IN THE MIDDLE OF CHANGING THIS CHAPTER. MONDO WILL NOW BE A COLLEGE STUDENT INSTEAD OF MIDDLE AGED. CHANGES MAY TAKE A SHORT TIME, PLEASE BE PATIENT AND CHECK BACK IN A DAY OR TWO. XO SAM

Mondo was looking at Sherry again. All the guys in the school looked at Sherry whenever she strutted in wearing her skirts, with her long smooth legs and her pink toenails. She was very nice on the eyes. However, looking was different for Mondo. He was certain he was the only one in the school who didn't appreciate only her beauty. When he saw her, he saw the kindness behind her smile. He saw the gentleness in the way she held her friend's arm as she drew designs on it in a sharpie. She was so artistic.

Sure, Sherry's rack was a solid C and her skirt size was a 9--thanks to the booty gods--but she meant more to him than those things. Her eyes were a killer mixture of green and a splash of amber right around her pupils. He liked them, but he also liked the way she--of all people--would stop by his desk and ask, "How's it going, Raymond?"

Amazing. Amazing now that she turned her smile to him and said his name with her angelic--

"Raymond?"

Someone turned the volume up on Mondo's ears and he heard snickering coming from the fellas behind him. It filled his face with the heat of embarrassment that grew once Carter Hodges opened his mouth. Carter, whose desk was directly behind Mondo's. Carter, a creature of strict habitual work out and skin care regimens dressed in a crisp new Champion track suit.

"Mondo! Answer the girl." Carter pushed off the ground and his rolling chair slid up next to Mondo's desk. "It seems Romundo has checked out, but I'd be happy to serve you, my lady."

Sherry grinned, "Not today. This one needs the signature of Raymond Stanford."

"Okay, then, just break my heart," Carter said. He put his hand over his chest and gave a mock frown as he slithered away to his own desk.

Sherry watched him go with kind patience and then she turned to Mondo.

"Just sign here, hon," she said, in a friendly manner.

She held a pen out for him to take.

When the package was given and Sherry left, the pen was still in Mondo's hand. Sherry's pen. He held it up to his nose and breathed in the scent surrounding it. It was metallic, with a faint hint of jasmine, from being nestled in her breast pocket, where she'd sprayed herself with perfume.

"That pen is as close as you're ever going to get to holding a girl like that, Mondo," Carter spat.

*

On the subway, a couple sat in front of Mondo. There were other passengers, but this couple was directly in the line of his sight, if he were to glance above his copy of Death by Black Hole. The woman with long braids rested her leg over the thigh of a buff, dark-skinned man. Mondo glanced at them a few times, envying the neat trim of the man's thick beard. His own beard grew in patchy. Mondo admired the woman's pale green eyes, and the way they complimented her smooth olive-toned skin. Somehow she'd found a top the same color of her eyes and she'd left the top two buttons unbuttoned so that one shoulder was bare. For some reason, to Mondo, that shoulder was even more interesting than her eyes.

Mondo checked to see if the man had noticed him and to his horror, the man was looking right at him. He quickly looked down at Death by Black Hole, as if he could pretend he'd been reading the whole time.

"Hey."

Is...is he talking to me? Mondo pretended not to hear. He was too immersed in his book and couldn't be bothered.

The stranger gave a short, but sharp whistle, and then, "Bro."

The words on the page didn't make much sense.

"Like what you see?" the man asked.

Mondo dropped his act and acknowledged the question by shaking his head. "I'm reading."

"No, you were staring, and that's okay. I get it. She's beautiful. I made her that way."

"You-you made her that way? How?"

"Easy, I chose her face, her body, her hair..."

"Stylist?" Mondo said. Perfect. He could use a makeover. "Can you help me? I have plenty of money, I can pay."

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Nah, man, I'm not a stylist. Just a musician. I got Vivica a few months ago."

Mondo puzzled. The things that this man was saying sounded rude. He got her? Like she's some object that he acquired. Yet, she sat happily next to him, gazing up at him as if he were some sort of lord. What?

"Got her?" Mondo mumbled.

"Yeah, dude, you could get one too."

Mondo laughed nervously. This man had no idea who Mondo was. He didn't know how rough Mondo had it. "I'm not very good with the ladies."

"You don't have to be. Just log on to the site, put in your preferences, your address, wham, bam, you got your gal, sent right to your door."

Could it really be that easy?

"What site?"

"Lovebot3000. Go there, tell them exactly how you want your bot, then wait. Totally worth it."

Stunned, Mondo marveled at the beauty beside the man. A bot. Robot. She looked so real, Mondo hadn't imagined she was anything other than human.

*

The light from Lovebot3000 emitting from Mondo's computer was the only light in his apartment. He had rushed through without bothering with light switches.

Hello And welcome to Lovebot3000, the print on the site said. Don't be lonely anymore! Our desire is to serve you with a perfect mate of your choosing. Build your partner completely by picking their features from our large database. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Mondo felt excitement leap within him, happy butterflies in his stomach. This is too good. It's exactly what he needs.

He carefully clicked through choices:

face shape. He scrolled through the choices until he found a shape somewhere between round and oval.

hair color. He scrolled until he saw a color he liked and settled on a dark brown color, sort of like his own hair.

Hair style. There were so many. He settled on a simple layered medium length cut.

Eye color. Green. His favorite color. It was one of the first ones.

Body size. Petite medium.

Bust. Mondo chose the image that looked a lot like Sherry's size.

There were more physical choices that he decided based on some reason or another, then they came to the next page.

Personality. Click seven of the most important traits to you.

Nice
Loving
Smart
Supportive
Helpful
Sexy
Good sense of humor

How experienced is your lovebot? Here was a bar with a movable line. If he dragged the line to one side of the bar, it said prude. The other side said porn star. He slid it a little over to the porn star side, but not too far. He wasn't sure if it really even mattered.

How often will lovebot be used?
Rarely-—-——-—•-—-Often

Will she be:
Independent——-—-——• Clingy
He wanted to feel important to her.

He slid the bar several more times on random questions, filled out his info on the payment form.

The page blinked: Congratulations! Your lovebot will arrive shortly!