A memory
John sat in a crowded auditorium; his foot was forcefully tapping on the ground as he looked at the dark stage ahead of him.
The roar of conversation filled the auditorium.
John was so big that his mass took up three seats. And his gut stuck out so far that people had to walk around to the other end of the row of chairs to get a seat.
Just that alone made John feel embarrassed. But on top of that people would also look at him. From every part of the auditorium, eyes would glance towards him. Even the people on the other side of the Auditorium were looking at him!
Their eyes. John swore they held some level of disgust. It made him not want to be here.
But despite that. Here he was.
"They're going to start! THEY'RE GOING TO START!"
Yelled a girl with bright green hair and stars in her eyes. Her name was Charlotte.
She was what John thought of as a photon person because she was everywhere at once.
Any local event. She'll be there. Any concert. She'll be there. Any place that involves even the slightest shred of human interaction. She'll be there.
John knew Charlotte through the company he worked at. John helped do the taxes for a large fast-food company. He was paid well. And he could easily get discounts on food.
Although John preferred to buy cakes.
Everyone in John's company knew Charlotte, from the CEO to the Janitor. If you worked there, Charlotte would have probably talked to you. After learning that, no one would be surprised to learn that she worked in marketing. And she was good at it, too. She was good enough at marketing that the company gave her enough money to attend these events. And pay anyone she wanted to go with her.
And John was that person. She had paid for him to go listen to a self-help guru talk.
"Have you read any of his books?" John had asked her
"NO! I don't even know who he is!" Charlotte had screamed in response.
And so John was strong-armed into showing up to this man's talk.
For the simple reason that it was happening, Charlotte had paid to bring him along. She had bought the tickets before asking him.
So John was obligated.
"He's here!"
A cacophony of cheers filled the auditorium.
John just watched the stage with a blank expression.
Charollet was bouncing up and down on the seat. There was a giddy grin of unearned enthusiasm on her face.
Her bouncing was making her flotation devices move in an interesting way.
John's gaze was focused even more intently on the stage.
"Aren't you excited!" Charollet yelled
John turned his head in her direction.
She was still bouncing.
And John wasn't sure. But when he looked at her. He swore that her smile widened.
But it was probably just his imagination
John's head snapped back to the stage.
Don't look. DON'T FUCKING LOOK!
Charollet froze. A spotlight on the stage went on.
"Hello everyone. My name is Jeff. And I'm here to speak today."
Jeff didn't look anything like a self-help guru.
He wasn't jacked. He was a bit chubby. He didn't wear a suit or have an air of confidence about him. He was dressed in only shorts and a long baggy T-shirt. He wasn't even tall. Even from this far, John could tell he was a bit more diminutive than average.
John couldn't help but think that Charollet was completely insane to pay to see this man.
"Today, I'm going to talk about happiness. BLA BLA BLA" And then John's mind went numb.
Happiness was just a stupid idea sold by society to get people to keep making bad choices and having kids. It wasn't actually a real thing.
And so, for the next forty-five minutes, John sat there. His face nearly went numb from how little of a fuck he gave about every word they were saying.
But even when he tried from the very bottom of his guts not to pay attention. He still heard one thing from what the people were saying.
"For all those who weren't paying attention, let me sum it up. Happiness is constituted of two things. The things that make you feel valued and the people around you. If you are surrounded by good people. And have things that make you feel valued in spades. You will be happy."
.
…
...
John laid in the dark of the building he had leaped from. His body was broken and bruised. He couldn't move. Joe had left. If he had stayed with John any longer the monster would have gained ground. And if the monster died then Joe's wife would die. So Joe left in John's hour of need.
But strangely, John didn't feel abandoned.
That spark was still there. The one that Joe had given him.
"You showed me what it actually looked like to stand."
John had helped someone. Even when he wasn't trying just by living, he had helped another person.
It made John feel a certain way on the inside. It wasn't the warm and fuzzy feeling he would get when someone complimented him. It was beyond that.
It's like I'm standing atop a field of flowers.
Beauty. But it was more than that.
But those flowers have been packed into concrete.
Beauty. Stone.
It was value.
That's what I want to do. I want to help someone.
{Error: Human Constitution: What is the Constitution of man? The Constitution of man is what Constitutes a mind. And what constitutes a mind? Simple. The Loves that you find.~
{Human Constitution has upgraded to Help Others!}
John squinted at the system message before him.
What does this mean?
A description suddenly appeared.
{For every thousand people you help you get one stat point that you can freely allocate. Horray!}
John grinned. This was incredibly convenient.