The Sailor and The Traveler

Ep.03 - The Prototype

Seiji woke up to the ringing of his phone. He was working late the previous night with his team to finish the prototype ship. He sat up from his bed and realized he must have fallen asleep as soon as he laid on his bed because he's still wearing his office clothes.

The phone on his pocket continued to ring. He fumbled with his phone and finally answered the call.

"Seiji? Hey bro! Where are you? Presentation is within one hour but boss said he'll be running late."

"Oh yeah sorry, I just got hold up at home. I'll be there on time don't worry," Seiji lied. He looked at the time and made mental calculations.

"Ok. We're preparing the slides for the presentation. Don't be late! Bye!"

"I won't. Thanks, bye!"

As soon as he hang up, Seiji dashed to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and took a quick bath. In a matter of 20 mins, he was done with his morning routine and is now ready to go to work.

As soon as Seiji reached the office, he went straight to his team and checked eveything that needs checking.

"Man, the way I see this, I don't think this will be approved," said one of his teammates.

"I know, but we have no choice. Management wants to see an output of this magnitude asap," Seiji answered in agreement.

"Oh well, we already told them that quality takes time but they wont listen."

Just a few minutes after the team's lament, the boss came. They proceeded in the meeting room after that and started the presentation.

"Goodluck to us."

It was a long discussion. Contrary to what they expected, their concept was accepted but the prototype ship was rejected due to aesthetics. It looks rushed, was the comment of the boss. They were told to redo the prototype ship from scratch.

"Let's relax for now, I haven't had any decent sleep for 2 days. By the way Seiji, do you use this app?"

It was a dating app.

"No, it's my first time seeing that," Seiji answered.

"You should try it, lots of pretty girls in here bro! Give me that. Let me install it on your phone."

By the time Seiji reacted, his phone was already at the hands of his friend and the app was being installed. A dating profile was also made in his behalf. When he got his phone back, Seiji saw the profile of all the girls that his friend swiped. He randomly checked each profile. One got his attention, it was a girl named Shiro.

"She's pretty right?" said Seiji's friend while looking at the photo.

"She sure is. She looks rich though," Seiji answered.

"Drop her a message."

With his friend looking at his phone, Seiji typed a message and hit send.

"Haha! What are you doing? You should comment on their looks first instead of saying 'Hello!'"

Seiji sighed and put down the phone on the table. He and his friend were both eagerly waiting for a reply.

"Hi Seiji!"

A smile formed on his face. He immediately typed a reply. His friend was coaching him from behind.

"Ask her questions to engage her into a conversation."

Seiji asked questions and soon enough they are talking about random stuffs and common interests. He found out that she's looking for a model ship. He thinks she's cool because that's something most girls would not want. For some reason he got fascinated with her.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

There, he said it. That was the question that he's been itching to ask.

"No. He broke up with me.." was her answer. He tried asking for details and little by little she started opening up to him.

"How about you? Are you in a relationship?" she asked.

Seiji smiled. A thought occured to him that she wont ask that question if she's not interested in him.

"Nope, I'm also single like you. Why ask? Are you interested?" Seiji replied.

"Haha! No. I just don't want to be the cause of any misunderstanding."

"You won't be. Let me tell you a story.."

Seiji told her his break-up story. She gave out comments and asked him questions on every message he type which made Seiji believe that she must be talkative in person.

"Hey, I noticed that you are within 3km radius. Does that mean you also work somewhere here in Metropolis?" Seiji asked.

"Yes, somewhere in Metropolis."

"Cool! would you like to meet up for lunch?"

She declined.

"Haha I thought I could meet someone now, sorry. Maybe next time when you get to know me more?"  Seiji asked wishing he doesn't sound pushy.

"Yeah, maybe next time."

Seiji remembered the trashed prototype ship model that they made. He promised to give it to her next time if they meet. She agreed to that and told him that she had to go do some work. That ended their conversation.

First thing Seiji did is ask his teammates for the rejected prototype. He put it aside and checked the photos of other girls. He's getting the hang of using that app. He chatted with some girls he find pretty and cute.

"Lunch guys? Let's go down to Gustav's."

"Let's go! They have a new branch here."

The place is not yet crowded when they arrived. One of Seiji's team member knows the manager so they were given priority upon arrival.

The food was heavenly in Gustav's. Seiji made a mental note to ask Shiro to eat here if she agrees to meet.

"Group picture guys! To celebrate our first prototype rejection! Hahaha!"

It was a wacky shot. After that they paid their bill and went back to the office. They were still laughing at the photo until they reach the elevator.

"Here Seiji, let me send you a copy. You should send it to Shiro."

"Let me see how I look first."

When he got the copy, he looked at his wacky face, then at the background. He smiled. He sent the photo to Shiro along with a short message.