◤𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕪◢ - It Started With Vomit!

Chapter 2 | An Likely Redemption

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"UGH!" I grunt, entering SEGA headquarters' office building. I maintain an inconspicuous presence, ensuring not to stray into open areas by veering near the closest wall and traversing its icy path to my final destination. Until I pass the familiar threshold of the IT department, even a momentary pause is unacceptable. 

I march on, encountering people I'd never seen before and who (thankfully) are unaware of my embarrassing notoriety. They were too calm, not questioning the stranger tracing and rubbing against the walls, lurking in the receding shadows. There laxity was jarring. It made me consider why I was behaving like a thief fleeing in the night... which, sadly, I acted upon more literally than metaphorically. Then, a misaligned thought convinced me that I was doing a magnanimous deed, whether or not those people were aware of it: not burdening everyone with my contentious presence. 

Things were already awkward enough, after all. That's why I arrived post sunrise at the office to properly clean out my desk. However, my conscience destroyed my self-righteous thinking by humbling me with a less-than-ideal reality: I didn't wish to see the contentment on my co-workers smug faces, that is why I chose the cowardly path instead of leaving in a blaze of glory. I couldn't trust myself to remain level-headed, especially while inebriated.

"I swear, I don't even have a laughable sense of moderation..." 

Everything appears contrary to the way it should be. My eyes are blurry, my head is pounding, my gait is wobbly. Those beers last night... how many exactly did I consume? It's causing a serious bodily system failure, God damn it!—and there is no reset button readily available to employ! 

"Let's get this over with."

I hoist a thick plastic box onto my desk after entering the room, when it suddenly dawned on me—now that I was less inebriated and not on a temper tantrum—that I would be leaving behind everything I've worked for my entire life.

The thought of being a software architect was all that rang in my head since parting ways with high school and walking into my first lecture hall. It was the best feeling I've ever experienced! For the first time in forever, I was certain I chose the path destined for me. Rightfully too, because it was where I met my precious friends; my dream job, which I'm about to lose; and the love of my life, who I'm about to disappoint.

I remember wrapping up school with him when he landed his first job, while I remained unemployed for many months. There were too many to count, and keeping track of a mountain's worth of rejection emails only exacerbated my anxiety and sense of worthlessness.

Much of the possibilities as to why things were like they were just didn't make sense, try as I may. The job outlook for Development and Operations engineers was promising and thriving.  ... Bad luck, perhaps, seemed ironically logical; and bear in mind "luck" wasn't a concept I give credence to. Destiny, sure. Luck, however, seemed a reckless and superstitious man's excuse for every washout, even when the unfortunate circumstance was avoidable.

I had to take comfort in something during those hard times. I refused to give in, and it was all because of Sonic Hedgehog, my source of strength. My destiny.

Half of who I am today is an attest to our partnership. Sonic made me stronger. He believed that I could brave any storm, that I was anything but weak. That, one way or another, I would triumphantly accomplish my dreams. But I'm afraid I've braved it a bit too much—screaming at my boss "too much".

We promised each other to work hard. We'd give it our all, he said, as a chivalrous way of alleviating any worries on my part about our dream wedding. Sonic never means to belittle me, even if he thinks he does. Though it was not his intention to make me feel like a dead weight in our relationship, the fact is that I was. For months, Sonic had been the only working partner, jetting in and out of the house without rest, just to bear the expenses of our extravagant wedding.