Alya is a 27-year-old single corporate employee who has never been overseas and barely graduated from college. Her life was average and boring. Looking up into the misty sky, she couldn't help but groan. Her mom, desperate to have a son-in-law, had messaged her to let her know where to go for a blind date later that week. How she wished she could pretend those messages didn't exist. It's not that she doesn't want to have a relationship, but after reaching her age. Dating sucks. Men that her mom chooses don't know how to romance a girl. Take a day, they talk about their job. Maybe she would be dating a rich person if she were in it for the money. However, having a man talk down to her while acting self-important if they make more than an average employee. They were trying to buy her love, not earn it, which wasn't enjoyable. So as she walked, the drabness of the day made her wish it were her day off.
[ Mom: Sweetie, remember Friday the Loop at 6. I promise things will work out this time; You will love this young man.
Me: I'll be there; no promises about how it will go. Love you, headed to work RN TTYL.]
Sipping her coffee, she sighed as she closed the messaging app, opened the app section of her phone, and stepped onto the public transit bus. 7:45 A.M. She still had a little over an hour. Before she had to clock into her shift. Sitting in the back of the bus, she opened one of the games she enjoyed playing. The opening scenes of the game started to play.
Cherryblossom petals and five male figures passed by the screen as the characters' names and who voices them passed along the screen. The black silhouette of a young woman in a school uniform appeared before options appeared on the screen.
[Play]
[Album]
[Character Profile]
Pressing the play option, another selection popped up.
[Play:
Saved
New game
New game]
Pressing on the saved option, her character talked about her love interests. She put in one of her earbuds to listen to the characters' voices. He had blue hair like the sea, emerald green eyes, and glasses giving him a nerdy look. A voice as smooth as honey and soft but still deep. She couldn't help but smile at the character's voice and appearance. She couldn't help but feel slight giddiness, like that of a youthful teen. She reached a point in the game where she and the character she was trying to seduce had to fight against monsters. Doing the puzzle and watching the commentary between her and the love interests made her chuckle and smile, even if she lost at the puzzle once or twice, reducing her heart rate, causing her to wait for the hearts to restore before she could keep playing.
When the bus pulled to a stop, she shoved her phone in her pocket and pulled her earbud out—stepped out in front of her workplace. She pulled out her card to scan and walk into the building. She wanted nothing more than to keep playing games instead of working, but duty calls and games don't pay the bill, even if they do, at least not well enough to pay for all of them. Alya went to her desk in the far corner, set down her cup, and flicked the bobblehead of Kakashi from Naruto. The clock it rested on showed her the time. 8:30 A.M., she wanted to relax and not clock in, but if she doesn't clock in thirty minutes early, she won't be organized enough to start her day and end it on time.
Just like she thought, it was a busy day, from complaints to fixing something from someone else's work. She almost left an hour later than usual, but still finished her work and could head home.
"Good night, Alya." (Jefferson)
Jefferson, the night shift janitor and security guard, their farewells like that of a given.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Jeff." (Alya)
Shaking his head with a knowing smirk, their farewell was short and sweet. Headed home, she stood at the sidewalk's edge, waiting for the walking light and watching the traffic. She may want to keep her eyes glued to her screen, but safety comes first. When the light changed, she stepped along the path, part of her wanting to run across the road, but the heels on her feet slowed her down. No matter how fast she tried to leap onto her bed, she could wait a few more minutes, then not change anything. Just like her, many people walked across the road. A few teens with streaks of color in their hair as they pretended to be older, drank alcohol, and smoked cigarettes.
Alya shook her head. She knew that she was once like them, sneaking out to drink and do things they thought would be the adult life for most of the time. Unfortunately, it is the opposite: more work than fun. Maybe they will behave, perhaps they will get called out. Unfortunately, at times, she felt envious of their youth. Adulthood is taxes, bills, and debts. Once at the bus stop, she stood and waited with ten people as the bus pulled over to pick up their passengers—simple steps, routine, and repeatable actions. Unlike in the morning, she was forced to stand up and hold the upper bars of the bus as it started to move.
Just like in the morning, she put an earbud in her ear and continued playing her game with a smile as she interacted with the love interests. It was so cute how, when she gained enough affection from the characters, they would start to romance the character she was playing in their own ways. If only a guy she was interested in would randomly bring her flowers and take her to a spot both would enjoy. Jackson has short red hair, tan skin, and black eyes. His character, although a delinquent when romancing her, took her character to a night market that was like a celebration while playing little game options along the street. Something like that in real life would be a dream instead of being romanced by guys saying that they make so much money. That thought made her sigh as she kept playing.
When she made it to her small two-bedroom apartment, she sighed, stepping to her kitchen as she rummaged through the cupboards for a bag of chips. Rushing over to her couch, she kicked off her heels and thudded onto the sofa with a smile as she kept playing the game. Maybe she will be able to see another ending to the game. She may have to work tomorrow, but she doesn't expect it to be too chaotic, so she can stay awake a few more hours before she has to get cleaned up and ready for bed and another day of work.