Chapter Text
5:30 AM
The digital alarm beeps to life as Sunny is dragged away from the comforts of his adventures in Headspace as Omori.
The loop had reset again, as it always had. Though it was beginning to become difficult maintaining the fantasy the older he grew. Especially after his 20th birthday, and the first he had spent alone in his dingy studio apartment.
Reality rapidly phased into his senses.
The bare walls peeling with decades old paint, the smell of old takeout filling up his sink, the dusty air of musk brought by the bad ventilation of the apartment unit.
It was for lack of a better term, depressing to wake up to this sight for months on end. But it didn't seem to matter much. Not when he'd spend most of his free time in a better place anyway.
In HEADSPACE.
In there, Mari was still alive. Basil was still alive. And his friends were still there for him. The perfect world.
Omori and his friends going on fun wacky adventures like the Saturday morning cartoons he used to watch.
He groggily turns over, wiping his eyelids and stumbling for balance as he barely escapes falling off the side of the bed.
Flipping on the lights, he limps over to the kitchen aisle to re-energize with a packet of cheap ground coffee. On his left was a landline phone by the living room with a solid red light. Someone must have sent a voicemail while he took his well needed 14.5 hour nap.
Sunny stretches his arm and downs his morning coffee in one swig, the effects giving him just enough of a boost to get through another day outside.
Getting dressed for work, he takes a turn to the landline before departing, pressing the button with a satisfying clack.
*BEEP*
"Hey Sunny! It's Mommy. It's been a while since you've visited since the move and well... I know how important this self sufficient thing is to you and I don't want to be all overbearing on you with that. But- Maybe when you're free you could come and visit? Or if there's a lot on your plate I could take the car over. It's not like we're that far apart anyhow. It's been a while and well, you haven't been returning my calls lately. I just thought maybe we could catch up. That's all.
Don't forget, Mommy loves you. Bye honey"
*Bzzst*
*CLICK*
Sunny feels his throat gradually dry up as he stands there staring at the phone, wondering if he should take up the offer. As he does he remembers why he left in the first place however. The mind numbing guilt of what happened to Mari, abandoning Basil like that and leaving him to die. Leaving his friends to never find the truth. He knew he was a horrible person. He knew even in headspace there was something deeply wrong with him. There was a reason even Omori had a blank dislike towards him. Why it was Omori instead of him in those adventures. And above it all, he knew that that they had known.
It was all but obvious. The way his father looked at him when he walked out on them, how his mother tried so desperately to protect and smother him. Too afraid to lose her other child to see reason.
It was so obvious they had known, and that they had covered for him. Same as Basil did.
He didn't deserve someone like her. And she didn't deserve to have someone like him leeching off her love and mercy. The most rational choice in the matter was to ensure he made the tough decision for her sake.
The sooner she forgot about him the better.
Sunny sighs and shakes his head, turning away from the phone and opening the front door.
Stepping out from the cab, he walks at a steady pace towards a FoodMart convenience store, passing by a man in a hoodie sprinting opposite of his direction.
The convenience store's doors slide open as Sunny quietly walks inside like a lingering spirit, The man behind the register lounged behind a chair reading a magazine as customers came and browsed for snacks and frozen food.
Inside the break room he moves towards his trusty mop and bucket as he overhears his manager yell out in frustration.
"Damn shoplifters! That was 42 bucks worth of merch! It's bad enough I have to deal with slow business and now this?! Generation's going down the toilet, I swear..."
Sunny shrugs and begins to mop, painting the dirty floors with cleaning solution and water. OTHERCITY was a bit of a wildcard in his eyes. Depending on where you'd go it could the nicest place out there with the tradeoff of absurd prices. The 8 dollar bottle of water still haunting his dreams in HEADSPACE, or on the other spectrum something straight out of a crime thriller movie. Usually though it was a mixed bag for most places based on what he's seen. Especially with the surrounding area his apartment building was situated in. Sure there was the occasional news report and criminal activity, but for the past year he'd spent there, he got the gist of how to keep his head down. Although given the state he was in mentally, he wouldn't mind a knife in the liver at this point.
Hours pass and he gets into the zone, tuning out the world to focus into the art of dragging a wet mop across ceramic tiles for nine hours straight. That is when excluding the 1 hour break period.
Dip, Press, Mop.
Repeat.
If he was a bit more confident, he wondered if he could even get away with closing his eyes and going into HEADSPACE while doing this. It was something nice to think about.
A few months in and it all felt like instinctual clockwork to Sunny, and besides there was a nice quiet to this line of work. Sure it didnt pay that well, but it was enough to maintain his lifestyle of cup ramen and going to HEADSPACE for almost all of his free time. His coworkers weren't too bad either. The cashier's nametag read "NED" he was a quiet man somewhat like him. A Young teenager in a ball cap probably a few years younger than him, usually only clocking in and out for the check. He didn't really have much passion however he didn't really hold it against him. He didn't either. Although he had to admit, there was a sense of peacefulness to just quietly mopping the floors in the early hours. The other man in the skeleton crew was the opposite however. His Manager, Phil was a bit of a hardhead at first. An older man in his mid 40s with a thick moustache and slightly balding crown. He ran the FoodMart like the captain of a skeleton ship. To be honest, at first impressions he seemed to be for lack of a better term... Well- An asshole.
Constantly getting on Ned's case about not taking work seriously and barely putting an effort for the customer experience, and then rambling on and on about politeness and friendliness being the norm back then.
But he had his good side definitely.
Sunny chuckled as he sprayed on the more stubborn specks of grime on the tiles, thinking back about a specific moment that changed his perception on his Manager.
He remembered it all like clear daylight. Quietly sweeping in the early mornings of a Monday shift in the back when he heard a particularly obnoxious customer berate Ned over her expired redemption coupons. The words spewed out so vitriolic it could give SWEETHEART a run for her money. Even in his emotionally dead state he couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of second-hand remorse for his co-worker. And surprisingly a newfound respect to his manager when Phil decided to stick up for the same kid he'd been berating over lounging with magazines on the clock hours prior. Going as far as to even threaten calling the police on her if she kept escalating things.
Past that point he warmed up to them, letting a few discrepancies go with a simple eyeroll, casually chatting with them on lunch break. Even buying them snacks out of pocket.
"On the house"
He'd always say, dropping a slip of cash next to the register for Ned to process later and taking out two cans of soda and a can of beer to share. In a way he looked out for them in his own way despite being as stubborn as he was. And Sunny appreciated it.
Sunny looks up at the wall clock, wondering how much time had passed.
11:59 AM
Almost time for lunch.
Sunny sets aside his mop and bucket to where he had always came to retrieve it in the corner of the storage room in the back, turning around with a hand in pocket he sees Phil standing by the door.
"Catch"
He casually tosses him a wrapped meal, forming a satisfied grin as Sunny successfully catches it and unwraps, revealing it to be a burger from the convenience store as Sunny looks back up at Phil.
"You said you used to eat steak a lot when you was younger, right? Ain't anything fancy, but it should do ya good"
Sunny bites into the burger, sitting on an unused crate as an impromptu chair as he quietly gives his thanks
"Thanks, boss..."
Phil takes a seat next to him, patting his shoulder as he hands him a rolled magazine.
"Anytime, kiddo"
Sunny turns over to look at the magazine with a curious expression, tilting his head.
In response, Phil speaks up. Adding the well needed context for randomly handing him a Magazine, especially when he'd known him long enough not be the type to read much on the job.
"Had a chat with Ned and wanted to see what was so interesting with the stuff he'd read all the time. Had a look through and we found this thing I thought you could get use outta."
Phil opens the magazine and points to an advert of an animal mascot with a lively thumbs-up expression. Next to him the words "CIVIC RENEWAL DISPATCH," photos of volunteers doing various community service work and a long winded description regarding local community volunteer efforts.
"Yeah. Cheesy, I know. But they seem like good people. Says it's like a... Newsletter or sorts combined with a membership thing. You always had a thing for cleaning, whole- zen master type"
Phil chuckles at his own joking remark as Sunny blankly stares, biting into his burger occasionally.
"I just think you'd like it there. Have like-minded people to hang with. I don't know. I heard this kinda stuff is good for your soul or somethin' like that. Besides membership is free. I'm wondering giving it a try too to be honest. This part of the city could use some help and I wouldn't mind giving a hand every week or so."
"Besides... You look like you need something to keep you occupied. You look pretty tired out every time you walk in here. Kinda like my own kid when he had the blues"
He shrugs, shaking the magazine a tad bit.
"Well... Anyway it's your call. What do you think?"
Sunny stares at the advert, holding the magazine to have Phil swap hands with it.
Frankly he didn't seem to care much. But it's not like he had a busy life, and Phil was coming from a good place.
Sunny takes a closer look at the Magazine. A hybrid between a community volunteer program and newsletter...
Whatever, he might as well try not to be a disappointment. And besides, if he can't cut it, at the very least he could still just do the bare minimum of receiving the newsletters while going back to spending most of his free time inside his own head.
"...I'll go write it down"
Sunny finishes his burger and pockets the wrapping, planning to throw it away somewhere proper later.
"Can I borrow your pen?"
Phil takes one out from his breastpocket, handing it to him.
"Sure! No probs"
Tearing off one of the Bind-In cards from the adjacent page, Sunny writes down his Phone number and address along with the other necessary boxes to fill in. Handing both the pen and magazine back after.
"I'll go drop this later in the mailbox when my shift is done"
Phil Nods, taking out a Bind-In to do the same process for himself.
"Makes sense. Keep up the good work, lad."
The remaining hours pass and Sunny clocks off, dropping off the Bind-In card at the nearest Mailbox he could find before hailing a cab. Oddly enough no matter how many times he left HEADSPACE, part of him still expected a pair of glowing eyes and a snakelike voice whenever he approached those blue metal containers. He shrugged it off, not thinking much of it. Besides, his shift was already over. After this quick trip he'll have all the time again to spend time with Mari and his friends in HEADSPACE.
Sunny closes his eyes, nodding off in the backseat of the Cab to sleep off the trip home.