Shawn paced back and forth in his room.
From the bed to the door.
From the door back to the bed.
From the bed to the door again.
His mind was a complete mess.
Finally he stopped, grabbed his phone, and read the message one more time.
[Boss - Now]: You're fired.
Shawn let out a long, defeated sigh.
'Fired,' he thought, the reality hitting like a brick. 'I'm actually fired.'
Part of him had known this day was coming sooner or later.
He always turned in work late.
Always made excuses.
Always promised next time would be different.
But it never was.
Still…
Shawn stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
Then an idea hit him.
'Wait,' he thought, sitting up straight. 'What I was doing in that other world… that's a job!'
Shawn looked over at the Bible he'd left on the table, stood up, walked over, and picked it up with both hands. He stared at it with a hopeful smile.
"Hey, God," he said politely. "I've got a very important question…"
The pages shifted slightly, as if listening.
Shawn cleared his throat.
"How much money are you going to pay me for spreading your faith in that other world?" he asked, keeping the smile plastered on.
The pages opened.
Golden letters began to appear.
[My messengers do not receive a salary from Me.]
Shawn blinked.
'What?' he thought, his smile slowly fading.
More letters appeared.
[They live off what they receive along the way.]
Shawn went quiet.
He read it again.
And again.
And again.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Haha…"
He laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
"HAHAHA! No way!"
He laughed until tears streamed down his face.
'I accepted the shittiest job ever!' he thought between fits of laughter.
Shawn dropped the Bible back onto the table and clutched his head with both hands.
'Live off what I receive along the way?' he thought, still chuckling bitterly. 'So now I'm supposed to live on donations?'
He collapsed into the dining chair.
'Wasn't it enough for God to humiliate me by making me appear buck-naked in front of a crowd in that other world?!' he thought, staring at the ceiling.
Shawn covered his face with his hands.
'Now I also have to bow my head and beg for money!'
He sat in silence for a few seconds, trying to calm down.
Then he looked at his phone.
'Maybe…' he thought, a tiny spark of hope flickering. 'Maybe I can beg my boss for one more chance.'
Shawn opened his boss's chat.
He tried to type a message.
But he couldn't.
The chat was blocked.
His boss had blocked him.
"Damn it!" Shawn yelled, slamming his fist on the table.
Then he glanced at the Bible.
"Uh… sorry for the swear," he said quickly, bowing his head.
Shawn sighed and slumped deeper into the chair.
'What am I going to do now?' he thought, stress flooding in.
He had rent due.
'Seven days,' he thought, panic rising. 'How the hell am I going to get the money in seven days?'
His stomach growled.
He was hungry.
He got up and shuffled to the kitchen.
He opened the fridge.
Inside: half a soda, a little cheese, and a little ham.
Shawn closed the fridge and opened the wooden drawer.
Only two slices of sandwich bread left.
'Well,' he thought, grabbing the ingredients. 'Something's better than nothing.'
He slapped together a quick sandwich.
Bread, cheese, ham, bread.
Nothing fancy.
He sat at the table and started eating.
He chewed slowly, trying to savor each bite.
But when he finished…
His stomach was still growling.
Shawn grabbed his phone and opened his banking app.
He checked his balance.
$2.06
'Great,' he thought, despair washing over him. 'Just great.'
He stood up and walked back to his room.
His computer was still on, displaying the half-finished work he'd abandoned.
Shawn stared at the screen for a few seconds.
Then he closed the program without saving.
'Doesn't matter anymore,' he thought, bitterness rising. 'I'm fired anyway.'
Shawn opened his browser and went to a social media site.
The one with the little blue bird icon.
He started scrolling through the feed, looking at memes and random posts.
Trying to distract himself.
Trying not to think about his problems.
But then a photo stopped him cold.
A short-haired girl with basically no chest…
Posing suggestively.
The caption read:
[There's way more content like this on my page! Link in bio~]
Shawn frowned.
'Seriously?' he thought, irritation flaring.
Without thinking, his fingers started typing.
They moved on autopilot.
[Seriously? You want people to pay you for that? But you've got nothing, lol. What a scam.]
Shawn hit send.
Within seconds, a few people liked his comment.
But others replied.
[Out of line, bro.]
[If you don't like it, just scroll past. Not that hard.]
[Who asked for your opinion?]
Shawn laughed.
'Look at these idiots defending her,' he thought, ready to fire back.
But then he remembered.
God had already scolded him once for mocking people online.
For being cruel to strangers.
"God!" Shawn shouted.
The Bible appeared next to his keyboard.
Shawn looked at it nervously.
"Hey…" he said, pointing at the monitor. "What I was just doing… is that a sin?"
The pages opened.
Golden letters appeared.
[Yes.]
Shawn clicked his tongue.
'Shit,' he thought, guilt hitting him.
With great reluctance, he moved the cursor over his comment… and deleted it.
"Done," he said, looking at the Bible. "I deleted it."
But then another doubt hit him.
"Do I have to apologize to that girl?" he asked, dreading the answer.
The pages moved.
New letters appeared.
[Yes, you should.]
Shawn muttered a curse under his breath.
'How the hell do I apologize?' he thought, scratching his head.
But before he could figure it out, a notification popped up.
Someone had mentioned him.
Shawn clicked it.
And what he saw made his heart stop.
The girl he'd targeted had screenshotted his message.
And posted a new update.
[This is the kind of message I get every day from guys who think they have the right to comment on my body and make hurtful remarks. It makes me genuinely sad to know there are people like this in the world who hurt women this way. I wish there was a law that punished people for doing this.]
Shawn watched as the post started racking up likes.
Comments poured in.
[What a disgusting person!]
[Look, the coward already deleted his comment lol]
[Typical troll who can't handle the heat]
[Hope he gets ratioed to hell]
Shawn felt panic rising.
'Shit, shit, shit,' he thought, watching more and more people pile on.
He cracked his knuckles.
'I have to do something,' he thought, pressure mounting.
He took a deep breath.
And started typing.
[Sorry for the earlier comment, I deleted it because I realized it came off way harsher than I meant. It hurt my soul seeing someone so young exposing themselves like that for money, and I reacted badly like I usually do. You have every right to do whatever you want with your life and your body—we live in a world of free expression, after all. I'm just saying I wouldn't recommend it to other girls: even if you have fans cheering you on now, when push comes to shove a lot of them will say way worse things than what I posted (and you know it). The fans clapping today are the ones throwing the worst shade tomorrow. Take care of yourself.]
Shawn hit send.
And immediately closed the app.
He didn't want to see the replies.
Didn't want to see the comments.
He just wanted to forget everything.
Shawn turned and looked at the Bible.
"Did I do it right?" he asked nervously.
The pages opened.
Golden letters appeared.
[Well done, child. A sincere apology is the first step. But remember: words that heal are worth far more than words that wound. Keep practicing.]