Into the System

  1

  BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! The old alarm clock on the dresser blares out early in the morning. Darren cracks open an eye, “Why is it dark…and why is my alarm going off on my day off?” Getting up to turn off the alarm, Darren remembers why he set the alarm in the first place. “Right. That new JRPG is dropping today.” Darren quickly gets ready and runs out the door.

  Wanting to get to the game store right as they opened for the day, Darren sets off from his apartment complex at a jog. While not the most physically active person, Darren was glad his best friend, Tyson, talked him into joining the track team in high school; if not, he’d never be able to jog the six blocks to the store. Darren arrived with a couple of minutes to spare. Luckily, the only other people there were some high school kids, and one kid, Darren, would’ve bet money on being a homeschooled kid who convinced his mother to bring him. He was glad he wasn’t in their shoes anymore, granted, he wasn’t too far removed from them.

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  Darren was a twenty-five-year-old office grunt who spent his days as a “Data Entry Specialist”, or to be truthful, a glorified pencil pusher. From 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Darren would sit and stare at a computer screen, entering numbers into a spreadsheet. His nights weren’t much better: a frozen TV dinner or take-out followed by binge-watching whatever caught his interest that night. His weekends were at least a little better. Most of the time, Darren would jog around the park across from his apartment complex before meeting up with Tyson and Liz, Tyson’s girlfriend. They’d either check out whatever was new in the theater or go to the game store for a D&D session. But this weekend was all Darren’s. He had been waiting for months for this new installment of his favorite JRPG to drop. Normally, he would have just gotten the digital version, but preordering a physical copy included a limited-edition statue.

  The store opened, and Darren got his preorder. Not wanting to waste too much time not playing, Darren made a quick stop at the convenience store between his apartment and the game store. Loaded with energy drinks, snacks, and a breakfast burrito, Darren headed home. Or he would have if the world hadn’t changed the moment he stepped out of the store.