The birds were chirping and the sun was shining. A few fluffy white clouds were floating through the sky. Then an airplane flew overhead, puncturing the sky like a needle punctures a vein.
Wyrmlok looked back down to the sidewalk. Many shoes walked back and forth around him and the skyscrapers overhead cast shade on the surroundings. A few sickly-looking trees were interspersed among the crowd, standing tall but ultimately still looking sad and droopy.
Giving his face a good slap, he stood from the bench, picked up his briefcase, and began to walk. Today was his first day at a ‘Normal’ job, and it wouldn't do to be late.
He walked among the crowd, now just one of many.
Soon, he arrived at his destination. He stood before just one of the many skyscrapers. Nothing set the building apart, no color, no flair, just boring like all the others.
Then the nervousness started. He wasn't nervous about being in front of a crowd, no. After all, you can’t be afraid of people and still play pranks on them. What he feared was the job itself.
He shook his head, clearing the thought, then entered. The glass doors slid open without a sound. Inside the building, he could hear the click of shoes on hard ground.
The receptionist's desk was to the right, so he headed that way. The woman behind the counter looked up from her computer to greet him.
“Hello, how may I help you today?”
“Hello. My name is Wyrmlok, hear to see David.”
The receptionist raised an eyebrow.
“Your name is Wyrmlok?”
“Uh, yeah. Is there something blocking your hearing? Let me check.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He reached over the desk before the receptionist could react.
“Oh, well! Would you look at that, there was a coin in your ear! Hehe.”
This only caused the woman's eyebrow to rise even higher, as impossible as it seemed.
Wyrmlok coughed into his fist.
“Sorry. Old habits. Yes, my name is Wyrmlok. It may seem odd, but that's what happens when you let a four year old name themselves. Ha.”
The receptionist remained silent and just went back to their computer, hopefully looking for the appointment in their database.
“Yes, Mr. Wyrmlok, the meeting is on the fifth floor, room 523.”
“Alright.”
With that done, he headed to the elevator. He walked onto the elevator alongside two other people in business suits. He clicked the five-button and the other two chose their respective floors. The elevator began to rise until it reached the fifth floor.
Ding!
“Well, I’ll be seeing you fellas. Have a nice trip.”
He began to leave but tripped ‘accidentally’ and hit the button panel with his hand, clicking all the floors on.
“Whoops, sorry, gotta go.”
The one man held his head in his hands while the woman just looked at him askance.
Once the door closed, he couldn't contain himself any longer.
“HAHAHA! Oh, HAHA! Their faces… HAHA!”
He laughed so hard he dropped to his knees and dropped his briefcase, hands on the floor, wheezing.
“Oh my god, that was good.”
Standing back up, he dusted himself off and then grabbed his briefcase. Then he began his quest, to find room 523. It didn’t take him very long to find the room. He stood before it, second-guessing himself again.
After the self scolding, he straightened his suit. He patted his pocket, feeling his wand, and smiled.
With that, he knocked on the door and walked through.
“What the fuck?”
The room was gone, the door was gone. All that remained was a white expanse. Then a message appeared in his vision.
//
Welcome inhabitant of planet BN3733, self-designation “Earth”
You are being initiated into the system
//