I Made a New...Friend?

I managed to force myself to wake up bright and early today.

This day was the day I would finally stop moping around and get back into some real work for a change, Not that my hobbies were lacking or anything. It's just that I could only get so much through playing video games alone, you know.

I enjoyed the thrill that came with hunting bugs in software and the praises that came with it.

Now, I finally get to gain back that chance.

So, I can't mess it up. At least, that is how a part of me feels.

I'd hate to ruin this chance, but a part of me still dislikes the fact that it was someone from the past that I discarded that would be the one to offer me a shining light in my time of need.

'I can't forget what Josh and the others did to me in the past, but I can't stay dwelling in the past, can I? Still...'

My mind has been jumbled up with thoughts like these for a few days now. What I do know is that I have a job to do and a bug to fix.

"Guess I'll shoot Josh a text when I'm in the car. But, is there anything I'm missing before I go?"

I look around my room as I think about anything I may need.

I can barely see my walls as they're covered in anime and video game posters. Any space that is free of posters is the parts of the wall blocked by my bookshelves full of action figures and books. Of course, most of those books are manga, but I enjoy classical literature and western fantasy books as well.

I even managed to clean my room up a bit as there were no longer clothes all over the floor. I didn't get to wash most of them yet so it's still a work in progress. Still, an achievement is an achievement.

I patted my pants pockets one more time before I left. Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check.

"I guess that's everything--! How could I forget you?" I almost left out the door without something very important.

I rushed over to the side of my computer and grabbed my headphones off of its stand.

"How could I leave without my jams? Rookie mistake."

I put on my headphones and grabbed a light jacket from its hangar in my closet. I just threw it over my shoulder as I rushed out of my room, locking the door as I leave.

I didn't grab anything to eat, but I'm sure I could grab some lunch after the bug fix.

I see my neighbor and she stops me to say a quick hello. I didn't want to be rude, so I answered back.

"H-Hey, Lyndis." Lyndis was my cute neighbor who just so happens to be a college student in her early-twenties like me. I've had a crush on her for at least a while now but haven't had the courage to ask her out just yet.

"Oh, hi Jacob. I haven't seen you in a while. Thought you were trying to hide from me."

"O-Oh! Not at all. I was just busy is all. Ahaha..." 'You're blowing it, dillweed!'

"Oh, yeah? I hope that it hasn't been work keeping you so busy. How are you supposed to keep those muscles all big and strong?" I noticed Lyndis looking at my arms as she said that.

'Crap! I have been exercising a bit less than usual, haven't I? And no, using your hands to move a mouse and keyboard doesn't count as proper exercise! Ugh! She probably thinks I look lame. I'll just try to steer the conversation away for now...'

"O-Oh yeah? I haven't been able to buy new clothes as of late either. I like your shirt, though. I wouldn't mind wearing it?" 'You fool! Did you just ask to wear her shirt? A girl's shirt! This idiot's return to the social scene has been ended with this!'

"Hahaha! Thank you. I haven't been complimented like that before."

'Ugh! She's going to stop talking to me after this, isn't she?! She already laughed at me so she's going to have another laugh with the rest of our neighbors later, too?!'

"Maybe we could go clothes shopping together sometime?" Lyndis smiled brightly at me. Even I didn't expect her to ask me a question and keep the conversation going.

'Ugh! She's smiling at me now but she's probably getting a kick out of this on the inside, right? I've dealt with your kind before! I'll just give some lame excuse and brush her off! That'll work, right?'

"I would love to, but I have to take care of work right now. We could do that some other time."

'Like I wanted to do that with you anyway? Who would ever want to go somewhere with you? It was just a prank! I can hear her saying something along those lines or something. Might as well get a head start of this conversation...'

I started to turn and walk away as fast as I could while still being discreet.

"O-Oh, alright. If you have some time this weekend, just give my door a knock."

I heard her footsteps lead back to her room. The sound of her door closing shut following after.

'I guess I was wrong but I don't have time to dwell on that now. I have less than an hour to meet Josh at his office.'

I hoof it to the parking lot where I had parked my car. I drive a simple four-door gray sedan but it works for me. I unlock my car and hop into the driver's seat. After starting my car, I put my phone in the phone holder and turn on its Bluetooth. 'Don't want to get a ticket for texting and driving. Hehe.'

I remember that Click it or Ticket commercial and fasten my seatbelt. After connecting my headphones to my phone, I give Josh a call and start driving.

The phone picked up almost instantly. 'Didn't expect him to answer so fast. I half-expected to be left on hold until the third beep...'

"Hey, Jake. How's it hangin'?"

"N-Nothing much, I'm on my way there as we speak." 'I still can't speak easily when talking with him, it seems...'

"That's great, man! I wanted you to meet some admirers of yours when you get here. If that's fine with you, of course."

"...That would be cool with me."

"Thanks so much, man. We can talk more when you get here, alright see you."

*Click*

'Talk more, huh? What would we even have to talk about...? No, I've decided to just complete the job and nothing more. They won't try and keep my pay if I don't socialize with them, are they?'

After about a half-hour, I made it to the building.

"It looks like a nice place. Maybe they have been doing pretty well." 'Considering I'm addicted to the game, I can confidently say that they did a swell job."

It was a pretty large building but was more wide than tall. The windows were bigger than me and I could easily see my reflection in them.

I walked over to the one that was ground level and couldn't help but make poses in front of it.

'They say that one could work out their anxiety by talking to themselves in front of a mirror. Like a little pep talk, I suppose. Wouldn't I get rid of more anxiety by posing in front of my reflection then? I know, I know. Hold the applause~ Sometimes, my own genius is frightening to even me.'

A few minutes into my posing, I could hear someone snickering from behind me. I froze in place. I could only turn my head slowly to face them. It was some woman I didn't know but somehow that made it worse. The thought of being known as a weirdo to anyone should be bad but the thought of someone I didn't know thinking I was weird was even worse.

Example 1: The unknown person is some kind of person in high social or political standing. They could make my life worse on a grand scale by posting stuff about me online and thus to a wider audience. Don't want to make the President think you're a weirdo, do you?

Example 2: They could be someone closer to me than I initially thought. One day I could be going to a family gathering and they are there, too. Or they could be a close friend of a girl I want to date and ruin it for me by revealing my weirdness to them before I could make a good impact. Even worse, they could be a neighbor or co-worker and now they know you are weird making life even outside of the home worse.

Ugh! The examples are endless! 'But I only came up with two...'

"Hahaha! Man, you killed me with those moves of yours! Were you trying to scare someone on the other side?" She quickly got next to me and was scanning the other side through the windows.

"Oh, there's no one else on the other side. Did you happen to scare them off? Haha~"

"Ah, n-no. There was no one there...I was trying to psych myself with some poses I read about online..." 'Definitely don't tell her you came up with that dumb idea yourself!'

"Oh, yeah? I think I heard about something like that. What's your name, man? Definitely not Windows-guy, is it? It's not, right? Just kidding! Ahaha!"

"J-Jacob, Jacob Armeyer."

"Well, my name is Lakira Johnson. Although, you don't have to remember my last name unless you work for me."

"Y-Yeah."

"So, are you here for anything besides scaring the poor wait staff?" She chuckled again to herself this time. 'When was the last time I made a girl laugh like this on purpose?'

"Ah, yeah I was here to meet Mr. Mu-Lin."

"On the third floor, right? Yeah, I just started working for him a few months ago. See?" She motioned to the name tag and key card around her neck. She looked as if she was proudly showing it off to me. 'I'm sure the perks aren't bad but still...'

She started to walk away from me and to the door. As she opened the door, she stopped herself and turned back to me.

"You were coming, right? If so, I could get the door for you."

"Y-Yes! Thank you very much!"

'Wait, shouldn't I have had the door for her? Well, I'll just get the next one."

I walked inside past her and went to grab the next door, but it wouldn't budge no matter how much I pulled. That's when I saw a small hand reach past me and held up a small card.

*Beep* *Click*

I heard a sound go off and the locking mechanism of the door clicked as it unlocked.

"You just need an ID card and you're good to go." She was smiling cutely at me and even I wouldn't fault her for that in this situation. I was so caught up in trying to open the door for her and I didn't see that the door needed an ID card to unlock.

I mentally facepalmed as I stepped aside while she opened the door for me. We both walk in and I couldn't help but marvel at how nice the building looked on the inside.

"Looks pretty nice in here, huh? Yeah, you should've seen how far my jaw fell on my first day here. Come on, it's even cooler upstairs. Let's take an elevator."

After we checked in at the front desk, we hopped onto the elevator.

I couldn't really think of anything to say so I just tried to stay quiet. Though whenever Lakira asked me something I politely answered back.

When the elevator doors opened, I felt an extreme sense of joy. 'Yes! Goodbye small talk, hello work!'