Work Text
It was 8h34am when the young adult left their apartment for work. Outside was bright, the city alive, but god were they not mentally ready for the day. Sure, working full-time at an international electronic firm had its perks, but it also had its downsides. Work itself wasn’t that bad, but it’s the dreadful routine that came with it that was. Every day they woke up, took a shower, lost their time on the internet, then went to work. And after work, they’d make dinner, waste their time again on the internet, then go to sleep. Some people loved routines. But Myrrh wasn’t one of those people. So today, they wanted to do something, ANYTHING, different. And that thing appeared to them as they were scrolling on their phone at work. Despite being very careful about their online activity while they were working, an ad for a sex hotline SOMEHOW managed to get its way on Myrrh’s timeline. “ Uh… Wack ” They were about to scroll down as usual, but then realized something. Maybe this was the THING that would make their day different?? Plus, calling a sex hotline is kinda funny, in their head at least. But wouldn’t it be even funnier if it was during the day ? “Oh boy, this would be such a meme lol” Smiling at their stupid idea, they screenshot the ad and planned to call later, during their lunch time. ----------------------------- A couple hours passed and now was the aforementioned later. So, the young adult went outside, far from prying hears, to make the call. Myrrh was standing up, cellphone in their hand, ready to call the number. Whenever they were ready, they could do it. … Okay, it’s not supposed to be that hard to call a weird, very suspicious number... Was it? While they were questioning if they should really call the hotline or not, their thumb accidentally touched the “calling” button. And it wasn’t long before someone answered. “Hi, my name is Randy Jade, and I’m feelin’ Randy for YOU tonight ! I’m sorry… My boss forces me to say that- I really should’ve just lied about my name… ” Myrrh nearly yeeted their phone on the ground. It’s only when the guy on the other side of the line spoke that Myrrh realized what they’ve done. There was no turning back, they had to answer now ! “Oh ! H-hi ! Pleased to meet, uh, hear you? … So uh, how are you doing today?” “Oh uh” Myrrh couldn’t see it, but Randy scratched the back of his head, as he usually did when he was asked this question. “It could be definitely better, but it could be incredibly worse too !” “Ah, relatable tbh” Myrrh liked this guy, because, like they said, he was relatable . “Oh ! You too have to wrangle swans on a daily basis?” Wait, what? “Wait, what?” they had to pause for a moment. “N-no, I work customer service” “o-oh... Well, that doesn’t sound too bad” “Oh some days it can be, trust me”, and BOY they talked with EXPERIENCE . “o-oh.... So uh, swan-wrangling and customer service aside, what can I do for you tonight, d-dear ? Or rather today? ” “Uhhhh-” Okay, maybe this was their cue to tell the truth to the poor sex hotline employee. “I mean- Tbh, I was mostly calling for the meme, you know-” “O-oh..” the guy sounded relieved, but also kinda sad? Or was it shame? Desperation? God, so many similar emotions. “... is my suffering funny?” “what?” “N-NOTHING !” he answered quick, loud and clear. “So, uhh, does this mean I should drop the nicknames..?” “Oh yea you absolutely can” “Grea-” but he was cut off by Myrrh who, without thinking ahead, replied “ but you can keep saying them if you want to~ ” Usually, his “clients” were horny creeps, so at this point in the conversation, he would have already begun to cry. But this time, Randy was taken aback by their comeback. Or their forwardness? It made him blush lightly. Maybe because this time it WASN’T a creep that called him? Seeing, or rather hearing no answer from the other side of the line, Myrrh began to feel kinda bad. Was this too far? Oh man, the guy seemed really cool, they didn’t want to scare him off. “S-sorry.. Sometimes my mouth speaks faster than my brain aha-” “O-oh ! It’s alright ! I’m used to this aha..” “Oh… ” Okay, now Myrrh REALLY felt bad. They didn’t want to come off as those creeps that call the sex hotline. “... sorry- ” and there we go, they apologized again. “I-I said it’s okay !” And now there was an awkward silence. It lasted for around 30 seconds, but it felt like an hour. It was overwhelming . Suddenly, Myrrh spoke up again. “Hey, you know what? You seem like a cool guy ! Wanna hang out later?” “Um, s-sure?” Randy was confused at the sudden idea, but he wasn’t against it. Besides, it was either that or going back to his dumpster after his shift. There wasn’t much of a choice there. “All right ! Let’s meet at the mall, door 2 ! I’ll be there around 7pm if I can leave on time and not do extra time again- ” “O-okay ! See you there Suga-” he stopped on his tracks. “Ohh r-right, I don’t have to call you that... sorry -” “It’s okay lol. See you there !!” “By-” and they hung up. Randy was so confused. Someone just called him, during the day, while he was wrestling fucking SWANS , for the meme . And that same person asked to hang out later? Such a strange human being. But it felt fresh, very different from his usual customer base at least. On the other hand, Myrrh felt so awkward. Did they REALLY just called a sex hotline for the FUCKING MEME? Not only that, but they probably made the man feel weird and/or awkward because of their witty line. GOD they HATED when they spoke faster than they thought. But it’s alright, tonight, they were gonna make it up to him by being cool and stuff and showing him that they’re NOT a CREEP. Does Myrrh have to do this? No, they don’t. But they don’t know that. They are not the narrator, nor the reader, and hence they only know of their side of the story.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The hours passed, and Randy was finally free from his dreadful daytime job. Dear GOD , who thought it was a good idea to give the swans paper shredders as HEADS?? These creatures were already destructive and chaotic before. Now, they just had even more power to execute their evil deeds ! “It- it should be illegal !!” he said aloud, carried away by his own emotions. Some bystanders on the sidewalk looked at him in a strange way, but continued their routine. This kind of behaviour was kinda normal in Dialtown, after all. To say the least, Randy had strong opinions about swans. But that's another topic for later, since today was different. Tonight, he won't directly go home and have horrible thoughts about swans, possums, or the fact that he lived in a garbage can probably because of his own stupid actions and that probably no one will ever care or love him because of how pathetic he realizes he is. ... Fuck. But hey ! Tonight is still different ! Tonight can be hopeful ! He's meeting up with someone ! Which reminded him, what time was it? According to his phonehead (a nokia, who has a nokia nowadays??), it was 6pm. Since the swan wrangler / sex hotline employee had finished earlier than expected, that meant he had some free time before meeting with the caller. Now that he thought of it, he wondered what they looked like? All he knew about them was their voice, after all. Oh my, he didn’t even ask for their name ! How would they even recognize each other?? Oh god he wasn’t prepared for this at all . What did they say again? To meet at door 2? Okay, maybe there won’t be too many people and they’ll just.. See each other and assume? But what if he goes to the wrong person and they start yelling at him? Big yikes, no thanks. He guesses he’ll just.. stand there and hope they’ll come to him? Yea, that was probably the best idea for now. ... For now.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was nearly 7pm, and Myrrh was
still
stuck in the store because of some client who wanted their money back after choosing the wrong gift card. The problem is:
no one can reimburse gift cards. It’s a policy.
After spending what seemed like an eternity with the client, one of their managers came up and simply gave them the right gift card, without them having to pay for it. Maybe they weren’t being repaid, but at least they ended up leaving with what they wanted.
Now that there wasn’t any client left in the store, Myrrh could
finally
leave their workplace for the day. They went rapidly to the bathroom to change into their regular clothes, then promptly left the store.
They were really excited for tonight !
Finally,
something new in their life !
----------------------------
Meanwhile, Randy was waiting patiently on a bench nearby door 2. He arrived around 20 minutes ago and figured it would be a better idea to wait while sitting, rather than staying right beside the door.
He was loosely checking on his phone when, out of the corner of his optical sensors, he saw a polaroid head going out of the big electronic place right beside the mall and come directly, on a fast-walking pace, at door 2. They seemed to be looking around for something, or rather
someone.
“Uh, strange.. I guess door 2 is a meetup spot”
He continued to fidget on his phone, checking the news, the weather, anything and everything.
Then he realized.
What if.. What if they were the caller??
I mean, it would make sense. It’s 7:10pm, they literally just finished their shift (?) and, most importantly, there’s no one else around. Which makes the odds of them not being the caller
incredibly lower
.
On the flipside, Myrrh was very much standing right in front of the massive doors, fidgeting with their fingers as they scanned the area for anyone to show up.
But no one was showing up.
Well, that’s not true. In fact, there
was
a guy sitting on a nearby bench, but he was probably waiting for someone else? I mean, he was sitting and minding his business. He probably had an interesting life to focus on.
Technically, they
could
ask him if he’s Randy, but what if they were wrong?? They didn’t want to get yelled at for asking. Big yikes, no thanks.
So, they kept looking, but still no one in sight..
Maybe the guy ditched them? Maybe they were too forward or uninteresting or weird or everything or- or??
Oh god-
“H-hey, uhm.. Are you waiting for someone?”
“Uh?” Myrrh was so focused on their worrying that they didn’t even notice the nokia head, who was previously on the bench, coming their way. “Uhm, sorta yea- oh hey, would you know anyone by the name of Randy?”
“Eh, that would be me !” he said, scratching the back of his head.
“Oh !! Hi then !” Myrrh smiled(?) and extended their hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you ! You’re bluer than expected !”
He took their hand to shake it “I- Erm, thanks..?”
“You’re welcome :D"
Welp, at least now both of them had the confirmation that they were waiting for each other.
And so, the two of them decided to enter the mall.