17 Cafeteria

As I finished cleaning up the classroom, I finally managed to leave.

Walking down the long corridors I greeted a few people.

However, my real destination was the cafeteria.

I was starving.

As I wasn't in the top 10 I didn't have my own personal chef, so I had to resort to eating with everyone else in the cafeteria.

Ah! I could smell the food from here.

The wafty scent of pure bliss reached my nose as I made my way ever closer to the pearly gates of heaven.

As I stepped into the cafeteria the illusion I was under was shattered.

This was far from heaven, it was hell.

From a visual standpoint, indeed the cafeteria was heaven.

Its large curved glass walls bathed the cafeteria in light, the outside scenery revealing a pleasant view for those who were eating.

The many stainless steel tables assured that no one would have to wait to find a seat.

The luxurious marble flooring and special temperature control left no one feeling uncomfortable.

No.

It was the number of people.

Just the line to place an order was nearly out the door.

Heck, there wasn't even a place to sit.

Sighing in resignation I made my way to the line and waited patiently.

After what felt like hours I finally made my way to the front of the line.

Looking at the hologram of a menu in front of me I couldn't help but wonder, why the hell is everything a hologram?

I seriously started to doubt the quality of my writing.

Perusing the menu I eventually landed on roasted chicken and white rice with a side of broccoli.

It was the meal I ate every day for lunch before I ended up here.

In the past, I had eaten all manner of junk food and unhealthy dishes.

However, after I pulled myself together I trained myself to eat only this for lunch every day.

And so I wrote it into the novel as a joke, however, it seemed to come in handy.

Selecting it, I moved out of the line and went to the waiting window.

After about 20 minutes I got my food and looked for a place to sit.

Everywhere I looked the tables were full.

Sighing, I was about to head outside to eat when I heard someone call me.

"Isaac!"

Hmm?

Turning my head towards the speaker, I saw Liam.

"Over here!" he said, waving me over.

He was sitting at a table with another 8 people, all of which I was friendly with.

Putting on a wide smile, I made my way over to them and sat down.

"Thanks, I thought I wouldn't find a seat in this place," I said as I took out a fork.

"We saved you a seat when we saw you in line," said Liam, digging into his food.

Well, it certainly does pay off to have friends.

Inwardly smirking I dug in as well.

"Have you heard?" asked Liam after chewing his food.

"Hmm?" I asked half-heartedly as I ate my rice.

"A new game just came out, it's supposedly supposed to be the most realistic yet," he said.

The others at the table leaned in as he began talking.

"What is it?" I asked, setting down my fork.

I couldn't help but hold my breath slightly.

I mean come on, even if I wrote everything, at heart I'm still a kid who's excited to see all the stuff he made.

I had always wanted to play a VRMMO but that wasn't invented so I only wrote about it.

So when Liam mentioned a new VRMMO that's supposed to be the most realistic ever, even I could help but feel a slight jolt of excitement go through me.

The table was completely silent as we all stared at Liam with bated breath.

Feeling the pressure behind our intense gazes that were locked on him, Liam swallowed heavily.

"It's…" he began.

All of us swallowed as we looked at him.

"The new 'Race' game!" Liam said with his eyes open wide, beaming at us.

A wide smile was plastered on his face as he stared at us waiting for our reactions.

We all just sat there, our expressions frozen on our faces.

"Race…?" uttered one of the boys.

It seemed all our thoughts were aligned as we all collectively let out groans.

"C'mon Liam!" groaned one of them.

"You had us all excited…" said another as we all returned to our food.

Truthfully I was never really excited.

Of course not.

Excitement?

Pshh!

This is when my undying annoyance at Liam began.

"What! C'mon you guys! It'll be really fun." Liam said with an exasperated expression.

A clean napkin was hurled at Liam as he raised his arms to protect himself.

"Well, I suppose I'll play it," I said as I once again shoved food down my throat.

It was a wonder my body didn't seem to be getting fatter, I was practically shoving the food down my throat.

I was like an excavator.

"Yes! Let's play it together, I'll text you when." Liam said, beaming at me as if I were his savior.

What am I the messiah?

There are already too many religion-related jokes, someone's gonna get mad.

Shut it!

You shut it!

Both of you shut it!

Sorting out the voices in my head, I glanced around.

It was about time.

Bullying case #2

For this one, I would be truly apologetic.

After all, he would be beaten to a pulp.

And he wouldn't even be done with the bullying!

There was still one more event.

The event that cemented me as the villain of the school arc.

Admittedly I was a bit nervous about that event.

After all, it could potentially be costing me my life.

However, the dilemma that I was presented with was a life or death decision and there was no right answer.

To choose between the unknown and the known

If I followed the story and acted out my part, then I would inevitably die.

However, that path was known.

Therefore it was not a threat.

A threat that is known is no longer a threat.

I knew everything that would happen and could influence things.

That's what brought me to the second option.

To change the storyline to suit me in order to avoid my death.

However the moment I begin changing the storyline everything will become unknown.

Of course, there will be basic facts that I know and important characters.

However, the events that occur will drastically differ from the original storyline.

In that case, I would simply become another character in the novel and I would have to deal with the events as they happened with no prior information.

So the question was, to proceed down the known which will inevitably lead me to death?

Or down the unknown in which I have a chance to survive.

The answer was obvious and yet it was not.

I had decided to toe the line.

I would play a dangerous game in which I toe the edge of following the original storyline as closely as possible while changing some things slightly in order to hopefully avoid death.

Therefore I would have to complete the events as close to the original story as possible.

Sighing, I massaged my temples with my fingers.

"You good?" asked Liam with a mouthful of food.

Not really.

However, I couldn't exactly say that.

"Yeah," I said as my eyes flicked to the silhouette of a black-haired boy.

That pitch-black messily styled hair.

Those unforgettable spectrum green eyes.

They seemed to contain an innocent youth.

Someone who had no idea they would one day become the savior of humanity.

Someone whose shoulders couldn't bear that weight at the moment.

No.

It was my job to make sure he could bear that weight.

So that I didn't have to.

However, when I stared into those vibrant green eyes full of life, I wavered for a moment.

Eyes I had long forgotten.

Perhaps at one point, I too had looked the same.

However…

Ever since then my eyes had lost all their remaining life.

The innocent youth I had once possessed was long gone.

Replacing them was a pair of lifeless rotten eyes.

A pair of eyes devoid of the joys of life.

So perhaps, just for a moment.

I doubted myself.

I doubted what I was planning on doing.

To get rid of those eyes of his.

Was it truly right?

To force the burden of the world on those small and weak shoulders?

To corrupt that youth.

To twist it for my own purposes.

All for the sake of my own self-preservation.

At that moment, I felt like a weight was pressing down on my heart.

My heart that had long ago frozen over.

A heavy weight was added to the many weights already pressing it down.

However, I knew.

That there was no choice.

That I would have to do it, even at the cost of my conscience.

For the sake of my own survival.

For the hope that one day I might see my sister again.

For my future.

Luke's happiness would have to be sacrificed.

And if it cost me my conscience, so be it.

For there was no price too great for my future.

Therefore, I hope one day I can be forgiven for this path I will embark on.

Perhaps one day I will beg for forgiveness.

I can only hope that on that day, I will be granted absolution.

From now on, only Luke and I would know the trials and tribulations he will face.

And together we will face them.

Not as friends.

Not as brothers.

But as enemies.

I would be the one who will push Luke into the pits of hell.

At the cost of my own soul.

For my life.

For the sake of the world.

For my own selfish reasons.

As I watched Luke collecting his tray of food, I sighed with a heavy heart.

'Forgive me,' I thought, closing my eyes.

*YESSSSSS*

No.

jk but anyways umm so u guys might notice in the next two chapters including this one that the tone is a bit darker and more moral-focused and the reason for that is cuz I was really fuckin depressed when I wrote them okay? so yeah anyways as always, Hugz <3