Soul Mirror: FIRST DRAFT: Ch.01 Working Overtime.

The sun slowly crept up over the horizon. It was a clear summer day in the suburbs. There were no clouds in the sky, and the wind was gentle. In the distance, you could hear birds chirping, the sounds of traffic, and kids playing.

The town was a college town just outside a large metropolitan area. The streets were lined with houses and some apartment complexes. Jones Madison University was the most prominent place of higher learning in the city. It was known for its academic prowess and engineering and had a solid sports program.

As the sun rose, a young man stirred, his red hair a mess. He let out a groan as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As he did, he yawned, his breath still stale from sleep.

He blinked several times to adjust to the morning light that filtered into his room. He looked around at the clothes scattered about the floor, some clean, some not.

'God dammit, Mark... I told him to stop throwing his dirty clothes on the floor,' Alex grumbled to himself, shaking his head. He stretched and felt a slight electric jolt in his back. He rubbed it and frowned.

'Ugh, my back?... I get exact with electricity?...'

Alex looked around to see if he had slept on his phone or a USB cord, but there was nothing out of the ordinary except for the slight energy in his spine.

"Huh..." Alex shrugged, 'Must have slept funny.'

He got up and made his way to the bathroom. That was one of the rare things about this school's dorms. They had their own bathrooms, so he didn't have to wait to use them. Unless his roommate was hogging

The door was slightly ajar, so he pushed it open the rest of the way, a rush of steam flowing out. The shower was running, and through the opaque glass door, he could see a silhouette of his roommate, Mark, showering.

"Hey dude," Alex called.

"What's up?" Mark answered over the sound of the shower.

"How long are you going to be? I got to get ready for work," Alex asked.

"Oh, shit!? You working on Friday? I thought your boss lets you off on Fridays," Mark said, poking his head around the shower door, water dripping from his hair sandy blonde hair.

"Normally, but I got a message from my boss saying I must come in today. Something about some rich dude who wanted some crap from one storage room to another inside his own house. supposedly, he's paying us a pretty penny, too, so I'm coming in on a day off. I'm hoping this guy will tip well. So, can you finish up soon?" Alex explained.

"Oh, sure, I'm almost done anyways," Mark replied as he turned off the shower and walked out butt naked in front of Alex.

'Aw! Come on! Cover yourself, Mark!... You're not on the football team anymore, dude,' Alex thought as he quickly turned away from Mark's Greek God-like body. He was 6'3 with a muscular body that looked like it was sculpted from marble, especially his ridiculous long manhood. That thing was almost a foot-long flaccid. It made Alex feel significantly inferior in comparison to everything about his scrawny, nerdy, 5'8 body.

That slight energy in Alex's back grew more intense the longer he looked at his roommate. He felt the urge to turn around and keep watching him dry himself off, and his back started to ache.

'What the fuck is wrong with me? Ow! My back!...'

Mark toweled himself off, looked to his left, and noticed Alex wincing in pain.

"Back trouble?... I got you," Mark said as he walked over to Alex with only a towel over his shoulders.

"No! No! I-I'm good, Mark. I don't need—"

Alex tried to stop Mark but grabbed Alex's shoulder with his left hand and moved his right hand along Alex's spine until he felt a slight bump.

"Found it."

"W-Wait!? Mark—"

Crack!

Mark pushed his fingers into Alex's back. The sound echoed in the small room, causing Alex to tense up. Alex stood stock still as Mark dug into his spine. He was scared to move, afraid that he would hurt himself if he did. But that energy started flowing throughout his body, giving him goosebumps, and the pain was gone. His heart raced a bit, too.

'Huh?... The pain is...gone?'

Mark removed his hand from Alex's back.

"I keep telling you, man. You need to go to the gym and work on your lifting technique, especially if you are moving furniture and heavy boxes for your job, dude," Mark said as he went over to their room to get dressed.

Alex took a deep breath and exhaled. He was able to turn and watch Mark walk back into their room. That urge to stare at his body was gone.

'What the hell is going on with me? Maybe I haven't been sleeping enough. Whatever,' Alex thought as he shook his head.

"I don't think it's worth it to go to the gym. My body just isn't built like yours. I'm more of a runner and not a weightlifter," Alex replied.

"You think I was born like this, Alex? Come on, man. You know it takes work to get this," Mark said, flexing his arms and chest.

Alex rolled his eyes, 'Ugh, whatever, dude...'

He turned and closed the door.

"Okay, but I'm still not going to the gym," Alex called back.

"Oh, hey! I'm struggling with that engineering assignment... Do you think you could help me with it later?" Mark pleaded.

'Dammit, Mark. I swear he's been using me more than his actual study group. If he wasn't such a nice guy, I'd probably be a lot angrier at him,' Alex thought to himself as he started brushing his teeth.

"Sure, dude. I'll look it over when I get home," Alex said.

"Thanks, man! I owe you!"

"You're paying for our food tonight, okay?"

"Yes! Totally, I'll buy!"

Alex smiled. 'Nice! Something other than the buffet food at the cafeteria. I take it as a win-win. Ah crap, look at the time. Better hurry and get ready. I got work soon.'

Alex hopped in the shower and washed up. He was surprised by how nice the warm water felt over his skin.

'I'm probably more tired than I thought. Man, my body feels weird today. But it also feels like I have more energy in me or something. Gah!?... M-Maybe I need to find a girlfriend or something. That's why I've been feeling like this?' Alex wasn't sure what was going on. It was like his body was absorbing energy that was in the air, and his body was getting numb from it.

'Maybe I'm getting a cold? I hope not. That would suck!'

Alex got out of the shower and dried off as quickly as possible.

"Hey Mark, I'll see you later. I have to go," Alex said, rushing into the room and throwing on his clothes. He wore jeans and a plaid button-up shirt that looked baggy on his wiring frame.

"See ya later, dude," Mark said as he started working on his laptop before he had to go to his only class.

"And Mark. Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket next time. I'll do a load soon."

"What are you, my girlfriend?"

"At this point, it feels like I am... Frankly, I'm surprised that you are single, dude," Alex said, giving Mark a look.

Mark smiled and laughed.

"Ah, you know I'm too busy with all the studying and shit. And besides, I haven't run into my dream girl to stop pursuing a career first... That could change," Mark said, thinking.

"Whatever, dude, I'll see you later. Don't forget to pick up something to eat tonight, okay," Alex reminded him.

"Hey!? Have I ever disappointed you?" Mark asked.

"Well..."

"That's right. Never, now get going. You're going to be late for work," Mark said, cutting him off.

Alex shook his head and sighed. He grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone, rushed out the door, and headed to the parking lot.

***

The campus was a beautiful place to be during the day, full of students walking, reading, or studying. Trees swayed gently in the breeze, and the sounds of laughter, chatter, and birds filled the air. It was a perfect day to enjoy the weather.

But Alex was on the way to work. It was a twenty-minute drive, and Alex had some time to think.

'Maybe I'll check the singles app. Maybe someone cool is in my area, and we could hang out and chill, ya know?... And perhaps we can do it?... Then I can stop lying to everyone that I'm no longer a virgin,' Alex thought to himself.

He sighed and shook his head, 'No... That would be a bad idea. What would a pretty girl want to do with a scrawny dweeb like me? Hell, what would any girl want to do with me? I'm a total geek. I bet if they got to know me, they'd laugh. I can't even ask Stacy or Beth out. Both of them are really hot and super nice, but I just can't do it. I'm pathetic. At this rate, I'm going to die alone with a million cats, and that would be sad... Wait?... Did I just think that I'm going to become a crazy cat dude?...'

He shook his head.

'Focus Alex. One problem at a time. First, get a job. That's step one. Step two: work on becoming less scrawny and dorky. Step three: get a girlfriend. Step four: lose the V-card. That's my goal. Get a girlfriend, lose the V-card, and be happy.'

Alex pulled into the parking lot of a large moving company and parked his old Hoyoda car.

"Man, it would be nice driving around something other than my mom's old junker," Alex grumbled as he walked towards the office building.

'I mean, April is driving around in a nicer car? Why did my younger sister get a nice car when I had to beg Mom to let me use hers?' Alex sighed.

He walked into the office and waved hello to his co-workers and his boss, Mr. Jones, an older man who worked for the company since he was in his twenties.

"Hmm?... Alex? There you are! What took you so long? You know what... It doesn't matter. You're here. Now I have a very important client that I need you to take care of. Do you know about the old Vanderbilt Estate on the northern side of Brookfield?" Mr. Jones asked in a rapid-fire tone.

Alex blinked and tried to catch up to his boss's words.

"Uh, well—"

"Of course, you do! Now, this job is simple. All you need to do is move out two storage rooms of Mr. Samuel Augusta Yousuf into one of the pods that was dropped off this morning. Don't you worry when you first meet Mr. Yousuf? He may look like he's on death's door, but he's one tough bastard, and he's a bit rude, but he'll stay out of your way as long as you don't start dropping things and breaking stuff. But you're one of my best employees," Mr. Jones said quickly cutting off Alex again.

"Um? Thank you, sir?" Alex responded. His boss had never been this forward about a job before, but Alex played it off as a super-rich client wanting his belongings moved quickly.

Mr. Jones handed him a note and patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll do fine. I'm sure. Now go! You don't want to keep the client waiting," Mr. Jones said, ushering him towards the exit.

"W-Wait!?... Shouldn't I take one of the trucks?... Isn't Jimmy or Ben here to help me?"

"No, no. They are on another job that was on the schedule. It popped up out of nowhere, and I don't want to screw out other clients unless we couldn't get someone who wasn't scheduled for today. And it turns out that you are the only reliable one out of all those slackers. I'll make sure you are getting paid $200 an hour. Now go," Mr. Jones said.

Alex's mouth was agape.

'Whoa! Dude. That is a lot of money! It'll make it easy to pay the bills this month! But it sounds like I'm doing this all by myself. Well, maybe he won't be as much of a prick as Mr. Jones says he is. Maybe he's a nice old man who is just cranky because he's in pain. I would be cranky if I was hurting, too,' Alex thought, hoping that the client was kind and patient.

Alex nodded, "Okay, I'm on it, Mr. Jones. Thanks for the opportunity. I'll call if I have any questions."

Mr. Jones' expression shifted from surprise to a composed nod as he regained his composure.

"You do that," he replied.

Alex walked out of the building and looked down at the address, and headed for the old Vanderbilt Mansion.

The Vanderbilt mansion is an old estate that used to belong to a giant rich family that lived in the early 1900s. This Mr. Samuel Augusta Yousuf, guy bought it from them and it's been one man living by himself for over decades.

As Mr. Jones observed Alex getting into his car and driving off, a sense of relief washed over him. He let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping and his body leaning against the wall. Meanwhile, Ben, one of his employees, caught sight of his boss through a window and hurried outside to speak with him.

"Hank?... Did the kid take the gig? Is it done?" Ben asked in a hushed tone.

Mr. Jones gave him a nod.

"Yeah, he's on his way to the Yousuf's mansion," Mr. Jones said.

"Thank, God... That's fucking old man give me the creeps," Ben said.

"You have no idea, Ben. I was a kid when my father started this business. And I remember when he first moved into the old estate... He looks exactly the same as the day I met him. He looked like a walking corpse... My father joked that Yousuf would pass on in a month or two... That was over 60 years ago, Ben. My father died five years ago and that fucking old man still looks the same. I think he's too ugly as sin that not even death wants to take him... I feel bad for the kid... But the money is too good to pass up," Mr. Jones explained.

"Damn, no wonder the old man creeps you out, Hank," Ben said, nodding in understanding.

"Don't mention this to the rest of the crew. Thank God, that kid didn't look up the old Vanderbilt Estate. Or he wouldn't have taken the gig."

"Who else did you try to take the gig, Hank?"

"Everyone."

Ben's eyes widened, and he let out a whistle.

"Fuck," Ben whispered.

"Yeah, fuck indeed. Alex was my second to last choice," Mr. Jones repeated as he felt a little guilt about what he has done.