder the fuck out of you! Why the hell do you think that’s okay?! You’ll
be dead next time!”
It was the cashier’s turn to feel the color leave his face. Natasha
tried to put the scissors down on the counter beside her, but her arm was
so shaky they just fell to the floor.
35