Bad Habits ~A Toby Turner fanfic~

Bad Habits

Chapter 1: Happy Wheels

“Do I really need to attend another one of these things? My manager said I should be in good shape if I keep doing the stupid Orange show and that one thing on Nickelodeon.” Toby gripped the wheel of his Blazer, talking on his iPhone.

“We already told you, your gambling habit cleaned out most of your savings, Toby.” His accountant sheepishly tried to explain to him over the phone, “We’re letting some of the business card purchases go, but we're just trying to get you back into a stable economic position so you don’t end up like M.C. Hammer.”

Toby’s face gave a grimaced, open mouthed smile, trying to make humor of the situation, “Never go full M.C. Hammer.” his eyes wandered about the streets of Indianapolis, completely lost in an unfamiliar enviroment.

“Also, I have to advise you about your fast food habit. You’ve been to Arby’s seven times this week. That can’t just be hurting your wallet.” His accountant gave a painful laugh while his keyboard let out a few tapping sounds.

“I still have abs, Shaun." He proceded to look down at the tiny gut he was forming. "Plus, it’s coming out of my pocket.” Toby kept driving along, looking for the convention center.

Shaun coughed a bit, sounding a bit worried, “Toby, where are you getting that money from?”

“Personal investments?” Toby’s voice became high pitched and pained. 

"You're not planning on putting your money on the contest, are you?" The reality of the situation was worse than Shaun could imagine.Toby’s gambling habit had come back full swing since he began to star at the gaming competitions. He could usually pick out the winners, but the few times he had shelled out large sums of money, the player either ended up forfeiting or getting disqualified. The last large sum, paid in Arizona at about $5,000 per win, the girl ended up in the hospital for cardiac arrest due to poor diet and too much caffeine. He had terrible luck.

"No, dude, I swear. I'm just getting some old favors turned in." Toby gave a 'Pfft' sound while he was talking, causing a bit of a knot in his throat, "I gotta go, I'll check in with you when I get to the center. BOOP!"

Shaun slapped his face on the other side of the line and groaned, "You're a 30 year old man, do you really feel the need to do that?" He heard a sudden click and starting chanting to the empty dial tone, "Toby?"

Toby took his eyes off the road and counted the amount of money in his pocket while traffic was stopped. “Hm… fifty bucks. I can do something with it.” He smiled at his wallet, "I'm not going to regret today. Seriously, I have nothing to worry about. I have people who watch over me, girls who adore me, and a company exclusively about me! Bad luck, don't catch me now!" That was only his second mistake to tempt lady luck, as he was jerked forward by his Blazer rear ending the truck infront of him. He slammed his forehead into the steering wheel, "DANG IT, WHYYYY?!"

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The sound of a loud chicken stirred Arnia out of another long, hopeless night of solemn slumber. Her dreams of handsome men swooping her away to fantasy like adventures couldn't even remotely motivate the young girl to open an eye lid. A calloused hand slammed the novelty alarm clock off the shabby night stand it presided on.

“Is it morning already..?” She shot up and stretched out of her covers, revealing a ragged T-shirt she had worn as a nightgown. She stared over to the broken head of a comical chicken, looking at the time. It was 10:30 A.M., also known as ‘holy crap I woke up late’ to the young, twenty-four year old slacker. “I’ve got thirty minutes till I need to be in the truck… Traffic is going to be bad…” She began lifting her shirt over her head, knocking into walls and various items in her shack of an apartment. “OW!” She fell over her clothes pile she sat in front of the bathroom door.