Hollow Twilight - A LitRPG Novel

Chapter 2

"Come on, guys, you know I don't have a good data plan." Reid shoved Issac away from his fries as he finished the sentence. "Just wait until I get home and we'll play."

"Boo," Maple teased, pushing her now empty plate away to the edge of the table. She scooped up some cutlery from around the table and stacked it onto the plate.

"You know you don't have to work when you're not working," Issac says, shoving a fry into his mouth.

"It's a habit. Respect between dishwashers."

"What, is there some sort of code? Stonemasons order? Illuminati?"

Reid chuckled at Issac's insinuations, otherwise quietly letting his friends duke it out. It was fairly normal for him to sit back and enjoy the show they put on for him without realizing. It was possible they were aware and went on anyways. But Reid didn't really know, and he wasn't about to stop them.

"Maybe if you had a job, you would know." Maple stuck out her tongue before a fry bounced off her nose, accurately tossed by Issac. The youth himself looked surprised at his ability to land the shot, and Reid tilted forward in his chair in disbelief.

"Dude, you did not."

"Oh...I did." Issac flashed Reid a confident smirk. Time seemed to slow between them, a mutual moment, a bond between brothers in arms in the pursuit of women. His smile reached out to Reid, wrapped around him, reassured him. He could see the message within it. Always remember me, brother. We fought the good fight.

And then he was gone, out the door, with an agitated Maple in hot pursuit, fistful of fries ready for throwing. Reid shoved his own plate off to the side and waved down the server so he could pay up. Luckily, they were well known at Russell's, and the other two would just owe a tab in the future. It was unlikely they were coming back at this point, wrapped up in their own antics.

Reid wound his way through side streets and back alleys. It was a familiar path, one of hundreds he had taken over his years living in his current apartment with his father. He knew just about every possible direction, every house nearby, from his numerous walks and outings. There was always a reason to go somewhere, even if there was nothing to do there. Just going was sometimes the only reason he needed.

He threw his backpack against the wall upon arriving back into his house, slipping his shoes off and kicking them next to his bag. "Home," he called out, not really caring if anyone was home.

"Hey bud." His dad poked his head around the corner, his square face examining his child. What remained of his chestnut hair poked up around the side of his head. Reid's blond had come from his mother. What an inheritance she had left him before she vanished. "I messaged you before. Where were you?"

"Did you?" Reid pulled out his phone, looking down, knowing full well there would be a message waiting for him. "Oh, sorry, I didn't feel it. We were walking to Russell's after school."

"I figured you were out." His dad's head disappeared as he retreated back into the room, the kitchen most likely, judging by depth. "I was hoping you could get some ginger at one of those-"

"Grocers," Reid cut in, not wanting to listen to his dad struggle to find a non-racist way of describing the local food stores that were always owned and operated by an Asian family. They weren't quite a convenience store, since they actually stocked edible food and fresh fruits and vegetables, but they weren't necessarily grocery stores. Reid didn't think much of them, but his father always identified them by their ownership, a habit Reid always pointed out in an effort to get his dad to change. It worked only in the smallest ways.

"Right, just would've been nice to have some ginger."

"Why, you already made food." Reid wandered past the kitchen, noting his father washing dishes in the tiny space, just wide enough for him to fit. It was more like a closet with a fridge than a true kitchen. Across from it, the TV was still on, across from the empty couch. Gremlin, the cat, was sitting in a corner, blankly staring at Reid as though he had something important to say.