Musings in Manila: Paper Mask X Reader

Chapter 1-Just Fiction

The alarm blared as you slowly pulled yourself out of sleep. You opened your eyes to a barely lit room. It was a cold, mid-November morning, and the sun was only just starting to rise. The sky outside of your window was no longer a nighttime black, but a dark blue. You reached over to your alarm clock and hit the button, turning it off. 6:00AM. You shook your head and and smiled weakly.

"I really have to stop staying up so late if I'm going to get up at this time." You said out loud to the empty room. It wasn't often that you spoke to yourself, but sometimes the loneliness of single living got to your head.

You pushed yourself out of bed, not caring to make it, and shuffled towards the bathroom. Brushing your teeth and taking a quick shower helped to wake you up a bit more. After throwing on a shirt of your favorite color and your comfiest pair of work pants, you headed into the kitchen for your morning caffine.

It wasn't the healthiest choice to have caffine every morning, but it was the only thing that kept you awake at work. After preparing your favorite caffeinated beverage, you began to think about breakfast. It was already getting late, so you decided to just make something small that could be eaten quickly. Once you had scarfed down your food and finished your drink, you pulled some more food out of the fridge and shoved it into a paper bag. You had forgotten to pack lunch once, and that was certainly not a good day. You then hurriedly ran out to your car.

On your way to your job, you did the same thing you did every time. Turn on your favorite music, and ponder why you continued to work in such a dull environment. It always came back to the same answer. Money. It was needed to pay for your house, car, and pretty much everything else. It was the best paying job in the area, and the choices were limited. You sighed as your arrived at your work building.

"Here we go again." You mumbled as you stepped out of the car. "I wish something would change for once."

Upon entering the building, you were greeted by the stale air of a dozen overworked employees. As usual, only half of the people you passed by throughout the day made an attempt to greet you. It was usually just a quick 'hey' or some form of pathetic wave. You worked on your daily tasks for what seemed like forever. After a few merciless hours, it was finally lunch break.

The only part you enjoyed about this job was the lunch breaks. They had a separate room which resembled a school cafeteria of sorts, with two long tables and benches lining each of them. The job didn't provide lunches, so everyone had to bring their own. You quickly went to your car and grabbed your lunch bag, then headed back inside and sat down at one of the tables. A coworker sat next to you. Most of the time, everyone was pretty quiet during lunch. There was never much to talk about. Today was different. There were multiple people at the other table chatting in hushed voices. They sounded both excited and scared. You assumed it was just some random drama, so you tried to tune them out and just eat your lunch. But your coworker beside you noticed your annoyance.

"Hey Y/N, what's wrong?" He wondered.

"Nothing's wrong. Just trying to enjoy my food." You replied.

"Their conversation is actually pretty interesting." He noted.

"So you've been eavesdropping?" You asked with an eyebrow raise.

"No! Well, kind of. I'm actually going to go over and sit with them, if you don't mind. I want to hear more." With that, the employee gave you a nod, picked up his food, and wandered over to the other table. They probably weren't really talking about anything interesting. But it was a change of pace, so you picked up your lunch and did the same.

"And supposedly there's more than just the yellow space! It's a place of infinite rooms and terrifying monsters!" One woman chattered excitedly.

"What are you guys talking about? Is this a new video game?" You asked. A few employees looked at you.

"Nope, this is real life." A man who sat next to the woman said, sounding convinced.

"There's a rumor about a place outside of reality. In this place, there are many rooms, many different levels. Many of these levels contain entities, monsters that want to kill you. Some say they are territorial, some say they're just hungry. This place is called the Backrooms." A second woman explained.

"And it's true! We know people who have gone there!" The first woman cried, slamming her hands on the table and startling you.

"Bekah, we do not know anyone who have gone to the Backrooms. No one who goes there comes back." The second woman replied. The first woman, Bekah, turned to look at her.

"That's my point exactly! Do any of you remember David Miller?" She asked. Many nobs came from around the table. You thought back on the time you've worked in that particular job. You felt like it was a familiar name, but only vaugely.

"David went to the backrooms! Think about it. He just disappeared one day without a trace! A body was never found, and when police tracked his phone, all of their devices said it was way up in the sky!" Murmurs came from everyone around the table. You rolled your eyes.

"Come on guys, it's just fiction. A place out of reality doesn't exist. Monsters don't exist." You told them.

"Unless you count the boss." A man said quietly, earning soft giggles from a few other employees.

"Shh, John! You'll get heard!" Another woman playfully nudged him.

"The Backrooms is very real. David Miller is proof." Bekah insisted.

"Wasn't he going through some hard stuff? Maybe he just took a break for a while." Another voice said.

"It's been a year." Bekah claimed. "You don't just disappear like that."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." You said as you sipped some water.

Multiple rooms housing odd creatures, outside of reality? Completely unrealistic. Yet, it was nice to hear something other than silence, open-mouthed chewing, or shallow conversations about the weather. So you continued to listen to these work tales until the clock chimed 1:00PM. Lunch break was over.