Spicy-Chicken-Salad: "This story is so shit, what was the author thinking meshing so many complicated concepts into one genre??? Braindead writing at its finest, do not recommend reading, you lose more brain cells reading than gaining"
AL-E-GORE-E: "Total waste of brain power, I read through this book and almost decided to play Russian roulette with a modern pistol, rather than a revolver with all six bullets loaded. -1000/10."
Mama-Just-Killed-A-Man: "Dog-shit story, dog-shit Author..."-
Eugene stared blankly at the computer screen while he read through the comments.
His face began with a blank stare. Then his brows furrowed together, joining in the middle of his forehead as his expression contorted into an angry scowl. He finally tipped over his boiling point after reading the last comment.
ChickenNoodleSoupforTheSoul-less: "Even a sentient A.I. can write better stories than this...what a letdown. Author just stop trying and give up on writing novels..."
"AHHH YOU BASTARDS!!! WHY DON'T YOU TRY WRITING A NOVEL YOURSELVES YOU OVERTLY CRITICAL F*CKERS!!!!!!!!!" His shouts that echoed throughout the apartment complex were met with the complaints and loud knockings from either side of Eugene's room.
He sighed in frustration as he gritted his teeth amidst the retaliating thuds in the walls.
These witless bastards...what do they know?! Do they think it's easy to come up with half the bullshit that I write?!?!?
Eugene screamed internally. Frustration coursing through his veins. His entire muscular system almost convulsing purely from the amount of stress building up in his body. His teeth gritted in what can only be described as a desperate attempt at impulse control.
The comments were like a bunch of heckling audience members wearing tragedy and comedy masks. Laughing and jeering at him. Mocking his efforts.
His breath came out in a long drawn out sigh. The air in the room felt stale, tasteless, and hopeless. A brief moment of breathlessness gripped him, stirring the urge to sneak out in the middle of the night.
Tonight was...simply too much.
However, his parents were asleep by now, and so were his siblings. They had an early day ahead of them, and ruining their sleep would only make the following morning a dreadful time for him.
His hands gripped the doorknob lightly, as he loomed in front of his bedroom door. The next chapter would have to wait. For now, sleep was paramount over anything else.
- - -
BUZZ!
BUZZ!
BUZZ!
A loud ear grating buzzer noise echoed in a small dilapidated apartment bedroom. With barely any space in it for one bed, one drawer, and one shelf that doubled as a desk.
It was tightly packed, the limited space gave the feeling of a storage room rather than a bedroom. On top of the surprisingly neatly kept desk, was a computer setup. One monitor, a keyboard and mouse. There was no CPU chassis, since the motherboard had been rigged directly into the wall.
If the landlord found out, the amount of money that would be taken out of the security deposit is enough to make the tenants cry tears of blood in their sleep. Honestly it was a risk, but one that Eugene was more than willing to take. The setup was the only thing holding his slowly withering sanity together.
Between the burn-out festival that is university life, and the oppressive atmosphere at home due to his parent's crumbling marriage. Eugene Gideon Reyes' life was filled mostly with problems stacked upon problems, stacked on financial stress, academic failure, and the kind of father-son dysfunction most people only read about in Greek tragedies.
Like Zeus fucking around way too much, and way too literally.
The computer was his sole respite, and he would be damned to let anyone take it away from him, not even the sleazebag of landlord that lorded over the apartment complex.
The cramped bed-space meant that Eugene had to curl up in his sleep. Back pain and soreness was a longtime friend at this point in his life. Stretching his back to get a little relief, Eugene decided it was time to make his weekend a bit more productive, lest he stirred the fury of his very quick to criticize father, whom his relationship with had quickly begun to sour once he stepped into senior high school.
There had been more than a few times where words weren't the only things thrown around and exchanged haphazardly between them. Honestly, Eugene felt guilty, but he didn't regret some of those punches.
They felt good. Like sending a clear and concise message. He was tired of his dad, and he wanted to let him know how much sometimes. Even if it meant sinning against the heavens.
A dull pain throbbed from between the ribs in his back. The type that you get from slouching too much for too long and it begins to sting. Sighing out loud, Eugene stood up from the bed, tried his best to tidy it before giving up on trying to fold the weird duvet cover that he used as a blanket. It was the one that had the curved edges that encompasses the four corners of a mattress. He never understood how to fold them, and spending too much time trying to perfect it would drive him mad. There were more important things to waste sanity on. The duvet would have to wait.
Stretching his back one last time, Eugene finally left his bedroom, finding himself directly in the kitchen. That's right. His bedroom was directly connected into the kitchen. Whoever designed this apartment, Eugene prayed they'd been promoted or moved up in life at some point.
I mean, just think about it? Who wouldn't want to walk out of their bedroom and be directly in the kitchen? No need to walk down a stupid corridor, or go down a flight of stairs...just, twist the knob, push the door, and voila. You can make breakfast, be back in bed in less time than how long it usually takes to make breakfast and walk back into your room.
Efficient. Deranged. Perfect. Just like Eugene...minus that last part.
The fridge opened and emitted a low buzzing sound. Worn down with time, it had broken down on multiple occasions. The only thing keeping it from being fully decommissioned was his father's mechanic skills and knowledge. He had an array of practical skills that ranged from fixing, and even making things. Jack of All Trades, that's what they called him.
Eugene admired that part about his father…as for the rest? Not so much.
With a cursory glance, Eugene picked out what he could use to make breakfast. Eggs? Sure, Bacon? Nope too much oil…or so he would say if he cared about staying in shape, following that Eugene decided to grab a few other ingredients and spices to use.
A few minutes later a wonderful aroma began to waft around the entire apartment. The smell almost seemed to penetrate the walls. Even the dogs next door began to whine and bark, drooling from the smell of sunny side up eggs drizzled with a slightly sweet and spicy sauce. That egg was then sandwiched between two evenly toasted slices of bread and a bunch of fresh leafy greens.
Leaning back against the leather sofa, Eugene indulged in the wonderful breakfast he had made himself. Of course he didn't just make one sandwich. Piled neatly on a porcelain plate was a few more sandwiches he made for the rest of his family.
It wasn't often that Eugene could make such a well prepared meal for his family.
There were times when his mother and father even resorted to skipping lunch just so they could reach their daily quota for deliveries. It was a hard job, they not only had to drive around the entire day. They even had to deal with pesky, and sometimes outright rude customers who didn't want to pay for their packages, claiming they 'didn't buy anything online'. Of course most of the time it was a lie so they could avoid the shameful truth about them not having any cash and yet still ordering shit online.
Those were the more troublesome customers. Of course, by god's good graces not all customers were like that, only the occasional assholes who didn't have anything better to do with their lives. The thought that his parents-especially his mother-had to deal with such shameless bastards worried Eugene to no end.
Taking a bite out of his sandwich, the mix of silky and creamy textures between the egg yolk and whites wrapped around his tongue. The salty umami taste spreading itself in his mouth, followed by the sweetness of the spicy sauce. It was mouthwatering. God! The things he would trade just to be able to make breakfast like this every morning.
Unfortunately, savoring his breakfast would have to wait until next time. His eyes briefly wandered around the apartment caught a glimpse of the circular wall clock that hung on the wall. The larger clock hand had just struck past 6 and a half. There was only half an hour left for him to get ready for something important.
"…No, NO, NOO…NOT AGAAAAAIIIIIN… EUGH!!!! I can't be late today!!" Eugene's loud frustrated groan reverberated throughout the empty living room.
A melody of hurried footsteps ran down across the kitchen, followed by a door being opened so forcefully, it almost sounded like the door was torn off the hinges.
Today was going to be a long...excruciating day.