Carrie loved her phone and her tablet. She was always looking at one or the other. Her parents would try to talk to her about her life, but she would just ignore them or give them brief answers until they left her alone. When she was at school, she'd sneak peeks at her phone under her desk whenever she could get away with it. When she was at parties, she spent more time interacting with the devices in front of her than with the people around her. Even at concerts and sporting events, Carrie seldom removed her eyes from these tiny screens. One day Carrie was walking home from a friend's house and watching a funny video of people slipping on ice. She began crossing the street just after the light changed. She was so into the video that she did not notice the oncoming traffic. She walked directly into the traffic while laughing at the falling people on her tiny screen and was hit by a bus. Carrie sustained mild injuries, but both of her devices were destroyed. As far as she was concerned, her life was over.

Kelly had a job at the movie theater, but it didn't pay very much and she was sick of working there. Nonetheless, the work was steady and she needed all of the money that she could get. To her delight, Kelly got an interview at a big office downtown for a job that paid much more. The interview went very well and the bosses all but offered her a position. They said that she would fit the role well and they promised that they would call her back within two weeks. Kelly couldn't wait to quit her job at the movie theater. As soon as she got back she put in her two week notice. She spent the next two weeks bragging to her coworkers about her new high-paying job in the big city. Yet, two weeks passed and she received no phone call. When Kelly decided to follow up on her interview, she learned that the bosses had chosen a different candidate. Kelly was crushed.