Life is Not a Game

CHARLOTTE

“Jup’s about to get on,” I told Plut.

“Man, guys, that party last night was lit!” Jup said after signing on.

“Are you sure you even remember it?” I questioned.

“Any hotties?” Nep asked.

“I thought you were off-line spending time with some chick, Nep,” I remarked.

“Got an alert that you two bros got on, so I figured I’d join you,” he told me.

“What about your female companion?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll mute when she starts screaming my name,” he casually replied.

“Dude, you really are disgusting sometimes,” I told him.

“Don’t be jealous, Mars. I’m sure you’ll get some one day,” Nep replied.

“Believe it or not, not everyone wants to just sleep around all the time,” I said.

“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Nep said.

“Anyway, guys, I don’t think this conversation will have a winning side. I got some news that I think you will love,” Jup interrupted the argument.

“You got laid?” Nep asked.

“I did,” Plut interjected.

“TMI,” I replied.

“Anyway, like I was saying,” Jup went on, “I heard a rumor that Strike from Above is coming out with a new expansion.”

“Dude, we know all about that, but I’m over the RPG side. I just like crushing souls,” Nep replied.

“You heard about the expansion, but did you hear what RTA Games is doing to encourage players to try out the expansion?”

When none of us answered, he went on, “Apparently, everyone starts at level one in the expansion and builds back up. There are certain tasks and mobs you have to defeat to gain pieces of a ticket. If you have all of the pieces and hit level fifty all before February, the ticket gets you entrance into the World Tournament.”

“Wait, so we can go to Worlds without competing in any regional tournaments?” I asked. This wasn’t something I had ever heard of a game doing, so the concept was a little foreign.

“Yup,” Jup replied.

“That’s freakin’ sweet!” Plut said.

“Plut, better start making a list of hot chicks for me, ’cause I’ll be at your house in March, I guess,” Nep said.

“You are not getting laid at my house, dude.”

“Yeah…of course not…,” Nep replied unconvincingly.

“When does the expansion come out?” I questioned.

“Actually, it comes out in two days, so I guess we start the game over then. For now, though, why don’t we just play PVP like usual? I found us a great matchup. Might be a bit of a challenge, even,” Jup said.

“Sweet, let’s do it,” I said.

We spent the next few hours playing. The team Jup first found for us to play definitely put up a bit of a fight, but I wouldn’t have called them a challenge. It was getting so that no one was really a challenge for us anymore. I hoped we could go to that tournament next year; I really wanted to compete against the best of the best and see how we did.

“Okay, I think I’m going to sign off and go to bed. SOMEONE woke me up at six o’clock this morning,” I told the guys.

“Sorry, man,” Jup replied.

“What’s up with that anyway? Aren’t you supposed to drunk text chicks?” Plut asked.

“For real. I didn’t know you swung that way, Jup. I bet you two would make a cute couple,” Nep added.

“Ya know, as much as I like Mars, I like chicks more. Sorry, man,” Jup told me.

“Don’t worry, you won’t hurt my feelings,” I told them. “You three are too big of players for me; sorry to disappoint you guys. I’m just not interested.”

“Hey, you’d be lucky to get a guy as hot as I am,” Nep defended.

“Um, Nep, are you trying to convince Mars to go for you? Now who swings what way?” Plut laughed.

“What? No! That’s not what I meant!” Nep tried to backpedal, making the rest of us laugh at him.

“Ah, I love you too, Nep,” I said. “I really am going to bed now, though. I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow.”

***

“Good morning, sweetie,” Mom said the next morning when I came downstairs for breakfast.

“Good morning. What are you two doing home?” I asked, not used to her or Dad ever being around.

“We do live here, dear,” Dad said.

“Well, I know that, but you aren’t normally home,” I responded.

“Your father doesn’t start his new job until tomorrow, and I took today off for the move. Tomorrow we’ll go back to working,” Mom said.

“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” I said.

“That reminds me, we are not planning to hire a replacement for Margot, given you’re too old for a nanny now,” Dad told me.

“Will you be okay by yourself, sweetie?” Mom asked, full of concern.

“Of course! Most of my time I’ll be online or doing homework anyway,” I replied.

“Do we need to find a chef or something for meals?” Dad asked.

“Nah, I’ll be okay. Margot actually taught me to cook, so I can handle meals on my own.”

“You are so mature, sweetie. Okay then, we won’t hire a chef. If you have any specific ingredients or food you want, just add it to the shopping list, and we’ll make sure it gets purchased. I plan to have a shopper deliver and put away the groceries every Sunday evening,” Mom told me.

“Sounds great, Mom.”

“You start school tomorrow, sweetie,” Mom said, her voice gentle. “Can you promise me that you will try to make friends at this new one? It could be a perfect opportunity for you to start over.”

“Mom, I’d love to make friends, but you know I can’t talk to people,” I replied.

“You talk to us just fine, and you talk to those friends of yours online,” Mom commented.

“You and Dad are family—that’s different. And my friends online, they’re online, so it doesn’t feel the same,” I told her.

“You’re hoping to see them in person at the tournament. Are you not going to talk to them then?” Dad asked.

“I know them. They are my best friends—so I’ll probably be able to talk to them in real life. New people are different,” I said.

“Okay, okay. We get it. But promise us you’ll try?” Mom asked.

“I’ll try, but no promises on succeeding,” I compromised.

“Thank you, sweetie. Now, any chance we can convince you to get a new car for school, since your other one won’t be here for a while? It’s pretty old. Surely you want something better?” Mom asked.

“Can’t I just get a rental or something until then? I really like my car; I don’t need something new and fancy,” I responded.

“We knew you’d say that. Your rental is out front. It was a bit of a challenge finding a place that would let a seventeen-year-old drive a rental, but we managed,” Dad told me.

“Do you want to drive around today to find out where the school is and stuff?” Mom asked.

I just gave her a strange look. “That’s what my phone is for.” Why would I need to drive around when I have GPS?

“Oh, is that Tony?” Mom asked.

“Yup, he’s asking when I’m going to get online,” I responded.

“Why don’t you want them to know you’re a girl? I bet you and Tony would make a cute couple,” Mom said, wiggling her eyebrows at me. She always liked to tease me about my relationship with Jup.

“Gross, Mom! We’re just friends, and I’m very happy with them NOT knowing I’m a girl. I get to know the real them this way.”

“You know they are going to find out at the tournament, right?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, don’t remind me. I’ll enjoy it until then.”

Dad asked, “Are you going to join the game?”

“I told Tony I’d hang out with you guys until you’re busy, then I’ll log on,” I replied.

“Sounds good. Fancy a game?” Dad suggested.

“Absolutely!” I responded with enthusiasm. We spent the next several hours playing a war strategy game where I let my parents think they had a chance before I turned it around and crushed their souls—I mean, little plastic game men.

I then proceeded to run around the house, cackling loudly and boasting about my victory.

“I think that’s the influence of those boys,” Dad remarked, referring to my gloating.

“Sorry, not sorry, get good, Dad,” I retorted.

“Hey! I am good! When did you get THAT good, though?” he asked.

“Strategy is my thing. What do you think I do all day online? Chat?”

“Well, if there’s ever a war, I know who I’d want on my team. Well done, sweetie,” Mom said, hugging me.

“Thanks, Mom.”

We then watched a movie together before heading out for dinner at a restaurant. It was a wonderful day with my family—something I couldn’t remember having in a very long time. After dinner, Mom and Dad had to prepare for work the next day, so I went upstairs to play online with my friends. I could only play for a short while, as I had to get to bed. Tomorrow was my first day at a new school.

Yay—not!