Caramel or vanilla... caramel or vanilla... or hazelnut?

"Uh... one hazelnut latte, please." Marcie's big amber eyes slid over to the desserts box. No. "That's it."

"What size would you like?" the barista who should have pursued a career in modelling smiled. God damn - his eyebrows were almost as perfect as hers.

"Large."

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

"Do you have your student card? There's a ten percent discount."

"Oh no, I don't."

"I'll give it to you anyway sure, just bring your card next time!"

"For sure!" she grinned, unconsciously flipping her bleached ashy blonde hair over her shoulder.

"That's four-fifty, then."

Marcie held her phone up so the barista could scan her QR code, taking the receipt with a smile. Her drink was prepared at the speed of light, it seemed, for it came out before the others ahead of her got theirs. She ignored the eye rolls and scowls as she took the drink, accepting it with a sweet 'thank you' and a dazzling smile, satisfied with his bashful expression and heading out. Pooka Books, a mid-sized publishing house, was located in the heart of St. Luca City. It was there she had worked for the last year as a proofreader, jumping ship from her old job selling cosmetics in a department store.

She hadn't really intended to be a proofreader, she'd applied by accident one night while drunk and bored, but got the interview anyway. The pay was much better, her feet less sore, and she didn't have to dress in a suit every day. Not that she didn't look good in a suit - she looked fabulous and she was good at her job - but she loved being comfortable and Pooka Books had no dress code. She could've sworn her boss came in in pyjamas the week before.

"What the actual fuck is this sentence?" Marcie growled, yeeting the manuscript onto her desk and rubbing her eyes.

"Is that Minnow again?" her team mate Wendy asked.

"How can someone write so pretentiously and be this fucking bad at it? My brain hurts! This paragraph is eleven lines long, it has two sentences and no commas! I swear to-"

She stood up, swiping her lukewarm coffee and taking the three strides to her supervisor's office, knocking loudly on the open door.

"What's up, Martian?"

"Have I offended you?" she asked, taking a swig from her cup. "Because Jesus, if making me proofread that asshole's manuscript is punishment, I've obviously done something wrong."

"Ah, Minnow?" her middle aged boss, Morton, chuckled.

"Why did we even accept him? I don't understand anything that he wrote - no one is going to buy this!"

"Look, he's the president's son, you know how this works."

"Are you saying that I have to re-write it?"

"No, no. Just send him back the annotated manuscript and hopefully that will be the end of it."

"Hopefully?" she scowled. "I'm gonna put so many sticky notes and red lines over it he'll never write again!"

"Off you go, then." Morton gestured to her desk, "What shall we write in your obituary?"

"Finally!" Marcie sighed, rolling her neck as she stepped outside into the warm evening air, sliding her bag over her head to wear it crossbody and turning to Wendy, who was grinning at her phone. "Any plans for tonight?"

"Seafood buffet with my boyfriend. How about you? Any hot dates?"

"No, my best friend went back home for the weekend and my roommate is a shut-in, so I dunno. Might go to a coin KTV place."

"Didn't the hot barista downstairs give you his number?" she asked, brushing her bangs back into place as the wind tried to mess them up.

"He did, but he's not my type." she shrugged.

"That's a lie."

"Yes it is. Anyway, it's Friday so I'm gonna go get some ice cream. See you on Monday!"

With that, the two girls waved goodbye and Marcie bounced in her step as she made her way down to the front gate. It didn't take long to reach the ice cream parlour, a fifteen minute subway ride away down by the pier. University students and high schoolers occupied the benches around the area now that classes were over and in a while families would come. A flyer for the monthly fireworks show was stuck to the window of the small pink brick shop, flapping in the breeze as she pulled the door open and ordered her usual - a caramel pecan sundae with cream and a bottle of water to offset the sugary attack.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Marcie sat at the window, half scrolling through her phone, half people-watching. She couldn't help but wonder about the teenagers and students out there, laughing and having fun with their friends. They'd be taking their final exams soon. She hadn't really known what she wanted to do after school, so she forwent university and dove into working. It was enough to rile her parents up, but once they knew she was settled and could take care of herself, they had backed off (her dad even sent her money in secret when she was having a harder time). They were thrilled when she told them she'd gone into a publishing company, but left out the drunk application part.

Truthfully, she still didn't know what she wanted to do.

She never had a dream, even something as small as getting married or going backpacking, and while others envied her for her gorgeous looks, she envied everyone else for their ambitions. She always thought that by the age of thirty she'd be some career woman with a designer handbag who yelled at people all day, not a step above an intern. She envied people around her who put their free time into learning new skills - Wendy was taking dance lessons and even Morton had gotten into gardening.

There was nothing stopping her from picking up a new skill or hobby, but with the wealth of options St. Luca had: professional development exams, language schools, art classes, acting classes, sports, crafting and DIY, makeup artistry courses, jewelry making, music lessons - almost anything you could think of, it was too much. Marcie didn't know how to choose, it was overwhelming, especially as she had no pull towards anything in particular.

What could her thing be?

The question continued to plague her as she strolled down the biggest shopping street in the city some hours later. Dadao Avenue was huge, lined with shops and restaurants. A few paper bags from makeup brands hung on her wrist as some blue neon lights caught her eye in the distance, the sound of cheers rippling through the air. Was it a concert? Interest piqued, she hurried towards the lively crowd at the block across the road from the end of the avenue. Her skirt fluttered in the wind as she waited for the traffic lights to change. It wasn't unusual for events to be held in Citizen's Square Park, but the sheer size of the display was. OTHERWORLD X AISLING flashed across the screens and video game characters stepping into hi-tech VR chambers and turning into heroes followed. A popular song by Ouyang Dara that was recorded for the game accompanied the impressive VCR. Before she knew it, Marcie had passed through the entrance gate in a trance, only snapping out of it when a young, enthusiastic guy literally jumped in front of her.

"Hi there!" he sang. "Can I see your ticket?"

"Oh!" Marcie gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't realise, I was just passing by, sorry! I thought it was an open event."

"Well it would be but," he leaned in towards her and voice dropped, "Ri is here!"

"No way!" she gasped, not having the first clue who that was.

"Here," the guy began, taking one of the paper bracelets he had in his hand and fastening it around her wrist. "Go on in, sure, it's just yourself - oh wait!"

He disappeared behind her, running back to the table and returning with a navy blue and gold paper shopping bag. "Some freebies for the event! These aren't for sale anywhere!"

"Thank you!" Marcie smiled.

"Go on quick now, Ri will be out soon!"

Marcie managed to wind her way into a spot where she could see better. There were big cheers when some characters appeared on screen, fan favourites obviously, all of them demonstrating how to use the AISLING VR Chamber. Even people who weren't gamers knew that AISLING was the most high-end VR manufacturer around. Doctors recommended them because they had the best spine support for lengthy game play and the ear buds and headsets came in multiple sizes to suit everyone.

AISLING was the first company to combine gameplay and rest to overcome the limitations of traditional VR. How it worked, exactly, was a well-kept secret, but since it had been around for so long and there were very few accidents using the machines, people had stopped questioning it. Those who played regularly described it as akin to lucid dreaming, but without the ability to spawn your favourite foods or fly through the air. If you died, you woke up and your game session was over. Some doctors even recommended it for those who struggled to get a good night of sleep since the chamber was optimised to make the player as comfortable and relaxed as possible - the distraction of a game meant even the busiest minds had a chance at rest.

Marcie didn't understand - it sounded terrifying, but she had to admit that the gameplay did look interesting. The character designs were pretty and it would be nice to dress up in some traditional clothing that didn't cost a fortune. There was no way she could afford a VR chamber, and even if she could there wouldn't be anywhere to put it in her apartment, She also had a feeling her shut-in roommate would use it anyway - but there were AISLING hotels.

"Warrior, Mage, Tank, Medic, Ranger! And now; introducing Otherworld's brand new class, it's finally here: Scholar!"

Marcie clapped as the crowd around her went wild and a female character whose name was Aoibhe (as displayed on screen and screamed by fans) in long traditional green robes appeared on screen with a golden harp, a simple strum along the strings sending a wave of magic or something towards a group of enemies, slicing through them and turning them into dust. A conversation from somewhere nearby got her attention as she watched the new character class in action.

"I can't believe it took them so long to make an AoE class!"

AoE?

"I might use my change token tonight!"

"Dude, you're nuts you're gonna have to start from square one!"

"Yeah, but imagine how powerful this'll be when it's high level!"

"I dunno dude, I don't think it's gonna be that different from mage."

"Probably not, I'm not gonna give up everything I worked hard for now, but I'm jealous of anyone who starts after this!"

"Please welcome our special guest: Ri!"

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!"

Marcie covered her ears as the crowd somehow got even louder, ducking through the bulk of people and out to where there were less fans. An ordinary looking guy stood on stage in a polo shirt and jeans, a hellishly expensive watch shining on his wrist and a pair of square glasses. She caught excited chatter from the players, most of them unable to believe that Ri was really there and talking about his legendary battles on the team. She turned, releasing her ears, her eyes landing on the AISLING hotel on the corner opposite. The rates could be expensive for one person, and she was wary of spending that much just to try something, especially something that needed hours of play to get into.

Clearly Ri had found his calling in playing games.

What if this is where her talent lay, too?

She reached into the fancy gift bag, puling out a heavy bulky item.

"Otherworld Official Strategy Guide." she murmured. She could've sworn her older cousin collected these for his console games back when they were kids. She had no idea they were still made - everything was online these days. The art sure was beautiful.

As she opened the cover, a piece of silver paper fell out that she quickly scooped back up. It was a sixty-five hour gift coupon redeemable at any AISLING VR Chamber.

Marcie looked back at the hotel.

Well, if this wasn't a sign then she didn't know what was.