"This is bullshit." Callistus' voice was calm, too calm. His boss, Jasper, had beads of sweat rolling down his bald head as he addressed the young man.
"I'm sorry, Callistus. I know you are one of our best, but the customers are always right. Your sickness is apparent, some are scared it's contagious, some say you look… not human." the bald man gulped.
"I need this job. I really do. I'll wear a mask or something." Callistus' words sounded pleading but his voice was emotionless.
"I wish I could keep you, but even your outstanding delivery rates won't matter if there are no customers left to deliver to, or if you are dead. Just last week, you passed out on delivery four times!" Jasper sighed, his nervousness reduced when he realised that Jasper needed the job.
'He's just a kid after all.' He thought.
Opposite him sat a sickly, dark skinned boy. He was skinny like a twig and pale, with dark circles and eyes that looked barely alive.
"Please, I really need this job. I'll die anyways, so what difference does it make? Would you rather I starve to death first?"
Callistus stared at his boss, the latter remained silent. He knew the man had no choice, but that didn't make him any less angry. He sighed in frustration, but a moment later, his expression changed abruptly to one of disdain.
"You know what, I wish cancer was contagious. I wouldn't blink before passing it to all your ungrateful ass customers." Callistus got up from the chair, chin slightly tilted upwards, his eyes staring down at Jasper in disdain.
"Firing a sick man. No conscience at all. F**k y'all." Callistus walked towards the door of the office before stopping.
"Just so you know, you didn't fire me. Tell your sorry ass customers that I quit." He spoke over his shoulders before walking out of the office, into the streets of Veñas City.
Vehicles and pedestrians of various kinds filled the space. He plugged in his headphones, pulled up his hoodie and blended into the crowd.
Several minutes later, he arrived at a local cemetery. He walked through the gates and headed into the depths. After a while, he stopped in front of a gravestone. Callistus pulled out his headphones, and sat before it.
[Mary Sinclair]
[A mother, a sister, a friend]
Callistus stared at the writings on the gravestone. He sighed.
"Sorry mom, I quit my job. I know you didn't raise a quitter, but people are shitty so…" he shrugged.
"Tell me about it." Callistus raised his head, his brows furrowing as he stared at a small miniature human sitting on the headstone with an even smaller bottle in hand and an angry look on his face.
He didn't look an inch taller than three feet, with azure seaweed hair and a round face. His pointed ears stood out, paired comically with a pointed hat and a pair of shoes.
"Woah…" Callistus chuckled, "Sucks to be you."
"What?" Fnipper asked, brows furrowed.
"I'm having a bad day, but with that height, everyday of your life is probably a bad day." Callistus replied.
He glanced at the bottle in Fnipper's hand, "Should you be drinking? Are you lost? Where's your mom?" He glanced around worriedly.
"Did you just insult my mother?" Fnipper scowled.
"What? No. I didn't. How did you even come to such a conclusion?" Callistus asked incredulously.
"Still getting used to earthlings." Fnipper shrugged and hiccuped. He took a gulp of whatever was in the tiny bottle and groaned out, "By the way, how can you see me?"
"I'm not supposed to?" Callistus chuckled. He suddenly gasped, feigning shock, "Are you… a ghost?"
Fnipper stared at him, not the least entertained but nonetheless surprised by his reaction. Callistus understood his gaze, so he replied,
"I'm dying… cancer. The tumor is in my heart. Surgery is too risky, and the transplant list is years long. The doctor says six months if I'm lucky. So either I'm hallucinating, or you are a ghost, doesn't matter. Can't make me any more dead."
"Ahh, I see. You are experiencing the 'plainness of life during death'. Sucks to be you." Fnipper hiccuped. He looked at the sick boy for a moment before nodding, "I'm Fnipper by the way."
Callistus snorted out a laugh. Fnipper immediately scowled. "What? Is there a problem with my name?" he asked, his voice low as a growl.
"First the height and now the name? How the hell did you get through school? The universe must hate you." he snickered.
Fnipper's growl turned into a smirk.
"Well pray tell, what's your name good sir?" He asked mockingly.
"Callistus." Callistus shrugged, still snickering.
"Callistus?" Fnipper asked, "CALLISTUS?!" He yelled again incredulously. "Isn't that supposed to mean beauty?"
Fnipper jumped down the headstone. He landed nimbly on the floor and approached Callistus, giving him another look with squinted eyes.
"What? Was your mother colourblind she couldn't see the fifty shades of ugly in your face?"
"Take it easy little man, no need to be rude. Sheesh." Callistus surrendered. Fnipper gave him another look, snorted before raising his head. He was proud of his victory.
"Well, Fnipper, I have an excuse for looking shitty, what's yours?"
"Can't you tell? I'm dying." Fnipper shrugged. " But unlike you, mine has no cure and I have dignity, so I'm dealing with such shitty fate like a man…" Fnipper paused. He took a gulp from his bottle and hiccuped before adding, "By drinking myself to stupor."
"What do you mean mine has a cure? There's no cure. And even if there was, it's probably too expensive for me anyways." Callistus chuckled.
"It's quite cheap actually. Just become a streamer, you'll earn enough in like a week." Fnipper dismissed.
"What do you mean? If it was that easy, everyone would be a streamer. I had a Tube account once, and barely even got a hundred views." Callistus laughed.
Fnipper paused his wallowing. He looked at Callistus like he was seeing a bizarre creature, then he stared at the bottle in his hand. Suddenly, his gaze brightened, an idea sprouting in his mind.
"No wonder, I forgot I was talking to an earthling." he shook his head. "Listen, ugly, I'm not talking about the Tube. That's an earthling thing. I'm talking about the Otherworldly Streaming Network!"
"Eh?"