Deniably Picturesque

"I could stay here forever," mused Marcus.

His companion, a girl in a yellow bikini whose name he had trouble remembering in that exact moment, could only hum in agreement. That is perhaps why it was escaping him, she seemed more the silent type. He could only shrug as he eased down further into his deck chair. It was inconsequential as far as he was concerned; blind dates had a tendency to be like that these days. He would have to let Darcy at work know about the poor recommendation.

With the apparent lack of social engagement, he focused instead on the unspoiled beach before him. White sands stretched down beneath a lapping crystal sea. Great looming palm trees and tropical shrubbery framed his view of the sea while providing valuable shelter from the beating yellow sun high above. Various young men and women zigged and zagged about the fringes, attending to their own business and amusements. Despite the uninterested company, the smell of the fresh salt air put him at ease.

"Refreshments, sir?"

Marcus squinted upwards to see a waiter with a platter of frozen drinks.

"A virgin daiquiri, please. I have work in two hours." He answered with a sly smirk.

The expressionless waiter only nodded and placed a drink down beside him. "Of course sir. Enjoy."

Marcus sighed with heavily dejected sarcasm. "Yep, thanks, pal. Star service."

The waiter nodded and made an expressionless about-face before fading into the periphery.

Markus picked up the drink and examined it with an apathetic huff. It looked unexpectedly perfect, but he cared not to drink it. He realized the ultimate futility of the notion and turned it over in his hand once more, deciding to place it by his companion instead. She seemed not to notice as he continued sunning herself.

Marcus shook his head. "Screw this. I got better things."

With a moderate haste fueled by frustration, he blindly groped for the wide polymer band stretching back across his head. He then followed the headgear forward with his middle and index fingers, finding the power button for his state-of-the-art ASVR visor. Once he heard the click of the sensory override array disengaging and saw the screen turn black, he removed the visor and allowed his true senses to focus on the clinical visuals of his efficiency apartment. Slowly, the warmth of the simulated sun faded and he felt the skin-prickling cold of the stale, conditioned air.

"I ain't getting a virtual brain freeze for someone like that," he said to himself, "and where in the sweet ever-loving hell did I put my phone?"

ASVR brain freezes -as he knew from experience- were nearly as unpleasant and strange as ASVR tastes, though he had heard those problems would be addressed in a future patch within the year.

In an absentminded jerk, he reached for his clicker and turned on his ancient wall-mounted television. Marcus paused a moment to consider the redundancy of the situation, but then he remembered why he still used the antiquated device. His physician took care to remind him during his last physical that ASVR can wreak hell on brains with ADHD and people with the condition need at least forty-five minutes to properly transition. Reality dissonance sickness could be debilitating, but the system was all that people wanted to use nowadays.

The only television program in his area still running was the local news. He did his best to listen as he weathered the sudden onrush of a dissonance headache.

"... high of 105 degrees and morning thunderstorms due to a warm front working its way through. The CDC has also issued an air quality alert for the region. As you can see, we have a thick band of smoke making its way from out west. As for traffic, make plenty of time to get to work folks. Not only are we seeing the usual congestion on the 93-southbound and the Pike in both directions. Please also note that a long section of 93 between Dorchester and Neponset is flooded from an unexpected king tide..."

At that mention, Marcus' eyes flapped open with terror as he ripped the haptic sensors from his hands and nearly fainted as he stood. "Shoot, I'm going to be late!"