The soft hum of the morning sun barely filtered through the tinted windows of my luxurious tenth-floor penthouse. My eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the ambient blue lights running across the ceiling.
"Zara," I mumbled, voice still coated in sleep. "What time is it now?"
{ "Good morning, Alex," }
came the smooth, feminine voice of my AI assistant.
{ "It is currently 7:40 a.m. Your first class at Zenith Academy begins at 8:00 a.m." }
It took me a second.
"WHAT?!"
I flung off my covers like they were on fire and shot up from bed.
"ZARA! Why didn't you wake me up at 7 a.m. like I told you?!"
Zara responded calmly, as if she wasn't the reason I was about to set a school tardiness record.
{ "I did, Alex. Three times, in fact. The first two, you mumbled, 'Give me five more minutes.' The third time, you put me on sleep mode and said, and I quote: 'I am a night demon and need no mortal schedules.'" }
I froze mid-sprint to the bathroom. That... did sound like me.
