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I AWOKE TO THE SOUND of my alarm blaring, and in my sleepy subconscious I smacked the snooze button to silent it. 6am. The same time I awoke every morning for work, but as I went to sit up in bed a weight squashed against my chest. I looked down to see my cat, Mochi, curled up in a dreamless sleep. Stroking behind his ear, I managed to get him to awake peacefully and persuade him from crushing my chest.
Once out of bed, I left the duvet unarranged with Mochi tumbling back into the folds, and jumped into the shower. The cold water felt pleasant against my clammy skin, but I wasn't alone for long. The tubby calico waltzed into the bathroom, meowing for his breakfast.
'Give me a minute, mate.' I cooed, rinsing the soap with the shower head. No sooner was I free of suds, was I out the shower with a towel wrapped round my middle.
Mochi disappeared the second he saw me emerge from a swarm of steam, terrified I'd flick water in his direction, bounding down the hallway to wait for me in the kitchen.
I continued my morning routine, tidying up my stubble and brushing my teeth before I put on my glasses and dried off my body. I dressed in my usual workwear, a smart casual shirt with skinny jeans and threw my lanyard over my head. Now the cat was finally in the other room, I hastily made the bed and hurried to join him in the kitchen.
As expected, Mochi was eagerly awaiting me in the kitchen, nudging his food dish towards my feet. I eyed him for a moment, realising how fat the poor cat had gotten in recent months, despite the vet pushing me to buy dietary food. No doubt my lovely neighbour was feeding him. I sighed, filling his dish with one scoop of his recommended food and placed it in front of him. But Mochi sniffed the dish, grunted and walked away.
'Can't be that hungry then,' I called after him, laughing.
Such a diva.
I turned my attention to breakfast, brewing myself a healthy sized cup of black coffee while I fixed myself a bowl of cereal. I used the last of the box, and made a note on my phone to pick some more up on my way home. Just as I settled at the table, Mochi meowed at me from the top of his cat tower.
'Finally forgive me for your breakfast?' I asked, knowing if anyone heard my conversation I would look insane for conversing with my cat. He merely scowled at me in response. 'You need to stick to your diet else you're going to do some serious damage to yourself, buddy.'
The cat grunted and turned himself around, unwilling to look at me, his tail swishing behind him. I'd struck a nerve.
I took out my phone, remembering the date. Tonight the new patch of an online game my friends and I played was dropping. We'd arranged a little while ago to play it together. Then a second event flashed in my mind, Bonnie, my best friend, had a job interview today.
She's probably worrying about it. I best text her, make sure she's okay.
I pulled up her contact information and typed out a quick message, wishing her luck for her appointment. Bonnie hadn't had much luck finding work in the past year. She was recently let go from her previous job after difficulties with her mental health, both she and her boss felt it was best if she took some time off, and after she met her new boyfriend, she quit completely. I only hoped she found something soon, it was doing her no good cooped up in her studio.
Finishing breakfast, I returned my empty mug and bowl to the sink, rinsing them under the hot tap. I went to the office space I'd set up in the corner of the lounge and packed my bag for work; laptop, camera, keys, before zipping it up and slinging it over my shoulder. I scratched the top of Mochi's head and said goodbye to the lump before heading off to work.
I worked at an office in the centre of Birmingham, a stone's throw away from my flat, for a well-known technology company. I worked in the IT department, assisting the workers with their computer issues. Majority of my day was spent answering the phone, and reminding my customers to try 'turning the system off and on again' to see if a reboot would solve their issues, and most of the time, this was always the solution. When I wasn't answering the phone, I was troubleshooting website crashes for clients who'd employed the company's services for website creation and management.
Thankfully, I worked alongside my friend Tristan, who somehow managed to keep me sane. He was the lead graphic designer for website creation and often collaborated with me outside of work on hobbyist photoshoots. We might have met at work a few years back, but Tristan had become one of my closest friends, and even joined my online team on Eden's Gate Online.
As soon as I slumped into my desk chair, my assistant had already brought me my morning coffee, just the way I liked it, and Tristan was leaning against my office wall with his arms folded across his chest.
'We're still on for tonight, right?' he asked. He was referring to the new patch releasing on the game. 'Pops really excited for it, she already scanned the patch notes. Apparently the developers are buffing some of the healer spells.'
I laughed and said, 'Course I'm there, like any of you would let me miss it.' I pulled my laptop from my bag and logged into the company's system. My emails were the first thing that loaded and my screen was bombarded the second my home screen came into view.
'Did Scott get in touch with you?' came Tristan's second question.
'Should he have?' I counter queried as I started filtering through my emails.
'He's bailed on the trip, apparently his new missus isn't happy about him going on a couples trip without her.'
I turned to him and pulled a face, 'It's not a couples trip. I'm going.'
'But there's the rest of us, two couples. Maybe she thinks it's a bit weird.'
I shrugged, 'No, he hasn't mentioned anything to me, but considering I'm the one who paid for his ticket, I guess I'll find someone else to replace him.'
Tristan shot me a glance, taking his first sip of coffee. 'Do you know anyone?'
'I'm sure I can think of someone,' I said. But the only person I could think about at that moment was Bonnie.
Those of us who played Eden's Gate Online, two couples, myself and another friend had planned to go away to Paris in the summer for Nostalgia Comic con. Tickets had been sold out for months, and we were lucky to secure enough for our group. At the time, Bonnie was going through a difficult time with her mental health and I deemed it inappropriate to discuss something like this with her whilst she was in recovery. But now the opportunity had risen, I could pose the question to her.
I pushed the question to the back of my mind and turned my focus to work. My email inbox was screaming out to me and I was soon drowning in a sea of enquiries, that I was thankful my assistant had supplied me with coffee early on. It was going to be a long day.
By lunchtime, I'd complete only half of my enquiries. All of them had been the same, asking for tech tips that I started replying using a gif from a British office sitcom. I'm not sure any of my colleagues appreciated my humour, but it was certainly helping me get through the day. I took myself out to lunch, opting for a simple over-the-counter curry so I wouldn't have to worry too much about dinner tonight. And with the new patch dropping, I would tend to stick to snacking rather than heavy meals that would leave me feeling bloated.
Just as I arrived back at my desk with my balti in hand, I remembered Bonnie's interview and dropped her a quick text to ask how it went.
B: Guess who didn't get the job. Messed up on the account I was stuck in my own head again. Maybe I'm not ready to go back to work.
I was shovelling chicken and rice into my mouth with one hand and replying to her message with the other. I told her she didn't need to worry, there would be other jobs. I certainly didn't want her to dwell on the fact she wasn't successful this time. The thought occurred to me to invite her to the comic convention but after I typed out the message, I quickly deleted it again. It still didn't feel like an appropriate time.
She spoke openly about her boyfriend, and how she felt he might react to the news and I tried my best to put her mind at ease before switching the subject of conversation.
H: You looking forward to the new patch drop tonight?
B: You know it!
H: I'll catch you then.
I'd spent so much time dedicated to ensuring Bonnie was managing okay with her mental health that I didn't notice my lunch break ticking away with me. I scoffed the rest of my balti and naan just as it was time to return to the mundane routine. Emails were the bane of my existence at this company, but thankfully the morning had been reserved solely for the nonsense tech questions and my afternoon filled with client based enquiries, an activity I much preferred. This involved anything from looking over existing client websites and troubleshooting issues or discussing the possibility of signing a new client onto my books.
Finalising my work took me over my finishing time, and it was only when Tristan came to hurry me along did I realise the time.
'If you don't get a move on you'll miss the starting time!' He said, practically jumping up and down with excitement. 'I really want to try and make it on as soon as it goes live, I don't want to waste my evening sitting in the queue.'
'That's the risk you take, playing on console,' I joked as I returned everything to my bag and tidied up my desk, leaving the collection of nerdy relics in their dusty spots.
'Oh, did you end up asking anyone to join us on the trip?' Tristan asked.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and frowned at the boring notification filling my screen, 'I've got someone in mind, don't worry. I said I'll sort it.'
Together we wandered through the city, stopping at the local supermarket to collect a few provisions for our gaming session in a few hours time. To my basket, I added a box of cereal and dinner for one.
'You still eat those things?' Tristan mocked, as we came to the checkout.
I furrowed my brow, 'It's not for me, my life isn't that sad-'
'Yet,' he added, cutting me off.
'My neighbour struggles to get out most days, and she's always looking after Mochi when I'm at work late. This is the least I could do for her,' I argued, shoving the items into a carrier. 'Besides, at least my basket doesn't look like a teenage boy's lunch. Try adding some fruit into your diet once in a while.'
We laughed before going our separate ways home, knowing we'd be jumping on voice chat together in under two hours time, with the rest of our friendship group. I walked back home, and as I got back onto my floor I noticed a familiar tubby calico curled up outside my neighbours flat.
'Mochi, did you sneak out again?' I asked the feline. He turned his head to face me, his fluffy tail swishing behind him like he'd done no wrong.
That's when my neighbour came out into the hallway to greet me, 'Harley, how wonderful it is to see you,' the older lady said, her white curls cupped under her ears. 'Now don't be too harsh on him, your cat is wonderful company for someone such as myself.'
I laughed, 'I'm glad he makes such a lovely companion for you, Mrs Bloom,' I said. 'But we really must discuss his dietary requirements.'
She held up her hand to stop me from proceeding, 'Now if I want to treat him to a little fresh chicken or even my leftover salmon from time to time, you must permit me to do so. The little guy loves it, let's not deny him that pleasure.' She patted me on the forearm and gave Mochi a little wave.
There was no sense in fighting a losing battle, and I resigned with a sigh. 'I hope it's okay. I bought you dinner, I wasn't sure if you'd eaten yet,' I said, handing her the ready meal from my carrier.
Mrs Bloom smiled at me, 'Aren't you thoughtful, Harley dear. Thank you for thinking of me.' She replied and accepted the meal from me. 'You shouldn't have, save your money.'
'It's the least I can do considering you take good care of Mochi while I work. Are you sure you will be okay with him staying with you while I'm on holiday?'
'Yes, yes. It's perfectly fine, the little cherub will be fine in my care, I promise.'
'Thank you, Mrs Bloom,' I said, scooping my fat cat off her doormat, juggling him and the carrier in one hand and my door keys in the other. 'Have a good evening.'
'You too, dear.'
Inside my flat, I dumped Mochi onto his cat tower and emptied the contents of my carrier in the kitchen. Not a second after I'd left him, did I hear purring at my ankles.
'None of this is for you fat boy,' I said, scowling at the calico. 'I think we both know you've eaten your fair share today.' He grunted at me, giving up on acting cute and disappearing off to sulk somewhere.
Once all the shopping was safely tucked away from my cat, I poured myself a healthy drink and grabbed a couple of snacks before settling into my gaming set-up. A powerhouse of a computer, built myself specifically to handle the latest gaming releases.
I loaded up Eden's Gate Online from my desktop, the new patch download taking only a few minutes to complete. I paid for one of the best internet packages so my download speed never let me down. Then I pulled my headset onto my head, and signed onto the voice chat where my friends waited for me. Their voices filled my ears and a smile crept onto my lips. Adrenaline coursed through my veins in anticipation for this new content.
'We all ready to get started?'
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