The Penny

Chapter 16: New take

Ryan bid farewell to the Alfredo's and began making his way outside with Thomas who led the way. Thomas looked tired, I guess babysitting two 'Hyperactive pro max plus' kids does something to a person. Ryan was feeling a bit lousy too, Maybe it's the Whisky he had?

"Hey, Mr Alfredo told me to give you my number," Ryan said pulling out his phone.

Thomas raised his eyebrows as he handed Ryan a small notebook and a pen, "Write your number there,"

"Okay," Ryan accepted the book and pen in one hand while trying to get around his phone in the other. He didn't use his phone since he got here, except for checking time occasionally, he unlocked his phone and the UI looked pretty different, The first thing he noticed was his missing wallpaper, Where's Joe!, All the icons looked pretty different, The apps, Icons, Everything, Is this and software update?

Thomas tapped his legs as he was getting impatient, what's taking him so long? Even my grandmother would come out of her grave and get around a phone faster than him.

Ryan eventually found an icon that looked like a phone and pressed it, and quickly scribble down the number which popped up. "Here," He handed the pen and book to Thomas while stuffing his phone in his pocket.

"It was nice meeting you," Thomas said opening the gate with the push of a button.

"Here's your bike," The big man he met earlier put down Ryan's bike.

"Thank you, It was nice meeting you guys, See ya," Ryan bid them farewell and took off on his bike. He was hoping to get a call from Vincent, it might give him a stable job, but he can't just rely on him. And he couldn't just keep selling candies. Ryan had to ask for some help from someone, he was clueless on his own.

Ryan was really tired today, So he decided to call it a day and rode off to the park. He took his old clothes which he climbed onto the bike and stuffed them like a pillow, He laid down on the park bench counting his spare money,

"Four dollars and twenty-seven cents," Ryan scoffed as he stuffed it in his pocket. Ryan laid there motionless, admiring the night sky, White twinkling stars were scattered across the black void, The moon shone brightly, bouncing off Ryan's blonde hair, lighting it up. What a long day it has been, What a long week it's going to be. Ryan's eyes slowly started drifting off, Blocking out the light from the stars and the moon. But one image stood in front of Ryan, A certain woman with long brown hair, Her back turned on Ryan.

***

"Good morning," A woman's voice penetrated through Ryan's dreams. Ryan jerked up as he heard the voice, Ryan threw his hands around his eyes due to the sudden escalation of light, Sunlight. Ryan muttered something inaudible and finally coming back to his senses.

He removed his hands from his eyes and looked up to the source of the voice. "Hey," He greeted with a toothy smile, It was Natasha.

"Do you mind moving a little bit?" Natasha asked.

"Yea-Sure, I'm sorry," Ryan muttered as he withdrew his legs from the bench and sat straight up, laying his gaze on her dog who looked like it'll attack anytime.

"Thank you," Natasha thanked her as she placed her cane down and sat beside Ryan who was stretching his arms. "How did the dinner go?" She asked.

"Pretty good," Ryan said popping his knuckles, He turned to see Natasha's disgusted face which she fixed immediately.

"You're still sleeping on a park bench?" Natasha asked feeling for her dog.

Ryan nodded, Natasha waited for an answer. "Um-" Natasha started.

"Oh- I'm sorry," Ryan apologised as he remembered she was blind. "Yea, Still sleeping on the park bench," Ryan said putting on his shoes.

"Didn't you-"

"I tried asking for something," Ryan started before she could ask her question. "But I-I couldn't, asking for anything in place of that Man's daughter's life felt wrong," Ryan confessed.

"You're such a sweet man, Ryan," Natasha said placing her hand on his shoulder. "So you didn't ask for anything,"

"I did ask one thing," Ryan paused, "A job,"

"That's great!" Natasha exclaimed. "What kind of job?"

"I don't know, I just gave his butler my number, I'm waiting for his call," Ryan sighed. Ryan hesitated to ask something, "I-" Ryan started. "I can't just wait for his call, Right?"

Natasha looked confused.

"Do," Ryan sighed. "Do you know how I could make some money?" Ryan asked swallowing his pride. Ryan doesn't like asking anyone for any help, It was an issue he had since childhood. But in this situation, he had to do what he has to do.

Natasha processed the question, Trying to think of a job.

"I don't have any qualifications," Ryan said, wondering if his knowledge would be any help here. He was pretty sure what he learned on Expance isn't going to help him here.

"You could try food delivery Or dog walking," Natasha suggested.

Ryan considered the options, There is no way, Not a chance he's going to walk a beast. Food delivery seemed like a valid option, since he has a bike and all.

"How do I do food delivery?" Ryan asked.

"Do you have Uber eats?" Natasha asked.

Ryan whipped his phone out of his pocket and checked. "Nope,"

Natasha looked surprised. "Which century are you living in she laughed."

Ryan couldn't identify if that was a real or sarcastic question.

"Download it from the play store," Natasha said.

It took a good minute to find the play store and download the app, and a good hour for Natasha and Ryan to set up the app, Ryan was confused as hell throughout the whole process, Somethings were familiar, like making an account, passwords and stuff. Ryan made some groundbreaking discoveries during this part though. He found out that he had a bank account under his name. And an online transaction account.

"That's that," Natasha concluded. "Congratulations, You're a Uber deliver-er,"

"Thank you, Natasha," Ryan thanked her while exploring the app.

"You're welcome," Natasha beamed. "I better get going now," Natasha said standing up, "have a good day, Ryan," She said disappearing into a fog.

Ryan was excited to try out this new job, but first, he had to get an iced coffee.