Free Internet Kill Switch by Keith Ward Page A

a redhead on the sidewalk.
     
    Tony and Rick tried to ignore the conversation, but it proved difficult, given the girl’s beauty.
    “How much did it cost?” Tony asked Rick , fingering the headset.
    “About $400,” Rick said.
    “Man. Seems like a lot to spend on a headset.”
    “My old man will never miss the dough,” Rick said with a wink.
    Tony held up his hand. “TMI, dude. Don’t want to know anything about that.”
     
    The argument got louder, but only on the girl’s part. “You can’t just use people like that!” she said. Her voice suddenly sank low, but Tony and Rick were now tuned in, and could hear. “You said you loved me, David. You said I was the only one.”
    David answered distractedly, checking something on his phone. “Look, it just happened, you know? I never said I’d marry you or anything.”
    That infuriated the girl. “Would you stop it! ” she hissed. “Get off your phone and pay attention to me!”
    Annoyed, David put the phone down and looked at the girl. “Happy now?”
    The girl glared at him through tears. “I can’t believe you changed your Facebook status from ‘in a relationship’ to ‘single’ without telling me. Do you know how humiliating that is?”
    “I told you that was a mistake. I thought I’d mentioned it,” the boy said, almost casually.
    “ Stop lying. I found out about it when Morgan told me. Then I saw that you unfriended me!”
    David didn’t argue with her. Instead, he buttered a roll. “Well, I didn’t want you hassling me all day.”
    “So that’s it?”
    He ate the roll while he nodded his head. Then, without another word, he grabbed his backpack and left. The girl put her head in her hands and broke down in tears.
     
    “I can’t believe that guy,” Tony said. “No respect for her at all.”
    Rick nodded. “I can’t believe he’d dump a gorgeous babe like that. ”
    Tony looked at Rick and shook his head. It was just such a Rick thing to say.
    “Go over to her,” said a voice in his ear. It was the phone speaking to him.
    “You think I should?”
    “Should what?” Rick asked.
    “Sorry; talking to the phone,” Tony said.
    “Yes,” said the phone. “She looks like she could use a friend right now. Besides, I can help if you get stuck.”
    Tony thought that could be extremely dangerous, although he was tempted by the phone’s offer of help. He could never think of the right thing to say when talking to girls. On the other hand, how would a phone know what to say?
    Still, the phone was right that the girl wasn’t doing well, and Tony wanted to encourage her, tell her things would be OK. She was still crying, and now looking through her purse for something.
    “She’s out of tissues,” the phone said. “Quick, get some napkins and take them to her!” Tony surprised himself by obeying immedia tely. He grabbed the unused ones from his tray and walked over to her. He tentatively held out the napkins.
    “Her e, use these,” the phone prompted, low enough so there was no chance the girl would hear it.
    “Here, use these,” Tony repeated.
    The girl looked up at Tony, grateful. “Thanks,” she said in a shaky voice as she gently took them from his hand. She wiped her nose with one, dabbed at her eyes with another. She looked to be about their age.
    “I’m sorry you had to see that,” she said. Tony, frozen in place, couldn’t think of anything to say. I’m such a fool, he thought. Come on, come up with something!
    Nothing came, until the phone whispered again. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about.” So simple, Tony thought. Why wouldn’t such simple words come on their own?
    “There’s nothing to be ashamed about,” he said.
    The girl looked at Tony as she cleared her damp hair from her eyes. She gave him the tiniest hint of a smile. He couldn’t even be sure she had, but he thought so.
    “My boyfriend ... my ex-boyfriend, I mean… we’ve been together a year. It was our anniversary last week,” she said,