Page 94 of Caught A Vibe

I honestly hadn’t noticed time passing, because I’m so amped about the game. Her lecture feels familiar and completely different at the same time. “Did you need something, Mom?”

“Proof of life?” She picks the cans up off the floor and I feel like shit.

“Leave those, Mom. I’ll get them.”

“No, it’s okay. Your high school computer teacher, Mr. Anderson, is here, and you can’t see him with the room a mess.”

“Yes, Mom. I can.” I take the cans from her. “But I will tidy the space.”

“Thank you. Put those in the recycling, and then you can have a nice visit.”

Will I ever not feel like a child in this house?

I make a quick sweep of the garage and put on a mask before my mentor comes in.

“Mr. Anderson.” I hold my elbow out for a bump, which my teacher returns, eyes crinkled in what I hope is a smile beneath his mask. If my father’s voice holds the negative real estate in my head, it’s Mr. A I hear encouraging me.

“Dash! How are you? Your mother let me know you were back in town, so I figured I’d come over, since no one is really out ‘running into’ one another right now.” Mr. Anderson sits at one end of the couch, and I reclaim the other.

“I’m glad you did. Still running the computer club after school?”

“Virtually, at the moment, but yeah, you bet. The group has never been bigger. You inspired a lot of kids around here when you got that job at RPGiga.”

“And washed out in under two years. Big deal,” I scoff.

“It is a big deal, Dash.” Mr. Anderson holds my gaze. “Your game was brilliant.”

“Mygame never got made.”

“I beg to differ. Remember, you sent me the beta version to look over in college. I can see the bones ofAstraiainCall of Anarchy. It is elegant and nuanced and completely wasted on a first-person shooter game, but it’s there.”

“I wish I’d never given up the rights to it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever made, and now I can’t touch it.” Well, maybe second-best thing, if the game I’m working on now continues to flow.

“Why did you walk away?”

“They were never going to let me make the game I wanted. And the day-to-day coding, on a game I resented… I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t focus, distracted by literally everything else, and I was failing.”

“You were learning. ‘I never lose. I either win or learn.’ Nelson Mandela.”

“You had that on a poster.”

“Every year I pray my students actually read it. My computer club loves your game reviews in XPTech.”

“I haven’t written one in ages. I got hired on as a staff writer and got assigned to pandemic coverage. I’m hanging on to that job by a thread.”

“Why?”

“I’m not getting to write what I like, so my brain is in full revolt. I’m blowing deadlines and pissing off my editor.”

“No, why are you hanging on?”

“Because I thought I needed some stability and a regular paycheck, but it turns out I can’t even hack it. So yeah, I’m fucking up on all cylinders. I’m no role model for your students.”

“That’s utter shit.”

My jaw drops, and I’m pretty sure my eyes widen. In all the years I’ve known Mr. Anderson, I have never heard him utter a curse word. “Are teachers allowed to swear?”

He ignores my attempt at humor. “You are absolutely a role model. You chased a highly competitive job you wanted and got it. When it turned toxic, you had the strength to leave. You’ve spun into various other gigs, always playing to your strengths and never lingering in bad situations. In today’s workplace, that is a much more positive role model than seeing someone get into one career and stay there for forty years. It just doesn’t happen that way for a lot of my students. I’d rather have them look up to someone who hustles.”

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