Segment 1: Does this thing auto-save?
There was the sound of an explosion. Followed by another. And another, until there were so many in succession that any other sound would be hard-pressed to be heard.
It was a good thing, then, that M’s phone was set to vibrate, and currently in his back pocket. He put it to his ear and answered without even looking to see who the caller was. He continued to focus on the onscreen destruction he had been in the midst of causing. “This is M,” he answered, with a slightly disconnected voice.
“Hey, uh, M. This is Billy.”
M hit the pause button and set the controller down. Who?
“I don’t, like, know if you remember me, man, you probably don’t. But like… I was wondering if you could help me out? See, I’ve got this, um...well, I mean, it’s pretty much... uhh. So I can’t live at home right now, not after I promised my mom I’d move out and try to make something of my life. I’ve been trying really hard, so I didn’t wanna disappoint. But a place of my own is outta the question, because money is kinda tight… Anyway I thought about calling around, y’know, lookin for a roommate and stuff. But at the same time, I didn’t wanna bother my friends, they’ve been doin their own thing and all that. I haven’t actually called them yet, but, well I guess I could try if it came to that, but there’s a lot, like… I dunno. Then there’s Gale. I talked to him, to see if he knew anybody, and his friend, the girly one, your buddy... Zephyr? He-- uh. He told me to talk to you. So he gave me your number and address but I just wanted to call first. Since he told me to go to you, I dunno if that means you’re not busy, or like you got a place, or I mean like what…”
“Wait. So, what exactly is it that you need help with?”
“Whoa! Haha, hey, didn’t know you were there. I thought I was leavin a message. Sorry, that scared me just now. I’ve been kinda out of it lately.”
M could hear the long draw of oxygen Billy must have just taken, as if he’d forgotten that breathing was something people actually did.
“Wow. Okay, uh. Did you try talking to that one girl, Midget? Or something. What was her name again? The one you were always with?”
There was that deep breath again.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, M pulled the phone away and glanced at the screen to make sure he hadn’t accidentally dropped the call. He put the phone back to his ear, and said, “hello?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Anyway, that’s the problem. I was kinda hoping… you could help.”
“You mean “help” as in…?”
“A place. Like, to stay... for a while.”
“Help you find a place? Or are you asking to stay here?”
“Umm…”
“All right, listen, why don’t you come over in a couple of days? It’ll be easier to discuss all this in person.”
“Sure. I’ll uhh, see you then.”
The call ended. M shut off his game, and scrolled down his list of contacts. He decided it was as good a time as any to get in touch with his buddy, Zephyr.
