John Boyd wasn’t one to expect much. After all, he knew early on he probably wouldn’t do much with his life.
Even at twenty, he hadn’t found a lot that stood out about him. His family was quite average. He was an only child born into a middle-class income. Even the school he went to wasn’t extraordinary in any kind of way. Well, there was that one thing….
He’d managed to get a black belt in karate at the age of twelve, taking only eight months to go from white to black. Boyd knew how impressive his fighting abilities were, and had even tried to capitalize on them, applying for multiple jobs that would allow him to use his expertise. The only issue was that people didn’t take “a kid’s karate experience” as a true skill. He’d found a company hiring for security and decided to give it one more go, going in for an interview. It seemed like things didn’t go so well once he brought up his skills, however.
“You call a black belt in karate as a kid experience for this job? That’s hardly enough to qualify for this position. Sorry, bud. This interview is over,” the manager said. Boyd nodded as he left the office.
***
I knew it. No one wants some kid who did karate for jobs like this, Boyd thought. It wasn’t in security, but at least he had a job. As a kid, one of his favorite stores was a small retail shop called “Pang’s Eats,” which supplied a diversity of food from different cultures. He loved the Japanese section, especially since one of his favorite foods at that age was mochi. Though he’d usually bought it from a regular store, he was shocked by what he had been missing out on once he tried some from Pang’s Eats. The store owner, Pang, had explained to him at that age that the foods sold in American stores were usually Americanized ver-sions. Things like “mochi” in stores would usually not have the authentic taste the real foods did. This fascinated Boyd, and drew him closer to cultural foods, and the shop, even more.
When he told Pang he was looking for work, Pang offered him a job on the spot, and from seventeen, Boyd worked at the shop. He’d started as a cashier, but his hard-working attitude led him to being promoted to co-manager within a couple years. He made a modest income, but thought it would be a good job to stay at until retirement. Sure, he’d have some fun with friends and hobbies, but he didn’t need anything else in life. Boyd was perfectly fine living this perfectly average life.
***
“You mind closing for me tonight?” Boyd asked. Nift was a co-worker of his, someone he had bonded with during his time at the shop. Though his real name was Bob, he went by “Nift” due to how nifty he was around the place. Boyd liked having him close the shop often, especially tonight, since it was Friday, and he wanted to binge some Netflix this weekend.
“Sure, can do, though before you leave, I meant to ask you. How’d the interview go?” Nift asked.
“Not good. As soon as they heard about my experience, they ended the interview.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. You know, it’s okay if you can’t find work in that field. You’ve got a great job here; you don’t need to stress yourself with another one.”
“I know, I’d just hoped I would at least find someone who valued that skill. You’re right, though, I’m perfectly fine staying here. Anyway, see you Monday.”
“Right back at ya, Boyd,” Nift said as Boyd left the shop, making the small bell chime. As he walked to his apartment, a mile away from the shop, he thought, this job is enough for me, right?
Soon after, his head began aching a bit. I can’t let this stress get to me, he thought, shaking his head and increasing his pace. He started to wobble, which continued until he could no longer stand, and his face slammed into the sidewalk cement as he blacked out.
He woke up a few minutes later and immediately had a vision. He noticed that it was the city he lived in, Atlanta. It didn’t look too good, though. He saw buildings falling onto the ground, with chaos ensuing everywhere. People ran all around him, some being crushed by the falling buildings, and some be-ing blown up by lasers pouring down from the sky. He looked up and saw a giant ship. It came down, destroying an area around it as it landed, with dust engulfing the place. A few seconds later, the dust cleared, and the ship opened a hatch, revealing a gray figure in a sleeveless black jumpsuit. The figure was bald, and quite tall from what Boyd could tell. He couldn’t make out his face clearly.
“You humans will pay for what you’ve done to us!” the figure yelled.
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