The Computer Glitch

By Shirley Hinther

Brandy clicked control panel, display, turned off the screen saver, and waited for the computer to go dark. "Mom! Dad!" she yelled. "Something's wrong with my computer!" She pushed herself back from the desk and buzzed her electric wheelchair toward the door. "Can you fix it?"

Dad came into the room. Brandy loved his tall, lean figure and his wavy black hair. She especially treasured the way he smelled, like fresh sea air. She loved it when his blue eyes crinkled into a smile. But now they just looked tired and frustrated. "What now, Brandy?"

Dad lightly toggled a key. The screen flashed to life. He sighed. "There really wasn't a problem."

Brandy giggled. "No, I just love it when you come into my room. It makes me feel special."

"You are very special." Dad tousled Brandy's dark hair. "You could be special to other people if you got out more." He sighed. "Brandy, you're eleven. Ever since the accident you have been daydreaming in front of the computer. You need to stop hiding from the world and get outside more."

"Aw, Dad, you know I can't play like regular kids. Besides, it was a joke. I know you and Mom will always be here for me."

"Sure we will. But we have work to do, and can't always drop everything - even for you. I bet you can fix things on this computer better than I can." Dad patted her shoulder and walked out.

Did it hurt to call Mom or Dad into her room for a pretend problem? She couldn't just wheel outside and play with the other kids…could she? Brandy turned back to the computer and gasped. Sitting on top of her monitor, surrounded by a silver cloud of shimmering fog, was a hideous beast. It was about the size of her monitor with long matted steel-gray fur and static electricity sparking like bolts of lightning all around the figure. It's long, copper claws dug into the monitor. Brandy stared at the fluorescent green eyes glowing like a monitor in an unlit room.

"The name is Glitch! I am a computer beast," the monster related to Brandy with a voice as grating as a paper jam in a printer. His pointed metallic tail wrapped around Brandy's monitor. "I am your computer virus. I create fall-out. Watch the words on your screen fall and disappear. Your precious computer is useless." The beast laughed out loud.

Brandy tore her gaze away from Glitch and looked. All the words and images on her monitor were drifting out of place and cascading to the bottom of the screen. "Mom! Dad! Come quick. My computer is possessed." She waited, but no one came. Her dad's words echoed in her ears, "We have work to do and we can't always drop it - even for you. I bet you can fix things on this computer better than I can." She would have to outsmart this beast on her own.

"Please Mr. Beast! Don't hurt my computer. I need it for school."

"I love the feeling of power," said the beast. "You'll never get your computer back. You aren't smart enough to fool me."

"I really don't need the computer," replied Brandy. "I can always use the one at school and go out with my friends."

"I know better. I've watched you. You never leave this room. You have NO friends," the beast gloated.

"I do too!" Brandy said.

"Not!" replied Glitch.

"I'll prove it to you," said Brandy. "Maybe he isn't even real", Brandy thought. "If I leave, when I come back he could be gone." Suddenly Brandy felt trapped. She wasn't sure if she did have any friends to spend time with. Would they accept her and her chair? She slowly rolled her chair over to the telephone and picked up the receiver and set it back down. "What if no one is home? Maybe they don't want to be held back by a kid in a wheelchair." Brandy struggled with the thought of having no way out and being stuck with the Glitch.

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