Tomas finished his mind numbing, baby programming class and his history class, then went directly back to his dorm room. He wanted to see if Sunny had come up with any ideas for his current predicament. He knew his dad well enough, to know he wouldn't change his mind about kicking him out. Tomas did have some scholarships because of his grades. He'd always worked hard to keep a straight A, four point oh GPA, but it wasn't enough to pay for an entire semester, plus books, plus supplies, plus room and board. He was currently running on borrowed time.

He checked his mini fridge, and found he had a single blueberry bagel and a bottle of water. It would do for dinner. He tended to forget to eat when he gamed anyways, so if he was still hungry after, he probably wouldn't realize it. He chewed on the chilled bread as his laptop booted up.

Sunshine was waiting for him when he logged into the game.

Sunshine: Hey, I might have found your solution.

Tomas grabbed one end of his bagel with his teeth to free up his hands so he could type.

Zarn: Oh?

Sunshine: I pulled some strings and got you a job interview with SlideRuleGames.

Zarn: vbkikl..klokj

Tomas's bagel dropped onto his laptop as his jaw fell open in surprise. He cursed and pushed it out of the way.

Zarn: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!! You're kidding me right?!!!!!!!!

Sunshine: LOL! Nope, not kidding! BUT, you can't tell anyone or mention it outside of private chat with me or we'll both get in a lot of trouble. OK?

Zarn: You know I won't say anything. ZOMG SUNNY! You're my hero! AHHHHHH! I just can't even right now. Can't think. Can't breathe. Oh, holy crow I'm freaking OUT!

Tomas leaped off the bed and ran around the room yelling and acted like a complete idiot, but he figured he had the right. Sunny got him an interview with the one and only SlideRuleGames. How? How did this happen? His day went from worse than hell to better than heaven in just a few hours.

Sunshine: Hello? O.o Did you have a heart attack or something? Where did you go?

Zarn: Sorry, Sorry. I had a mild fit in my room. The guys next door banged on the wall to get me to stop. Ahahaha! Oh, man... Sunny, I love you so much! Thank you, just... AH! I still can't believe it.

Sunshine: LOLOL. So cute. Love you too, man. XD You don't have classes tomorrow right?

Zarn: Yeah, I don't have any homework either. I'm free tomorrow and the whole weekend.

Sunshine: Okay, good. I thought so. I'll email you the info. You don't have to bring anything other than yourself. They don't care how you dress, so don't feel you have to go buy professional clothes or anything. They're pretty easy going there, since it's just a bunch of gamer geeks.

Zarn: Really? Are you sure?

Sunshine: Yeah. I know some people there. Actually, you know some people there too, but I'm not allowed to tell you who. :-X

Zarn: NOOOO, I do?!?? * dies *

Sunshine: Yeah, you do. LOL. * revives you * I gotta go get some work done. Want to run a dungeon tonight?

Zarn: I'd love to! I guess I'll run to the store. I'm officially out of food, and I just tossed my bagel on the floor. Ahahaha! XD

Tomas logged out of the game and flung himself backwards on the bed. He took a deep breath and tried to let it out slowly, but he couldn't stop grinning and laughing. He grabbed his pillow and shrieked into it, just to try and get the excitement out of his system.

SlideRuleGames was his dream company. It was the reason he picked, both his school, and to be a programmer. He was going to apply to work there in another two and a half years, when he got his degree. But, Sunny had hooked him up with a chance now. He would do his best to make her proud at the interview.

For now, he would go get his shopping out of the way. He couldn't afford much, especially since his dad had revoked his relationship with the family, but he could probably swing some more water and another package of bagels. The water was a must. The pipes in the dorms were so old that you took your life in your hands drinking water from the tap.

He thought he could maybe afford some ramen to go along with the bagels, if he bought generic brands. That made him smile again. Ramen and a good long high level dungeon crawl. Best Thursday night, ever!

______________________________________

Benton banged his head on his desk and Andy, his marketing director happened to be walking by and stuck her head through the doorway. “You okay boss?”

Benton groaned, “define okay.”

Andy went the rest of the way through the threshold, shut the door behind her, and plopped her skinny butt into one of the cushy chairs sitting in front of Benton's desk. She piled the folders she was carrying into her lap, clasped her fingers together, and waited for her boss to cough up what was wrong.

“I said he was being cute and I might have replied, I love you too, at some point.” Benton mumbled then smacked his head down on the desk again.

“Quit that, Sunny.” She cracked out the order and Benton sat back in his chair.

“I'm an idiot, Moose.” He called her by her gamer name, the woman played a female shifter wizard by that name, and it was pretty common for everyone at the company to refer to people by their tags instead of their actual names. Moose was one of the people, Zarn, didn't know he knew. She was also the closest in age to Benton, twenty-two to his twenty-five.

“You're not an idiot, you're just an awkward small bean, yes you are.” She teased him with baby talk. Her daughter just turned two and Moose had a habit of breaking into mom speak any time she thought something was adorable.

Benton rolled his eyes, “Moooose. That doesn't help!”

The woman just smirked, “Honey, you're crushing on a guy you haven't even met, who doesn't even know that you're a guy too. You're going to dissect every word you say to him, every word he says to you, and everything will seem more tragic, until he knows the truth. I bet he didn't even register that you said those things. You said them after you told him about the interview, right?”

He nodded, his sad blue puppy dog eyes looking hopeful. “Yeah, he was freaking out about the opportunity too.”

“Yep, he won't even remember, so don't worry about it, okay my little Sunshine?” She grinned, stood up, gripping her folders in one hand and reached over the desk to pat him on the head. Sometimes she acted more like a grandmother than a woman in her early twenties, but it had the proper effect, and Benton felt better.

“Now, you just have to make it through the interview without confessing your undying devotion.” She said with a wicked grin as she waltzed out the door.

Benton groaned and dropped his head back onto his desk.