The System In My Head

Thong test

5 days later...

"Why didn't he call?!" Ben was sitting on his bed with his face buried in his hand. He thought he made it out of the woods. He thinks he has a chance to live. But he found her too naive!

"That divine line is actually a death sentence!"

He was deceived by complacency. Ben thought since the line went well, everything would work out with Penelope. Instead, death was getting closer and closer like a runaway train.

Over the past week, he started classes. The first few days are fine. He waited for Penelope to call while focusing on her studies. Then every day that followed, she lost more sleep as reality began to trickle in. His eyes turned black as he became pale and sweaty from nervousness at all times. His face is like a ghost!

What can you expect from someone who has been sentenced to death? He didn't call and he ran out of energy. There are no PUA Points left and are powerless without them. He's not charming. He doesn't speak Greek. When talking to a girl, she can barely speak English!

'It's final. What am I supposed to do? I don't have a cheat from the pick-up artist system. How can I become a pick-up artist?' Drowning in depression, Ben lay in his bed.

A few minutes later, he shot back. "Wait for. pick-up artist. It is not a term coined by the system. It was real. Even though I laughed in his face, didn't my idiot cousin Antonio call himself a pickup artist the last time we talked?"

Ben stood up and paced around the room. "Silly to rely on that fool.but what other choice do I have?" Ben took his phone and called his cousin.

*The ring**the ring*

"Yo cuz, what's wrong?" Antonio answered.

"Antona! You have to help me!"

Cousin's surprised. "What's wrong? Have you been kidnapped?"

"Worse! Look, I have to see you! Where're you?"

Ben receives Antonio's location, takes his metron card, and runs out of the dorm.

***

Inside Starbucks in Midtown, the front door opens. Someone entered at such speed that the employees thought it was a Road Runner cartoon. They were relieved when they saw the teenager was short, then became distracted again when they saw his brown hair; it was laid out in a terrible big perm. They just relax as soon as they remember that New York is filled with all sorts of weird characters.

Ben ransacked the cafe before running to the back table. There sat a young man with a tanned skin of sand and a shaved head. He was thin and average tall but gazed around the room with unrestrained arrogance, like he was a young noble from an ancient family. Meanwhile, she drinks water because she doesn't want to spend 2 dollars on coffee.

After reaching the table, Ben grabbed his hand. "Antonio, I need your help!"

"...Cuz, calm down. Tell me what happened."

Ben wasn't sure what to say. 'Should I tell her a voice appeared in my head and force me to seduce a woman? He'll make me commit.' He needed to come up with something else, so he took a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

"Like this. I have to seduce women!" Ben couldn't think of a good reason, so he missed the reason.

'So this legendary thirst ...' Antonio believes Ben will be a crazy virgin. "Okay, I understand."

Ben followed. "You said you know a master pick up artist right? I have to meet him!"

"...Whoa, slow down cuz. You have to start slowly so let me show you the rope first. You sound like Icarus and shit."

"I don't have time to play at the kiddie pool! I must immediately speak to a true master!" Ben didn't say Antonio was pointless, he just thought about it.

Antonio looked at his cousin: short, fat, stupid clothes, even more stupid hair. 'It's gonna take a big job. Well.the person might appreciate a hopeless case like this.' He made a decision. "Okay, hold on a second. I'll call." He got up and went outside, calling this acquaintance.

A few minutes later, Antonio returned and sat down. Ben looked at her like she was a doctor with news about the results of her mother's surgery.

"She said she'd meet you on one condition."

"Say!"

Antonio wouldn't say it. *Batuk* "Wea* *...******." He only managed to mutter it.

"What's? Speak up!"

Antonio gulps. "She said. You should wear a thong."

...

"What?" Ben checked back.

"Thong...Wear one if you want to meet her."

"Is this person an expert pick-up artist or a gay r*pist?!?"

...Antonio is also unsure how to justify it. "Listen, he said he needed to test the courage of any prospective student. If you don't have the courage to wear a thong, then you don't have what it takes and it would be a waste of time to meet you. That's what he said."

Ben clenched his jaw as he threw his pride into the toilet. Fuck those! If he failed, they would put him in a coffin. They can bury him in a thong for everything he cares about. At least the funeral will be a memory. "Damn it! All right, I'll wear it!"

They both walked into a cheap department store. Ben goes in and does some retail therapy that might lead to actual therapeutic needs.

A store employee passed by and saw Ben looking through the women's underwear section. 'She must be looking for a present for her boyfriend, ' he guessed as he approached her to offer help. After one step, he stopped dead in his tracks. He sees Ben holding various straps around his waist, trying to guess his size...

It's clear now. The rope was for him. Ben noticed his presence and they looked at each other...

A second later, the two of them turned around and walked in the opposite direction.