The Asshole App (Expanded Version) ✅ Wattys2023

13 𝖤𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗒𝗇

Navigating the narrow, dirty streets, Evelyn grimaced at the beating being inflicted on her car.

"These aren't roads. They're treacherous mine fields submerged in muddied puddles—ugh!" She gritted her teeth as her tire slammed into a hidden pothole the size of a watermelon. Her ass was being bruised to hell. The trash, the abandoned buildings—the unfamiliar landscape—all of it made her uneasy. Gripping the Toyota's steering wheel, she reminded herself a broken front axel and a sore tailbone were a small price to pay for her self respect.

At least I don't have to kiss Raymond Sinclair's arrogant butt anymore.

She arrived at the men's Fifth Street shelter and parked in front of a brick wall with a large pair of graffitied, candy red lips. The gritty urban landscape was the opposite of her former workplace. Dirty concrete surrounded her without a tree in sight. Loud honking and raised voices assaulted her ears. She made sure to lock her car after she stepped out of her red sedan into what looked like the most neglected part of town.

Above her, the sun broke through an overcast sky, shedding a few rays of warmth onto her shoulders. Her mood lifted as she glanced up and down the street. She liked challenges. Who knew what today would bring?

The empty sidewalk was littered with discarded beer cans and liquor bottles. She wrinkled her nose as she stepped over empty condom packs and cigarette butts scattered over the concrete. A part of her felt as if she had swum over an underwater shelf that suddenly dropped off two miles beneath her.

I don't see the vampiric dealers that Deedee warned me about. They must be sleeping this time of day.

She glanced at her smart watch, it was eight thirty am. She was half an hour early. She walked past overflowing silver trash cans and a darkened, sleazy bar. A glowing erotic peep show sign sizzled in hot pink and buzzed like a swarm of mosquitoes.

In front of the shelter doors, a beast of a man in a camo sweatshirt leaned against the wall. With his hulking shoulders and dark impenetrable gaze, he reminded her of The Rock in his prime. She nodded at him. "Good morning." He remained unmoved and silent as she hurried into the shelter's door. As she entered, she was surprised to see that the glass was spotless and free of fingerprints.

She paused in the lobby and scanned the shelter's interior. The one story building had a patchwork feel, as if it had been a library at one time with an attached community center. This was definitely different than working in Silicon Valley with its bright soaring mega structures of glass and steel.

CENTIEN Corporation was a city within a city, powered by the sun. A monolithic structure of shining metal, interspersed with waves of living greenery in between the solar panel grids. Glass elevators rose to the sky, while vehicle traffic hovered below on curving rails. Worldwide communication hubs with data traveling faster than light were embedded in the highly secure technological core. Before her, the run-down shelter had all the appeal of a World War II bomb shelter, circa 1970.

"Sigh." At least there wasn't bright orange shag carpeting.

The inside of the school-like facility was painted a pleasant sand color and populated with repainted second hand furniture. Bright blues and crimson reds combated the bulky furniture's mismatched shabbiness. A radiator next to a large window creaked as it dispelled watery vapor into the air. The humid heat suffused a large spider plant, its white and green narrow strap-shaped leaves basking in the faint November light. The worn imitation brick linoleum floor was freshly mopped, but curling up at the edges. 

At a beat up front desk, probably donated from some library, a handsome young man wearing a black hoodie and worn jeans, bobbed his head to music only he could hear. He stopped typing on his laptop when she opened the door and looked up. She relaxed when he smiled and pulled his headphones off, over a halo of dark hair. "Hi, I'm Josiah, but people call me Joe. How can I help you?"