Choose (A Choose Your Own Story Adventure)

31. Dismiss the Theory

"No." Mia shakes her head, laughing. "That's not true at all."

"Well, maybe not," Craig shrugs, "but it would be interesting if it was."

Mia starts a new conversation, but Craig seems deflated and disengaged. At one point he leaves to refill his drink. He gets distracted by John's group and doesn't come back.

Mia looks around, bored. She doesn't really mind that Craig left. His theory is weird, anyway. She doesn't have anyone else to talk to, though. Mia gets off of the couch and looks for Therese and Haley.

She finds the two girls sitting together in a bedroom—John's?—watching something on Therese's phone. They're both giggling uncontrollably. Mia slowly enters the room, not wanting to disturb them until they're done watching whatever it is.

Therese hears Mia's footsteps and looks up. She smiles brightly. "Hey Mia! What's up?"

"Hey," Mia says. "Are you able to drive me home? It's getting pretty late."

It's only a little past eleven, but Mia is exhausted. She can go to bed in a reasonable time and feel good in the morning.

Therese laughs. "You're such a grandma, Mia. Sure, Haley and I are going to watch a movie at my house, anyway. A real horror movie."

Haley giggles. They get off of the bed and grab their purses, which are resting on the wall. Then the three leave the room together.

"We're heading out," Therese shouts to John. "Thanks for having us!"

"Thanks for coming!" he responds. "Have a good night, guys!"

The three leave the house and go into Therese's car. Like Craig, Haley walked, too, so hopping into Therese's car isn't a problem. The three all talk about boring things like work and where they want to eat tomorrow. Mia knows they're only doing so because she's engaging in conversation, but she appreciates their effort.

In a few minutes Mia is back home. She goes inside. Benjamin runs around her feet excitedly. With a tired laugh, she gives her dog some extra food. Then she changes into sweats and an old T-shirt, brushes her teeth, then gets under her covers. She closes her eyes, happy and satisfied with her eventful day. Not only did she have a successful day at work, but she also had a fun time at John's movie night. If she could, she would have every day be like today. Simple and fun.

She feels herself drift off to sleep, and the theory Craig shared with her earlier slips entirely from her mind.

***

"You have successfully finished a day," Grace says. "Congratulations."

You don't respond. There's not really much you can say. The game gave you a good ending. Nothing really eventful happened. She went to work and attended a party, but there didn't seem to be any particular climax. That being said, it's enjoyable. You can't complain.

"Thank you for taking my advice during the day. Trevor will be back tomorrow, so you can leave. Your paycheck should be in the front counter."

"Paycheck?" You sit up in your seat. You didn't expect to get paid for playing. This ending suddenly seems ten times better.

"Yes. Talk to the front desk, they will have it there. I will print a validation for you."

You hear a loud noise next to your feet. You look under the desk. A printer spits out a small piece of paper. In large text it says "OFFICIAL PATHWAYS REPLACEMENT—FINISHED SHIFT". You take the little paper and exit the room, searching for the front desk.

You find it—after asking a series of employees—not in the front but in the back of the building. A kind man is typing on a large computer. He looks up at smiles brightly at you. "Hello, how can I help you?"

Not really knowing what to say, you awkwardly hand the little paper to the secretary. He scans the words quickly, nods, and pulls open a drawer. He plucks an envelope and sets it on the desk.

"It's funny," he tells you, "someone else came over to me earlier claiming that they were Trevor's replacement. Funny how people can just act like they can get away with something like that, right?"

"Yeah." You laugh nervously. "Right."

You take the envelope, say goodbye, and exit the building. You don't look into it once you are outside. You analyze the check, your eyes widening at the number of zeroes written. Holy balogna.

You fish your phone out of your pocket and dial your friend's number. They pick up after two rings. "Hey, where are you?"

"Can you meet me in front of the Digital building?" you ask. "Dinner's on me."

Congratulations! You just got the OBLIVIOUS ending! Go back to "1. Morning" in order to try again!

Ending: 2/19