CHAPTER 4.
The next morning, Alex woke up and as usual, stood by the window to watch the sun rise. It was something he used to do with Laura before she got sick. His wish every morning was the same- to wake up one morning and find Laura healed.
Alex went about his duties at the orphanage and after checking up on Laura, he left for his deliveries at Mr. Jacob's restaurant. Everywhere he went, he tried to maintain a smile on his face. He wanted to keep his mood up for his interview. When he had finally completed all thirty-six deliveries, he dashed out on his bicycle to the address specified on the business card for his would-be interview at Mosh Games.
The address led him to a skyscraper a few blocks from the Brooklyn Bridge. He showed the security officers the card just like the agent had told him to and they directed him into to building. They sent him on an elevator going to the top floor where the interview would hold.
"You're here early," Agent Smith complimented, patting Alex on the shoulder. "Alexander, right?"
"Yeah."
"We start the screening in fifteen minutes. You can sit here and count sheep until then, or let me give you a little tour around the building."
Alex chuckled at the agent's sense of humor and took his offer. It's not like he had anything to do.
"Tour please." Alex stood up. "That sounds better than counting sheep."
One floor after the other, Smith showed Alex around.
"Can I ask you some questions?"
"Sure. This isn't part of the interview though right?"
"No no, I just want to know a few things about you. Do you own a phone?"
"No. I can't afford one yet."
"Do you have any experience with visual reality games, MMORPG, fantasy world games, or anything similar?"
"Not really. I usually don't have time for such things. I'm mostly working shifts before and after school to raise money."
"I see."
Agent Smith showed Alex around the building and got back to the event floor a few minutes before the interview time. When the clock struck nine in the morning, Alex and the rest four dozen applicants were taken to a room. He recognized some of the applicants that were his schoolmates of which two were in the same grade as he. In the game room, there were tables and chairs and on each table were sophisticated gadgets. They were each asked to pick a seat.
A man stood at a raised platform in front of the small room to address everyone.
"Good morning everyone. You all applied for the position of Playtesters. Sadly, we only need eight of you. What better way to select than a game? You all will play a visual reality game set in the middle ages. Your objective is to find the monster somewhere in the forest around you and kill it. The first eight applicants to defeat their monsters get chosen by Mosh Games. One more thing. If you die in the game, you'll be automatically eliminated."
The speaker pressed a button on a remote and all the computers in the room came on.
"When you put the ring on your table onto your head, you will black out for a few seconds as your consciousness gets transferred into the game. When you wake up, it'll be in a GameWorld. Also, time works differently in this GameWorld so try and hurry up; a minute there would be five out here. That's all you need to know. On my mark… ready…. Play!"
Alex and the others wore the ring-shaped crown that had several wires plugged into it over their head. Alex went blank just like the Game Master said, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a different world.
Five into the game, the first person defeated his monster and came back to reality. It wasn't Alex. After two more hours, another had killed his monster, but it still wasn't Alex. Within forty-eight minutes, thirteen out of the thirty-six applicants had been eliminated.
Alex had no experience playing this sort of game. His mind was as weak as his body. The monster in his game was a young elf. Alex had a little knife and tried his best to strike the elf with it, but he was too slow and kept on missing. Just when the elf reached with its claws to rip Alex's heart out of his chest, Alex lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was back in the game room.
The Game Master called out his name as the final employee to get the job. For a while, Alex was confused as he didn't remember killing the elf. As the screening ended, the others left the building with sad faces. Alex wasn't number one, but the joy in his heart exceeded that of the person who was.
Alex didn't know much about contracts but he didn't find any shady elements in the one he was presented. He signed it in haste.
"Congratulations all of you. Having signed the contract, the bonus would be sent to the bank account you submitted, before the end of the day." The Game Master said, clapping his hands.
All through the day, Alex learned more about the company and the games they made; the games he would be paid to test out. He was very happy.
The day was quick to turn into night. After leaving the building, Alex made his way to Mr. Pablo's pizzeria and at the end of his two-hour shift, he cycled to Mr. Raymond's restaurant.
With his new job at Mosh Games, Alex didn't have the time to spare to work at the pizzeria and the restaurant so he resigned at both places. Although, he didn't tell his bosses his reason. They were shocked but respected his decision.
That night, Alex slept like a baby without a worry in the world. If only he knew what exactly he had signed up for.
At school on Monday, when Alex was certain that Jason nor anyone in his squad was around, he sneaked into the science lab. The threat he had gotten from Jason last week still sent shivers down his spine. Until Jason got over his rejection, he'll just have to stay away from him, better than before. He took a seat at a table at the far end of the room.
"Just the person I was waiting for." Alex heard Jason's loud voice say from the storage room behind him. He rested his head on the table hoping he wasn't the one Jason was referring to. "Danny, did you see that smartass in the library? I'm getting fucking tired of playing hide and seek with that orphan shit"
Alex heaved a sigh of relief. Those words confirmed that Jason hadn't spotted him. He chuckled knowing that they had actually checked the library for him. After what happened the last time he was there alone, were they really expecting him to go back there?
"No, but I've asked around and a little bird told me he was on his way here," replied Danny, much to Alex's disappointment.
"Shit! Why didn't I think of that? When the class is over, we'll fish him out and-"
"You two, get out of the storage and sit down," the voice of the chemistry teacher cut Jason off. "I won't repeat myself."
Phew. Perfect timing professor.
Jason walked right passed Alex and sat at the table in front of him. Alex was one turn away from getting caught by Jason. His heart was racing so fast; he couldn't focus on the class he was having.
"Good morning class, now before we begin, I'll like you all to meet our new transfer student all the way from Japan." The professor said, pointing at a boy seated at Alex's table.
At the cue, the boy stood up for the whole class to see him. He was of average height and had mysterious white hair. No doubt he was drop-dead handsome. He didn't appear muscular but a look in his blue eyes gave enough warning not to mess with him. Like everyone else, he had the school's uniform on.
"Hello everyone, my name is Dennis Takahashi," he said with a soft tone and a friendly wave.
The entire class turned to Takahashi. He took a bow before he sat back down. Recognizing that name, Alex raised his head to find the boy that had applied for the same job as he and came out as the first one to kill his monster in the screening game. He almost fell out of his chair out of shock. Unfortunately for him, his little stunt had earned him Jason's attention. Jason clenched his jaw as his eyes met Alex's scared face.
"Takahashi here will be with us for the rest of the year, but if his grades are extremely impressive, the principal has agreed to grant him a scholarship till his graduation. Make friends with him and help him enjoy his stay in New York." The professor gave out an exhale. "Back to today's class."
All through the class, Alex tried to focus but each time Jason turned back and their eyes met, he would lose concentration and his pulse would spike. After an hour, the class came to an end, the professor walked out and everyone started leaving. Just when he was about to leave, Jason held him by the arm and pulled him back into the class.
"Not so fast smartass. We have unfinished business."