Two Page Shorts by Nick Venom (top reads .txt) 📕

her job, she headed home, passing through the shortcut alleyway. However, unlike yesterday, there was no mysterious man or a Journal in the dumpster waiting for her.

She headed to her house, entering and locking the door behind her. She looked at the couch, noticing that she had left the Journal on the couch. She quickly grabbed it and stuffed it under the couch to keep it out of sight of Alainey. 

Satisfied that nobody would find it for the day, she turned away. She headed to the kitchen, grabbing a snack from the cupboards. She turned around, standing against the counter, chomping on the snacks. What time is Alainey getting home? It should be soon, right? She took her phone out and looked at the time and date. Oh, it’s Thursday. She’s in after-school. She won’t be home until later, so… I guess I got some time for myself.

She strolled to her room where she kept a dusty game console, a present that she had received from her parents when she was young. The console, the Jayhawk 3, was revolutionary at the time and had served to keep a young Skye occupied, but now laid in her room, gathering dust in her closet. 

Skye took the console out of the closet, blowing the thick layer of dust off before plugging it in. She checked the console, finding a game inside it. The game disc, with bold words ‘Nightstalker’ on it, was chipped and dirty. She attempted to clean the disc to no avail. It had gathered too much dust and dirt while rotting in the closet that it no longer worked. 

“Well, there goes one game.” She remarked before checking her closet for more games. She pulled out three games, inspecting the titles. They were generic and lackluster titles that she didn’t play more than once. Instead, she scoured through her closet for any more games, finding another one hidden in a corner, behind an empty box shoe. She pulled it out, bringing it close to her face. In bold letters were the words, ‘Venom Party’, a wacky and ridiculous party game with dozens of choosable characters and minigames. 

She smiled at the game’s cover which displayed several main characters from other titles in a wacky crossover, before opening the box and getting to the disc. The game had been one of her family’s favorite games for party nights, which happened to be on Thursdays. 

She blew the dust off the disc before entering it into the console. She took a step back as the console roared to life. The console went through a series of clicks and sounds of gears brushing against each other before the sounds suddenly stopped. Skye positioned the small almost box-shaped television next to the console, turning it on. She grabbed a wire that she used to connect both machines before taking a step back.

The television displayed the console’s main screen, showing that the game had been inserted and functioning. She looked around for the controller, finding a battery-operated wireless one in her closet. She attempted to turn it on, but the controller wasn’t working. She checked the batteries and found them dead, discarding them on her bedside table. I need new batteries, She thought to herself as she blew dust from the battery port. The entire controller was layered in a thick coat of dust and a brownish substance she hoped was the controlling rotting. Or maybe a new controller.

She then set the controller on the console, turning both it and the television off. The television turned pitch black while the console slowly died. The sounds of the console fighting to stay on were apparent but fruitless. It went dark.

However, she wasn’t sad. She was slightly happy - happy that the console and game still worked. All she needed to do was clean the controller and get new batteries. It was the better outcome for pieces of machinery way past their prime. 

Skye turned away, hearing a knock on the door. She walked out of her room, headed to the front door, and peering through the door’s window. Outside was her childhood friend, Alec. She opened the door, facing him. “Alec, nice to see you again.”

Alec nodded, smiling. “How have you been, Skye?” He asked, slightly worried. He moved his hand through his short brown hair, a nervous tick of his. “I wanted to ask you if you wanted to eat out with me?”

Skye raised an eyebrow. “Like… a date?”

Alec innocently shook his head. “N-No… N-No, I-I wasn’t t-thinking that.”

“Stop teasing him,” Alainey remarked, appearing from behind them. “You’ll kill the poor kid.” She walked past Alec and into the living room. She threw her bag towards the couch, managing to land it perfectly this time.

“Yes!” She exclaimed before turning around to face Skye and Alec. “Go, sis. Go have some fun. All you have been doing is working and cooking.” She pushed Skye out of the house. Alec shuffled a few steps back. “I’ll eat leftovers from yesterday. Now, go and enjoy your day. You’re not allowed to return until you do.” She turned her attention to Alec. “Make sure she has a fun day. I want her to return with a smile.” She said before slamming the door shut in Skye’s face.

“Well… what a brat.” Skye joked, turning around to face Alec. “It looks like I have some free time.”

Alec smiled, motioning for Skye to follow him. “I already made reservations. Let’s go.”

Skye nodded, following his lead. Alec brought her to his car, idling in front of her house. Unlike Skye, Alec had found a good-paying job that allowed him to purchase almost anything he wanted. Even without the job, his family had been well-off, especially compared to Skye and her family.

Alec opened the passenger door, beckoning Skye in. She slid into the passenger’s seat while Alec did the same to the driver’s seat. Once they were both in and strapped down by the seat belt, Alec dropped his foot on the gas and propelled them forward. The car he was driving was a fancier one that could go from 0 to 100 within a few seconds.

He, however, didn’t use that function as it would’ve scared Skye. Instead, he drove to a fancy-looking restaurant known as Golden Crown at a decent speed. The Golden Crown that he had a reservation at was a large three-story building that was five times the size of Skye’s house. He parked next to the building, getting out and escorting Skye out of the car and into the building.

As Skye walked inside, she looked around and found that everybody around her was dressed in fancier clothing - clearly showing off their weight. “Well, I feel underdressed.” She joked.

Alec shook his head. “Don’t worry, you aren’t.” He led her to the front desk where the receptionist looked up at the pair. 

“Reservation?”

“One under the Brightfall family.” He requested. The receptionist nodded, skimming through her book of reservations until she found Brightfall. With the name found and the reservation confirmed, she led the pair to their table, a two-chair table. 

Alec sat Skye down before sitting down himself. A waiter quickly attacked the table, handing out the menus at lightning speed. “I will be your waiter, Houston. Call for me if you’re ready to order.” He left the table, servicing another. He repeated this process, speeding through several tables with the utmost efficiency. 

“How have you been, Skye?” Alec asked, running his fingers through his hair.

“Uh… Drained and tired.”

“Drained? Have you been getting enough sleep?” He asked, his voice full of worry. “You have a habit of overworking yourself.

Skye smiled an honest smile. “No, I haven’t. I’ve been doing my best to not overwork myself to death.” She remarked.

Alec nodded. “Oh, how has Alainey been? I can see that she’s still the same, but… how is she doing at school and everything?”

“Yeah, ever since they… Well, anyway, she’s been busy at school but she’s doing well.” Skye glanced off to the side at a romantic couple clinking glass cups and laughing with intensity. “She’s doing better. A lot better.”

“Now, have you been doing better?” Alec asked.

“I think that’s enough about me, how about you?” Skye asked, swerving the conversation away from the topic of her mental health. “You’ve been climbing the ranks? On your way to becoming a millionaire?”

Alec shook his head with a small smile. “Heavens no. I’ve been stuck in the same position for a while now. I haven’t been able to make full use of my…” He stopped himself. “I feel like I could do better in a different position.” He awkwardly coughed. “Anyway, I needed to ask you something.”

“This isn’t a confession, right?” Skye joked.

Alec shook his head, blushing. “No, it isn’t. You see… a position opened up and I want you to fill it.”

Skye raised an eyebrow. “Why do you want me to apply?” She asked.

Alec gave her a “you know why” look. “You were the salutatorian of your class. You are blatantly intelligent. A job at a pizzeria shouldn’t be your peak.” He said, leaning in.

Skye nodded. What Alec was saying was correct. She had been the salutatorian in her class with Alec being the valedictorian. However, that was all before her parents’ accident and the piling up bills. Even so, the proposal sounded sweet to her ears.

“How much do I get paid?” She asked immediately.

“A 1,000 starting bonus than 40 dollars as the starting pay.” He presented in a way that intrigued Skye based on the pay solely.

“Well… what do I have to do? I won’t be making pizzas for the rest of the staff, right?” She teased.

Alec smiled, shaking his head. “I want you to use your intelligence, so your position will be as a manager in charge of dividing up work, helping with coding, and your subordinates’ timesheets. Basically everything you do in a coding department.”

“A manager!” Skye shrieked, catching the attention of others nearby. She quickly apologized before turning to face Alec. “Shouldn’t I start at the lowest position? Why am I being promoted to the manager title right off the bat?”

Alec grinned from ear to ear. “I may or may not have pulled a few strings, but don’t worry I didn’t do anything wrong like push anybody out of the position. As you will soon see, most of the workers there don’t have as great of leadership skills as you do. You’ll basically be the Goddess ruling over your department.”

“Well… I’m thankful, but… what have I done to deserve this?” She asked, furrowing her brows.

“You’ve done more than enough. You’ve been caring for your sister and parents while working a full-time job. You left college to deal with your financial situation. I want to see you doing better, both mentally, physically, and financially.”

Skye grinned. For as long as I can remember, Alec has been a good friend to me. It looks like he hasn’t changed since the last time I saw him. She nodded her head in acknowledgment. “I’ll take the position. When do I start?”

Alec smiled, happy to see that his offer was taken. “Monday.” He extended his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Manager of the Coding Department.”

Skye shook his hand “Nice to meet you too, future millionaire.”

***

With the main reason for the dinner over, Alec and Skye gave their orders and later feasted until there was no more space in their stomachs. After that, Alec dropped Skye off at home, where she passed by Alainey teasing her before collapsing on her bed due to the food coma she was in. 

She slept peacefully and calmly, checked upon by Alainey, who wore a satisfied smile. “Good night, sis. Dream big. She closed Skye’s bedroom door after turning out all of the lights.

In the morning, Skye shot out of bed. Where am I? She looked around, slowly recognizing that she was in her room. She opened her bedroom door and strolled into the kitchen where Alainey was eating a bowl of cereal. She looked up at her older sister as she entered the room with