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Computer LoveHe was really desperate to get back from his father's. Things were moving at last. He'd been online for a few weeks now but recently he could feel a new surge of electricity driving through his bones. Not just his bones. His whole body was a temple to the goddess Electric. His parents had bought him a Mac as a new year present. That was before the divorce. He had seen that coming for a long time. His father worked long hours. Actually that was the strange bit, everyone worked too hard. Maybe mum just got fed up with his drunken moods. If you only see someone one hour a day and that hour is bad... Well, she had her own work at the university. The other kids had still to get connected. He was an info pioneer. His father had taught him everything he knew. How the operating system worked, how to use the programs and, lately, how to use the internet. It was great. He started just browsing the Web, but after a while that became too boring. There was just too much stuff and he got tired reading English on the screen. Recently though he'd found Usenet and, in particular, personal ads. So he had replied to the ad. He remembered the excitement he had felt as he wrote the words: "I read your ad. I am 16 years old and I am looking for someone like you to look after me. Reply as soon as possible" He had sent it anonymously. No need to pollute his secret world. He'd come over today to get some stuff from his father's CD-ROM, but he wasn't here yet. He made himself some toast. It was a nice place. He looked forward to the time he could get away too. He puzzled whether he would be better poor and free or rich and held prisoner. He wondered if and when he should tell Mari. She would be devastated all right. It wasn't her fault. She was nice. It was just that he didn't feel that way about girls. He had always known inside, but the reality of who he was was now slowly coming to the surface. In a flash it hit him. He could get his mail here. He'd change the settings on the computer over by the window. He could delete any replies before his father came back, so he'd never know. He grabbed the mouse and opened the mail program. Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes widening. His jaw
dropped. The In box was open and as his father walked back into the
room he read his father's latest message "I read your ad. I am 16
years old and I am looking for someone like you to look after me.
Reply as soon as possible". @ |
Copyright Mark Devlin 1996.