"You''re fired," said a middle-aged lady to the teenager behind her. She was wearing a long dark blue uniform with the words ''Melanie''s Diner'' written on the back, the same uniform as the tall teenager.
"Wait, Melanie!" the boy pleaded, "I''m not sure what''s going on, but I can clarify any misunderstanding."
She didn''t even maintain eye contact with him, shooing him as she kept walking towards the kitchen.
"This diner won''t run itself, David," she said disdainfully, "We have no place here for a thief."
Oh god, this is the third time this year, David thought, Was it Leonard, or Natalia?
"I didn''t steal anything!" David said with a loud voice that attracted the attention of the customers that were sitting around, "This is all a big misunderstanding, I only took the scraps that the customers left, not even the unwanted orders! Who''s the liar who fabricated this garbage?"
"This is enough, you''re ruining the customers'' day," Melanie heaved a sigh as she turned towards him.
She walked close to him, then pulled his head closer to her. He was at least a foot and a half taller than her, so she had to tiptoe a bit to reach his ear. Then she whispered.
"It doesn''t matter who reported your deeds, I don''t want any trouble for my honest employees," she shook her head, "I''ve seen you with my own eyes taking large bags multiple times through the backdoor whenever you leave."
"Like I said, those were only scraps!" David was grasping at straws as he exclaimed, "I''ve already consulted with manager Leonard and he gave me his approval."
Melanie shook her head again, then handed him a bundle of money.
"These are your wages for the rest of this month," David looked at the bundle of ten dollars that Melanie put in his right hand, "I don''t want any more trouble, we have nothing to discuss."
Then, she left towards the kitchen in a hurry, closing the door behind her. David was standing all alone in the middle of the diner, and many sitting customers were looking at him, some with disdain and others with pity.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then put the money in his pants'' front right pockets. As he left his, now former, workplace, he crossed the road then walked slowly back home.
Kids his age were playing video games, enjoying outdoors'' life, doing sports, or even preparing for their college life. Yet, he had to spend his summer slaving away for minimal wages just to survive.
He used to be a fan of video games and sci-fi novels, yet he had to sell his gaming computer, his expensive monitor and modern smartphone to pay for his brother''s funeral expenses.
His current phone was a seven year old model that his brother had back in the day, it wasn''t up to date and couldn''t play most of the modern games, but it had access to the internet and basic utility apps and that was more than enough.
His family didn''t even have access to internet at home, so the Wi-Fi access at the workplace was much appreciated.
Sometimes, he wished he could just escape reality and go back to playing his favorite game, Arms of Armageddon.
It was a strategic game where you changed the fate of your kingdom against impossible odds.
Yet, he couldn''t remain a kid forever, especially when reality was so brutal. He had to change his circumstances around if he wanted any semblance of hope for a luxurious life in the future.
This ruins my calculations for this month, David pondered, I hope I can find another fitting job before my mom finds out.
He had no scraps'' bag prepared to bring home today, so he had to buy something on his way home. Thankfully, the wages that Melanie gave him lifted some of the worry off his back, as they were enough to buy modest meals for a week.
He took one pack of cheap noodles, and a pack of prepared curry with chicken, then left after paying the cashier.
"Is that all, sir?" asked the blonde girl at the register with a warm smile on her face, "We have a good offer for soda if you want."
"Thank you," David smiled, then went out of the store. The girl was lovely and he wasn''t sure he could resist buying a drink if the deal was good enough.
The two meals'' expense already ate through ten percent of the wages that his previous boss gave him, and he wasn''t willing to waste cash on unneeded luxuries.
For a teenager fresh out of high school like me to call a drink a luxury, this world is nuts, he grimaced as he crossed the road once more, making sure to scan for cars before doing so.
He had been saving for a while, bit by bit, to buy a modern laptop that he could use to earn some money on the internet.
And now, Melanie put a wrench into his plans. The only reason why he worked at food places in his last three jobs was to decrease his family''s expenses. Frugality was his only hope to save money, as he lacked the qualifications for jobs that paid well.
After thirty minutes of walking, he arrive at an apartment complex in an obscure part of the town. The buildings'' sorry condition spoke of their antiquity, and the only light illuminating the surroundings was that of the moon, as none of the street lamps of the area worked properly.
He climbed the stairs until he reached the second floor, then walked till he reached a door that had the number three hundred and one written on it.
Using the keys he had inside his pocket, he opened the door which made a creaking sound and went inside, then closed it behind him.
"Hello?" David inquired as his voice wavered, "Mom, are you in the living room?"
Usually, his mom rushed to the door whenever she heard it open, but today was different, and this worried David. Due to the unique circumstances of their family, he feared for the his mom''s well being and her mental health.
He kept walking at a brisk pace, scanning each of the rooms he passed through the hallway.
Then, he saw her.
The TV was running at a low volume, showcasing a well-known national news channel. His mom laid on the sofa, facing the TV, with a huge bottle of wine in her hand.
Her hair looked disheveled, and she didn''t react to the sound of David''s footsteps.
"Mom," he called in a soft voice, yet she didn''t respond.
Only when he approached her then shook her shoulder did she break out of her stupor.
"Oh, Liam, you''re back," she called as she opened her eyes wide and raised her eyebrows, only for the light in her eyes to fade away after making sense of the person that shook her shoulder, "David, I''m sorry. Wanna drink?"
Legally, I''m not even old enough to drink, yet she''s offering alcohol, to her own son, David worried, but made sure not to make the feelings obvious in his face, And this is the fourth time she confused me for my dead brother this month, this is giving me a bad feeling.
The woman in front of him was a shadow of her former self. Back in the day, she was a well-respected and hardworking lawyer, and now, a delirious alcoholic.
After the passing of his dad, John, and brother, Liam, she changed completely. She used to work hard on her job, barely paying any attention to their little family.
"Here, I brought some food," David helped his Mom stand back as he took away her bottle of alcohol, "You like chicken curry, right?"
I guess she hasn''t changed much, a workaholic becoming an alcoholic, David thought as he helped her stand on her own feet.
He sat her on a chair next to the living room''s table, which was large enough to accommodate at least six people. Now, it only had two chairs.
"I''m sorry, David," Catherine, his mom, sobbed, "I don''t know what to do, I''ve ruined things once again."
Her words confused the young teenager, but for some reason, the sticker on the bottle that he took away from his mom brought his attention.
His heart dropped. It was an expensive brand of wine, one that their family could never afford in their current state.
The gears inside his head turned, thinking of how she could possibly buy such an expensive item.
Did she have some savings?
"Where did you get this from?" David asked, with a louder voice.
"A pub," his mom cowered.
"With what money?"
"You didn''t tell me that you''ve been saving up money," she stared at him, "You have more than five thousand dollars in cash, but we''re living like this?"
Oh no no no... The money was there in the morning before I left, don''t tell me!
"What the hell, mom! Don''t tell me you spent that money!"
"Not all of it, but I had a good deal for three bottles of wine. There''s still three hundred left," she crossed her arms and frowned, looking away from him.
Fuck no!
"Three hundred! Three hundred isn''t even enough to pay for this month''s rent!"
"Don''t be such a pain, I''ll give it back when I starting working again at my job."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"How can you not understand! It''s not about returning the money! How can we survive this month now? And the alcohol, you''ve been three months clean, and you ruined your progress!"
Then, before he said something he would regret, he stopped talking and went to the kitchen. Dwelling on emotions and regrets for too long wasn''t his style, so he tried to save what he could.
He opened the fridge, and sure enough, two bottles of wine identical to the one that his mother was drink were stored there.
There''s some hope, I just need to convince the pub owner to return them and give me the money.
He took them out of the fridge, and put them inside his trusty backpack. It''s been through thick and thin, and he couldn''t afford to buy a new one.
He used to store his money under his mattress, but after finding some mice roaming inside the apartment, he feared they''d gnaw into the cash.
So, he put everything a somewhat hidden compartment inside the fridge.
He looked around the area where he kept his savings, and sure enough, there was only two hundred and ninety seven dollars left.
Even though he still loved his mom, he couldn''t trust her around his money any longer, so he put them all inside his backpack too.
Then, he closed the fridge and stormed off after asking his mother for directions to the pub where she bought the wine from.
It was late at night, and the streets were eerie, yet David walked fast. He was angry at his mom for not taking the trauma of Liam''s death well, at the pub owner for taking advantage of her and selling her expensive wine, at Melanie for firing him just because he took away some scraps she was going to dispose off anyway, at the world for throwing such terrible curve balls at him.
And now, he was angry at the rain that started pouring on his head. He didn''t even have a rain cover or an umbrella at home, so there was no point in going back, and he was already close to his destination so he kept going.
After five more minutes of speed walking, he arrived at the pub he''s been looking for.
He was drenched in rain water and his shoes were muddy, so his walking left dirty footsteps on the white and shiny floor.
"Excuse me, mister, but you should''ve wiped your shoes before entering," a middle-aged waiter told him as he walked by, yet David ignored him.
He kept going, until he was face to face with the barista.
It was a young male that was slightly shorter than him. He had some bear and a mustache, and was a little older than David.
Mid twenties at most, but he looks kinda sly, David thought.
"Looking to drown your sorrows, sir? How can I help you,"
The bartender smiled and made an offhand comment at David as he worked on mixing another customer''s drink.
"I wanna ask, you''re the bartender with today''s shift, right?"
"Bingo. Do I win something for that, or maybe someone told you a pretty girl would be here today? If so, then sorry for the disappointment." The bartender replied with a chuckle.
David pulled the two wine bottles out of his backpack, and put them on the counter.
"A woman came here today, she bought three of these, does this ring a bell?"
"Not sure I follow, what do you want?" The bartender was finished with the other customer, so his attention was fully on David.
"I''m here to return these two bottles, she tried the third one, and it wasn''t to her taste." David knew that the bartender was unlikely to return the wine bottles, and would laugh at his face if he gave some petty reason like needing the money and that his mother had mental health issues.
"Well, I don''t know about that, but I''m pretty sure that I''ve never seen you buying anything from us today, so I have nothing to say to you, you could''ve gotten them from another store for all I care." The bartender snickered.
"So you''re not denying the fact that a woman bought such wine from you today?"
"And?"
"The thing is, that woman is my mother and she''s sick, so I''m here to return them in her sake."
The bartender scanned David up and down, then laughed.
"Buddy, you don''t even look like you''re old enough to be drinking. My intuition is telling me you stole these bottles from your mom, and you''re looking for a quick buck, so no, and fuck off."
This is a problem.
David knew his mom, and the chances of her agreeing to come with him to return the wine were close to zero. Especially since she liked it, and it wasn''t her money that was being wasted.
"You''re talking big game for a mere bartender, how about you go back to mixing drinks and call someone qualified to deal with such an issue. I''m sure you saw what my mother looked like, she doesn''t even fix her messy hair when she goes outside! She has mental health problems, and you took advantage of her! I need to talk to this place''s manager." David shouted, and was no longer willing to play nice after the bartender refused to cooperate.
His words were loud enough for the customers to notice, and many of them stopped chatting and turned to watch the spectacle.
The bartender''s facial expression turned sour.
"Oh shut the fuck up! Alcoholics look disheveled all the time, you have no proof that I took advantage of her."
The car accident that killed his father, and his brother''s suicide both took a huge toll on his mother, and she started imagining things. The psychiatric said that it was stress-induced psychosis, and she could no longer work as a lawyer.
"I have her medical records, she''s psychotic! Call the manager, and I''ll happily show him proof that you took advantage of such her to sell drinks."
The noise in the pub stopped all at once, and many customers moved forward.
"Hey kid, is what you''re saying right?" A door at the back of the pub opened, and someone came out of it.
It was a middle aged man with a beer belly, stocky frame, and a bald head that had tattoos on its side. He had tattoos on his face as well, and the bartender looked afraid upon his appearance.
"Are you the manager?" David asked.
"Yeah, and?"
"This guy here tricked my mom, a mentally ill woman, into buying three bottles of expensive wine. I have records to prove my mom is sick."
"Yeah, and?"
"And? I want money back for these two bottles!"
The bald man''s eyes landed on the bottles of wine, then he looked at David. He walked forward and put his arm around the boy''s shoulder.
"Look, kid. You have no proof that your mother bought wine from us, and until you bring a receipt for the purchase, you''re not welcome inside my pub."
Oh shit, this means most of my savings went down the drain...
However, David wasn''t the type of person to cower in the face of impossible odds. If he didn''t think of something in this situation, him and his mom would end up homeless next month.
And think of something he did.
It was a high-risk high-reward gamble, and some would call amoral, but he didn''t give a fuck anymore. With a smirk that disappeared as fast as it emerged, David started speaking.
"Just look at them, they''re bottles from this store," David spoke with a wavering voice, "I''m sure there''s something that would prove they were bought from this store."
"Nu-uh kid, these bottles can be found in any pub around this region," The bald owner of the pub shook his head as he smiled deviously, "If you''re not gonna drink them, then you could pour them down the drain, who cares."
"If you''re so cheap to offer a refund, then say it as it is, no need to hide the truth," David smirked, "But it''s all obvious now, a guy like you with such tattoos must''ve gotten them to compensate for something. You''re not a real man, you''re just a sleazy scumbag who took advantage of a mentally ill woman."
"What''d you say? You don''t understand your position do you," The bald man''s eyes squinted and his left arm started shaking, "You''re insulting me! In my own pub!"
"So, just between us, what is it that you''re compensating for?" David grinned, "Is it your bald head, or maybe your small dick? maybe your short height? or perhaps you''re a wimp who acts tough so people don''t bully you? You''re also fat as fuck, so there''s that."
Then, David felt pain in his forehead, and he staggered. He couldn''t see that well, and he felt a warm liquid falling on his face.
Gotcha...
The bald man hit David on his forehead with one of the bottles, and he was about to hit him with the second one when the other customers stopped the owner.
"Hey kid, you alright?" A man in his thirties came to David aid, helping him stand straight.
"We gotta take you to the hospital, boy!" Another man with a head full of white hair said with concern.
"Dan, that wasn''t cool! he''s young enough to be your grandchild," said one of the men restraining the bald man. They made sure he didn''t attack David again.
"What will you do if he sues you?" the other man told Dan, the bald man, with concern.
The pub owner''s eyes landed on David, and he gritted his teeth.
"I''ll refund you for these two bottles, then you''ll fuck off!" He shouted at David.
"I''m suing," said David as blood covered his face, "You clearly wanted to kill me, and you think refunding me for the cost of these two bottles is gonna be enough!"
I don''t even have the money needed to sue, but this is a bluff I need to take, David thought.
Dan''s heart dropped, and his lips quivered.
It could mean the end of a business if such a case went through, and the settlement alone might force the pub owner to liquidate many of his precious assets.
David''s mother was a lawyer, so he knew some things about the law. Especially the common ways that criminals used to manipulated laws and abuse them.
He did what he had to do, and now he had to negotiate the best terms he could. He had no doubt that Dan would give him a lot of money to shut him up, especially when so many people witnessed the event, but the question was how much he could extract from him.
"Ten thousand," Dan suggested, "This will cover up the hospital costs, and save us both the hassle of court."
"Thirty thousand, no less than this amount," David said, then closed his eyes, "Does anyone here have a bandage? Also, give me a cup of beer, I need to clean this wound before I go to the hospital."
The customers of the pub proved helpful, and they helped David with rudimentary first-aid.
At first, the pub owner flat out refused to give David any money, but upon seeing the teenager''s determination to take the case to court, he relented.
My mother might not be a lawyer anymore, but if push comes to shove, I''m sure one of her friends would take my case as a favor, knowing our current circumstances...
Dan offered cash, but David asked for a bank transfer instead. This took about an hour of waiting, as the bald guy didn''t have such an amount in his personal account, and had to ask for transfers from some of his friends that owed him money.
All in all, the situation went smoothly, and some of the guys that helped him earlier offered to take him to the hospital.
"Thanks guys, but I need to check up on my mom first," He smiled as he took his leave, "I''ll go to the hospital later."
David lied. He didn''t plan on going to the hospital. Healthcare was expensive in America, and their family didn''t have medical insurance at all.
I''ll stitch the cut using mom''s old sewing kit, David nodded with pride at his ingenious solution, this will save me thousands of dollars.
Even though the pain bothered him, David went back home in a good mood. Life threw him a curve ball like usual, but he managed a home run this time around.
He entered the house, and went directly to his mother''s room which she didn''t use much nowadays. He took the sewing kit from her drawer, then went to the bathroom.
Using the wine left in the bottle that his mother drank from earlier that day, he cleaned the needle and started the impromptu medical procedure.
After fifteen minutes of precise handwork, the injury was completely stitched.
This relieved David, as he had one thing less to worry about.
With the new sum of money that he acquired, he could start working on the internet as soon as he got a computer. He had some skills in programming, video editing, design, and even sales, so he was confident he could make something happen as long as he applied himself.
An alarm rang in his phone, and it read ''workout time''. David turned it off, then went towards the pull-up and dip bars that were installed in one of his room''s walls.
It took him forty-five minutes to finish his workout session, and he felt much better. His head''s injury no longer hurt, and he was much calmer.
He started thinking about the equipment he should buy to start working online. First of all, he needed a place with complete access to the internet, and he knew a café that met his expectations and more.
Then, he needed a good computer. His first thought was to get a gaming laptop, which would allow him to get back into his favorite game, Arms of Armageddon.
The prospects excited him, but he was afraid he''d use video games as a way to escape reality, which was something he couldn''t afford to do in such a situation.
I need to relax my mind, to see things clearer, David thought.
As absurd as it was, David was into occult practices. When his father died, he felt so bad and could barely go through his daily life, and when his younger brother took his own life, he could no longer cope.
So, overcome by despair and fed-up with playing the victim, he was willing to use anything to improve his situation. Working out was one of his attempts at self-improvement, and so was his research into the occult.
Meditation was something he picked up alongside his journey, and it was an incredible tool. It allowed him to transmute negative feelings into positive ones, and channel them into positive work.
He first started by closing his eyes, and imagining a white light encompassing his whole body. Then, he focuses on his breath and the different sensations in his body.
However, he felt something was wrong this time around. The white light that he imagined was much stronger than usual, as if someone had shined a flashlight in front of his face.
And his mind was completely calm, empty of words. He couldn''t think in words, no matter how he tried.
Then, he felt great pain around his forehead and belly areas. Overwhelmed by the experience, David opened his eyes.
What he saw in front of him was bewildering.
All around him was a completely dark void, and in front of his face, a pale blue floating screen that had words written all over it.
<table width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="100%">
[System Notice]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="100%">
Host Met The Requirements For The Reality Shift.
Welcome To Your New Life!
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="51%">
[Proceed]
</td>
<td width="48%">
[Proceed]
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>