The System In My Head
Counting down to death
*Turning!*
Standing outside the car, the girl slammed the door while cursing at the driver. Angrily, he walked into the dormitory in his high heels, swaying in a shaky gait, a clear sign of drunkenness.
Ben observes her as he approaches her: tall... 'Why do I feel such terrible deja vu?'
He felt like there were some memories buried deep down .. some tragic events that happened to him recently that he suppressed in his subconscious ...
'Forget it, the machine must have just changed something...' Ben knew ignorance was happiness...
He put that aside and took a closer look at the girl. 'Why does he look familiar?' Her dark hair that was wavy along her neck and her olive-colored skin reminded her of someone. As she got closer and she saw her beautiful face. 'This is it ...' He recognized the girl.
As he reached the entrance of the dormitory, he stopped on the spot when he saw Ben, recognizing him as well. He greeted her with some unknown words. "Eisai esy's..."
Ben doesn't know what his words mean, but he knows what his language is...
She was Penelope, the Greek girl she opened on her first day at university, whom she had never seen since. With all the women Ben spoke to, he forgot all about her. But here he is ...
The last time they spoke, he asked for Ben's phone number. 'I've changed a lot. How could he recognize me?' Then Ben realized that he was wearing the same shirt he was wearing that day. Most of his old clothes were trash, but these were his best shirts of the time, which he wore on the first day to make a good impression.
With the mystery solved, Ben stared at the beauty waiting in front of him. Realizing this could be an opportunity, he glanced at the status of his system.
[Current target attraction level: interested (+2 bonus drunk)]
[Current target comfort level: familiar(+2 bonus drunk)]
Ben swallows. 'Now, but what should I do? When we last met, I was fluent in Greek because of the system item. Now, I can't speak a word... Should I try to speak English? Spit some games on him?' He hoped the opening of his divine line would not still be in cooldown time. Even if it doesn't make him fluent for a while, it might offer him a sentence in Greek, but he needs to work with what's available now.
Ben thought for a moment. Then, instead of talking, he nodded at her. 'If speaking is risky, I will keep my mouth shut ...'
After that response, Penelope observed it for a few seconds ...
His heart rate is getting faster. Ben wondered if he made the wrong move...
Then, he grinned. Penelope narrowed her eyes as she looked back at the SUV, at the man sitting in the driver's seat. He was talking on the phone right now and laughing with an arrogant grin as if there was a girl on the other line ... Penelope snorted and turned to Ben. He took a few steps towards her, his arms encircling hers. "Tha itheles na kaneis parea mazi mou?
Ben did not understand what he was saying so he replied with a simple nod again.
It was then that Penelope pulled Ben into the inside of the dormitory as she glared at the man in the SUV. Upon seeing this, the driver's face turned pale. He got out of the car and walked towards them, but they were already inside.
Moments later, Penelope and Ben show their identity cards to the guards and walk past the security post. As they headed inside, they heard screams from behind.
"Penelope! What are you doing?!?"
They looked back to see the tall driver glaring at them, his hideous expression not matching his handsome face and his short blonde hair. Penelope sneered at him. Then, she turns around and pulls Ben into the elevator, ignoring the man who can't get in because he's not a student.
As they were about to disappear around the corner, Ben smiled and looked at the man. At that moment, time froze...
Ben could feel the man understand his thoughts. It was one of those magical situations where a man didn't need words to express himself...
...
A song starts playing in their heads as they stare at each other, a remastered version of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence.
"Hello cheating wife, my old friend~
...
I came to fuck your wife again~
...
...
Leaving the seeds while you sleep~
...
And the baby that was planted when I was drained~
...
Still remaining~
...
So you will raise ... and guide him ~"
...
It was a song that caught Ben's soft feelings...
But all good things will end. Immediately, Penelope dragged Ben into the elevator and she checked his countdown.
00:09:52
He started sweating. That's not enough time. He needs to find a way to make this quick. Otherwise, the next ballad might be the one at his funeral ...
Inside the elevator, Penelope pressed a button to the floor and chatted with Ben. The conversation went on like this.
Undifferentiated greece ...
Nodding.
The undifferentiated Greeks.
Nodding.
The undifferentiated Greeks.
Dramatic pause, then nod.
Although Penelope made some awkward expressions once or twice as if Ben's response was unusual, Ben knew it worked so far because his level had not dropped. 'Thank God he was drunk. If he were conscious, he might have caught me by now ...'
As they approached the floor, Penelope began mixing in English, probably sensing Ben did not "want" to speak Greek.
"We are here ..." He smiles and grabs Ben's arm as he takes him to his room. Immediately, they entered, and he inspected the room. In addition to the unusual smell of rosemary, the room was typical of new student dormitories. Two tables, two chairs, and two double beds, but his roommate wasn't there.
After Penelope closed the front door, she went to the bathroom. Ben sat on his bed and tried to think about his next move...
00:08:25
00:08:24
00:08:23
Seconds by seconds passed, his calmness shrinking grain by grain like sand falling in an hourglass. 'I cannot fail here, but how can I succeed?' He continues to strategize.
Meanwhile, a pizza deliveryman argues with a security guard downstairs to let him ride, but he fails, leaving with a wasted hot pizza, and a red mark on the company's balance sheet. It was Ben's first attack against Domino's kingdom...
Ben can't worry about that, as he's in the middle of his own Uber Meats delivery.
