Shawn von Charlie had had just about enough of his day to day life of watching Anime, playing Video Games, studying Japanese, studying Science, studying Geography, studying Corporations, studying Politics and Government, studying History, studying Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Physics, Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Learning Blender.

He was done. Fed up. He had absolutely had enough. And today. Things were going to change! They would. Or he was going to do something he said he'd never do... Apply for a job.

"What do you mean the next flight to Detroit is cancelled!?" he exclaimed at the holographic man across the room from him.

"I'm sorry sir, but there are just no flights today," the light blue personification of a man working from the Overland Park City, Kansas branch of We'll Get You Flying Incorporated explained calmly.

"Well that just will not do," Shawn said. "What about tomorrow?"

"No dice,"

"Next week?"

"No," he answered after a long pause.

"Well when is one available?"

"None until the Infestation of Kraug that escaped from that Indiana lab is dealt with,"

"But that's the exact reason I wanted to travel! To see them! To see something different for a change!"

There was another long pause. "I could get you into California,"

"No! Absolutely not! I know everything there is to know about California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento even Eureka! Just. Can you get me anywhere north of Oklahoma? Maybe their flight restrictions won't be as strict,"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Sorry. I'm not allowed to assist someone in acquiring a ticket who has the stated intention of disobeying a Governor Directive,"

"So I should have just not mentioned it?"

"Probably,"

"Can't I just try another agency now? Didn't you just lose a customer?"

"It's in the State Database now along with the rest of the transcript for this call. Everyone else will now tell you the same thing,"

"I'm hanging up,"

"Yeah. Thanks for calling. Let us know if there's anything in the fut-"

The hologram disappeared and Shawn sat down. Sad. Very sad.

Something had to be done. But what? Apply for a job, like his parents expected him to? But where?

After a short search of his room-with-a-view overlooking the city of New Wichita (north of Brewster, south of Bird City), he found it. The answer to his current dilemma. A book with a shortlist of possible employment options he made when he was 15 (his parents were encouraging him to think about his future at the time). It was categorized by industry. Video game development, Animation, Education, and Cryptolinguistics were his favorite options. But no. He couldn't just choose something he'd already had an interest in in the past. He had to try something new. Different. Someone with those characteristics and offering employment in his state (he actually liked Kansas a lot so leaving long term never occured to him).

A quick Gogglygoopa search with those almost exact keywords in double quotes yielded something interesting.

"Hello? Is this Validation Corporation? I'm seeking vali-sorry, employment. Do you have any open positions?" His overconsumption of memes from his friends earlier that morning was not giving him a good start.

"No,"

"What? But I just looked you guys up and I can clear-

"No. There is nothing for you here Shawn von Charlie. Hang up now,"

"How did you even know my name?"

"The Database AI that investigated your case just before you picked up the phone is very clear who you are. Do you want to know what the executive summary was? It was only four words,"

"What did it say?"

"Unreliable Employee,"

"That's only two words though,"

"You really want to know?"

"Certainly,"

"Total failure,"

"I understand. May I have your name as a reference to assist me in any further inquiries?"

Five seconds passed without event. "Fine. Here it is. Carl. My name is Carl. Might there be anything else I can help you with?"

"No thank you. Nothing at all,"

Shawn hung up.

He hadn't found what he expected to find. Not at all. He had assumed following his parents' advice would at worst yield a relatively normal rejection, but what this was... Was incredibly interesting. Was all job hunting this entertaining? Perhaps he'd made a terrible miscalculation somewhere.