Moral Compass: Black and White

Chapter 2 - Bigger Day

"Yesterday's memories are small, yet tomorrow is always a bigger day."

3rd Person POV:

Christine's Home, Los Angeles, CA, 90001, December 12th, 1992, 6:30 AM

As the sun rose, and peered through the blinds onto Christine's face, her eyes tiredly rose with hope. Instead of thinking, "Oh great, another day," she thought of "Today's that day." Today might just be the day that everything in her life shifts from misery and despair to riches and prosperity. For once, she wasn't anxious about going to her job, not even a little. She rose from her soft bed with bliss, stretching her body to as far as it could reach. She kneeled down to Xoe's level, which was on the floor, saying "Today, Xoey, is the day everything changes. When I come home, I will have made a deal with Nintendo. We're gonna be living somewhere so much better. I promise this." Even though Xoe couldn't really understand, she indicated this was good news. Her pupils dilated a little, followed with purring. 

Christine took a good 30 minutes tending to herself and her cat. They were both well-fed, presentable, and ready for their day. As Chrissy put both of the backpack straps over her shoulders, she gave Xoe a soft rub on her head. "Well, girl, I'm off to make a difference today. Protect this house." She joyously opened the door, making her way out of it, locking it shut as she got into her car, driving off.

About 30 minutes into her shift, Christine had made a 5-paper collection of her game's concept. She had a lot of ideas to implement in-game, with original levels and bosses. Once she got everything set, the step to really starting this project was getting endorsed. She'd have to meet with her boss, who'd accept the idea, reach out to Nintendo, and make a team to develop the game. But in this moment, Christine felt a bit of anxiety rush through her. She had felt doubt in her life plenty of times, but this was kind of different. "Should I really be doing this?" she thought to herself. What many people didn't know about Christine is the reason she was so mediocre at developing games was her own mind. 

Her greatest weakness was herself; that's what she was afraid to tell everyone. She didn't even realize that she'd have made such a great influence on the world if she wasn't so afraid of taking action and risk. She decided to cancel tons of projects because she didn't feel like they'd be good at all. The truth was she was such an amazing person with goals that soared over everyone in her area, definitely certain to excel past goals if she took that extra step. The button was right in front of her, but she just wouldn't press it. It was a shame that she hadn't been taking those risks sooner.

In Christine's mind, the commands "Move forward" and "Turn back" repeated over and over in her head. They kept going after the other like a broken record, but the record sped up as time progressed. Two sides of one brain fighting for control, going back, forth, back, and forth. Would she just make up her mind? 

These voices kept repeating in her head as she continued standing there in between her desk and the boss's room, idly, seemingly going mad. That was until her boss, Mr. Johnson, had walked out of his office, and noticed Christine. "Hey there, Chrissy. Ya need something?" Mr. Johnson always had a sort of 'soft spot' since Christine was employed under him. Before even meeting her, he always seemed to have a serious demeanor because of how he was seen. Small vacation windows, less than a week's worth of sick days. Then she came around, and everything seemingly changed. She exchanged a form a kindness he wasn't receiving at work. Even when he seemed to have it out for her, she still gave him the treatment he desired as being the manager at their location. 

Over time, he gradually became more lenient; taking over shifts, letting people stay in for the day, and even giving more vacation windows and sick days. The employees' hate for him started to die, and business got a little better. Mr Johnson was grateful to have met Christine because of her positive impact on his life. He became a less-stressed individual because there was one reminder of peace around him. That being said, there was a lot of things he'd do for her, and having a meeting concerning the game was possibly one.

Christine suddenly snapped out of her panic state, looking towards him.  She felt a sense of initiative, and took it. She used her skills of persuasion, starting the conversation with a gracious white smile. "Hey, Mr. Johnson. I have a business proposal I'd like to discuss with you. It's concerning a video game concept, and I believe Nintendo would be stoked to hear it." 

Mr. Johnson took a moment to think about this proposal. There was definitely some thought needed for the next decision he was about to make. On one hand, Christine could be talking about nothing meaningful. After all, she was seen as one of the most unsuccessful employees at the location. It's not like she was going to suddenly become someone important overnight. She might've been better off quitting. 

But on the other hand, she could've been developing a neat concept. Christine was one of the most creative people he knew. Every time he walked past her cubicle, he'd always see her writing and drawing some pretty neat stuff. Why didn't she do something like this sooner? Despite Mr. Johnson seeing some difficulty in reaching Nintendo, some spark lit up in him. A sort of star that was his voice of reason, telling him to take a risk for once. No matter what he felt before, he knew how many times Christine was there to help him. She had been a very important person in his life. It wouldn't hurt to do her a favor, would it? 

"Hmmm, how about this? I'm gonna go bring in a delivery the secretary just informed me about. How about you sit in my office, and we'll talk about it when I get back?" Mr. Johnson returned a smile back to Christine, who was internally stoked to hear this. "Uhh...o-okay!" The suspense beforehand had been killing her. It was very anxiety-inducing indeed, but that didn't matter now. She had something bigger to look forward to. Her idea was far past phase 1 now. She now had to find a way to persuade Mr. Johnson. "Alright then, Ms. Hermer. I'll be back in a few," he responded. Christine walked into Mr. Johnson's office, sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She waved to him softly as he walked off.