• [<]Chapter 2: "It's been a week."

    It's been a week since I was almost hit by a car and my life has been pretty disarranged since then. I rethought a lot of things and have been more careful because I never want to be so scared again. The same night, I had gotten home and just started to cry to myself silently. I kept reliving the headlights blaring against me as I stood still in fear hoping that an angel would come and pick me up and put me down to safety. Fat chance. I'm just lucky the man in the suit had stopped right at that instance. I don't even care that he knew my name. I think thats what saved my life in the first place. But the worst part of it all was the fact that I just stood there. I always thought of myself as the kind of guy who would be able to save someone if the time came. Sort of like an average hero. But I can't even save myself from a moving car, let alone a whole other person.

    I started to realize how average I really was. Nothing really different from your regular working bloke. When I get to work, it's the same thing. I say hi to Darlene, the Texan secretary with the cute chubby face and heavy eye shadow complete with bleach blond hair, whom everyone knows is also doing pornography on the side. Then I walk into 'cubicle central' and the resident "cool guy" Jack asks me...
    "Hey Adam! See the game last night? ___ won _ to _!" Usually it's some team winning by something else. You can just fill in the blanks. I never once said I watched sports, but Jack just assumes that since I'm of the male species, I automatically like sports. The last time another guy said he wasn't a sports fan, Jack said...
    "Whats the matter? Are you one of them fairies or something?" Frowning, his face turning a little pale. He didn't mean to be offensive, but guys like him always are. They laugh louder to show that they got a joke, or they tell a racist, sexist or any other offensive ist-joke just to impress people. And I deal with it every day, because his cubicle is next to mine and I have to pass his just to get to my own.
    After a barrage of 'manly man chat' I sit down in my small 15x15ft cubicle, which could be considered a little luxurious, and get cracking at what it is I do. What is it I do? My sector of "cubicle central" is in charge of customer service for a wonderful company called "iTxtUphones", which deals with cell phone coverage and plans. We network all through out the US and some parts of Canada. And I, the lucky b*****d that I am, am in charge of the whole customer service sector. I don't even remember when, or how that even happened, but it happened. I think when Julie, who used to be in charge, got knocked up by her deadbeat boyfriend and then ran off to some monastery in Malaysia was the point where I started to look like I was a responsible person. So now I'm forced to be in charge of people I barely talk to and have to talk to people the company charges. But who says answering phones isn't fun?

    "Welcome to iTxtUphones. My name is Adam Smith, how can I help you today" The routine words fell out of my mouth like kibble from a sloppy dog.
    "My phone is disconnected. Why?" A man on the other side barked rudely Because you haven't paid your phone bill moron is what I wished I could say
    "Well let me check it out. What's your name sir?" The sugar coated words made me sick, but after working here for so long, you lose the gag reflex.
    "It's Logan Xavier. I've called here before." Of course you have. I'll never forget his name, because it's a mix of two X-men characters, Logan AKA Wolverine and Professor Charles Xavier. Logan Xavier is an elderly man who calls at least once a day. He never pays his phone bill, but he never uses his cell phone in the first place. I like to pretend I don't know him just so that he won't start a conversation with me every time he phones.
    "well Mr. Xavier, it says here... you have an outstanding bill of 159 dollars and 22 cents." I didn't even look at his file on the computer because it's been the same for the last month. Every once in a while someone pays his bills because they feel sorry for the old codger. But I think thats what he wants.
    "Sir, if you go to our website, there is a way to pay your bill. Or you could come down to one of our stores and..." He hung up on me, mid-sentence. I figured the time idled from me telling him the cost was filled with him in a wide-eyed disbelief state of how much his phone bill is. But if you don't pay it for 3 odd months, it gets to be high. And that is all the work I plan to do for the day. As long as I get one call in, I can say it was a job well done and then pawn the rest of my work on to my subordinates. They're a good group of people who do their job well. They're just too naive to see that I barely do my job at all. All I ever do is go on Neptonline. It's my dirty little secret.
    Neptonline is an online forum and massive multiplayer online role playing game, or MMORPG. Its mostly comprised of gamers and Japanese anime fans who actually think they're Japanese. The whole website is simple. You post a topic or reply in a forum or thread and you get yan; the e-currency they use, which can be used to by upgrades or clothes for your character that you use in the MMORPG section of it. And since I have a lot of time on my hands, doing nothing at work, I'm a mill-yan-aire. Which, of course, I flaunt diligently by wearing expensive armors and clothes on my Avatar. Next to Imran, from the House of M, the people on here are my only friends. Not because I feel connected with them, but because if I don't want to talk to them, I can just appear offline. You may think it's weird and creepy and nerdy that a twenty-something year old man is playing online games. But I read comics, so what did you expect. From 9:00am when I show up to work, to about 10:30am is comprised of me doing work and the rest is my Neptonline time. Especially around 12:00 when everyone leaves for...
    "Heeey! Adam! We're going for some lunch! Are you coming?" Jack popped up above the cubicle partition, like a rabbit from it's hole, except less cute and more annoying.
    "No thanks Jack! I've got a couple customers to deal with before I do anything!" I tried to sound as sincere as possible.
    "You're always working Adam! I admire that!" Jack said with a smile. His short blond hair and angelic blue shirt seemed to shout 'Office wear' which was completed by a pair of khaki pants and black shoes. It was almost like a uniform for him. I didn't feel bad lying to him. After all; his story about getting his friend's sister drunk and then nailing her wasn't very saint-like.
    Everyone left the office, which left me and maybe two or three stragglers staring at our computers for the hour-long lunch break. I could hear the gossip-gibbons talking about Darlene and how she is always hitting on people and being nice. But if she wasn't nice... she wouldn't have a job as a secretary, would she? Think about it.
    And then I got an instant message on Neptonline. It was from a 'friend' of mine; "reed_richards004", named after the smartest man alive. In the marvel universe, of course. We became friends because my username is "hum4n_t0rch", named after the Fantastic four character, just as Reed Richards was. Corny, I know, but it was the only slightly good one left. The message read:

    "Hey buddy! At 3:00pm my time, I'm going to be online! I want to show you this level I found which gets you double the yan amount!"

    It was about 12:30 here, and 2:30pm where he was, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, so I had half an hour to tell everyone not to bother me for the next while. I'm always up for a little more yan in the e-pocket. And since he typed in a literate manner, he couldn't be so bad.

    1:00pm rolled by and I met him in the "Nether-realm" where he said it was. I had a hard time getting there, but I got there. I tried to get all the begging n00bs, or newbies, off of my back asking me for yan before I went to meet reed_richards004, so that I wouldn't be followed. And at 1:01pm there he was. His armor was close to mine, except one class lower. We had fought side by side before, his character, a mage and mine a warrior and we made a great team. He would heal and I would attack. And then he spoke...

    //Hey buddy! Long time no see! (reed_richards004 said 1:01pm)
    //I know! It's been a while! (hum4n_t0rch said 1:01pm)
    //Ready for my surprise? (reed_richards004 said 1:01pm)
    //Surprise? I thought we were just going to get some yan! (hum4n_t0rch said 1:02pm)
    //I lied. Just like how you lied to Jack about doing work. Everyday. (reed_richars004 said 1:02pm)
    My heart stopped. I had to reread the words 5 times to see if I got it right.
    //What? (hum4n_t0rch said 1:03pm)
    //You read it correctly, Adam (reed_richards004 said 1:03pm)
    I got up and walked around to check the computers. No one seemed to be on Neptonline except me. I started to become anxious, but I went back to my computer.
    //Who the hell is this? (hum4n_t0rch said 1:06pm)
    //Don't you remember Adam? I almost hit you! (reed_richards004 said 1:06pm)
    Almost hit me?     I thought. And then the man in the suit popped into my head, with his completely black sedan. My memory of him was very vague, due to the trauma and all I could remember was a suit and a smile. The sweat dripped from my forehead and I became a little scared. I didn't tell anyone about my incident last week, so it must be him. I saw the headlights again, as my brain did a flashback. And then I remembered. I'm not going to be a coward in a corner again.
    //So how do you know me then? (hum4n_t0rch said 1:08pm)
    //Oh I know all about you, Adam Smith. But lets forget this game for now. Pick up your phone. (reed_richards004 said 1:09pm)
    //reed_richards004 left the room
    And then my phone rang. The generic ringtone made my heart jump and I can feel the salty sweat crawling down my back and clinging to the chair. I picked up the phone but didn't answer it yet. The number said restricted, so I couldn't trace it back which made me hesitate even more. It's ironic. You work at a phone company and yet you become afraid to answer a phone after one conversation. But out of my own cowardice, I answered it.
    "Hello" my voice quivered a bit and my mouth became very dry.
    "Adam. I didn't think you would pick up! You never cease to surprise me" A vibrant upbeat voice came from the other side of the phone. It was a little soothing, but untrustworthy as well, which put me at ease and discomfort all at once.
    "Who are you." I said sternly, trying not to show fear.
    "How are you? nice day isn't it? How's your day? None of that?" The man said mockingly
    "Who are you." I repeated in the same tone. I felt the confidence and became a little less scared.
    "I see! You're confident! I get it!' He called my bluff. But I didn't let it phase me.
    "Who. Are. You" I said each word in a separate sentence to show I was serious.
    "Okay, okay! Meet me downstairs in... lets say... now. I'll tell Darlene we have a meeting" He laughed and then hung up the phone.
    And then my office phone rang. I picked it up in silence.
    "Adam? You got a man claiming he's here for an appointment!"
    I'm in s**t. was the only thing I thought.