"What about you, Jake? How was playing therapist all day?" Liza asked with her head resting on her hand.
I sighed, setting my beer down on the table. "Yeah, it was... interesting."
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "Interesting? That's all you've got? Come on, give us the details."
I hesitated for a moment, thinking back to the little girl, Emma, and the game of Memory we'd played. "I had my first client today. Little girl. She lost her mom to the whole zombie thing, and her dad brought her here from Calgary. She wouldn't talk, wouldn't even look at me at first."
Liza's smile faded slightly, her tone turning more serious. "Shit. That's rough. How'd you handle it?"
I shrugged. "She wasn't responding to anything I said, so I had to get creative. I ended up playing a game with her—Memory, you know, with the cards. It worked, sort of. She didn't talk, but at least she was engaged by the end."
Ethan leaned back, his beer halfway to his lips. "Damn, man. That's heavy. I don't know how you do it. I'd be shit at that job."
"It's not easy," I admitted. "But, I don't know, I guess it feels like I'm doing something that matters. Helping people get through their shit, even if it's just one kid at a time."
Daisy nodded, her expression more thoughtful now. "Yeah, I get that. It's important. These people have been through hell."
Liza leaned back in her chair, taking another swig of her beer. "Well, at least we're all doing something useful, right? I mean, that's something."
Yabe smiled softly, her hands wrapped around her mug. "It's nice, having a purpose. I was helping out in the clinic today—just basic stuff, but it felt good to be doing something that mattered."
"How'd it go for you?" I asked, glancing over at her.
She hesitated for a moment, her gaze dropping to the table. "It was hard. We had a few patients come in—people who were hurt, mostly. And there was one man... he'd lost his whole family. He didn't say much, just sat there, staring at the wall. It was heartbreaking."
I reached over, giving her a gentle nudge. "You're doing good work, Kohai. You're helping people heal."
Yabe smiled, though there was a sadness in her eyes. "Thanks, Senpai. I just wish I could do more."
Daisy took a long swig of her beer, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "We're all doing what we can. That's all anyone can ask for, right?"
Ethan chuckled, raising his mug. "To doing what we can."
We all raised our mugs, clinking them together in a toast. The sound echoed through the warm, crowded tavern, blending with the laughter and chatter around us.
"To surviving another day," Liza added, smirking.
"To surviving," I agreed, taking a long drink. The beer was still bitter, but after a day like today, it tasted a little sweeter.
***
Back at the motel, we pooled together what little pay we'd earned from our first day on the job. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep us off the streets—or, more accurately, out of the snow—for another week. Daisy spread the coins out on the bed, counting them with a frown.
"Barely enough for another week here," she muttered. "This place is a dump, but at least it's warm."
Ethan stretched out on the couch, his feet hanging off the edge. "Yeah, and that dump of a couch is slowly destroying my back."
I snorted, sitting down next to him. "At least you've got something to sleep on. We're not exactly in a position to be picky."
Yabe sat cross-legged on the bed, gently smoothing out the wrinkles in the blanket. "We should be grateful. It could be a lot worse. There are people out there who don't even have a place to stay."
Daisy leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, no shit. Did you see the line at the town hall? People scrambling just to get work, and half of 'em won't get paid enough to afford even this shitty motel."
Just then, like clockwork, the now-familiar sound of loud sex started coming from the room next door. The rhythmic banging of the bed against the wall, mixed with the muffled moans and groans, filled the room, and we all paused, exchanging looks.
Ethan groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. "Oh, come on! Again?"
Liza was the first to crack a grin. "What, you jealous? Want me to knock on the door and see if they need a third?"
Daisy chuckled, shaking her head. "You wish, Liza."
I rolled my eyes, but even I couldn't help but laugh. "They've got stamina, I'll give 'em that."
Liza leaned over, a teasing grin on her face. "What do you think, Jake? Should we join the party? Or maybe have our own right here?"
I laughed awkwardly, feeling my face heat up. "Uh, yeah, no thanks. I think I'll pass."
Yabe's face turned bright red, and she buried her face in her hands. "Liza, stop! You're embarrassing everyone."
Ethan, from under his pillow, mumbled, "Can we just pretend it's not happening and go to sleep?"
The noise from next door continued, but we did our best to ignore it, even though the thin walls made that nearly impossible. Instead, we shifted the conversation to something more serious—or at least, we tried to.
"We've gotta start thinking about a more permanent place," Daisy said after a moment, her tone more serious. "This motel won't cut it forever."
Liza nodded, sitting up a little straighter. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. But have you heard? Housing in this town is practically nonexistent. Everything's overcrowded."
"Yeah," Ethan added, finally sitting up. "And it's not like we're making enough to save up for a house. Hell, with what we're getting paid, we'll be lucky to afford anything in the next few years."
Yabe looked thoughtful, her hands resting in her lap. "It's because of all the people coming from other cities. They're running out of space. I heard the mayor's trying to figure something out, but... it doesn't look good."
Daisy sighed, rubbing her temples. "So, what? We're stuck here in this motel forever?"
"I don't think we're stuck," I said, trying to sound more hopeful than I felt. "We just need to be smart about it. Save what we can, keep looking for opportunities."
Liza leaned back against the headboard, crossing her arms. "Easier said than done. Have you seen the prices for anything even remotely livable? We'd need to work non-stop for years just to afford a down payment, and that's if something even opens up."
Ethan sighed, his frustration evident. "This whole situation is fked. We're busting our asses just to survive, and now we're supposed to magically come up with enough to buy a house?"
Yabe's voice was soft but firm. "We'll figure it out. It might take time, but we can't lose hope."
Liza smirked. "I'm just saying, if we can't afford a place, maybe we should just take over the next-door room. Whoever's in there clearly has enough energy to spare."
Daisy laughed, though the tension in her voice remained. "Right, because that's the solution. We'll just move in next door and live in constant sexual stereo."
The noise from the neighboring room finally started to die down, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank gosh, I thought they'd never stop."
Ethan shook his head, half-laughing. "Man, if they've got enough energy for that every night, they're doing something right. Or maybe we're doing something wrong."
"Speak for yourself," Daisy said, smirking. "I'm perfectly fine with not being part of whatever's going on over there."
Yabe blushed again, her voice barely above a whisper. "Can we just... talk about something else, please?"
Liza chuckled, giving Yabe a playful nudge. "Aw, come on, Yabe. Don't be so shy. It's not like anyone here's gonna judge you."
"I'm not shy!" Yabe protested, though her face was still bright red. "I just... don't think we need to talk about that."
"Alright, alright," I said, raising my hands in mock surrender. "Let's change the subject. Back to the whole house situation. There's gotta be some way to work around this."
Daisy leaned back, thinking. "Maybe. But it's gonna take time. Maybe we can pool our resources, find a way to buy something together."
"That's not a bad idea," I said. "But it'll take a lot of saving. And patience."
Liza raised an eyebrow. "Patience? In this world? You're asking for a lot, Jake."
"Yeah, well," I shrugged, "what other choice do we have?"
The conversation continued, but the reality of our situation hung over us like a dark cloud. For now, the motel was home. It wasn't ideal, and the thin walls meant we'd have to endure more late-night "performances" from next door, but it was better than being out in the cold.
We might not have had a house yet, but at least we had each other. And in a world like this, that was worth more than anything.
Q: Do you usually share your activities with others?