Page 5 of Glitched Play

“Architecture. Think of it as the person that designs a building to make sure the foundation can meet the system demands, so the building doesn’t collapse,” I explain.

He listens, which surprises me. Most people glaze over after the first thirty seconds.

"That's impressive," he says.

Something warm settles in my chest. Because my family has never once described my job that way. It’s not that they don’t care. They just don’t understand.

"It's not what I really want to do."

"What do you want to do?"

The answer comes immediately. "Gaming."

No hesitation.

No second thoughts.

His eyes widen. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

One corner of his mouth lifts.

"My roommate's cousin works for a gaming company in Austin."

My steps falter and my pulse kicks. "What company?"

His grin grows.

"You ever heard of Synatrix? I only know because sometimes we get to beta games."

The world tilts. Of course, I've heard of Synatrix. Every gamer ever has heard of it.

They're the company for innovation. It’s elite and impossible to get your foot in the door. I've applied three separate times with three separate but polite rejections.

My stomach flips. "Yeah," I say quietly. "I've heard of them."

"They're hiring."

I stop walking. My heart pounds against my ribs. “I’ve applied before and never made it past a phone interview. Evidently, I don’t design the ‘right’ type of games.”

Until now, I hadn’t really thought about unfinished letters or Glitch. Well, once, but everything always comes back to him. He was the boy that made me think it was okay to live in fictional worlds. The boy that pressed me to think outside the box, when all he wants is to stay inside his own.

“Maybe you’re applying for the wrong type of job. Check it out. I’d love to see more of you and my family lives in Austin, so I’ll be there all summer,” he says as he taps on his run-down truck. “This is me. Want a ride to the restaurant?”

“I’ll follow you.”

Tyler runs me down. “You’re coming?”

He grabs me into a hug and I squeak out, “Yes.” He gives me one more squeeze and runs to his car.

But all I can think about is Synatrix. Maybe I should look up their openings and try again. It’s time I go for what I want. I’m too young to settle for a job that I don’t love.

Maybe it's time to stop waiting.

Maybe it's time to finally move forward.

The thought should make me feel guilty.