The Unexpected - Chapter 4: Custom Cluster

             Previously, on The Unexpected, Dexter successfully survived the horrifying experience inside the rundown building, acquired a strange power received from an unknown entity named "A.L.E.X.I.S.", and had her as his partner for life. They went home as she was fascinated by the world's innovations  around her. It's also revealed that Dexter has been living alone in an apartment with only himself to provide his daily needs. He introduced his neighbor, Sheila Galera who is a photography student in the same school as Dexter. However, A.L.E.X.I.S. never took a liking to her which got Dexter irritated. They decided their quarrel with one of Dexter's games for questions to each other but he has to create a physical avatar for A.L.E.X.I.S. in order for her to participate. Who will persevere in a friendly game and who won't get to figure out each other's mysteries? Meh, might as well start the story…

             "Just like what I said five minutes ago, create an avatar for me to use", says A.L.E.X.I.S. "Alright, alright, I'll do it. Just give me ten minutes to finish this for you", I replied. Never thought I had to create a real avatar for A.L.E.X.I.S. to possess, if I think she's a ghost or soul. Anyway, making her an avatar is like me trying to bring my fantasy two-dimensional girlfriend to reality which is really weird for me. So let's start with the head which has the hair, face, and ears. I want to make this as human-like but with my own tastes so don't judge me if I'm a weirdo, okay? This is my story, not yours! Wait, what am I saying? Let's go back to where we left off. For the hair, I could go for the classic straight-long-hair, ponytail, pigtails, or maybe a chignon which is French for bun. There's also the curly afro, short-hair, braids, wavy hair, and so many more. Man, girl hairstyles are a lot but I need to settle on one that I think it's more suited for combat just in case we ever end up in danger. I think I'll settle for short-hair because she won't get her hair pulled out by surprise.

             Next is the eyes and I think I've already thought of one. It has to be the fierce but cool eyes like the edgy ladies you see in an animé when they play as the cool female main character. Then we go for the nose, it doesn't have to be too big or long so let's settle for the straight turn-up. Coming up is the lips and I heard from my best friend that heart-shaped ones are very attractive so I'll give it a try. Let's see: Hair, check; Eyes, sparkly; Nose, looks great; Lips, kissable. That leaves the ears which are kinda tough. I don't need elf ears because she's not going to be an elf. I don't want it to look like a monkey's either. You know what, let's just settle with oval ears. I'm making this way too complicated and I'm just getting started, for crying out loud. As for the hair color, let's just go with the color silver. It looks cool and no, it doesn't make her old, okay?

             Now, we move on to the body, her figure would also be suited for combat like for example, throwing her to the enemy by lifting her body. I'm practically leaning towards the hourglass body shape because it makes it easy for me to hold her thanks to the center of mass between her upper and lower body like a surfboard. The arms, is there an option for that? Nah, it's not that much of an impact other than keeping it straight. The legs, well… let's stick with normal ones, shall we? Up next is the skin tone, she has silver hair so I could make her skin brighter to compliment it but not too bright. Maybe between brown and light brown would do well. What, am I missing something more important? Oh, you mean her pectoral muscle region? That, I leave to your imagination. And by you, I meant mine. You'll never know...

             And...there we go! Oh wait, I almost forgot. The most important customization part of all, the height. It's been a while since I've last checked my height. I think I was five feet, eight and a half inches so I'll settle with that because it's easier to high-five someone with the same height as me. Alright, now that I completed the avatar for A.L.E.X.I.S., it's time to create it with my super power. Hold up, I remembered that I haven't named my super power yet. I should call it "Mystery", er-maybe not. How about "Duplicate"? Too predictable. Oh wait, I got it! I'll call my super power "Unexpected". Genius! I bet you didn't see that coming, did you?

             Sorry for delaying this moment, I don't want to miss out on some important details. Anyway, it's time to create her avatar with the Unexpected. I closed my eyes and lifted my arms in a straight ninety-degree angle in front of me. I started moving my arms to the top of the head, linear to my head, and gently moved down my arms to act as a scanner and a three-dimensional printer. I can see in my mind that A.L.E.X.I.S.'s avatar is loading out of thin air as my arms pan down in my point-of-view. After reaching the bottom of the feet when pointing my arms to the floor, it means that it is done. With one swift motion, I opened my eyes and I was blinded by the light. Instantly, I covered my eyes in order to see the gloriousness of my creation. The light simmered down and I realized that it was morning. I'm very confused. Did I stay up all night making this avatar? I decided to ask A..L.E.X.I.S. about it. "Um, A.L.E.X.I.S.? Did I stay up all night making your avatar?" "Oh, you're awake. The answer is both yes and no. Yes, you did make my avatar all night", she said. "And the reason for the answer 'no'?" She answered, "No, you didn't 'stay' up all night because you fell asleep once you closed your eyes and started making my avatar while sleeping. Once you're done, you fell to the floor so I transferred myself into your avatar and carried you on to your bed. Since you were asleep, I did a few tests with your avatar and I must say, you have a great sense of taste in choosing the right options for a perfect character. However, you failed to complete your task which is having to play against me last night so I left my new avatar, and zipped myself back inside your mind. At sunrise, you woke up and stood up with your eyes closed and immediately opened them while the sun was shining at your face. You covered your eyes to check on my avatar and that's everything. Anything else you'd like to ask? I exclaimed, "YES! Why didn't you tell me I was asleep, and what time is it?" She replied, "Well, you needed your energy for your school activities. As per your request for today's time", then she pointed at the front door which just knocked. Someone's at the door so I answered and opened it, and it was Sheila. "Morning, Dexter!" I replied back, "Oh, morning to you too, Sheila! How can I help you today?" She asked, "Um, you do know what time it is, right? Have you forgotten?" Confused, I also asked "What time is it, let me check my watch and--oh shoot! I'm gonna be late." She giggled and said, "Dexter, you sloth! You should know that we still have school today so I'll wait for you outside." Worried that my tardiness would cause her to be late as well, I told her "You can go on without me. I'll see you at school!" Suspicious about my actions but she replied, "Sure, I guess I'll see you at school then. Don't be late!" And so, she left the apartment and walked to school. As for me, I started panic-walking around my living room. Why did I even bother making A.L.E.X.I.S.'s avatar in the first place when I should have just went to sleep instead? I let her bait me into her trap, bamboozled me, and then got the jump on me.

             That was so uncool of her, but then again, I had a lot of fun. I have now got to handle the power of fashion modeling for characters in the future. Although I missed my chance to know more about A.L.E.X.I.S.'s origins, it's not that important for now at least. In the meantime, I gotta focus on my own life and have to get ready for school. I have a lot to unpack now that I received this amazing power but I'm pretty sure it has its limits. I don't plan on playing god or any all-powerful entity, and commit to ruling the world. It's never crossed my mind ever since but I fear that I might jinx myself in the end. Anyway, no time for chit-chat, school's not gonna wait itself for me, you know?

             All of a sudden, I hear a scream inside my head, calling my name. It was A.L.E.X.I.S. screaming, "DEXTER!" I immediately jumped out of surprise. I can feel the ringing in my head when she yelled out my name. "Ow! What was that for?" She exclaimed, "I have been calling your name for the past 5 minutes, you simpleton. And because of that, I lost all interest in telling you this great ability. Figure it out yourself." Confused and hysterical, I pleaded "Wait, wait. I'm sorry for ignoring you. Please tell me about this great ability, come on!" But she still won't answer me so it looks like I'll solve this one myself. Let's see, she said something about this great ability that I can do. If anything, I think it must be related to school because she must've overheard our conversation and noticed that I'm going to be late. With my gamer skills, I thought of every mode of transportation I could use but I don't have my driver's license yet so I cannot risk getting arrested for it. That leaves flying, floating, and teleportation. Wait a second, that's it! I can try teleporting myself to school, it'll be the coolest thing I've ever done. Okay, so I skipped breakfast because I can create food out of thin air now, washed my face and decontaminated myself with this new decontamination spray I created with my mind. It even has the scent of sampaguitas.

             Anyway, I stood at the center of my living room and closed my eyes. I pictured my school front without any witnesses like students to see me appearing out of nowhere. I tried snapping  my fingers and then opened my eyes. I'm already at the front of the school. Looks like I solved A.L.E.X.I.S.'s riddle, after all! And I see Sheila in the distance so I waved at her and she said, "Wow! You're already here." I replied with confidence, "I told you I'll meet you here, didn't I? Let's go in." She answered with a cute smile on her face, "Sure!"

             To be continued...