donât want to talk about video games today.â
âSounds good to me,â Fezzik said. âWhat would you like to talk about?â
Aurora tucked the other side of her hair behind an ear. âItâs pleasant not to stare at a computer screen anymore. I . . . see things. Like, flies are adorable. Have you noticed? They clean themselves like kittens.â She mimicked the action. âThey lick their legs and then wipe off their big spotty eyes. Itâs amazing. Their proboscises are like tiny little gummy straws . . .â
Her voice was so floaty, it went straight in one ear and out the other. I studied the Nestâs half wall, which had beentagged with video game references, some of which had been painted over. Through the paint, I could still see the silhouette of a Super Mario question mark block and the Triforce from Zelda , but âthe cake is a lieâ and âpraise the sunâ hadnât been painted over at all. I wondered if G-man eliminated obvious references but thought the last two were about healthy eating and outdoor fitness.
âI could watch flies for hours,â Aurora said.
Meeki pointed at me again. âShe has a boyfriend.â
Again I scowled. Why was this girl such an asshole?
âSoup?â Fezzik said.
The squirrely kid fidgeted in the chair next to me, eager to tell his story. He seemed so genuinely wholesome, I was surprised he didnât have a flower bud growing out of the top of his head.
âIâm Soup, and Iâm a first tier,â he said, way too close to my face. âMy stepbrother got me into video games. He liked scary stuff like The Last of Us and Dark Souls , except I didnât, âcause theyâre too scary, but I like all video games, so it didnât really matter. I used to have to do things for him so that heâd let me watch him play, like get him drinks or take off his shoes and stuff, but then he died, and then I could play as much video games as I wanted.â
Before my heart even had a chance to flutter, Soup continued. â I like the 3DS. I like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing , but my favorite is Nintendogs âcause my parents wonât let me have a real puppy.â Soupâs eyes shifted from happy to a sadglisten. âBut then they said I didnât play outside enough and they took my 3DS away . . . and they let my poodle, Minus, starve to death. You kinda look like my stepbrother.â
Soup stared at me like I was supposed to say something to that. I opened my mouth, but then he perked up and jumped onto his knees.
âMy favorite part of Video Horizons is all of it. Itâs like one big Animal Crossing . Thatâs why even though Iâve been here for a month and a week, Iâm still only a first tier. I donât even want any points. I wish it was my first day. No, first minute! First second !â
âHeel, Soup,â Fezzik said, chuckling.
He hooked Soupâs shirt collar and pulled him back into his seat. I squinted away a headache. Iâd been listening to the kid for two minutes and already felt like Iâd had too many energy drinks.
âMiles,â Fezzik said, âremember these faces. Your guildmates will help you earn points so you can return to the outside world where your real adventure will begin.â
I did look at their faces: Meeki, Aurora, Soup, and the electric warlock, whose head still hadnât left his hands. Hell, my dad thought I had a problem? I never ate so much that I couldnât leave the house, or cracked a family member in the skull with a Wiimote, or bemoaned the death of a digital dog more than a real human being. The only thing I was guilty of was being turned down by girls too many times and not wanting to spend time with my shitty stepmom or controlling father.
I might have played more video games than most, but atleast Iâd had a good reason. Unfortunately, that was probably
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