Page 56 of The Broken Hearts Club

Okay, enough of this. I had to stop driving myself nuts and focus. I was supposed to be coming up with some sort of brilliant idea that was going to keep my ass from getting demoted.

To change things up a bit, I’d decided to work with paper and a pencil, instead of my drawing tablet. I was also sitting outside in my new and improved backyard, in the hope that a change of scenery would get my creative juices flowing.

Collie glanced up from the manhwa he was reading. It was actually one of mine, which he’d plucked off the shelf in the den. To cover my embarrassment at getting caught staring at him, I asked, “How do you like the comic?”

“It’s pretty good, but I can’t help but wonder if some things have gotten lost in translation between the original Korean and English.”

“Probably.”

“How are the sketches going?” I turned the blank page toward him, and he set aside the comic and said, “Maybe I can help. I know you told me before, but tell me again what you’re trying to do.”

“This is going to be a postapocalyptic questing game. The main character is going around collecting things he or she needs to survive, while fighting bad guys. That’s all pretty standard, but the way we want to separate ourselves from our competition is with unique characters and settings, and really outstanding artwork.”

“Can you play as different characters, or just one?”

“In our last game, you could customize your own character. In this one, it’s all about this one main protagonist, so they really need to be fun and interesting.”

“Does it have to be a big, buff, pseudo-military badass?”

“No.”

“But that’s what sells video games, right?”

“Not always. Just look at Link in The Legend of Zelda games. He’s a little elf.”

“What about the world they live in? Is it Earth, or an alien planet?”

“I’m thinking it’s an Earth variant, like Earth from another dimension,” I said. “That gives me room to get creative.”

He nodded. “I like that. You can go nuts and do whatever you want.”

“Well, as long as my art director and the rest of the team signs off on it.”

“They will. I know you can come up with something amazing.”

“That makes one of us.”

“You need to believe in yourself, Miller. You could come up with the coolest stuff ever, but if you go in there and act like you’re unsure of it, they’ll be unsure, too.”

“That’s a good point.”

“Is there anything you’ve drawn just for fun, that you think is too far out there to pitch to your team?”

I grinned and admitted, “The only thing I’ve drawn that fits that description is you.”

“You drew me? Let me see!”

“One sec.” I picked up my iPad, and as I logged on, Collie tossed aside his blanket and squeezed in beside me on my patio chair.

Once I opened the file and handed him the tablet, he squealed with delight. “These are so cool! I’ve never been cartooned before.” He looked amazed as he scrolled through the sketches. “It looks just like me, only cuter.”

“You’re actually much more adorable. Those don’t do you justice.”

“When did you draw these?”

“It was a few days after you went with me to my baseball game.”

“That’s why you drew my parasol, and that jersey.”