I would love to have someone that treats me as well as my mom gets treated, I thought.
It made me think of how my dad always opened the door for her, held her hand, kissed her cheek and told her he loved her. I didn’t have a single memory of the two of them getting in an argument. It just never happened. It felt like a pipe dream that I could ever find anything as amazing as that, but I still had hope. I always had hope.
Tommy elbowed my ribs, forcing me to look away. “What, Tommy?”
“Just wanted to show you the latest monster I caught. It’s standing right over there in the living room. If you paid attention for two seconds, you might have noticed.”
Sure enough, my phone had been vibrating, and when I picked it up there was a notification from the game. I walked to the living room to catch my monster. The experience points caused me to jump up to another level. Pretty soon and I’d be able to pick a team to play on.
“You’re totally addicted, aren’t you?” Tommy asked, stepping up beside me.
“No way,” I said, though a part of me knew that I was lying.
“Whatever,” Tommy replied with a roll of his eyes. “You just want to be able to play with Caroline.”
“How did you find out that Caroline started playing?” I asked, surprised that he knew my friend had started playing the game as well.
“Because, I saw her running around the park like a crazy person this morning to try to catch a stupid Fireliz.” Tommy laughed. “It was pretty funny, actually.”
“Yeah, well, you’re right. She got addicted pretty quick, but that hasn’t happened to me.” I shrugged like I didn't care, but I wasn't actually entirely sure.
“At least this game introduced you to someone cool.” Tommy picked up his phone and made a couple of swipes.
“Do you really think he’s cool?” I asked, sounding more eager than I intended to.
“Anybody on Team Red is a friend of mine.” He put the phone back in his pocket.
“You just like him because he gave you ten dollars.” I gave him a gentle push as he laughed.
He smiled. “I can’t argue with the truth,” he said.
Chapter 5
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing that I did was snatch my phone off of the nightstand. Normally, I’d have checked my email or looked to see if I'd gotten any hits on my job search, but instead, I opened up the Monster GO app. I wondered if maybe I was becoming slightly addicted to it, but I still wasn’t to the point where I was going to admit it, even to myself.
An update was available on the game and I downloaded it. While it loaded, I realized that for the first time since graduation, I hadn't awoken to my first thought being about finding a job. It was far better to wake up excited to play a game rather than disappointed to not have a job. If nothing else, the game was making my world a little bit brighter and I was glad for it.
When the game restarted, I was surprised to find that the appearance of the game looked a bit different than before. Now, instead of being able to see monsters that were within a one or two block radius, I could zoom out on the map and see my entire town. In addition, if I clicked on a street, the name would appear. The Monster GO world had opened up significantly and there was suddenly so many more areas to play.
This is why I need to find a job where I can create apps or software, I thought. I was right on the money. This update was exactly what I thought the game needed. Maybe there’s a future in app creation for me.
If only that was enough to get a job. I needed to get up and get ready for the day. Jacob would be at the house soon to pick me up for our morning walk. So I got up, took a quick shower and then changed into my black yoga pants and red tank top. And even though I was getting ready for exercise, I still straightened my hair and put on makeup. It seemed silly, but I wanted to look my absolute best for Jacob.
Once I was ready, I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. My parents were seated at the bar, drinking coffee and eating scrambled eggs. They looked up when I walked in.
“Good morning,” Mom said, with her usual smile.
“Morning,” I replied. “How are you two doing?”
“Doing well,” Dad said. “You look like you’re ready for a run or something.”
I shrugged. “Not a run, but definitely a walk.”
“I’m glad you’re getting out,” he said. “You’ve seemed a lot happier the last couple of days. Maybe this morning exercise thing is exactly what you needed.”
“I think you’re right,” I agreed. I stood there for a moment, awkwardly shuffling my feet on the floor. I had put off telling them about my “friend” Jacob for a few days, but I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. He’d be there in a few minutes to pick me up and it would be easier to just introduce him now than try and explain him later.
“I have a friend coming over to go on a walk with me,” I finally managed to get out.