The Beginning
Skip to Chapter 4-5 If you want a quick start, these early chapters are more character building than anything.
BAAAOOOOWWWW
A piercing horn split through the early morning.
And with it, Quin shot upright in bed, his hair an unholy hybrid of bedhead and natural chaos, jutting out in every which way.
"AH-!" He yelled, his voice rough from a dry throat.
Somewhere beneath him, a soft thud hit the carpeted floor, leading him to glance down.
There she was, sprawled, his treasured marketable plushie of Mordred, her arms outstretched and eyes locked in their permanent glare. Her little cape was twisted, and one stubby arm pointed accusingly at the ceiling, as if scolding him for the betrayal.
Quin snatched her up and quickly tucked her underneath his arm. "My bad, my bad- won't happen again."
Probably.
Maybe.
Another horn blared outside.
"...Ah shit." He paused for a second, looking at the his door, usually one of his parents would be here to berate him for being la-
CRASH
-there they are.
"Mijo, what'd I tell you about being late? There's alarms for this..."
His father snapped, already half-dressed in his usual suit, only really missing the tie, and a mug of lukewarm coffee sloshing dangerously in one hand.
Quin flinched, one leg tangled in his blanket, the other already moving towards his dresser. "I did set an alarm, just didn't hear it."
"That's the problem, you never hear it." His father said in that disappointed tone, you know the one. "Just hurry up, I don't have time to drive you today."
Now that had him sprinting to get ready.
"Alright alright, I'm moving! Five minutes! No- two! One and a half!" He kept cutting himself off as he struggled to find a pair of socks.
"You have thirty seconds, mijo."
"Thirty?! That's not even-!"
But his father was already gone, his dress shoes echoing down the hall. Quin bolted into motion, tripping over his feet in the process- somehow -and his room becoming an even bigger mess. He yanked yesterday's hoodie from the chair, toothpaste squirted directly into his mouth to save time, and his shoes nowhere to be found... maybe theyre downstairs?
Mordred, still clutched tightly in his arm, stared up at him with a smug ass grin.
"Oh hush," Quin grumbled, spitting into the sink. "You're the one who let me sleep through three alarms."
The plushie just stared at him, the eyes somehow piercing into him… it may have been his fault. He did stay up until 3 a.m. playing RimWorld again- this time building an underground bunker powered by hydroponics and sla- permanent workers.
But you couldn't blame him for that.
The game was fun.
"I was so close to getting space era," he mumbled, jamming his legs into a pair of ragged jeans while hopping toward the door. "Everything was going fine until that insect raid…"
Alas, it was his fault again for building in a mountain.
He made it to the kitchen in record time and grabbed a slice of cold toast from the table, clenching it between his teeth. His mother gave him the look from across the kitchen island.
"Mi hijo... Again?"
"Morningmumloveyoubye!" He mumbled between bites, already out the door.
Quin looked, well, not half bad considering he'd had exactly thirty seconds to his shit together... then again, he was sure his hoodie hadnt been cleaned since Thursday.
Even then, he might've pulled it off.
Had he not immediately tripped on their patio, and nearly face-plant onto the pavement.
"Waugh-!"
He caught himself mid-fall, his arms flailing like a startled bird before managing to find purchase on the hood of the family SUV.
A snort of laughter erupted from one of the bus windows, and someone even clapped.
"Real graceful," Came the familiar voice of his best friend, Kaelen, his head sticking out of a rear window. "Could even make the cut for gymnastics team~"
Red-faced, Quin straightened, muttered a curse under his breath and jogged onto the bus. The doors hissing shut behind him shortly after.
He'd made it and with only… no seconds to spare, realistically he was late by like 127 seconds.
Quin stumbled down the aisle as the bus groaned into motion, narrowly avoiding a second fall thanks to a well-timed grab at the nearest seat.
Kaelen was exactly where he always was: fourth row from the back, hood up, earbuds in, head tilted against the vibrating window, even if it gave him a severe headache he complained about after.
Quin collapsed into the seat beside him, his own hood falling over his tousseled hair.
"I live," he muttered.
Kaelen responded with a slight nod.
Which honestly? Is more than usual.
Without another word, Quin yanked out his phone.
No way was he going to stare at the back of someone's head for forty minutes.
He opened WebNovel, read this one fanfic about a man being put into Raven's body, and pulled up the RimWorld subreddit.
What?
If he was going to suffer through homeroom and math, he at least deserved to read about someone else's complaints.
...
Forty minutes later, jolted slightly by the bus's final, lurching stop in front of the school gates.
Quin blinked his eyes open, phone still in hand, screen dimmed from inactivity. He'd only half fallen back asleep this time, a major improvement.
He wasn't drooling, and his head hadn't crashed into Kaelen's shoulder like last time.
Progress.
Kaelen stood up without a word, slinging his bag over one shoulder and giving him a slight jerk of the chin and a muttered, "C'mon."
Quin stuffed his phone into his hoodie pocket, next to Mordred, who had spent the entire ride in blissful silence. He gave her a small pat. "Nope, didn't forget you..."
The plushie remained unimpressed.
He followed the slow river of students out onto the pavement, squinting at the sun and wondering, not for the first time, why school started at an hour where they were all half asleep.
Or well, when he was half asleep.
Quin trudged through the front doors, adjusting his hood as the stream of students ahead of him split off into various hallways. Kaelen veered left toward his own homeroom, and Quin gave him a little wave, knowing they'd meet up after school.
It was all but tradition to camp out the PC cars.
He made the long, fluorescent-lit march to his first class, his face haggard with exhaustiom.
Homeroom was a collection of yawns and bobbing heads.
Second period was math, he remembered that only because the clock seemed to actively mock him the whole time.
By third period, the day had become a blur.
His body was there, sure, taking notes, nodding when teachers looked his way, even managing the occasional grunt of acknowledgment when asked a question.
But his mind?
Absolutely elsewhere.
Specifically, neck-deep in theorycrafting a new TFT build. He'd been experimenting with Cypher again, against his better judgment. It wasn't even a good comp this patch, but something about trying to make it work scratched that part of his brain.
His current loss streak, six games and counting, offered no encouragement.
But hope?
Hope was eternal… Nevermind, Sounded better in my head.
By the time the final bell rang, Quin couldn't remember what half his classes had even covered, but he did have a shaky new comp idea in his notes app and the stubborn optimism of a player who'd already accepted his LP would never recover.
He called that a win. Sort of.
Just let him have this, he really needs one.
He shuffled out through the front doors, the late afternoon heat making his hoodie a terrible choice. Waiting by the bike racks, as usual, was Kaelen, earbuds out now, but still blasting some old indie band his friend was obsessed with.
"How was class?"
"Mind-numbing," Quin replied without hesitatiom. "Absolutely barren wasteland of joy, I think I became a worse person by just sitting through it."
Kaelen shrugged, adjusting his bag. "It's not that bad, kinda peaceful."
Quin gave him a slow side-eye, as if his friend had just confessed to enjoying taxes. "Don't say things like that, you'll summon a pop quiz."
But he didn't argue further.
They both fell into step, heading down the familiar sidewalk trail that wound through a couple of side streets, past a noodle shop, and straight to the haven that awaited them- the little PC Café tucked between a stationery store and a nail salon.
It wasn't much, but it had decent computers, mediocre snacks, and more importantly, freedom. And his mom knew the drill: call when you're hungry, dying, or ready to go home. Otherwise, enjoy your time out.
Quin shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, feeling the soft lump of Mordred still tucked inside, and grinned.
This was the part of the day worth staying awake for.
The little bell above the door chimed as they pushed into the café, the scent of instant ramen, old wood, and just a hint of fabric softener greeting them like a warm blanket.
Cool air washed over Quin's face, and the hum of dozens of machines filled the space like background music for a life he actually wanted to be living. Rows of monitors glowed faintly under the low lights, most occupied by students, regulars, and a few tired adults he could've sworn were here the day before… did they even leave?
And there- behind the counter, sipping from a thermos and wearing the same faded black hoodie he probably never washed -was Chris.
"Oi, boys!" Chris called, raising a hand without looking up from whatever idle clicker game was running on his monitor. "Thought I heard the sound of mid-tier tryhards comin' in."
Quin grinned. "Hey, we're at least upper-tier."
Kaelen just ignored him. "Hey, Chris."
Chris finally looked up, dark circles under his eyes but a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "The usual spots are free, you know the deal."
"Yeah, yeah-" Quin mumbled, placing a crumpled twenty and a few coins on the counter.
"Mmm-hmm, good luck." Chris handed them two numbered tags, Kaelen had just tapped his card for his fee.
Quin and Kaelen veered off to the right, toward their usual spot by the window. Far enough to avoid most of the noise, close enough to the snack bar for immediate soda deployment.
Quin placed Mordred atop the PC tower, leaving her perched like his own personal coach ready to witness more disaster.
Time to lose more LP.
1784 Words
///
Hello! Author here, I'm still trying to decide what Universes and etc to add to the system— so wouldn't mind any suggestions!