'Now this is more like it.' Mars thought as Lisa led her and Aya through the halls of their new apartment complex. While she appreciated the new friendship she found with Aya in Axen city, it was such a low-tech area.
'It was exactly what I needed at that moment, but Arlo still almost ended up finding me so I suffered such a lifestyle downgrade for nothing.' Mars said as she watched stare of the art Hoovertrons vacuum and clean the windows until the hallways gleamed with perfection.
The hallway was a long path from the outside of the building, the walls were painted a serene blue to match each of the plants that lined the pathway as they walked. Mars could hear running water coming from somewhere and guessed they either had a fountain or a pool.
She turned around to see that Aya had slowed down to stare at all the new facilities that would be part of their new living situation.
"Wow." Mars heard a gasp from behind her and suppressed a smile. 'I guess it wasn't for nothing.'
"Your apartment is on the fifth floor, so we'll be taking the elevator. There is also a flight of stairs nearby if you'd rather use that to get your steps in." Lisa said, looking them up and down. "Not that it seems like any of you need it."
The blonde apartment manager stood before a set of clear doors and pushed a button, the elevator arrived silently with only a ding alerting them of its presence.
Lisa stepped in and waited for Mars and Aya to follow before she pressed the button that would take them to the fifth floor.
"I only had time to prepare one key card, so Aya will have to wait for the other one to be delivered in about an hour."
"That's no problem, I mean we'll be so busy unpacking, I doubt we'll notice." Aya said, beaming. Lisa gave a small smile in return, loosening up at the sound of the younger woman's cheerful voice.
"You're right, we rarely get new faces around her, most people want to be a lot closer to town." Lisa said.
Through the glass, Aya watched the elevator rise with a feeling of heaviness in her chest. The last time she could remember riding an elevator was her Mail Room job at Nue Corp. This elevator was a lot sleeker than even there.
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Mericross was like a whole new world to her, and it made her nervous to have to learn the roads around her new home. But if Mars could do it for Axen, Aya could do it too. Besides, Mericross was a lot safer.
"Oh, how come? This area seems pretty close already." Aya said.
Lisa gave her an odd expression leading Mars to butt in.
"We lived on the outskirts for a long time, by comparison, this area seems a lot closer." Mars explained to the woman whose confusion cleared up at her words.
"It must have been hell getting to work."
"Tell me about it, there was only one bus route too so if I missed it I was pretty much screwed." Aya said with a sigh.
"I've been there." Lisa said with a short laugh.
Mars, who had never needed to work an office job, allowed the two to commiserate on the difficulties of transport.
"Well, no worries about that, the bus stop is a minute from her and it goes just about everywhere in town. Tenants get a month of free bus passes for free so feel free to explore the area at your leisure, Aya. You can scan the code with your phone." Lisa said.
"That'll be great, actually."
The elevator stopped with a ding on the fifth floor, where Lisa led them to their door, apartment 521, The door was already wide open with Hoovertrons sweeping the area in preparation for the new tenants. Aya gasped at the sight of them running over to inspect the polished materials that formed the robot's makeup.
"What are these? I saw them down the hall earlier." Aya said.
"Hoovertrons, they're cleaning robots basically, much more intelligent too. I remember the prototype being a disaster." Lisa said.
Mars began looking around and noting the mover had brought in and placed their things exactly as she had shown them. Now, only small scale unpacking was left.
The new apartment was painted a soft shade of blue to match the halls outside, although Mars was told she could repaint as the apartment handled clean up during moving out scenarios. The kitchen was bigger too, providing an island as well as an oven rather than just a barely functioning tabletop stove.
The sink was bigger too, with top and bottom compartments for storing plates and cookware. A large fridge sat beside it.
"Are these appliances all just standard with the home?" Mars asked.
"Yes, of course, apartment clean up is also once a week on Saturdays, so make sure to let your assigned Hoovertron in."
"Do we have a laundry room downstairs or?"
"In the hall, there's a washer and dryer for your use."
"Wow!" Aya gasped from where she was shadowing one of the Hoovertrons at work. It seemed her cheerful demeanor was also starting to grow on Lisa.
"Here's your keycard." Lisa said, taking a sealed envelope out of her pocket to hand to Mars. "I'll see you in an hour for Aya's."
"Sure, you have a good day too." Mars said calmly. "Bye, Lisa!" Aya waved from the hallway of the two bedroom.
"Enjoy your stay." Lisa said, she clapped, and the two girls watched the Hoovertrons form a line and follow Lisa out like ducks in a row. "I love those little robots!" Aya said.
"Oh, I can tell." Mars said, patting her soft curls.
"I like Lisa, she was actually really nice." Aya said, beaming brightly. She might have just made her first new friend in Mericross City.
Mars nodded, knowing if she were anyone else, they would have mocked Aya for not being up to date with the technology available in other parts of the country. Mars herself had almost forgotten how behind Axen was in terms of technology until they moved.
If Lisa had tried, Mars would have put a stop to it permanently. Of that she was sure.
"It's time to start unpacking most of the house, I'll do my room first, you can go and shower when you're done you can do your room."
"No, when I'm done, I'll start with the kitchen. I'm really hungry now too." Aya said. At the moment, her stomach growled, causing her to cover her face in embarrassment.
"Are you hiding a monster in there or something?" Mars teased. Aya laughed. After a few minutes of banter, the two of them split to begin their separate tasks.
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