“Just what I said,” Kathryn told him, “My worst fears came true. Our clinic was one they ditched. They said we didn’t bring in enough money.”
“That makes little sense! Where are these people going to go? There isn’t much around here.”
“I guess the company doesn’t care. We get plenty of customers. Apparently, they aren’t the kind the company is interested in. They want people who will actually pay the bills. I guess this place is ‘too poor,’” she emphasized with air quotes.
“What am I going to do now?” he mumbled to himself.
“Well, the company has decided to be ever so generous and offer to pay you for an additional two weeks while you look for another job. They did this for all of us here. Personally, I think they are just trying to avoid a media disaster because of the decision.”
The two lapsed into silence as Atlas surveyed the work. The job itself wasn’t anything special, but he enjoyed it. Best yet, he was good at it. He should be able to find a decent job with his education. It was just going to suck to go on the hunt again.
Unless… I decide to shift career paths.
The thought struck him fast. Liking the job and wanting to do it forever were two very different things. Now that Divine Genesis was a big part of his life, maybe he should decide to do that as a full-time job? He’d done well for himself so far in the market, and he was still low level. If he could dedicate a solid schedule of playtime and not have to worry about only playing on days off, he should be able to make good money. He already had 34 gold stashed in the bank which meant he had somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,400. That was coming up close to one month’s worth of pay already.
“Anyone in there,” Kathryn asked as a hand waved in front of his face.
“What? Did I miss something?” Atlas asked as he shook himself back to reality.
“I asked if you wanted me to write you a letter of recommendation. You’ve done an outstanding job here, and it’s the least I could do.”
“Thanks, Kat. I’m going to explore my options first, I think. I may take you up on that offer, though. I’ll let you know.”
“Well, you have my personal cell number. Call me if I can help,” she told him with a soft smile.
“I appreciate it. I guess I’ll head back home and start looking around. I’ll talk to you later,” he told her with a wave.
Atlas turned and walked back to his car. His drive home was a struggle with himself. The lights and signs swam by in a blur as his mind drifted over his current problem. No job, no places nearby that he could think of that would be a good fit, and to top it off, his mind kept drifting back to the possibility of playing the game full time to make a living.
It was a colossal risk to consider but at the same time, felt right. He’d done very well for himself in the game so far and now would be the perfect chance. When his car came to a halt in the parking lot of his apartment, he settled on a plan.
He would give himself a month to make it work. The gold he had in the game could float him that long if things got serious. Unemployment could make up for it for a little while. If the plan was a bust and he couldn’t make the money he needed, he’d give up and start hunting for a regular job again.
Walking inside, he went directly for the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of his favorite sugary corn flake cereal with a little milk. There was time to kill if he wanted to get back into Divine Genesis. It was still a few more hours until he hit the 24 hour logout mark so he could log back in.
Atlas picked up his phone and tried to call Keenan. To his surprise, his friend actually picked up.
“What’s up Atlas?”
“A lot actually. I’m a little surprised you actually answered.”
“Sorry, man. I spend most of my day in meetings. I never realized how boring earnings and marketing reports are. What’s new with you?” Keenan asked.
“Well, lost my job today. They closed my clinic. Think I might go full time gamer in Divine Genesis.”
“That sucks. I didn’t think they’d close that place down. I’ve heard of plenty of people making the switch to full time gamer though. The market tie in has made professional gamer a truly viable option.”
“I’ve been doing good in the gold department so going to try it for a month and see how it works. Also been kind of dating a woman.”
“Oh, she hot?”
Atlas chuckled, “Still more important things than that but yep, she is.”
“Hey, I’m just a sucker for the curvy women, especially if they have long sleek black hair.”
That’s odd. Usually Keenan goes for the bouncy curls of brunettes.
“Guess your tastes are finally changing as you grow up,” Atlas said with a chuckle.
“Maybe,” his friend stated until the line went quiet for a few seconds.
“Hey man, gotta go. Another meeting is starting. I’ll catch ya later.”
“See ya la…,” Atlas started before the phone hung up.
When has he ever hung up on me like that? This new position has him turning into a snob.
He stared at his phone in disbelief before he opened the browser. A few quick taps brought him back to the Divine Genesis Fanatics forum page, and he browsed through the entries. He was both shocked and amused to see they stickied the post about additions he responded to toward the top under a subforum for beginner tutorials. Over a thousand people viewed it, so he
