In the days leading to the Christmas celebration, 16-year-old Nathan grew bored. With school out for the holiday season, he didn't have any daily routine. His parents were out of town for a combined business/shopping spree, and his older siblings weren't home from college yet for the holiday.
So, when he did a check of the mailbox on Christmas Eve, he was quite excited to see a package from his great-grandfather. Nathan was Facebook friends with the old man, who had asked him for a convenient list of holiday gift ideas with the excuse that he had no idea what guys Nathan's age wanted.
Since his great-grandfather was loaded and money was no object, plus he seemed a bit eccentric, Nathan indulged a fantasy by sending the old guy a one-item wish list for the latest version of the Chronivac.
When the handsome teenager got a look at the mailing label, his heart skipped a beat. Had his great-grandfather actually purchased him one of the devices. With hands almost trembling with anticipation, Nathan carried the package to his room and proceeded to carefully unwrap and open the carton.
There was one cause for some disappointment. "Oh, damn, it's one of those older models," Nathan said reading the version number on the side of the gleaming, gently-used Chronivac. He didn't let that fact ruin his Christmas cheer. Besides, the only real difference between this version and the newer models were some built-in safeguards.
Nathan scoffed, certain he wouldn't need safeguards. He also felt convinced instructions were for nerds. He pushed aside the paperwork and began to program the device to take a quick scan of his body. He eagerly scanned the resulting read-out on the device's small view screen.
SCAN RESULTS:
Name: Nathan Owen Castille
Age: 17
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5’ 10’’
Weight: 170 lbs
Sexual Preference: Straight/bi-curious
Hair color: blond
Eye color: blue
Occupation: Student; 11th grade
He frowned at his sexual preference determination, not because it was inaccurate but because he worried someone else might read it on the device. He was still working out his feelings on girls versus guys.
That wasn't a big deal. His main concern at the moment was picking out something for a test of his brand-new Chronivac. As he scanned the possibilities, he was intrigued by a menu labeled "Seasonal Options."
He looked over the selections, which included: