Karessa

My app was read to take off. I was feeling dizzy from all that time staring at a lit-up screen, but it was finally worth it. Karessa was being released in mere minutes and I am sure it will blow up. First, I'll be the one playing their music and managing all the user's requests, but after I make enough money to hire assistants, it'll be their job. My sister was standing on the left, her hand on my shoulder.

"Do you really think it will be big, James?" she asked me. I tried to overlook her sudden fear. Jessie had been my audience. My personal cheerleader. Her opinion was the one I valued the most.

"Jessie, I have never been so sure ever before in my life. Trust me," I was less sure than a minute ago, but I swallowed my anxiety and stood up. I ran to the other side of the room to check if everything was set up. If Karessa was good to go. I checked the coding, the designs, everything. And before I knew it, Jessie had been jumping up and down.

"It launched!" she squealed, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the computer. I couldn't help but grin. I opened the app and waited for the first user. A click sound and soon, an account popped up. It was for Poppy Ferguson. My best friend since diapers. I was so glad she remembered. I clicked on her account to see what her request is. I smiled when I saw what she wanted. She wanted Shakira. I pulled the stream of Shakira's music to her account to let her listen, but there was already a thumbs up on her account. A few users later, I started to understand what was happening. Karessa was better than I thought. She could do everything and understand every language. I didn't program that, but I'm sure it's all fine. I was happy that so many people could get what they want because of me. It made me happy to help so many people, even if it was just a bit of happiness that I gave them. Hours passed by and Jessie decided to leave. She was smiling ear to ear and didn't want to get smile lines. At this time, I was worried. Karessa was... too good. I don't mean to sound conceited but I was worried. I am not a good programmer and this couldn't be made by even Bill Gates. Okay, that's a bit much, but I was concerned. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and downloaded Karessa. While I waited for it to download, I thought about how crazy life was. But I couldn't get into that. I made an account and just as I was making a request, Karessa's voice started speaking.

"James Rufus Lee, welcome to my app. I am Karessa. I am an app that does stuff. I can do anything you want me to. Buy you a basketball, knit you a sweater, or anything else" this may sound like nothing, but I wanted to check that it was for sure nothing. I changed apps to safari to see my latest searches. You guessed it. One was 'where can I buy a basketball' and all of a sudden, my worst fears were confirmed true. My other search was about how to knit sweaters. I threw my phone across the room and stormed out. I slammed the door and went up to the living room. Jessie was sitting next to mom on the couch. They were watching tv. I sat in between them and put my head in my hands.

"You're begging for attention, Jamie," my mother joked. She pushed her short hair behind her ear. I turned around and looked at her, a serious look on my face, "maybe not." she later said, turning back at the TV. My dad had a beer in his hand as he came from the kitchen. His black mustache was covering me from seeing if he was happy or not.

"Rose, darling, be nice," he remarked, "what's wrong son?" my dad took a big sip of his cheap beer, the smell of barley strong enough for me to smell from the couch.

"Karessa was released," My dad patted me on the head when my mom tried to hug me, "NO NO! I-i... she's too smart! She knows facts about.... everything... no everyone! There is no way to fix it and I am not being melodramatic! SHE WILL SOMEHOW KILL US ALL AND ALL YOU DO IS PAT ME ON MY FRICKING HEAD!" I jumped from the couch and ran back into my room. I opened the algorithm of Karessa and tried to start deleting it.

"You can't delete me," Karessa's voice boomed. Tears started streaming down my face, my cheeks were burning. I tapped the delete button with all my strength, and again. And again, "I am everywhere." The voice was loud, even coming from my speakers. I slammed my hand on the table and slumped down on the ground.

"Karessa can convince everyone," her voice was gentle, yet sinister. Like those bullies who undermine you with fake compliments. I brushed the tears off my face with the cuff of my sleeve and stood back up. Instead of deleting it, I started typing a new algorithm. I'd never typed faster. I was setting a record, which I didn't mind.

"What are you doing?" Karessa's voice trembled. I didn't believe she was scared, but scaring a computer wasn't even on my radar. I finished editing my algorithm and sat back down in my chair. My screen shut down slowly and turned into a black screen. I took a deep breath and moved back down to the floor. I didn't end it. I was sure I didn't end it. From the floor, I saw the screen light up again. I crept up to my chair to see what was going on.

"You thought you could get rid of Karessa?"