The Fourth Wall Rebuilder

Part One: The Rabbit Hole

Devin had a big window in her room that took up more than half a wall. The blinds were always open, but she left the window itself closed. An open window offered more opportunities than a closed one, whether good or bad.

That's what she was thinking about, half lost in thought as she glanced over at it before turning back to her laptop, waiting for the interviewer to start talking again.

When she had first applied for the job, Devin was certain that it was some kind of joke. She left a comment about how she'd love to have it and moved on with her day, not giving the ad a second thought. Now, staring back at the interviewer on the other side of the screen, she wished she had been more careful with her wording.

She answered the questions in the same monotone voice that her interviewer was asking them, silently wondering if the world had gone insane. It must have, because in what universe would she actually be at an interview for a job to fix the fourth wall?

The interviewer wrote something down before finally saying, "That's about it. Before I go, do you have any questions?"

Devin paused for a moment to reword her question into something more polite, preferably without any curse words. "I don't really have any experience," she began, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "How would I know what to do?"

The interviewer gave her a slightly condescending smile, already flipping over to a new page for the next interview. "Don't worry, no one ever knows at first. We'll teach you."

And with that, the call was over.

Devin ran a hand through her hair, taking in what had just happened. She couldn't help but feel like this was all some huge prank. The fourth wall. The imaginary concept of an invisible wall between the characters and the readers, and they wanted her to fix it?

It's not likely I'd be hired, even if it was real. Devin turned on her phone, opening Wattpad. She bit the inside of her cheek, staring at the orange logo. She didn't believe it was real– but then why had she played along?

Devin was bored. She couldn't deny that. So, the idea of the fourth wall being an actual thing you could fix? That she could fix? That was the most interesting thing she had heard in a while. It felt like she was discovering some secret superpower that only she could unlock, even if it had been made clear to her that her interview had to be shoved between many others. Why not pretend for a bit, before life goes back to normal?

She turned off her phone, not bothering to close Wattpad.

***

It was only a week later that Devin got the email, a full week that she had spent reminding herself not to get her hopes up while simultaneously checking her email more times than she had in the past two years. It felt a bit hypocritical, but she was used to her own nonsense.

The email was a lot shorter than she expected. Probably because she expected a rejection letter. Maybe an I can't believe you fell for it, you idiot! from some email address that a middle schooler might think was cool. Instead, she got a professional looking email that started with your application has been accepted and ended with please contact us as soon as possible to discuss the details.

The rest of the email, which Devin read after reading the first sentence about five times to convince herself she wasn't dreaming, explained the pay, the work hours, and the actual job itself.

Except for the obvious lack of explanation regarding how, exactly, she was supposed to fix something that didn't exist, the job looked pretty easy. Read stories on Wattpad, find fourth wall breaks, fix them. There was a suspiciously small number of rules and guidelines regarding the job. More importantly, backing out now didn't seem like much of an option. The email seemed confident that she was taking the job, which was fair, considering that she had applied for it. But right now, she really wanted a way out. She scanned the email again, before clicking on the reply button. As far as jokes go, this one was an elaborate one. And she would probably regret it later, but right then there was a small voice in the back of her head, one saying, wouldn't it be fun if it were real?

And the joke seemed to be taking itself quite seriously. Devin started typing out her response.

I might as well find out how deep this rabbit hole goes.

***

Rewriting!
I wanted to rewrite the whole thing since... Probably around the middle of it, so... This has been sitting in my head for awhile. 

Sorry for this chapter, I hope have a great day!