Come and Find Me Read Online Free PDF

flew. Soared over a winding river and back.
    Diana glanced over. Ashley was gripping her chair arms. It felt like 3-D without the 3-D glasses.
    Diana brought Nadia down onto sidewalk. “You want to drive?”
    “You bet.”
    They switched seats. Diana showed Ashley how to use the trackball and buttons to angle the view, and the keyboard’s arrow keys to move Nadia and change direction. Ashley got the hang of it quickly. From behind, they watched Nadia saunter along, neatly avoiding colliding with a couple strolling hand in hand in the opposite direction.
    “Those are . . . ?” Ashley asked.
    “Not window dressing. There’s a real live person somewhere in the world controlling each of them.”
    “This is way cool, love the way Nadia’s hair is kind of springy, like a sea anemone. And that hip-swing thing she’s got,” Ashley said.
    “Recognize it? It’s your walk. I programmed it. And I sell it.”
    “You sell my walk? How come I don’t get a cut?”
    Ashley tapped the arrow key and Nadia continued, past a car dealership and a gun store.
    “Okay, stop there,” Diana said.
    Ashley paused Nadia in front of a door that said H EADLESS B ARBIE’S C LOTHING T O G O . Naked mannequins in the windows were displayed, as promised, without heads.
    Ashley chortled. “How perfect is that?” She moved Nadia through the shop’s door and inside. The store had pink walls and clothing racks on either side, a desk and a cash register in the front. Nadia was the only avatar there.
    Diana took over the mouse and clicked on one of the clothing racks. A woman’s voice said, “Can I help you.”
    “Custom order,” Diana said.
    A text box floated on the screen.
    Customer?
    Password?
    Diana typed in Nadia’s name and password.
    Style?
    Diana examined the invoice that had come with the new clothes and typed in the seven-digit style code she found. A 3-D image of her avatar’s outfit—boots, jeans, jacket, cap, and sunglasses—popped up, revolving in space.
    “You want it in a different color?” Diana asked Ashley. “It’s easy to tweak.” With a few clicks she’d turned the jacket orange and the boots bright blue.
    “Ick. I liked it just the way it was,” Ashley said.
    Diana changed it back. “We just drag it over to the cash register.” She clicked on the outfit and dragged it over. “And voilà. We’re good to go.”
    She was about to click check out when Ashley put her hand out to stop her. “So, what else can you get here?”
    Diana smiled. Ashley was so easily hooked. “Whatever your little heart desires.” She offered Ashley the microphone. “And if you keep it simple, you can just say what you want.”
    Ashley thought a moment. Then said, “Long pink dress.”
    A floor-length, off-the-shoulder dress materialized and revolved—a swirl of pale pink chiffon with a shimmering skirt—replaced a few moments later by a hot-pink strapless gown, replaced by a pink chintz number with muttonchop sleeves and tiny buttons going up the back to a ruffled high neck.
    “That one’s definitely you,” Diana said. “ Little House on the Prairie . Just enter your measurements, charge it to your credit card, and it’s made to order.”
    “Leather jacket,” Ashley said into the microphone.
    Up came a brown World War I–style bomber’s jacket, followed by a fitted black blazer, followed by a western-style jacket with serious fringe, followed by Diana’s design.
    “Order that one and I get ten percent,” Diana said.
    “Of what?”
    “More than you can probably afford.”
    “I doubt that.” Ashley set her chin on her hand as she watched leather jacket after leather jacket materialize and dematerialize. “I could definitely get into this.”
    W hile Ashley changed back into her own clothes, Diana stayed in her office. It took just a minute to reorder the outfit. She planned to set the clothes aside for Ashley’s next birthday. It was an expensive gift, but she’d never been able to adequately repay her