Again, that was fine by Alex. They were advancing in the "story," through the levels, and that was enough for him, even if he had to ride Mao's prowess somewhat to get there. He was the kind of person who thrived on connections, though, and even if he had to make that connection through sarcasm and video games, it was still something. He was, or tried to be, a good person, and he expressed that through being willing to give Mao the benefit of the doubt and meet up with him, even though it seemed he existed for little more than sowing chaos on the forums.
And, apparently, not working. "Never?" He was surprised. Mao was at least his age and probably a bit older, if anything. How did you get by without never having had a job? If he had money, he didn't act like it. "I mean, this is my first real job," he admitted. First legal one, etc. "And really 's not bad as far as jobs go I think. Beats the hell outta flippin' burgers or somethin' I'm sure."
Yet another area where their personalities diverged: Alex was almost preternaturally still, most of the time. Sure, he was moving around now because of the game, but he wasn't the time to fidget, squirm, anything like that. He could sit around for hours in the same spot and be perfectly happy doing it. Not that he'd ever given his predilection for this sort of behavior much thought until now. "So like, what d'you do for money?" Because not working had to equal no money, didn't it? And yet.