The excitement that was coursing through Kyra at this moment was off the charts. She'd heard about these iLacs but had never been able to actually get her hands on one due to lack of money - she'd refused her parents offers to buy one for her. But finally, after receiving her first load of pay from a mission, she was able to get one. She'd left for the Neutral Grounds in the early hours to make sure she could make it back to work by around midday (and not at all because her excitement had kept her up all night) and was now in the doorway to the shop.
The second she stepped through though she was stopped by a taller, skinny man with short black hair and thick-rimmed glasses, his white work shirt perfectly ironed. "Can I help?" he asked, his voice surprisingly dull and lifeless. It was still fairly early in the day and perhaps he wasn't really a morning person? Kyra would give him the benefit of the doubt, smiling broadly. "I'm here to get myself an iLac!" she stated, and was about to ask for specific information about it when she was cut-off by the man sighing in apparent disdain. "Lemme guess, parents getting you one for you birthday, you want it in pink or rose-gold. Follow me."
She twitched. She twitched again. There was early morning tiredness and there was being an ass. This was a case of the latter. Nonetheless she didn't want to get thrown out of the shop. She bit her tongue and followed behind the store clerk, who by now was droning on about how he'd served 'too many people who had no idea what they were buying'. They stopped at a small stand at the far end of the store and the clerk picked up one of the iLac's, handing it to Kyra. She felt the weight of the iLac and put the finger to her lips, lost in thought as the man continued to talk about something or nothing. It felt...oddly heavier than expected. Not to the point of discomfort, but certainly not as comfortable as it could be.
She tuned back in to the clerk's voice in time to hear him mention something about colours, but she didn't care for that. She quickly interjected as he took a breath. "This is the low-end model. Where's the high-end one?" she asked, catching the clerk completely by surprise. He hadn't expected her to know anything about what she was buying. Suddenly he was very interested, his tone shifting slightly to a slightly brighter one. "Oh, you're after the iLac Pro!" He took the iLac from Kyra and grabbed another, somewhat sleeker looking one and handed it to her. He began talking about what it could be used for, how everything was smoother and easier to use with a better interface. Kyra blocked it all out again. This was better, but still not as good as it should have been. The weight was more evenly balanced, but it was still unnecessarily heavy. She played around with it a little and sighed. The interface was generic. It had some bits to make it look better, but it didn't actually feel any different to the one she'd been handed before. She interjected again, this time not caring if the clerk had finished his sentence or not.
"Have you got the specifications for this model? I mean the PROPER specifications, not the drivel the company has drilled into you." she asked abruptly. The clerk froze for a moment, then nodded. "Just a moment." He walked away and ducked behind a counter for a moment before returning with a clipboard. He handed it to her and Kyra began reading over the document in front of her. The parts themselves weren't bad. Some even exceeded what she'd expected. Essentially it was a great piece of kit with a lazy design. She gave a small chuckle, placing the clipboard down before bringing her watch up and, with the camera that was installed in it, took a photograph of the document - this would have been easier if V-1 had been able to enter the Neutral Grounds, but the lightning lacrima that powered him would have shut off immediately.
She then picked the clipboard up and handed back to the clerk. "In future, don't assume you know your customers. I prefer Pearl White or see-thru." she stated sharply, winking at him before she walked away. "B-but Miss, did you not wish to purchase an iLac afterall?" he called to her, almost begging for her to come back. She grinned and looked back at him for a moment. "Why buy one here, when I can make a better one myself?" she replied cheekily before exiting the store. She had to get back to her workshop ASAP. Not only did she have an iLac to build, but this place - the Neutral Grounds - had given her a brilliant design idea that her comrades could make use of.
