tab pt 2 apollonia visits the apartment v2

Apollonia tabbed out while I unlocked the door. I led her into the apartment and sat her down on my old computer case. I sat down on my futon and checked my phone. 6:52. Alpha could sit tight a few more minutes. I browsed the backscroll on the chat and saw djn had tagged me. I mumbled an oath and looked at the available targets. I tried to guess who would take longest to notice, but then I saw palo. I couldn't resist. I tapped her nick and hit "TAG," put my phone away, and glanced up at her. She roused just a second later and looked around, smiling.
"It looks smaller IRL. Whoa, that's a hell of a mirror."
I tried to wipe the grin off my face. "Yeah, it was a listed feature in the lease. It's s'posed to make the room seem bigger, I guess."
She shook her head. "Nah, not bigger, just makes it look like there's two of them. One on the other side of the glass. Must make it easier to plug cords in the back of the case, though, eh?" She stood up and put her face against it, looking down its length with a grin. "Shouldn't have done that, breaks the spell. Now it just looks like glass."
I wondered when she'd check her phone. "I always thought of that Ballard story, Billenium. They have this tiny little room that's huge to them because they're used to much smaller, and they struggle this old armoire nobody has space for into it so they can make it feel bigger." She bit her lip and sat down on the case again. Tabbed out. I watched the rise and fall of her breathing, the slight swell of her developing breasts. Hormone titties, she gleefully calls them. She worked three jobs, like I did, but her parents had money and helped with the medical side. Something something bootstraps, etc.
She tabbed back in, blinked. "I can see why you'd think of that. When I think it's two rooms, it still feels like two very small rooms, though, with a glass between them. Ever read Anne of Green Gables?"
I shook my head. "Why? A sort of Through The Looking Glass thing? I saw an old public broadcasting version growing up; I don't remember much, but I also don't remember that."
Pretty as she is, there's a sort of glow when she gets animated about a subject about which she's passionate. She smiled wistfully and stood up, pacing back and forth on my futon and gesturing to the mirror as she spoke. "Anne grew up really poor. Like you said, mirrors be spendy, but at this one house she lived in there was a cabinet. The father of the family was a mean drunk, one night had too much again and," with that she leaned over and slapped of the mirror, loud enough to reverberate through the wall, "broke one side. But Anne liked visiting with Katie Maurice. Katie was a little girl who looked exactly like her on the other side of the glass in the world in the cabinet. And when she left the house for the orphanage, she remembered Katie was crying." She checked her phone in her other hand, nodded to herself. How that story elicited a smile of any sort struck me as odd, though charming nonetheless. "So it's that small space. What's the story you mentioned called again?"
"Billenium, I think. I'll look it up and send you a link, the whole story if I can find it. Still copyrighted, though."
"Thanks! I keep meaning to check out Ballard. I checked out Crash from the library."
"Jesus," I laughed. "Don't start with that one! Shock value. I think he himself called it 'lurid.' Not sure, would have to check. Seriously, at least read something else first."
She rolled her eyes, stood up and headed for the door. "Fine. Hey, glad I got to see it." She paused looked at the computer. "You keep the camera facing that way so we can't see the mirror."
"Yup." I tried again to wipe the grin off my face. "Security measure. Don't like people watching me type."
She nodded, grinned back. I was still doing it, dammit. "Smart thinking." She leaned down, gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep, you're getting punchy. See ya online, okay?" I smacked her thigh and watched her go. Any moment now... any moment.
I heard her footsteps on the stairs, and the silence as she got to the pavement below. Then a loud FUCK and I guffawed.  Probably disturbed the sleep of every alt in the complex. I lay down, tabbed back to Alpha and started giggling all over again. Phone said 6:59. Time to get to my desk.