Ace in the Hole [COMPLETED]

C.2

After their first day sleeping together was their first day working together. With how the world was shifting now, they had the luxury of working at home, in a cramped, glass-stalked apartment unit that held no privacy for anyone within, except maybe in the bathroom. Here, the two new residents of this minimalistic hell were beginning to realize how incompatible they were with each other.

Firstly, Matthew was very loud. While sometimes this could be excused because he was recording for a narration or voice acting gig, most of the time it was unnecessary for him to even be speaking. He usually muttered to himself as he typed up lines of code, or exclaimed at his own stupidity for making simple mistakes (which Joceline agreed with; he was rather stupid).

Secondly, Joceline kept bugging him about this or that. Every time she drew something up, she went over to him (carefully, to avoid any glass they left), asking for his opinion on this placement of a logo, or that color for the text, or these outlines and templates to use for those companies and brands. Matthew was silently praying to be left alone, but he also didn't want to be homeless.

Thirdly, this was only a weekend. On the weekdays, when they would finally start to attend college classes, they would have to deal with both each other and the added stress of chasing credits. The whole reason they were living together was because of them sharing the same college, so hopefully they could get along quickly.

Another problem came with meal times. While Joceline kept to her three meals a day (to not grow too skinny), she had to force Karl to do the same before he became even thinner than a skeleton. He completely skipped breakfast, and nearly did the same with lunch if Joceline didn't accidentally make his favorite instant spicy pancit canton noodles. He quite literally swallowed all that up in a few minutes, then went right back to work.

One thing they agreed on, though, was the music. Joceline and Matthew were both into the older, classic songs, so Beethoven or Mozart or Bach would play on Joceline's phone through Matthew's Bluetooth speaker, filling the room with a vintage European ballroom vibe that probably didn't sit well in the Philippines. Through this serene music, they could make it from morning light to falling dusk with their heads buried to the shoulder with work.

Or at least that would be the case for them if they actually did their work. Matthew bounced between his coding projects to audio projects, and the only thing he was being paid for was his narration of an obscure novel, of which he had to record and edit on his own, and send samples to his contractor to assure them that he was still alive and working on it. Since the deadline for his next sample (his second, actually) was far away, and the last one had gone without too many negative comments, Matthew took it easy for the next week's start, which meant he barely got any work done on his proper job.

Joceline? Joceline was dancing between commissions. Ever since she opened them up, she got flooded by at least a dozen requests off the bat. While she promised a deadline of "in the week," she had to extend the deadline because of all that got into her face. Some of the stuff she drew was easy, and she got it done with haste. The rest was... complicated. Subjects she didn't feel comfortable with drawing or making music for, or specific drawing and music styles asked of her that she didn't know. Couple that with her own personal desires to do her own things, and it all just felt so heavy...

Joceline eventually got through another commission, but her mind had given up on finishing the rest today. She had a few more days, maybe, but she was already burning past her deadline. Still, her head hurt so badly...

"I'm taking a break," she finally declared, setting her laptop aside and rubbing her eyes out. "Ahhh, sunlight! Where is the sunlight?"

"Falling outside," commented Matthew, who was still doing something on his computer. "You got... a few more minutes of it, don't waste the day."

Joceline rubbed at her shoulder, getting off the bottom bunk and walking one step to get to the door. She cracked the door open and was blessed with one inch of dying light. Realizing how low the sun had gotten, she swung the door open and waltzed outside.

She rested her hands onto the railings of an open walkway, eyes staring off into a distant Manila. Their unit was on the seventh floor of an already-packed building, and looking down was the most horrifying part about it. At least she had an awesome view on top of the world. She could see beyond a brief grove, then into a few suburban buildings and the dominating towers of the modern era. Somewhere beyond the buildings was their college, huddled between the skyscrapers and gathered around its companions (or competition) in the university belt.

As the sun set on this urban scenery, a thought slowly escaped the back of her head. This was the life now, the life of an adult. Stressful, painful, and way too choking.

Matthew walked up behind her, nearly startling her over the railings. "Matt? What're you doing out here?"

"Resting my eyes," he noted, taking his blocky glasses off and squinting at the sky. "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

She looked back at the horizon, beyond the buildings. "Yeah... I guess it is."

"I heard the province is better." Matthew leaned onto the railings as well, just next to her. "Clean air, nature, sky full of stars..."

She looked up now, at the smokey clouds and hazy sky of industrial hues. She didn't recall seeing the stars in their full glory. Oh, how that beauty would be to look upon...

That was when she suddenly felt a force against her shoulder, and she screamed as she nearly fell over the railings. Matthew was laughing hysterically, but Joceline didn't find any of that funny.

"What the heck?!" Joceline growled at Matthew, who only went back inside as she grumbled. Her face now back to the setting sun, she wondered if he'd always be that annoying.