A tingly sensation brushed across her face. Pencil's eyes opened for the first time in several hours, realizing that a leaf had somehow landed on her face. Match was still peacefully asleep next to her on the blanket. The van was parked nearby
The sun was already high in the sky, casting the morning light onto the city below. Pencil checked her phone, which, like usual, was flooded with notifications. Most of which were sent by a certain green owl telling her to learn Yoylese. However, one in particular caught her eye. It was from Pen.
"I'm at the location, how much longer until you arrive?" it read. The message was from two hours ago.
Pencil panicked. Had it really been that long? She checked the time. It was almost noon. She shot up, accidentally kicking her friend in the head.
"Ouch! Did you, like, have to do that?" Match yelled annoyed, rubbing the area.
"Oops, sorry Matchy, but we really have to get going!" Pencil apologized.
Match slowly got up, before Pencil yanked her by the wrist and threw Match into the van, before rushing into the driver's seat and slamming down on the gas. The van remained motionless for a split second, before the wheels found their ground. The van shot off the mountain, the view outside blurred like they were entering warp speed.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Match yelled as her face started deforming from the g-force.
Pencil ignored her, pushing forward. The van began glowing from the air friction, causing the inside to get extremely hot. A white explosion rocked the speeding vehicle, shattering both the windows and the eardrums of everyone within a mile's radius. The four hour trip up the mountain turned into a four minute trip back down.
"Hold on, we're going to crash!" Pencil managed to warn in the fray of things.
The van careened straight into an unnamed building, causing concrete and iron rebar to fly through the front, raining down deadly shrapnel. Pencil and Match both somehow managed to not get injured at all.
"C'mon Match! I'm going to be late!" Pencil said, dragging the fire starter out of the rubble.
"WHAT THE WOODSICKLE PENCE-PENCE!?" Match screeched in a fury. "You nearly killed us!"
Pencil sighed, "Match, I can assure you this was all for a good reason. Now can you please go home? I have some business that needs attending to."
Match grumbled, but complied and dusted herself off, before walking off into the city streets. Suspiciously, nobody was around to notice the van that had crashed into the skyscraper. The way that Match so easily trusted Pencil made her insides twist a bit. Pencil knew that Match trusted her with all of her somewhat simplistic mind. If anything were to happen to her, it would be Pencil's fault.
There's no time tor contemplating my responsibility toward Match, Pencil realized. The drive was quick, but not quick enough. Chances were, Pen had already left several hours ago, back when she was still asleep. Might as well tell him the news. She pulled out her phone from her nonexistent pocket, sending a short message to the ballpoint brain.
"Sorry for not being there, ran into some hiccups along the way. How about we meet up at the cafe?" She typed, hoping that he would reply.
Maybe I should get the towing company to do something about this, she decided, looking back at the giant hole in the wall she had caused. The roof of the van was still steaming from the friction. A brick had smashed off the driver's wheel. I can only imagine how much this is going to cost.
After a quick phone call (with some sketchy questions and answers), the towing company agreed to get the van out. The giant hole? Pencil couldn't care less. The only problem was that the van would take a few days to get fixed up, which was fine for her. She'd been thinking of getting another car ever since starting up her company, which was now in jeopardy because she overslept with Match.
To her luck, Pen replied, "It's okay, happens to the best of us. I'll see you in 15 minutes!"
Pencil could finally get a breath of fresh air. She slid the phone back into her pocket, and ran off to the cafe.
<=======>
The small red brick building was a sharp contrast to the bright, tall megaliths around it, but everyone knew that The Yoylecake Factory was the best place in the city for coffee, and obviously yoylecake. The small size of the cafe gave it a cozy feeling, with the soft seats and hanging lights.
Pencil loved the place. It reminded her of before, when she'd come home from a long day at school, and sit on the massive armchair having a slice of her mom's homemade chocolate cake, warmed by a bright fire. It had been years since all of that, and the Factory reminded her of the simpler times.
A look through the glass windows pushed her right back into reality. Pen was there, scrolling on his phone. Part of his hand was stained black. A plate of half-eaten pastry sat in front of him, along with some papers.
Pencil slowly opened the door, and strolled in with as much confidence as she could muster. People always told her she was a very powerful and commanding person, and that day was the day to show it.
Going over to the counter, where a familiar red thumbtack was taking and making orders, Pencil did a quick scan of the menu. Nothing much new since her last visit, it seemed. There were a few objects in line, all of which Pencil didn't recognize. Yoyle City was a big place.
She took her place in the lineup. Within a few minutes, it was her turn to place an order.
"What can I GET you?" Pin asked in her strange accent.
Pencil thought about it, "I'll have a double espresso shot and a piece of Yoyle Cake"
She went over and started preparing the order in a whirlwind of action. In a few seconds, a steaming cup of very strong bean water and a beautiful slice of cake appeared on the counter. Pencil paid for the order, and then left a $2 tip.
"Thanks for OR-dering!" Pin exclaimed happily, then went to help the next person in line.
Pencil grabbed her stuff, and went over to the waiting Pen. He looked pretty relaxed, lounging in the couch. Suddenly, he noticed her from behind his phone.
"Oh, hi! I'm Pen, but you probably already know that. Pencil, right?" He introduced.
"Yep, nice to finally meet you! So you're interested in joining YoyleNet Inc. as a software developer?" Pencil replied in a formal tone.
"I mean, that's the whole point of this meeting right?" Pen joked.
"Can I see your resume?"
Pen nodded, giving Pencil the papers next to him. She read them in silence, while slowly indulging on caffeine and feeling a buzz of energy. Bachelor's in computer science, age 24, legal name Ben... She read. Everything seemed to be in check. Pencil breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I really am going to succeed, she presumed.
"Looks good, I have just one question."
Pen looked a bit nervous, but replied with a cool, "What is it?"
Pencil smiled, "Are you a coffee or tea type of person?"
"We're in a coffee shop! Of course I prefer tea!" He laughed.
Pencil shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can't take you in then. We only take coffee addicts."
Pen was shocked, looking like his dreams were shattered, "I, uh, I actually drink coffee! Just playing a joke that's all."
"A tea enthusiast and a liar. Just great. Now please leave before I get angry at the fact I wasted my day to talk with you," Pencil said, trying to fake being disappointed.
Pen looked down at his feet, and got up. He walked to the door, and opened it. Pencil freaked out. She was only joking about it! Pencil ran over to Pen, and in a mess of an apology, she wooooshed him.
"So I'm hired now?" He asked as they left the cafe.
"Yep!"
Pen made a whoop noise and did a funny dance. Walking over to the bike racks, he pulled out a rusty old two-wheeler.
"You biked here?" Pencil assumed.
"Uh hu," he answered without paying much attention.
"So the black stuff on your hand, it's grease?"
Pen suddenly turned to her and gave an embarrassed smile, "Yeah, heh, I had to clean something up. I hoped you wouldn't notice."
"It's okay, I was just a bit confused. That's all."
Pen chuckled, "Well, I'd best get going. I assume Blocky and Eraser still haven't cleaned up the mess from this morning."
"Who?"
"They're my roommates."
"Oh. Good luck with that I guess. I'll see you tomorrow in the office, right?"
"Yeah, I'll see you then."
Pen got onto his bike, and pedaled away. Pencil stood there for a few moments, thinking about what had just happened. Her terrible week had finally started turning around. Last night had really been an adventure. Ah, good ol' Match. Wondering what she's doing now? Pencil walked over to the parking lots, only to remember that her car was probably still in a wall somewhere.
Not all my problems are over, and many more are yet to show. Then she remembered the very real problem of not having a car and she headed toward the van dealership.