I woke up before any noise started in the apartment, which was already unusual. Normally my alarm clock was a mix of bottles falling, the TV in the living room, or my dad arguing with someone who only existed in his imagination. That morning, however, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the floating screen in front of my face.
Current host status:
Profession: Student
Current PEN: 0
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. The screen was still there.
"Great," I muttered. "So it wasn't a dream."
I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds while trying to remember exactly what had happened the day before. Recovering memories from another life was already strange enough, but waking up with a system that ran on negative emotions was a whole different level of weird.
Esto es absurdo, I thought.
The sentence appeared in my mind in Spanish, clear and natural, as if it had always been there. I blinked several times.
"Perfect," I said quietly. "Now I think in Spanish too."
The memories from my past life were still settling inside my head. I knew English because I had been born here, in Chicago, in this neighborhood where chaos was basically a lifestyle. But now I also remembered Spanish effortlessly, as if my brain had unlocked a file that had been hidden for years.
Before I could think about it too much, I heard footsteps in the hallway. The bathroom door opened and Megan walked out wearing an oversized T-shirt that reached halfway down her thighs. Her hair was wet and she was looking around the floor like she had lost something.
"Have you seen my charger?" she asked without looking at me.
"Good morning to you too."
"Did you see it or not?"
"No."
Megan sighed and walked toward the kitchen with the same carefree attitude she always had. I heard the fridge open and the sound of a beer can popping.
I glanced at the clock on my phone. There was still an hour before I had to go to school.
I sighed and got out of bed.
The hallway of the Carter apartment smelled like burnt coffee and old cigarettes. When I reached the kitchen, Megan was leaning against the counter while scrolling through her phone.
"You still have that weird face," she said.
"I'm thinking."
"Again."
I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.
"Have you ever had the feeling something strange is happening?" I asked.
Megan raised an eyebrow.
"We live in the South Side, Ethan. Something strange is happening all the time."
"Fair point."
I took a sip of water while looking out the window. From the kitchen you could see part of the street: an old car parked on the corner, a neighbor arguing on the phone, and a guy trying to light a cigarette with an obviously broken lighter.
The system appeared again in front of my eyes.
System tip:
Negative emotions generate PEN.
I stared at the text for a few seconds.
"So that's the game," I murmured.
"What game?" Megan asked.
"Nothing."
I closed the fridge and leaned against the counter.
If what the system said was true, then I needed to provoke negative emotions in other people. Anger, embarrassment, humiliation… things like that.
I looked at Megan.
She was reading something on her phone while drinking beer as if it were three in the afternoon instead of eight in the morning.
"I have to go to school," I said.
"What a tragedy."
"Try not to work too hard today."
"Don't worry," she replied. "Capitalism never rests."
I shook my head and left the apartment.
The Carter building looked exactly the same as always. The hallway smelled like smoke and cheap detergent. When I reached the stairs, I heard the door of apartment 1B open.
Denise Walker appeared holding a hairbrush.
"Ethan!" she said. "Heading to school already?"
"Yeah."
"Tell your sister to stop by later. I have something to tell her."
"I'm sure it's historical news."
Denise gave me a suspicious smile.
"It's about a guy who was here last night."
I sighed.
"I'll imagine the rest."
I left the building before she could start telling the whole story.
The street was full of the usual morning activity: people walking to work, cars passing slowly, and a group of high school students smoking on the corner.
As I walked toward the school, the screen appeared again.
Suggested objective:
Generate negative emotions.
"Very specific," I muttered.
When I reached the school, the courtyard was already full of students. Some were talking near the stairs, others sat on the brick wall, and a group was playing basketball on the court.
I leaned against the fence while observing the scene.
Observación Social — Nivel 1, I remembered.
I decided to test it.
I looked at a group of three guys arguing near the court. One of them clearly looked angry while the other two were trying to convince him of something.
"Interesting," I murmured.
I walked closer.
"What's going on?" I asked.
One of them turned around.
"Nothing."
"Right," I said. "Because shouting in the middle of the courtyard always means nothing is happening."
The taller guy looked at me with irritation.
"What do you want?"
"Just listening."
The other two exchanged glances.
"He says we stole twenty bucks from him," one of them said.
The tall guy clenched his fists.
"Because you did."
"We didn't."
I looked at the tall guy.
"If they really stole from you, you should make them give it back."
"That's what I'm trying to do."
I shrugged.
"Then maybe you should do it in front of everyone."
The other two frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"If someone steals from you and you do nothing, everyone will think it's true."
The tall guy looked at the other two with a much more aggressive expression.
"See?"
One of them stepped forward.
"Don't start."
The argument escalated in seconds.
"Give me my money back!"
"We told you we don't have it!"
Nearby students started watching.
The screen appeared in front of my eyes.
Emotion detected: anger. +2 PEN
I blinked.
"Oh," I murmured.
The three guys were already yelling.
"Give me my money!"
"We said we didn't take it!"
Emotion detected: frustration. +1 PEN
The fight broke out seconds later.
All three shoved each other while other students stepped back quickly. A teacher shouted from the stairs trying to break them apart.
I slowly stepped backward.
The screen appeared again.
Current PEN: 3
I stared at the number for a moment.
Then I looked at the three guys fighting while the teacher tried to separate them.
"Well," I muttered.
I took a deep breath and slipped my hands into my pockets.
"This could get interesting."