Shafted [ONC 2022]

Looking Up

Kadin set his pen beside his iPad and rubbed his eyes. Sunlight poured in from the windows to his left and warmed the floor beneath his desk. Outside, the wind shook the branches of a leafless oak and rolled an empty coke can down the sidewalk.

Almost a week later, all the snow from the storm had melted away, exposing the barren earth, devoid of greenery or inspiration. He'd grown tired of seeing gray concrete, surrounded by black asphalt, hunched bodies and leafless trees. His view back in Illinois wasn't much better, but at least he caught sight of wildlife occasionally.

He tore his eyes from the window and set it back on his iPad. The completed illustration stared back at him. He hit the icon to start a time lapse and watched the line art come to life: flowers, mushrooms, trees. The girl with a pleasant smile framed by braids.

She looked too much like her. Like Rukiya. He couldn't stop thinking about her, even now. A few times throughout the week, he'd picked up his phone, intending to text her, ask her how she was doing. If she wanted to meet for coffee or something. And every time, he'd chickened out at the last second.

She's busy, he told himself. She didn't have to entertain him between work and sorting things out with her partner. If she wanted to talk to him, she'd call him herself. But he hadn't forgotten his promise to her. His mom and dad had called a few times after the elevator incident, but he was waiting until he heard from the studio.

Which could be any minute now.

Kadin looked at his phone. No messages. No missed calls. The ringer was set to the highest volume. He saved his illustration and put his iPad to sleep before standing. His room was still minimally furnished with just a bed and a nightstand. He was still living out of his suitcases, which lay open in the little closet.

He'd brought his projector from home, and hooked up his laptop to it when he wanted to watch TV. Tobias had given him an old wooden desk to set up the stand for his iPad. Apart from that, he had a little shark plush his sister had given him as a graduation gift. It went everywhere with him.

"Kadin!" Tobias knocked twice before stepping inside. "Ready?" He leaned a shoulder against the doorframe and scrolled on his phone.

His friend hadn't changed at all since they met in their freshman year of Uni—same long, black hair, same expressive hazel eyes, same energetic personality. Tobias had worked in game development for a while before quitting to become a full-time streamer, so when Kadin had told him his doubts about his career choices, he'd completely understood.

"Some of us just aren't built for that life, man," Tobias had said. He'd even reached out to contacts he still had in the industry and hooked Kadin up with the interview, on top of graciously offering his spare room.

"Just give me a second." Kadin sat on his bed to pull on his trainers. He'd thrown on a pair of basketball shorts and a plain white tee before he started working on the illustration.

Tobias was dressed similarly, except his T-shirt had Master Chief's helmet emblazoned on the front. "It's after 11, so the morning crew should be gone. I need to get some reps in before stream."

"Cool." He grabbed his gym bag and shut the blinds before they headed downstairs.

Half of the first floor was taken up by a gym for residents. Just like Tobias predicted, it was mostly empty. A worker was wiping down the peloton and one guy was doing bicep curls near the back. They walked past a row of treadmills to the benches near the dumbbell rack.

Kadin put an ear bud in one ear and warmed up on the treadmill while Tobias grabbed a jump rope.

"So," Tobias said. "What's been on your mind? You seem in your head more than usual."