ENGL 102 CYOA
The night is frigid, the coldest it's been all year, as you rush towards your apartment the warmth breath you exhale leaves a slight trail of mist behind.
“Why am I even running? It’s not like there is anyone waiting for me anyways.” you think to yourself. “Why does my boss have to be such a dick? I’m only a few minutes late every day, it's not like I’m affecting anyone…”
You feel the warmth of your apartment’s lobby as the automatic doors slide open. Another trip up the elevator leads you to your unit, number 308. You open the door and it seems to be stuck, you peer into your apartment entrance only to see boxes full of ex-girlfriend’s possessions in the doorway.
“Goddammit why doesn’t she come and pick up her shit already!? I should call her, maybe then she would come and grab these boxes”
The phone rings for one second then goes right to voicemail. To no surprise, she blocked my number.
“Oh well, I should probably get some sleep anyways… I can’t be late to work again, my job is the only thing I have left plus my boss said that if I’m late once more and I’m fired.”
The second that your body hits the soft mattress, you fall into a deep slumber, allowing you to forget the worries of the chaotic world you live in. All the responsibilities fade away leaving you in peaceful solitude.
You wake up confused and groggy from a full night's sleep. You look around and exclaim “Why didn't my alarm go off?!” Your heart races once you realize the situation. Your phone wasnt charging last night! “Matt Johnson you idiot! You had one responsibility and you threw it away. I need to be at work in 15 minutes!
As you walk into the office, the secretary states that Mr. Cena wants to see you. After a huge gulp and a hesitant stroll, you enter his office and take a seat. As you sit down, Mr. Cena exclaims:
“Mister Johnson, I have given you MANY OPPORTUNITIES to prove your worth at our business. I told you yesterday that if you act up once more I would give you the can. And here we are. I have nothing else to say other than, YOU’RE FIRED! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
“I understand that I’m in the wrong, but I think he went a little too far there… I should probably get going, and fast.” you think to yourself.
As you leave the office, you are hit with realization, that you have no job, little money, and virtually zero friends left. You begin to walk out of the office building towards the bar that is located down the street from your apartment complex. As this bar is new, you have never been here before, so no familiar faces will see you at this hour.
Conveniently enough, you see your old high school friend Jim working behind the bar. As it is too late to head somewhere else, you walk up to the bar and ask for a drink. You avoid all eye contact to ensure that Jim doesn’t recognize you.
“Hopefully he doesn’t recognize me, I REALLY do not want to talk to anyone about my life right now.” As the drinks are being made and then delivered, Jim strikes up a conversation.
“Hey man, how’s it going? A little early for drinking, huh? What’s going on, if you wanna talk about it I’m here for you.”
As Jim says this, you make eye contact and he finally realizes who you are.
“HOLY CRAP! Matt! It’s been ages, how’s life treating you? As you can see, my life choices are catching up to me as I’m working as a bartender during the middle of the day… Anyways, don’t you have a job that you should be at right now?”
“Haha, yeah about that…” you stammer. “I did have a job, but that’s no longer the case. I just got fired not too long ago.”
“Ah, I’m sorry man. It’s a loss on their part for firing you, if you’re anything how you were in high school, you’re an all star!” As Jim tries to reassure you, he has a realization. “Hey! Although you’re out of a job, you still have Katie right? You two were the ideal couple in high school. You guys went through thick and thin, there’s no way you broke up.”
As Jim says this, your face starts to sink and Jim realizes that he spoke on a sensitive topic.
“Oh geez man, I uh… didn’t mean to hit a soft spot. I figured that you two would never break up, you know, since you guys are so perfect for each other.” Jim hesitantly states.
As you are caught off guard you aren’t sure what to say, “Jim, don’t worry about it dude. I didn’t think we were going to break up either, it happened all too fast.”
Jim tries to reassure you and states, “Well, maybe you two should talk it out, I mean we both agree you guys are good for each other.”
You mumble “Yeah, you’re probably right… It’s just that every time I try to call her, it goes right to voicemail. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore… I guess I’d talk to her if she called me.”
That same instant, your phone starts to ring.
Jim can’t control his laughter, “Well would you look at that, how convenient! Maybe you should take it.”
As you look at your phone, the number isn’t one that you recognize.
“Why am I even running? It’s not like there is anyone waiting for me anyways.” you think to yourself. “Why does my boss have to be such a dick? I’m only a few minutes late every day, it's not like I’m affecting anyone…”
You feel the warmth of your apartment’s lobby as the automatic doors slide open. Another trip up the elevator leads you to your unit, number 308. You open the door and it seems to be stuck, you peer into your apartment entrance only to see boxes full of ex-girlfriend’s possessions in the doorway.
“Goddammit why doesn’t she come and pick up her shit already!? I should call her, maybe then she would come and grab these boxes”
The phone rings for one second then goes right to voicemail. To no surprise, she blocked my number.
“Oh well, I should probably get some sleep anyways… I can’t be late to work again, my job is the only thing I have left plus my boss said that if I’m late once more and I’m fired.”
The second that your body hits the soft mattress, you fall into a deep slumber, allowing you to forget the worries of the chaotic world you live in. All the responsibilities fade away leaving you in peaceful solitude.
You wake up confused and groggy from a full night's sleep. You look around and exclaim “Why didn't my alarm go off?!” Your heart races once you realize the situation. Your phone wasnt charging last night! “Matt Johnson you idiot! You had one responsibility and you threw it away. I need to be at work in 15 minutes!
As you walk into the office, the secretary states that Mr. Cena wants to see you. After a huge gulp and a hesitant stroll, you enter his office and take a seat. As you sit down, Mr. Cena exclaims:
“Mister Johnson, I have given you MANY OPPORTUNITIES to prove your worth at our business. I told you yesterday that if you act up once more I would give you the can. And here we are. I have nothing else to say other than, YOU’RE FIRED! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
“I understand that I’m in the wrong, but I think he went a little too far there… I should probably get going, and fast.” you think to yourself.
As you leave the office, you are hit with realization, that you have no job, little money, and virtually zero friends left. You begin to walk out of the office building towards the bar that is located down the street from your apartment complex. As this bar is new, you have never been here before, so no familiar faces will see you at this hour.
Conveniently enough, you see your old high school friend Jim working behind the bar. As it is too late to head somewhere else, you walk up to the bar and ask for a drink. You avoid all eye contact to ensure that Jim doesn’t recognize you.
“Hopefully he doesn’t recognize me, I REALLY do not want to talk to anyone about my life right now.” As the drinks are being made and then delivered, Jim strikes up a conversation.
“Hey man, how’s it going? A little early for drinking, huh? What’s going on, if you wanna talk about it I’m here for you.”
As Jim says this, you make eye contact and he finally realizes who you are.
“HOLY CRAP! Matt! It’s been ages, how’s life treating you? As you can see, my life choices are catching up to me as I’m working as a bartender during the middle of the day… Anyways, don’t you have a job that you should be at right now?”
“Haha, yeah about that…” you stammer. “I did have a job, but that’s no longer the case. I just got fired not too long ago.”
“Ah, I’m sorry man. It’s a loss on their part for firing you, if you’re anything how you were in high school, you’re an all star!” As Jim tries to reassure you, he has a realization. “Hey! Although you’re out of a job, you still have Katie right? You two were the ideal couple in high school. You guys went through thick and thin, there’s no way you broke up.”
As Jim says this, your face starts to sink and Jim realizes that he spoke on a sensitive topic.
“Oh geez man, I uh… didn’t mean to hit a soft spot. I figured that you two would never break up, you know, since you guys are so perfect for each other.” Jim hesitantly states.
As you are caught off guard you aren’t sure what to say, “Jim, don’t worry about it dude. I didn’t think we were going to break up either, it happened all too fast.”
Jim tries to reassure you and states, “Well, maybe you two should talk it out, I mean we both agree you guys are good for each other.”
You mumble “Yeah, you’re probably right… It’s just that every time I try to call her, it goes right to voicemail. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore… I guess I’d talk to her if she called me.”
That same instant, your phone starts to ring.
Jim can’t control his laughter, “Well would you look at that, how convenient! Maybe you should take it.”
As you look at your phone, the number isn’t one that you recognize.