AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cosmic Kitty Defense.
I blink, praying to literally anyone who might listen to not wake me from this dream, as I watch her deploy sand traps and zap aliens with a laser pointer.
"Yuck, look at that hair." Meghan's face scrunches up like a raisin, only for her hands to reveal a slight tremble, shaking the phone when she notes the chat box zooming with activity on the left side. "Who is that?"
"PixiePlays."
She whips her fiery gaze onto me. "Pixie-what-now?"
I don't hold back my snicker, catching eyes with Mei, who's just eating this up. Gosh, for a girl who's only two years older than us, Meghan really is slow with this stuff. "PixiePlays. That's her gamer tag. She's a live streamer, who plays video games."
Meghan goes totally blank, like a lightbulb that's lost its charge, until there's a flicker. "You mean, this footage, it's happening right now?"
"Mhmm."
She scoffs over Pixie's contagious commentating. "Who in their right mind would watch someone else play a video game? Nobody does that."
"Uhhhh..." I tap on the screen. "Fifteen thousand people do."
"WHAT?!"
Mei busts up laughing—literally slapping her knee, tears pricking her eyes, as Meghan taps on the phone mercilessly, angling it this way and that.
Seriously, how is this girl in her twenties? I think, watching as she grows more frustrated, fiddling with the device like it's a jigsaw puzzle. During which, I catch countless order banners dropping from the top of the screen, one after another at impossible speeds, each reinforcing my confidence.
And it's then that I realize something, recalling the conversation I had with Hayden, the one about people and their insecurities. I meant what I said, every single word—for him. Yet, how can I so confidently pass him on such advice, then turn around and not act on it for my own sake? Sure, I've dealt with naysayers, from time to time. With grace, even.
But it seems I've let one slip.
I snatch my phone out of Meghan's hands, roughly.
"What the hell?" she barks, swiveling on her heel, pinning me with a stare that, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, would have me apologizing.
This is the one percent.
I breeze past her to gather my things—my lunch, my laptop—and stow them all away in my backpack.
"Where do you think you're going? Your shift doesn't end for another two hours."
Zipping up my bag, I ignore her, not even offering her a glance. I assume she's folding her arms—her obnoxious toe tapping will come next.
"Hello???" I glance down at her feet. There it is.
I release the knot at the neck of my apron, disregarding her completely. "You'll have to find someone else for that shift next Friday."
"And what the hell gives you the nerve to talk to me like that? Again, I wasn't asking. Just so we're clear, you're my employee."
"Not anymore." I slink my bag over my shoulder, letting my apron fall to the ground, and look Meghan square in the eyes.
It's time to take my dream full time.
"I quit."
She stumbles back, only a step. For a moment, she just stands, frozen like a statue, her face blistering redder than a tomato, void of oxygen. Until she breathes steadily, feigning composure. "Fine. You think I care?" She lifts her chin proudly. "If you want to lose your job over a stupid convention, be my guest. It doesn't affect me one bit. I'll just have Mei cover that shi—"
"FINALLY!" Another apron zooms across my vision, rocketing into Meghan's chest like a high-speed ballistic. She grunts when it strikes her, prompting her to stumble back even more, nearly falling on her butt.
"I quit, too!" Mei announces to the entire coffee shop, looping her arm in mine, laughing like a maniac as she ushers me toward the exit. The scene whips heads, triggers gasps, and even causes a lady to trip on her feet, spilling her latte all over the floor.
