Ryan typed into the program again, smirking as he added a few new parameters:
Add two teenage boys in classic 1950s attire—leather jackets, slicked-back hair, jeans, and a confident swagger. Make them think Jess and Macy invited them for a friendly meet-up. Set interaction behaviors to match 1950s social norms. Awareness remains off for Macy, partially off for Jess.
He hit enter.
Moments later, Jess turned at the sound of the store’s entrance bell jingling. Two boys walked in confidently, as if stepping straight out of Grease—complete with combs in their back pockets and cocky smiles.
“Hey there, ladies,” the taller one said, tipping his head at them. “You gals look swell today.”
Jess’s eyebrows twitched. Gals? Swell? Her instincts screamed this was wrong, but her lips curved into a polite smile anyway. “Why thank you, Jimmy,” she said sweetly, before blinking. “Wait—how do I…?”
The shorter boy, Tom, stepped up beside Macy and offered her his arm. “Care for a soda down at the diner?”
Macy lit up. “Sure! That sounds like a blast! Jess, come on!”
Jess hesitated, one gloved hand lifting unconsciously to fix a curl behind her ear. She felt so... prim. She should say no. She should demand they go back to normal clothes and leave. And yet...
“Well, I suppose a short break wouldn’t hurt,” she said, looping her arm into Jimmy’s without quite realizing it.
As they walked out of the store in pairs, Billy gaped. “They’re going on a vintage double date?”
Ryan laughed. “Yup. And Jess is getting pulled in deeper. One soda pop at a time.”
Back at the mall’s retro-themed food court, Macy was already ordering milkshakes and fries like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Jess found herself crossing her ankles neatly under the table, dabbing her lips with a napkin after every sip. Her speech was softer, her tone deferential.
“You’re quite the gentleman,” she said to Jimmy, smiling demurely. Stop it. Say something normal, she begged herself internally.
But all that came out was: “It’s so nice to spend time with a strong, respectable young man.”
She wanted to scream.