Alternate Ambition

The Dreamer

Note: The ellipsis I added at the end of some paragraphs are time skips.

A young man was washing endless towers of dishes in a dish pit at the back of a restaurant. His apron protected his ragged shirt from splashing waters and kept on washing until the moon rose.

He then got up and snatched a mop at the corner and mopped the floor but froze at the sound of cheering in an arena on the hologram screen TV above their counter. He turned toward it with flashing brown eyes with a big smile.

"There it is! Bane Brimstone, won by knockout with his inescapable combos as the 10th defending champi-"

The young man's boss clicked on his controller and the TV shut itself like a scroll. "Stop slacking and get back to work!"

"Uh, yes Boss!" He quickly swings his mop back and forth until the floor is spotless.

"Done," he said, wiping his sweat aside.

A guy then slapped his back and said, "Bam! Zup, my level 10 skeleton. Working hard?"

"Ah! Oh, Arnold. Just doing my usual work."

"I see, I see. Anyway… Happy B-day, brudda!" Arnold slid a polycarbonate book out from his back, shaking it in front of the young man's face.

"My god! It's the Boxing digital guidebook!" he said, grabbing it.

Arnold nods. "Yessir, you can now level up to be… The level 50 skeleton!"

The young man glared at him with a stoned face. "Can you stop calling me that… it's not my fault that I'm skinny…"

"Aye, better than calling you a level 0 skeleton," he said with a shrug.

"I guess…"

"Wellio, I'm going to the gaming center to play that new awesome VR MMORPG! Wanna join?"

"I would love to, but my mom is waiting for me."

"Ah… never mind then. But, I'll always save a spot for you until ya have time."

"Thanks, bro."

"Anytime, Brudda. Gotta run, you know where to find me."

"Yeah, see you."

"Ah! Hey, boss! Sayonara!"

"Just fuck off, Arnold!" said their boss at the counter.

The bright guy ran out laughing, as his friend headed to the counter and said, "Boss, I cleaned the whole place, can I leave now?"

His boss scanned the place with his head raised before saying, "Hmm, fine. You can leave."

"Thanks, Boss! See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, whatever."

He hangs his apron on the dish pit's wall, grabs a bag of leftovers, and dashed out of the restaurant.

While walking on the streets, hovering cars drove past him. As he kept walking, an A.i hologram lady appeared in front of him, causing him to jump a step back.

"Hello, Yi! Walking back home again?"

"Yes… unless you can lend me a hoverboard…"

"Hihi! It's beyond my ability to do so. But, I can offer you a chicken sandwich set for a 90% birthday discount!" she said, with a holographic version of the set appearing on her palms.

Yi drooled, but he swallowed it and shook his head, crossing his arms. "No no no, my money is for my mother's medicine and how do you remember my birthday?"