Carl Taylor has lived with a foster family since his parents' car accident 20 years ago, so he could barely remember his parents, or only in fragments.

He was lucky that a friend of his father's took him in, and he didn't have to go to an orphanage. So Carl had a new family if you like. John Williams was his new father, a successful businessman who traveled a lot and provided the family with more than enough money. He earned so much that Diana Williams did not have to work and was still able to enjoy a high standard of living. She loved going to galas and presenting herself as a great baroness. And then there was their son Victor, who was slightly older than Carl.

Carl also knew that Diana wasn't happy looking after Carl either, and the two adults argued about it occasionally in the early years. Whenever John wasn't around, Diana treated Carl like crap while she put Victor in a made-up bed. No matter what it was about, Victor got it and was defended to the last. Carl was a different story. He had tried to discuss it with John, but he always blocked it.

As a student, Carl was doing quite well at school. He knew that he was seen as a nerd and a geek. He doesn't even make a secret of it. But at the time, nerds weren't exactly popular at school. His classmates ignored him most of the time, unless they needed homework or someone to help them with projects. There were always a few classmates who teased him. Unfortunately, Carl was also gullible at the time and was really taken in by two women. They flirted with him and were more than just friendly to him so that he would help them with their exams. Which he did. When these two had passed their exams, one of them invited him to go with her to the prom. Full of joy, Carl agreed and was happy until the evening he wanted to pick her up. He drove up to her house in the car John had given him and was met by a group of the school's so-called cool people. A little surprised, he got out of the car and was immediately knocked out by the tallest of the guys.

He missed the prom, of course, and as if that weren't bad enough, the group had also stolen the car. He reported the incident to the police, but the car was never found, and the group denied everything, nobody believed Carl, not even John believed him, and that led to him having problems dealing with people. From that point, he distrusted everyone.

This did not improve during his studies, which he started after the incident. Because of his recent experiences, he avoided people and was able to devote himself to his studies.

After graduating, he applied for a job as an analyst at a brokerage firm he had worked for during his studies. He knew the people there, and it went really well for him. As he had already impressed with his skills during his studies, he climbed the ranks fairly quickly. It seemed as if life had taken a turn for the better for him. Until the day the company was bought out and he was given a new boss.

His new boss didn't like him, there was no mistaking that, and he could clearly feel it. He also got a colleague from the same boss who was pretty, but also a real bitch.

She always managed to sabotage him or pass off his work as her own. He tried to complain, but was always rebuffed. It went so far that he lost his job.

Now he was left with nothing and a student loan on top of that. At least he wasn't in late with the rent, at least not yet. He had the choice of paying the student loan installment or paying the rent. He had the option of asking John for a cash injection, but he really didn't want to do that now. On the one hand, John was still holding the car against him and on the other, Diana would come down on him again, and he didn't need that at the moment. His self-confidence was almost non-existent.

He sat in a café and looked at his smartphone after receiving a notification. A new app had been installed. Completely astonished and surprised, he read the name of the app.

WHAT IF

He wondered what kind of title it was. Was it something like in the series, where it shows alternative routes? His curiosity was always quite high, so he tapped on the symbol.

Congratulations,

you hereby receive the only existing copy of this "what if app"

This app allows you to change everything according to your wishes.

Just write "What if" and finish the sentence with whatever comes to your mind, and it will be like this.

We wish you a lot of fun.

The Reality Corporation.

Carl was really irritated when he read this. He had fantasized about it, but only in his head. Such a thing could not exist. He sat transfixed in his seat. On his display were the words

What if

The marker flashed behind it and his keyboard was displayed at the bottom. After a few breaths, he shrugged his shoulders and started typing.

Chapter overview