Corra Reist

negotiations with a napper

"No."

Lalina Gi, owner of multiple hit games as well as the current rising star in all charts-Designer Training Institute-was flabbergasted. "What do you mean, no?"

"I won't do it," Corra Reist, semi-retired and owner of a couple of successful publishing houses, said firmly. "Why should I be the editor-in-chief of Dressi? Magazines aren't my thing, and this whole project is tied to your DTI. You came up with the idea, and now you want me to execute it?"

"B-but I thought you liked it!"

Corra gave a slow, deliberate nod. "I do. I liked it."

"And you're obsessed with the lore!"

"Yes, I'm obsessed with it. It's one of my favorites right now."

"And you were once an editor-in-chief-"

Corra rubbed her temples, feeling the headache creeping in. "-that was over a decade ago, and it was for a school newspaper, Lalina-"

"So, I formed a team, and they're all just waiting for you!"

"How is that even related?"

Lalina dramatically sighed. "Dressi won't be possible without you. Pleaseeeee."

Corra narrowed her eyes. "Lalina Gi, I love your game, I love the lore I've written for it, but do I really want to leave this marvelous, extravagant, comfortable bed to work for you? No." She flopped back down, closing her eyes.

"Just a one-year contract! I just need you to set the tone and train the next EIC I'll find," Lalina persisted, her voice almost pleading now. She had to take advantage of the heat DTI was currently getting. Corra, her best friend since college, was the perfect candidate. Not to mention, Corra was the best "shark" she knew. If anyone could master the art of giving people exactly what they wanted-and taking their money without them realizing it-it was Corra Reist.

Lalina's mind wandered back to the past, back to when she first met Corra. They'd been seatmates in Global Economics back in college, a course that Lalina had mostly taken because it was a minor required for her degree. Everyone else in the class was focused on the professor's hololectures, but she'd spent most of her time designing games on her naoirse. She didn't even notice Corra at first, who is coincidentally always her seatmate, since they both sit at the same spot all the time.

It wasn't until a few weeks in that Corra started glancing over at her screen. At first, Lalina thought nothing of it, but then Corra had asked, out of the blue, "You're making a game, right?"

Lalina had shrugged. "Yeah, just a small one. It's called Who's the Priest?-horror, social deception type of game. Kind of like Werewolf but with more layers." She tried to explain, but in the back of her mind, she didn't think much of it. She was just trying to finish the second installment of the game-the first had been a sleeper hit with indie gamers, but nothing that could launch her into anything more.

Then, Corra surprised her. "Mind if I watch?"

Lalina shrugged again, not thinking much of it. Corra didn't seem like the type to be annoying, and Lalina wanted to finish the work as early as possible.

Corra's eyes lit up as she watched Lalina sketch character models, outline storylines, and tweak algorithms. She didn't say much at first-just observed, and then later on, started to ask a few pointed questions about mechanics, the story, and whatnot. Then, once she had the full picture of Lalina's skills, she said something that completely threw her off.

"Hey," Corra had said casually, "I wanna fund your game. Ever thought about going indie full-time?"

Lalina had been skeptical at first. Is Corra some rich second-generation who's throwing money around? Trying to play it off, she replied, "I'm not even sure people will play it once it's done. There's no guarantee of success."