Offline ROM Hustling

I started my Sunday evening setting up my new computer on the desk. It didn’t take long since I already prepared the desk for it and it was just plugging stuff here and there. I only got a 19-inch monitor but this will do for now. It’s not like I’m fussy about specs in the first place. As long as it works and does what I need to, I can live with it. Let’s see... i5 processor, 16GB RAM, 2GB built-in Graphics Memory… Oh, it’s one of those you can purchase at Gilmore. Hmm… Not too shabby, to be honest. This is actually pretty decent, but that’s me saying it with my almost a decade-old standard when I bought one in my past life. I’m not sure about those bleeding-edge games today, but this should do generally well.

After checking out a few more things, pushed the eject button on the DVD-ROM drive with a customized case in my hand. I took a look at its handwritten label using a marker. It’s the name of an operating system with an alphanumeric garble below.

[XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX]

Hehe, this is one of the perks of a third-worlder. We get away with these. Well, I’d love to have my very own licensed copies of some apps I use so I’m gonna pay Good Ol’ Mr. Gates for the license in the future if I ever get the opportunity. Isn’t it cool to see your own name instead of a random Indian or Russian guy from who knows where whenever you open a rar file and check the Help > About menu? It would be ironic when I do that to extract another pirated app, hehehe.

I put the disc into the drive and gently pushed the tray with my index finger to make it retract instead of the eject button. I’m not sure if it risks breaking the mechanism but hey, it works and it looks cool. People need these small daily wins for positive vibes, especially me who’s a few thousand pesos away from bankruptcy. I reformatted the HDD and reinstalled the OS since I’m the type of guy, now a girl, who prefers starting from a clean slate. It didn’t take that long to set the new system up and I leaned back to my monoblock chair with my face towards the ceiling afterwards.

“Damn, there’s nothing to do here.”

This OS doesn’t even include the usual games from the previous ones. You’d have to get them from their online store for free but I don’t have internet right now. I checked the box again and there wasn’t anything like a USB Wi-Fi dongle so I’m stuck with a PC in its own air-gapped network and free from any cyberattacks for the night. Scratching the back of my head in frustration and disappointment, I walked out of my room and went downstairs. I knocked on Matthew’s room on the first floor. The door partially opened and he’s stuck his head out.

“Huh, Big Sis?”

“Hey, do you have any games there? Anything decent would do. Give me a copy.”

“The PC should have some.”

“I reformatted it.”

“Oh…”

“Anything would do. Pop a thumb drive and throw some in it. You have some emus and roms there?”

“Yeah, I have MAME, SNES, NES, GBA…”

“Great, put those in. What roms do you have in GB? Crystal Version? How about Friends of Mineral Town?”

“I have the GBA roms complete set. It’s more than 22GB, though. I only have an 8GB thumb drive.”

“Alright, forget about the MAME roms. Just put all the SNES and NES roms you have there, then throw as many GBA roms in the drive as possible. But make sure to include all versions up to Emerald.”

“Got it, give me a minute.”

Matthew went back to his room. I stood waiting in front of his door and started to hear the soft-voices of people talking. I turn my head around to see where they are coming from. There’s nobody out here so I turn my head towards Matthew’s room which by now is opened wide. There are two girls and a boy sitting on the floor inside, looking at me. Oh, that explains these flip-flops that weren’t here earlier on the shoe rack beside the door. I quickly looked away, pretending that I didn’t notice them looking at me. Seems like they’re hanging out together so they’re probably his classmates or friends.

It didn’t take long before I heard some steps and it was Matthew just as expected. I turned towards the and extended my hand forward, expecting the thumb drive on my palm any second. He does the same and puts his right hand right above my palm but his fist remains clenched instead. My brows frowned a bit when nothing dropped onto my palm after a few seconds of waiting. I turned my gaze upward and saw Matthew standing still. It didn’t take me a second longer to follow his eyes and find out what he was looking at.

“Hey…”

“Ah…”

“You’re at it again, young man.”

“N-No…”

“I told you not to do this when there are people around. You’re digging your own grave, kid.”

“S-Sorry…”

He opens his palm right away and the thumb drive lands on my palm. To get back at this kid, I quickly raised my right hand to grab his wrist, moved a couple of steps backwards, and pulled him a few feet. He ends up stepping right out of the door and getting dust on the soles of his feet. To top it off, I lightly tapped his forehead with my left palm.

“Take that, you brat. Hee hee!”

“Ugh, Big Sis…”

I took a quick glimpse into his room to see his friends’ reactions. Two of them are dumbfounded, probably not sure what’s going on. But one of the girls is giving me an unsettling look. It’s neither an angry nor a sad face, just a straight yet imposing expression, and something about it makes me feel uneasy. Hmm, is she not amused? Maybe she has a crush on Mat and is not fond of seeing a pretty girl being chummy with him. Oh, this beauty truly is a sin! I should make myself scarce and let the kids be by themselves. I raised my left hand to say goodbye to Matthew and started to walk away. I didn’t check but I’m pretty sure that brat is checking out my behind until I reached the stairs I just let it go.

I went back to my room and started playing some of these vintage games. There sure is a charm to them. The technology might’ve gone far since these games were released but the fun in reaching the star world or successfully making a Do The Wave deck is still the same. Even back when every company started transitioning into 3D polygon graphics, the games with simple graphics stayed strong. I was up until 3 AM when I decided to change into pajamas and catch some Zs so I could get an update from Matthew about the ISP later.

---

[Monday, January 25th]

The warmth of sunlight through the window illuminating the room brought my slumber to an end. I reach my right hand to my left side till I feel the phone next to my pillow. With a click at the edge button, I squint as the bright screensaver glares right into my face. It’s 8 AM, huh? I quickly got out of bed, put my phone next to the keyboard on the desk, and headed straight to the bathroom to wash my face and fix my hair. As I check my drawer, I start wondering why I have this many dolphin shorts. I guess they are comfortable but I shouldn’t be wearing these outdoors too often. Upon that notion, I opt for low-waist denim shorts and a tight maroon T-shirt that barely reaches it. I tried raising my hands and my belly peeks a little but I doubt there’d be any issue with a body like this.

I’m looking at myself biting a scrunchie through the desk mirror on top of plastic drawers as I comb my hair for the usual ponytail hairdo when I hear a knock on my door. It didn’t take me ten seconds to tie my hair up and answer the door. It’s the apartment manager and owner, Mrs. Villanueva, and another man who looks like in his 40s. I’d know since I was also about that age in my past life which isn’t a long time ago.

“Good morning, Manager.”

“Mayumi, I brought the technician from the ISP company here.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you ask Mat about it yesterday? He’s doing the installation today so you’ll just have to fill this form up. The first month is free and it’s gonna be ₱1,990 monthly after that.”

“Ah, right. That was fast, though.”

“Don’t worry about it. We know someone in that company so things are gonna be fine.”

“Oh… Thank you. Please come in. The computer is right on that desk.”

That caught me by surprise. It wasn’t even a whole day yet and they’re already installing the line now. The fact that the manager has a connection with the company probably helped. I remember in my past life how it took me a whole week of waiting before somebody dropped by our place to do the installation. I won’t forget that day when the technician started to log in to his account in a SNS mostly older folks use and spent about half an hour on my PC under the guise of “testing the connection for any issues” and I had to stand right behind his unfazed ass as he watched random short videos. It was different this time, though. The technician guy his work while the manager talked to me.

“How was yesterday? Was my son rude to you?”

“Not at all. Mat was a good boy and he’s a fast learner.”

“Is that so? Looks like you two hit it off quickly.”

“I guess so. He carried the computer all the way here for me too.”

“Hmm… You’re a good girl too, Mayumi. That’s why I won’t be against it if ever...”

“Uhh… Okay?”

It felt a bit awkward after that. I’m not really sure what the manager meant by that. Matthew and I are definitely not a thing so probably not that. Maybe she was talking about the internet and whatever activities online I’d be doing? Does she think I’m trying to be a pro gamer, or did she figure out I plan to do some internet broadcasting? Or maybe, she thinks I’ll be in a dodgy business like those stripping cam girls who rip off foreign geezers online?

“No, no, no! It’s not like that, Manager! I won’t dare!”

“Hmm? Anyway, you haven’t had any breakfast yet, right? Come down to the cafe when we’re done here. I’ll treat you to a clubhouse sandwich. You’re okay with some greens in your bread, right?”

“Really? I’d love to! Yes, I love veggies! Hee-hee...”

The manager just gave me a funny look and we went back to watching the technician finish up with the installation. Whatever the case, I now have my own internet connection. This is better since I plan to stream and doing that in a shared connection will be inconvenient. I’ll be around ₱2,000 short per month, though. That’s why I need to start earning online fast. I’ll have to tighten up my daily expenses and start working in a convenience store where I can eat any leftovers. I’ll also be able to bring home anything that’s about to reach their “best before” date that would be rid of.

Other 18-year-old girls might find this lifestyle difficult but that won’t be the case for me, a man among men that went from a difficult life and worked my way up in my past life. Women aside, I had a pretty decent past life. I have the knowledge and life hacks from all those years I toiled with me now. I consider my current self an 18-year-old supergirl who can get through any hardships. That’s what I thought to myself as I spent the whole day gaming after installing some apps and signing up to a streaming site, a business payment gateway to avoid showing my real name, and setting up the basics like the tipping platform that I’d be using.

I woke up the next day feeling a slight stomachache and fatigue. It didn’t take me a moment to realize what’s up since I’ve been kinda expecting it any day. That didn’t keep me from the shock, though, like how knowing an incoming car crash doesn’t make it any less horrifying. I stood up and pulled the waistbands of my pajama shorts and panties at the same time, only to be greeted by a morbid reality check.

“B-Blood!”