by Krista Lakes
“This looks so good. Thanks for dinner, Dad,” I said, flashing my dad a smile. I couldn't wait to devour a herb encrusted chicken breast.
“You're very welcome,” Dad replied. He grinned and took a bite of his own meal.“How's yours, Tommy?”
“It's great,” Tommy replied absently. He stared at his phone and pushed out his chair, already heading for the door. “I gotta go, but I”ll be right back.”
“Tommy where are you going?” my mother called after him.
“Your food just came, buddy. Come on, sit down,” my father said.
“I’ll be right back,” he shouted back. “Promise!” He was off before another objection could be spoken.
I watched him and then looked to my mother. “What was that about?” I asked.
“Just some phone game,” she said. She shook her head like I had asked a rhetorical question. “He's been doing that all week. I've given up trying to stop him.”
Caroline laughed. “He’s a funny kid.”
“Yes, he is,” my mother replied with emphasis. “Never a dull day with that one.”
“I bet you forgot what it was like having a little minion always chasing you around,” my father said, taking another bite of food.
“No, I actually missed him a lot,” I said. “And honestly he has matured a lot since I left, it’s kind of crazy.”
“He missed you, too,” Mom assured me. “I wasn't the one who insisted on sending you all those cookie care packages.”
“And lord knows we appreciated them,” I told her. “I'm pretty sure that Caroline and I ate nothing but cookies for several meals.”
“If I had known that, I would have sent you food!” my mother replied, looking shocked.
“It's what you do in college,” my dad assured her. “Builds character.”
“Or diabetes,” Caroline whispered to me and I had to hold in a laugh.
Tommy returned to the table and slumped into his seat as only a pre-teenage boy could. He stared at his phone for another minute before putting it back in his pocket.
“Oh, welcome back,” I said. “Thanks for joining us.”
He looked at me and made a face that looked like it should have been accompanied with a stuck out tongue.
“The waitress is coming back to get your food,” my father told him. “We told her you didn’t want it.”
Tommy rolled his eyes, knowing that our father was just messing with him as he dug into his cheeseburger and fries. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Did you go outside?” I asked, taking a bite of my chicken. I looked past him to the windows and saw the twilight softly creeping in over the sidewalk, almost expecting to see some sort of tempting attraction instead of the city street.
“Yeah,” he replied with a shrug, as if my question was a mere waste of time.
“And?” I prompted.
“And what?” He took another bite of his burger and shrugged.
“Nothing I guess,” I told him. My mother just shrugged at me. Apparently this was usual for him.
“Have you sent in your application to ZephTech yet?” Caroline asked between bites of her fettuccine alfredo. I looked up at my father and wasn’t surprised to find him looking over his glasses at me, waiting for me to answer.
“Almost,” I told her. “I’m almost done. This application is more work than applying to grad school.”
“What all do you have left?” Caroline asked. “I think last I heard you were working on some essay.”
“I finished the written questionnaire,” I said, stressing the term so as not to sound like a high school senior. “I have all the testing done and I met with their recruitment person for an interview before school ended, so that's done. Now, I just have to submit my resume with a cover letter.”
“Submit or finish?” my father asked bluntly.
“Submit,” I informed him, feeling a little defensive.
“That’s intense,” Caroline said. “Makes my applications seem easier.”
“Well, it’s a pretty competitive internship,” I said, speaking more to the table than to Caroline alone. “Like, incredibly competitive. They only accept ten applicants out of the hundreds that they get.”
“I know you'll get it,” Caroline said and nudged me with her elbow. “I’d hire you in a heartbeat.”
“Actually, I was hoping you could read over my cover letter before I submit it, if you don’t mind,” I said. Caroline did have her degree in English after all.
“Oh, absolutely,” said Caroline. “Email it to me.”
“Thanks, Caroline.” I smiled at her. “I appreciate it. I really want this.”
“What happens if you get the job?” Caroline asked. She pushed her empty plate away from her.
“If I do get accepted to their internship program, I’ll work with the other nine interns designing software platforms for new apps. And we’re all evaluated the whole time. Then, after six-weeks, they make one offer for a full-time position.” I couldn’t help but glance at my father who ate as he watched me speak. His face remained motionless.
“I know you've told me this before, but what's so special about ZephTech? Isn't there a company out there that would be easier to work for?” Mom asked.
“ZephTech designs games,” I explained. “They've been my dream job since I was ten. They are the best of the best. Just getting the internship gets you in the door for almost every other job out there.”
I looked at my plate of chicken and realized that I hadn’t eaten much since the conversation began. Consciously, I forked a sizable bite to my mouth, hoping that someone else would take over the talking.
“We’re crossing our fingers for you,” my mother said. I was surprised both by the warm smile on her face and the way she’d sounded almost nostalgic. “You're going to do so many amazing things. You always do.”
“What games do they make?” Tommy asked, finally joining the conversation.
“Nerd games,” I replied, trying to be humorous.
“Seriously, what games?” Tommy pressed. “Do they have anything to do with Monster GO?”
“Monster GO? I don't thinks so,” I answered. “But I’ll show you their games when we get home.”
Tommy looked far less excited than I expected.
“Do they make an app that’ll get me a job?” Caroline said, her words backed by a faint sarcasm.
“You turn my cover letter into something genius, and I’ll make the app for you,” I said and Caroline smiled back at me.
“That’s a deal,” she said.
As my family continued their conversation, I looked back toward the table where the handsome man had been seated. Sadly, he was no longer there.
Bummer, I thought. I would have liked to see him again.
Chapter 2
Dear Alicia,
We regret to inform you that the position you applied for as software engineer has been filled by a more qualified applicant. We wish you the best in your journey and hope you reapply next year.
With an agitated sigh, I clicked the “delete” button on the email and put it in the trash along with all the others. It was the third email I had gotten that day and they all said the same thing, that my newly received college degree was worth practically nothing in the work force.
I spun my chair around away from the desk. At the same time,Tommy popped in through the door, unannounced.
“Why do you look so upset?” he asked, as he pushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes.
“Because I have a little brother who doesn't know how to knock,” I replied, with a sarcastic smirk.
Completely ignoring me, Tommy strolled in and took a seat on my bed.
“Seriously, Alicia, you've been in here all day,” he said. “You've been home from college for more than a week and I haven't seen you at all.”
“I'm just really trying to find a job and I'm not having any luck,” I said, shaking my head. “It seems like all I get are denial letters.”
“What about that Zep
htech job that you were talking about?” he asked. “I thought you had already started the steps to getting hired there.”
“I have started, but there are like twenty steps to their hiring process. I'm on step five, and I haven't heard back from them in two days.” I sighed loudly. “I worked really hard at my resume and cover letter for them. I even had Caroline look over it for me, but I have a feeling that I'm going to get an email from them soon that's just like all the others.”
Tommy didn't really understand the full gravity of my situation. He had just turned thirteen, his world was still small, and his only real concern was how he'd spend his free days during summer vacation. I wished that I could still be that young and carefree. But alas, I was a college graduate and needed to start building my own life. It was time to grow up.
“Look, sis, you need to get out of the house,” he said, standing up from my bed and walking toward me. “I've been playing this game on my phone and it's pretty fun. You should try it with me.”
“A game?” I asked. “You mean the game you were playing at the restaurant the other day? Tommy, I don't have time for this.”
“Why not?”
“I just told you that I need to be looking for work,” I said, with a defeated sigh.
“Are you sure that's all it is?” he asked, with a snarky tone. “Or do you have to call your boyfriend?”
I shot him a dirty look. “I don't have a boyfriend, Tommy. You know that.”
“Then get out of the chair and come play this game with me,” he said, grabbing my hand and jerking me to a standing position. “It'll be fun.”
“Fine,” I said. “I'll go out with you for a half an hour but then I need to get back here.”
“Deal,” he said, leading me downstairs.
We got our dog Athena, leashed up and ready to go with us, then stepped out into the fresh summer air. We made our way straight toward the park in the center of town. As we walked, Tommy explained the game to me.
“It's called MonsterGo,” he said, pulling out his cell phone. “You open up the app and then monsters pop up on your screen. They can show up anywhere, so you have to run all over town to find them.”
Tommy snatched my phone out of my hand and quickly downloaded the game for me.
“There, now you can play too,” he said.
I shrugged, seeing the game as the perfect opportunity to distract myself from the misery that was job hunting. We ran around the park for a bit and it wasn't long before I caught my first monster. It was called a “Stingly.”
“This is actually kind of fun,” I finally admitted.
“Told you,” Tommy said. “Now come on, I want to show you a Monster Gym. It's where we can take the monsters we catch and have them fight other people's monsters.”
“Tommy, I don't have all day,” I said, crossing my arms.
“It's really close,” he said. “Trust me. I'll have you back home soon, but I want you to see this. It's probably my favorite part of the game.”
“Okay, but you have ten minutes and then we have to head back.” As soon as the words came out, I realized that I sounded a bit like my mother.
Luckily, Tommy wasn’t lying when he said this so-called “Monster Gym” was only a block or so away. And when we got to the church on the corner, a huge group of people was standing out in front.
“What’s going on here?” I asked, glancing around at all the people. It seemed like most of the town was there.
“Team Red is getting attacked by Team Blue,” Tommy explained, pulling out his phone and starting to press buttons furiously.
I sighed. “Tommy, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“This location is a Monster Gym.” He rolled his eyes as if what he just said made all the sense in the world.
“Looks like a church to me,” I said, trying to walk away.
“It is a church, but it’s also a Monster Gym. It's part of how this game works. It combines the real world with the digital world. Right now, my team is controlling the Gym,” Tommy explained. He stood in my path so I couldn't leave. “Team Blue is trying to take it over, so I’m sending in one of my monsters to defend against the attack.”
“Sounds pretty serious,” I said, sarcastically. I played around on my phone, but there weren't any monsters around currently and I wasn't rated high enough to enter the gym yet.
I looked around, watching everyone play on their phones. At first, I thought it was kind of dumb that everyone was just standing there, but the longer I watched, the more I saw people interacting and being friendly. For being an individually played game, people were being remarkably social.
“No, no, NO, NO!” Tommy suddenly cried, mashing on his phone screen. He looked about ready to throw it on the sidewalk. “This can't be happening!”
“What's wrong, Tommy?” I asked. “Are you losing?”
“My phone locked up right in the middle of my battle.” He frowned and looked like someone had kicked his dog. “I'm letting my team down.”
“It'll be okay,” I promised. “Just restart. I'm sure everyone will understand.”
“I did restart,” Tommy told me. “The game is totally locked up for me. We're going to lose the gym and it's going to be my fault!”
“Team Red?” a man asked, coming up beside Tommy.
“Yep,” Tommy responded, not even looking up. But I stopped and stared. It was the same man who had caught me at the restaurant the other day. He was still beyond gorgeous. Instead of the glasses, he wore sunglasses, but they still looked like prescription glasses.
“Me too,” the man said to Tommy, pulling out his phone. “You said your game locked up?”
Tommy nodded glumly. “I'm stuck on the loading screen.”
“Did you log out? Sometimes that reloads your user data and will get you back in the game,” the man told him.
Athena came up to him and sniffed his hand. The man quickly pet her on the head, and Athena leaned into it. If my dog thought this guy was okay, I guess I could let him talk to my little brother. He looked up briefly at me and smiled as Tommy continued to follow his instructions.
“I'm back in,” Tommy announced, relief filling his features. “Now, to keep the gym under our control.”
“Good to have you back in the battle.” The man studied his phone screen. “Hmmm, a leveled up Stingly would take care of this situation in a heart beat.”
“You're right,” Tommy agreed, but he frowned. “But I don't have one.”
“I do,” I interrupted, holding up my phone.
I was just glad that I had a reason to join in the conversation with this guy. Up until thirty seconds ago, I had been sure I would never see him again. I hoped my Stingly would be enough to catch his attention.
Tommy chuckled. “No, you don’t, Alicia. They're super rare.”
“Yes, I do,” I insisted. “Look for yourself. I caught it this morning.”
Tommy snatched my phone and his eyes lit up, but just for a moment. “She does have one, but we can’t use it. It's not strong enough yet.”
“That's too bad,” the guy said. He winked at me before turning back to Tommy. “Just send in your best monsters and I’ll do the same. We can’t let Blue take over this gym.”
Tommy nodded in agreement and tapped away on his phone. The guy flashed me a quick smile before focusing on Tommy again. It was sweet how the two of them were interacting.
I watched as my hero made himself an instant friend with my little brother based purely on the game. They spoke as if they were soldiers about to go into battle and I found myself wishing I was further along in the game so that I could play along with them. They looked like they were having a blast.
I stood awkwardly nearby, wishing I could join in on the conversation, but knowing that I didn’t stand a chance. I’d look like an idiot if I attempted to talk about the Monsters in this game that I knew nothing about. Instead, I just observed the two of them.
I wondered what he did for a living, and w
hat kind of job he had that would allow him to play a game in the park in the middle of the day. Maybe he’s unemployed, just like me. I chuckled to myself. Or maybe he somehow gets paid to be good-looking.
The man pressed something on his phone before looking up at me and grinning.
“Hi. Sorry I just walked up on you guys like that,” he said. His blue eyes were friendly and bright. “I just overheard you guys and knew you were playing the game. That’s what I’m here for too.”
“No problem.” I swallowed and shrugged nonchalantly. “I'm just glad my brother got to play with someone that knows what they're doing.”
“I’m Jacob,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Alicia.” I took his hand and gave a firm shake. I wished I had spent a little more time on my hair before leaving the house. That, and I was fairly sure that there was a hole in the sleeve of my t-shirt. I hoped he hadn't noticed, because I felt like there was a neon sign pointing to it now that he was standing next to me.
“Hi, Alicia.” He smiled again as he let go of my hand. “I’m surprised your brother hasn’t gotten you hooked on the game yet.”
I laughed, shuffling my feet on the pavement. “I like it, I think. I just haven’t played very much so I don’t really know what to do.”
“It’s a pretty fun little game. You should give it a chance,” he said. He was smiling again, and I couldn't help but smile back. His easy grin was infectious.
“Maybe I will,” I replied. “Thank you again for catching me the other night.”
“It was my pleasure,” he assured me. “I would be happy to catch you any time.”
I blushed slightly. “I bet you say that to all the girls you save.”
He leaned forward to whisper. “Just the pretty ones.”
