Tweaked world

1. Chapter 4                                                                  Later that evening, Mark went to the bar to unwind with his friends. They all knew about his financial struggles, which was why they often offered to buy him drinks without any hard feelings.

On this particular evening, his friends teased him about his many high school crushes, especially one embarrassing incident. Back then, his friends had written a fake love letter to trick him. He had fallen for it completely, boldly cornering the girl and telling her he accepted her offer to be his boyfriend—only for the girl to slap him across both cheeks in front of the entire class.

Unlike his friends, who had become drunk and were now trash-talking among themselves, Mark had a clear mind. Only one of them, Steve, remained sober, having given up alcohol a long time ago.

"Marko, how did your book publishing proposal go? Did you secure the deal?" Steve asked while sipping his soda, his preferred alternative to alcohol.

Mark sighed heavily. "Well, I think this might be the end of my career as a writer. I was rejected—again."

"Again? Come on, man. You have better things to do than wasting your time scribbling on paper," Greg slurred, half-drunkenly burping.

The rest of their friends nodded in agreement, dismissing his writing pursuits as a waste of time, something only secretaries and nobodies bothered with.

An argument broke out among them, but thankfully, it didn't escalate into a fight. Sensing the tension, Steve wisely changed the subject. "Hey, did you guys hear about the python that escaped from the University of Tylee?"

"That's insane, bro! Were those zookeepers asleep the whole time? How could something like that even happen?" Ben exclaimed, visibly bewildered.

Steve chuckled. "Maybe the python got bored and wanted to see the world. I heard the zookeepers have asked the university students for help in capturing it, offering a good reward to whoever succeeds."

The group erupted in laughter. Carter grinned and suggested, "Mark should be the one to capture the python. He’s the only one capable of doing it."

Mark playfully smacked Carter on the head, making him scurry away while rubbing the spot, causing another round of laughter among the friends.

For a while, Mark was having a great time, momentarily forgetting his pain. But deep down, he knew the thoughts of failure and rejection would return to haunt him later that night.

Soon, it was time to part ways. Mark shook hands with each of his friends, bidding them goodnight. With no money for a taxi, he began the long walk back to his apartment from the bar.

Upon reaching his apartment, he noticed a piece of paper stuck to his door handle. Sighing, he pulled it off and saw that s

omething was written on it.