Seth finally did his laundry. He had watered his neighbour’s plants too.

Damn Elba for making him take care of her plants in exchange for one pack of home-brewed tea. Though, he couldn’t deny that tea was delicious as fuck. It could kill his hangover, too, in case someone needed to know. And that was not the only good thing about her. Elba even gave her first homemade salve to help his broken nose.

What a God-send.

Or maybe she was just using him as a test lab, but who cares. He wouldn’t be sporting the said broken nose tonight.  

After that, he went to grab a double mac on the way to his mother’s new home. It was only a half an hour walk after a subway ride, but God knows why he hadn’t visited her. It has nothing to do with her new husband and their daughter. Of course.

When he arrived at the unfamiliar white door, Seth picked up his phone and glanced at the clock displayed on his screen. Almost six.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a pair of little arms circled his waist. “You must be my brother, Seth!” An excited voice of a toddler greeted him, prompting dread in his stone cold face.

“Get your sticky hands off me, brat.”

“There’s no way to speak to your younger sister!”

Ah. There it was, the familiar scolding voice of his mother.

Olivia was forty-something years old, but her mannerism didn’t always match with her age. For example, she got killer heels and a heavy make up on her face. Something he could tolerate if she was going to a fancy event with her new husband, and not a ‘simple family dinner’ with her estranged son.

“Pleasure to see you too, Mom.” His lips pulled in a tight smile. “It seems you finally found a good doctor, huh? All those wrinkles and acne scars magically disappeared.”

“Seth!” His mother reprimanded, again. “Can’t you at least be civil tonight? I’m not asking too much from you, am I?”

Clenching his jaw, Seth held back his answer to not match her tone. “Surely you remember how I get when I’m mad, don’t you, Mom?”

Before his mother could retort back, the little human still clinging to his waist said, “It’s getting cold, can we go inside, now? I want to show you my new stethoscope!”

Olivia’s stern expression suddenly melted, but Seth still got this bitter look on his face. However, he was the first to break the silence by looking down at the girl who might be a little older than a toddler after another brief inspection. “Stethoscope? What are you, a doctor?”

“Yeah! I’m gonna be a surgeon. The best in the world, like Doctor Strange!”

“Good choice. Do you want to be a magician, too, then?”

“No! Not a magician. A superhero!”

“Well, good luck with that. But let me tell you one thing.”

“What?”

“All superheroes have bad childhood or depressing backstories. They have no future either, because they will be dead fighting enemies.”

The small girl tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Seth–“

“Relax, Mom. She doesn’t know what it is.”

“And you better keep it that way.”

So, disgruntledly, Seth entered the house his mother shared with her new husband.

“Seth, how have you been?”

“Witherspoon,” he grumbled, decidedly ignoring the offered hand from his mother’s new husband. “Drop the act. We know fairly well how you feel about me.”

But the older man smiled anyway. “It’s been seven years, you should call me Eric by now.”

“No, thank you.”

“Take a seat. We’ve been waiting for you before we start dinner,” Olivia said, bringing a smile to her face as she hoisted the probably five year old girl on the padded chair.

“As you should, considering you made the effort to call me after almost a year of radio silence.” He looked at the dining table, where four empty plates had already been set nicely. The main dish was roasted chicken, with a bowl of healthy salad and a chocolate souffle as the dessert. “But, no. I already ate on the way here. Let’s hear what you want to tell me, that you require for us to meet.”

Eric, the new husband, had long since accepted that Seth’s relationship with his mother was far from good. So, instead of aggravating him further, he chose to move on with their topic of discussion. “We need your help.”

Seth scoffed. Now, they want his help?

“It’s nothing big, you see,” Eric explained, “Can you babysit Marnie for three days starting tomorrow?”

The fuck. “Why would I want to do that?”

“We can pay you.”

“That’s not what I’m asking here, bastard.”

“Mind your language, Seth,” his mother scolded again, seemingly thinking that he was in the wrong here.

“You both don’t even ask me if I’m free tomorrow.”

“We figure you have no class, since it's the weekend.” Eric tried again, stating the obvious.

“You think attending class is the only thing I care about?”

The patriarch opened his mouth, but Olivia added before he could utter a word. “Right. I forgot that you like to skip school and drop out of your track team. The death of your father was just an excuse.”

“How dare you bring dad into this?” Seth seethed in anger. “Unlike you, I don’t sleep with someone else just three months after dad’s funeral.”

That must hurt like Sarah’s punch to his nose, but his mother’s knight in sweater vest came to her rescue. “You father and I were best friends. He asked me to take care of your mother before he died.”

“Take care of my mother, not sleep with her.” Seth looked away from his step-father and glanced at the silent little girl who played with her fork. “Either way, I will not babysit your love child tomorrow. Or ever.”

“But, Seth–“

It wasn’t even a question. How dare they ask that of him?

And yet, on the way out …

Dong!

[New bonus missions received.]

[Bonus Mission 2: Babysit Marnie Witherspoon for three days.]

[Rewards: 150 exp + 150 cells.]

[Time Left: 3 days 6 hours.]

[Bonus Mission 3: Punch Eric Witherspoon in the face.]

[Rewards: 10 exp + 10 cells.]

[Time Left: 0 days 6 hours.]

He brushed it away. Unimportant, he knew that well. However, he couldn’t help the curiosity, the gritting interest, of how such – illegal – game could be so immersive with the reality of his life.

“Seth, wait!”

Grumbling silently, Seth decided that he’d continue walking away. But, a tight grip on his shoulder forced him to a stop. “Get your hands away from me.”

“Listen,” Eric’s pleading expression came to his face, “What you said to your mother, you don’t really mean it, right?”

“I meant every single thing.”

“I know you.” The older man said, stern, for a change. “Your father raised you well. He was a great man. He loved your mother so much.”

“Apparently, you love her too.”

Eric brushed that off, “And you, no matter how much you disagree and, maybe hate her too,” he focused on Seth instead, “I know, deep down, you still love your mother.”

What bullshit. Seth almost snapped at him. “Let me go before I punch you.”

The older man let go, knowing full well how hard Seth could punch from an experience. It wasn’t the first time his threat went unheard. However, as he was about to storm away, “No matter how you feel, you must remember that your mother loves you, Seth.”

“Thanks for the reminder. Now, get off of my face.” Because if Eric shovels that bullshit to him again, he’d really punch the old man’s wrinkly face.

Wait.

As Eric let him go and went back to his house with his tail between his legs, Seth unlocked his phone.

[Bonus Mission 3: Punch Eric Witherspoon in the face.]

[Rewards: 10 exp + 10 cells.]

[Time Left: 0 days 3 hours.]

He stared at the words, refusing to believe what that implied. Because not only did the game truly immersed with his life, but also –

No. Seth shook his head.

Why was this particular mission only given him a three hour window instead of a few days, like the ones with Sarah and Marnie?