"So, what's the plan? What's next?"
His mother had asked him directly, to lead the conversation away from a painful discussion and to give him a sense of drive to distract him from it. Jack pondered for a moment on how to answer this question. Instinctively he wanted to tell them that he was just going to relax and play some games in his room for a few months to relax his mind. However, he also knew that if he were to do this, nothing would change, and being reborn would mean nothing as the cycle would continue. His heart pounding at the thought of entering the world, with his anxiety of having nowhere to fit in the world in full force, taking a brave step forward he made a decision.
"I'm going to find a job… I'm not good with people and I'm really uncomfortable in crowded places, so somewhere like a restaurant, cinema or even a Burger Queen is not a place I'll be looking for. But I can't be too choosey."
Listening to the conversation as she was tapping away on her phone, texting her closest friend, she received a perfectly timed offer from her. Her friend Mia, had an older sister who was also close friends with Rachel, back when they had just started college. She was now studying at the same university that Jack had been going to, however, she lived off-campus in a shared flat in a three-story building that was reserved only for female students.
Knowing that Rachel had a habit of spending all her money on the newest branded clothes and not having much left in the way of getting by, she had offered a job at the building where their flat is for a cleaners position. The building was fairly new and managed by a letting company, rather than an individual landlord, which means staff were regularly needed to ensure the cleanliness of the building, much like a caretaker.
Reading this message, Rachel had responded that she wasn't looking, but since it's a girls-only building, would it matter whether the cleaner of the building was a guy or not. As the cleaner would only clean the building itself and remove any rubbish bags from the rubbish disposal area and would not be entering any of the flats within the building, gender didn't matter. Knowing that fact, she asked Mia one final question. Now that her brother isn't studying for a while and is looking for a place to work, would it be okay if he came to have an interview.
After waiting for 10 minutes, allowing time for Mia to phone the letting agency and see whether or not they would be okay to book an interview for Jack, finally, a text arrived. Everything was all green and good to go, all Jack would have to do is text the building manager from the agency and confirm that the time tomorrow for the interview would be good.
"What about a cleaners position? You don't see many people, and all you're doing is scrubbing stuff and taking out the rubbish?"
She posed the question to Jack. He thought about it for a moment, then remembered that the system had given him a cleaning related skill too. This seemed perfect. Not only was there less contact so he would be able to work on his social anxiety in the minimal contact that he did have, but also on top of that he would be able to gain levels for the system, gain experience in the skill use and also be able to maybe unlock a new skill whilst he's at it. Taking this into his stride, he had a faint smile as he answered in agreeance to a job like that.
"Great! I'll let them know you'll be there for the job tomorrow."
"…What…"
Jack's faint smile, instantly disappeared and he became utterly confused. Was his sister joking, was she scheming or was she genuinely trying to help? He wasn't alone in that reaction as his mother's expression also told the same story as she looked over her shoulder towards Rachel too. Letting out a light laugh, she put her phone down and explained what had just happened when talking to Mia.
His mother agreed with the situation that had been arranged, the only problem was that Jack needed to survive the interview. Jack followed the advice from both his sister and mum as he text the building manager and agreed to the lunchtime interview the next day. This was his first step towards that different future, so he would have to be brave. Thanking the both of them for their support, Jack stood up, went towards his room, and decided it was time to call it a night. A night of long sleep was needed to refill his energy after such a day and prepare for the difficult day tomorrow.
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Correcting his tieless suit and double-checking his backpack has all the paperwork that would potentially be needed for his interview, he enters the door of the letting agency. Upon entry, he is approached by a member of staff who enquired whether not he was looking to rent a property that they had in the window, or if he was looking to rent in general and this was his first time. After explaining that instead, he was here for an interview to work in one of their managed properties, the staff member understood and led him to the back of the store, outside of the manager's office.
"Just wait here a moment, I've notified the manager and they will come and get you in a few moments when they're ready for the interview."
Putting on the fakest of smiles in response as the member of staff walked away, Jack became uncomfortable. Up to this point he had fought against his social anxiety pretty well, distracting himself by looking out of the window on the bus and listening to music, however, now he was about to begin the interview and was stood just right outside the manager's office. The inner tension began and that strong front he had managed to put up, slowly began to show cracks.
The door opened and a tall, well-built man came through the doorframe. Standing at around 6ft 1 inch, muscular, with a caramel tinted skin tone, his aura was domineering to someone like Jack who was the counter opposite, a man who had arm's that were like noodles and stood at 5ft 9 inches. The aura of the manager was only intensified by his apparel. He wore a navy-blue suit, with a black-tie, which was so tight it looked as though his biceps would rip the sleeves of the suit off. Taking off his glasses and tucking them into the suits front pocket, he politely approached Jack.
"Hello there! You must be Mr Keaton? I heard about you from one of our residents who suggested you for the job, please come in!".
"Ah… Umm… Yeah, that's me"
Reservedly, Jack walked into the room and sat down in the chair opposite the manager. The manager was already informed about Jack's social anxiety issues and that being one of the main reasons he's taken on a solo cleaner role with the agency so that being the case he knew how to handle Jack and make him feel more welcome and supported. Slowly but surely as they covered the specifics of the contract and the job role itself, Jack had begun to loosen up and be more in tune with his real self and not the shy, reserved guy who struggled with interactions. This also helped the manager see the type of person Jack was, which led to him choosing him for the role.
"Okay, so the last bit of everything before we sign, I just want to cover everything in a summary to make sure you understand and are 100% okay with it before starting. So, the hourly pay will be £9 an hour, you'll be contracted for 30 hours a week and the current contract will last for a year with an option for renewal at the end of everything. If you understand are completely okay, then sign and date the line at the bottom and we'll have you start next week Monday."
After re-reading the terms of the contract and covering the summary for a second time, he signed the contract and dated it as instructed. The manager photocopied the signed version of the contract to give to Jack as a personal copy, then gave one last bit of information. Since he was recommended by a resident who has resided in the building for a while now and being that the individual was also close with the previous cleaner, they'll be the one to greet him and show him around the place when he starts on Monday.
After everything finalized, with nothing left to do he returned home, safely storing away the copied contract, and decided that this week before work begins, would be spent relaxing. However, Jacks relaxing week away from life was a double-edged sword. When he slew his enemies in 'League of Champions', he was also met with the same voice in-game that the system had chosen to use before, making him confused whether or not it was the system or the game speaking…