Alia pushed open the tinted door to the shop and looked around as an old bell rang. It looked like no one was at the counter, but she figured they were probably watching through some security camera somewhere. It was a pretty niche-looking shop, considering it was called the Magic Shop, and boy did it exude the right atmosphere. Glass balls, wands, tarot cards, strange candles, books of spells and then some. Although, there were also some things in here that seemed like they belonged in a secondhand charity shop rather than a specialty boutique.
Alia shrugged and entered. It wasn't that she was actually interested, it was just that today was the day the apartment complex decided to send the exterminator around, so all tenants were basically kicked out for a few hours. Since Alia was more the type to spend her day off curled up in bed with a book or her laptop, it was particularly annoying. Hence why she was wandering around the shopping area trying to find a place to hole up that had some air conditioning.
Alia wandered around the shelves slowly, glancing over the items but surreptitiously looking for a place she might be able to sit and relax until a store employee got annoyed enough to show themselves and kick her out. There didn't seem to be any comfortable chairs, but then she spotted something in the back corner. It looked like an old photo booth. That might actually be great, Alia thought. A curtain to keep her hidden, maybe a comfortable seat, and even the store clerk might overlook her for a while.
Upon approaching it, Alia found it looked quite antique, like something you might see at a carnival or maybe a bar that was sporting 1920's decor. The writing on the outside was also a bit ornate. Which explains why Alia didn't quite read it correctly.
No-life? That's a heckuva name for a photobooth company, Alia scoffed to herself. But then again, it felt a little too personal. That was basically Alia. Forty years old and a job she didn't really love, hobbies she could rarely afford, an apartment most of her salary was being used to rent, a car that was falling apart, and not even a hint of romance. No-life indeed. So why not try out the booth? Nothing much to lose.
Brushing aside the red velvet curtain, Alia climbed in to sit on the leather seat inside. Not the most comfortable, but it'd do. Reaching over, Alia adjusted the curtain so it would be less obvious anyone had entered, then adjusted her sitting position to be more relaxed. Just as Alia was about to dig for her phone so she could play a game to pass the time...
[zzzzt...bing-bong!]
...the screen in front of Alia came to life.
[WELCOME TO THE NU-LIFE. PLEASE PICK A THEME TO START.]
Ah...crap. With all the lights and sounds, someone was bound to figure out she was in the booth. However, maybe if she went through the options and quickly picked something, the photo booth would do its thing and shut down again. So Alia quickly scanned though the list and turned the knobs to highlight an option she found mildly interesting, then pressed on a widget to select it. She thought it was just a random photo filter, but what Alia chose was...