My eyes were wide and focused on the activity on the screen. My heart was racing as I controlled the avatar around the empty courtyard. My eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s, ready to spot the enemy. I was the last one standing and winning this round was what would take my team to victory.

I swallowed as I pointed my in-game gun around, waiting for the enemy to show himself. He could be anywhere watching me, waiting for me to fall into his trap. My instinct told me to seek out the enemy and not camp but the fear of the unknown made me think otherwise. So, I waited, scooping every corner, bushes and buildings close by and in the distance.

“Where are you?” I whispered and scanned the screen of my gaming monitor. 

As I moved my avatar out of its hiding spot, I found myself dead and within a second, I was watching the enemy from his point of view, emoting to his victory. I rose to my feet and slammed my controller on my desk as anger boiled within me.

“Great! This is why I hate girl gamers!”

“Camper!”

“Stay in the kitchen, loser!”

“This game is for guys only. How could you lose that?”

I balled my hands into fists at the crass words coming from my teammates. I sat back down and quickly reported all their accounts before closing the game with the rage burning in my chest. Since this week began, I have been losing and my rank was affected. My mood turned sour as I imagined some points dropping from my rank. I did not want to lose my spot on the worldwide rank.

“Adeline?”

I sighed at the sound of my sister’s voice. I got up and made my way to the door of my bedroom then opened it. She stood out in the hallway, holding a bunch of envelopes. I dreaded the sight of it as I had a feeling they were bills. Bills that had to be paid yet I was jobless and broke.

WIth a pained smile, I took the envelopes and made a move to shut the door but she held it, stopping me.

“You need to get a job and stop sitting all day playing video games,” she said.

“Who says I’m not looking, Hannah? It’s not easy finding a good job in this current economy,” I said and flipped through the envelopes. None of them held anything important.

“Your computers and long hours of gaming takes up a lot of electricity, Adeline. You are so lucky that I took you under my roof but it has been two years since you moved in and you still don’t have a job. I am tired of using my salary to pay your part of the bills.”

I glared at Hannah. She was always rubbing it in my face that she was the most hard working sibling. Ever since she got her law degree, she was always trying to make me feel like my love for gaming and my little, unpopular live streams were stupid. Hannah always complained about everything in my life to the point her law buddies were aware of my type of person.

I scoffed and shut the door then crossed the room to my bed. I sat on it and glared at the floor. My dream was to be a game developer which was why I studied coding in college. I had been the only girl in my department and the challenges were hard. Especially when the boys in the class would get on my nerves. After graduating, I did my best to get into good tech and gaming companies but they all rejected me. It hurt and when Hannah spoke to me about doing nothing, it hurt even more.

I exhaled the tension in my chest and lifted my gaze to the posters on the wall facing my gaming setup. One of the posters was the one company I always wished to be part of— Kromer. Ever since I was a preteen, their games and contests always got me hooked.

I got up and went over to my gaming desk then stared at the poster. Kromer was a company with a high reputation and I have never applied there before. I felt one needed connections to work at the company and simply applying seemed hilarious to me.

“But what if I try?” I asked myself then sat down on my seat.

I quickly searched up the company and for the next five minutes, I did every research on how to apply for a position in the company. After another five minutes, I stumbled upon a contact information for the said application. Without wasting much time, I immediately opened my mail app and started to type, then attached my resume. 

I stared at the screen once I was done and nibbled on my lip. This was it. I had to try and if they rejected me, I would act like a big girl. 

I moved the cursor to the send icon then shut my eyes. I clicked my mouse and counted to ten before opening my eyes. The email had successfully been delivered to them and my heart became heavy.

“Pfft,” I said, waving my hand. “There is no way they would respond to my mail. My mail will probably end up in the spam box.”

With that in mind, I went back to my bed and lay on it. 

“Please, let my mail not end up in the spam box,” I said and closed my eyes.

I suddenly snapped my eyes open and saw my room was dark. I raised my head and turned it toward the window beside my bed. It was dark outside too. I sat up and stretched my arms, hearing my joints pop. I rose from the bed, scratching my back and yawning. 

As I passed my desk, I remembered I had sent an email to Kromer. I paused and stared at the black screen of my monitor. I wanted to check, to see if they had responded but I felt like a fool to think they would so soon. The more I stared at the screen, the more I got curious and with a roll of my eyes, I walked over to the desk and clicked the space button on my keyboard.

Two seconds later, the screen brightened and I refreshed the page. I bit my lip as I watched the icon rotate. My heart hammered in my chest and when the rotation stopped, fresh emails started to roll in. I gulped as the hours when the mails came in increased and when I was about to close my eyes, I saw I had a reply from them.

My world froze for a second as I was shocked that they at least responded and scared that their response was lacking good news. WIth shaky breaths, I opened the mail and the content made my heart skip a beat.

We are glad to see your resume and email to us. It has been received and seen. We are pleased to inform you that your resume has piqued our interest. We expect to see you tomorrow at 8am at the headquarters. 

Thank you.

I read the email again and again with joy bursting through my body. I got the job… Well. I got in half way but I got the job! This was huge and I could already picture myself working there, making games and more. 

I squealed and rushed back to bed. I needed to continue sleeping so I could wake up early tomorrow. I jumped on the bed and got under the covers then closed my eyes.

Tomorrow was going to be the start of a new life.

***

Once the bus stopped at its stop, I got off my seat and rushed out of it with an iced latte in my hand. The moment I raised my gaze, my mouth parted as I saw the buiding a few feet away. The huge medium sized skycraper stood majestic before me with a large monitor on the building, showcasing the ads of the games they made. I slowly made my way toward the building and stopped at the tall and huge cement logo of the company in the center of the yard. I stood before it and raised my hand close to it then brushed my fingers on the smooth surface of the letter R. 

The footsteps around me made me turn my head to look at the people trooping in and out of the building. Some were dressed casually and others formally. The aura of the environment excited me and I could not wait to work here and be one of them.

Taking a sip out of my cup, I took some steps backward to turn toward the bustling building, only to collide with a warm and solid body. A spark and electrifying sensation went through me when I felt rough hands holding my arms. The feeling made my heart flutter and my body tingle. Something about whoever was touching me made it feel familair and so good. 

“Watch where you’re going,” a harsh and deep voice loomed over my head.

I quickly turned around at the sound of their voice and saw a broad chest covered by a white dress shirt. Slowly, I looked up and made eye contact with the most handsome and most beautiful man I have ever seen. His facial features were made of perfection, from his hazel eyes, to his pointed nose and parted lips that made me see a peek of his teeth then to his sharp jawline and strong neck where I saw his Adam apple bobbing. 

The man before me was too goodlooking and the more I looked at him, the more I felt I had seen him before. There was a strong feeling of dejavu the more I felt his body on mine.

“...are you even listening?!”

My eyes widened and when he stepped back, I saw a brown stain on his chest. I looked from his chest to the styrofoam cup in my hand. 

Oh, no.

“Boss?!”

Boss?

Another man rushed over with files in his hands and a disheveled appearance. I looked from the man to the one with the stain.

“Mr. Kromer… boss, what happened to your shirt?”

Mr. Kromer? Boss? 

It took three seconds for everything to click. Then and there, I knew I would not get the job. I would be fired even before I got the job.