It all started well though. I was ecstatic when I woke up this morning. The reason was in a few words: "preview test". I had been selected to test the new DLC of my favorite video game: Fantastic Book Online. The new novel was in fact a saga that had marked my adolescence: Twilight!

Motivated as ever, I embark on my morning routine, ready to spend a large part of my weekend playing. Lying on my bed, I turn on the headphones and the game's usual logo unfolds before my eyes. Apart from the moment of connection, the immersion is total. No background music in the game, accessories allowing you to have the impression of actually touching objects and an open world where everything is accessible as long as you have the statistics allowing you to carry out the action... A child will of course never be able to carry a heavy weight.

I click on the DLC downloaded yesterday and get ready to take the place of one of the characters. Strangely, only Bella is available. I inwardly shrug my shoulders, thinking it's probably because they're in the testing phase and other people have to deal with the remaining characters. The robotic voice rings in my ears:

"You have chosen to play Bella Swan...Character loading 1%...10%...50%...100%"

At the end of the loading a light blinds me and I close my eyes. When I open them I find myself in a second class airplane cabin. The people around me speak English, but I understand them without any problem. Cool ! I had to make progress by watching films in the language of Shakespeare. A hostess offers me a glass of water and I gladly accept it, using a perfect American accent... I then freeze for a few seconds: When did I adopt this accent? I end up saying to myself that it doesn't really matter, after all, it makes sense that the game takes place in English, since the action takes place in the United States.

I then open my hand luggage to look at my passport: Isabella Mary Swan, born September 13, 1987, in Forks, Washington... Yes, that's my character. I take a small pocket mirror out of the bag, surprised that Bella is pretty enough to have one in her purse. I do look like Bella: goodbye to my long fine blond hair and my hazel eyes, to me the thick brown mane and chocolate eyes. The strangest thing is that my face expresses a lot more emotions than Kristen Stewart did in the movies.

I whisper "Inventory" and a blue sign appears in front of me. My seatmate, a middle-aged man with a bushy beard, doesn't seem to notice. It says my purse, my coat, and...that's it. A new window then appears:

"Secondary quest: Find your travel bag before greeting your father... Reward: a 1-star car... Time granted: 45 minutes... Penalty: your father's trust -1".

The captain's voice rang out, telling everyone to buckle up and prepare for landing. My body reacts immediately by tensing like a bow. I hate landings and this old cuckoo clock that serves as our means of transport vibrates so much that I have the impression that a piece of sheet metal is going to take off before we have even reached the ground. I fasten my seatbelt frantically and cling to the armrest under the amused gaze of my seatmate. Glaring at him, I quickly turn away, trying to ignore him while trying not to have a tantrum.

Finally, the machine of misfortune begins its descent and my heart beats more and more frantically as we get closer to the ground. When the plane finally stops, I breathe a sigh of relief and jump out of my seat carrying my meager bag. When I reach the landing area, I realize that I have no idea what my luggage looks like... Fortunately, the plane is very small and the amount of luggage is just as small. Obviously, most of the passengers actually only had hand luggage. I reach for two pieces of luggage that have already gone around twice and quickly check the tags which, fortunately, were in my name.

I then go out to find my father who is standing awkwardly in the reception hall. I run towards him and miss to spread out on the ground. Charlie Swan narrowly catches up to me, then hugs me and welcomes me, which I return with a big smile.

"I'm glad to see you daddy!" I missed you ! »

The poor man looks shocked. It's true that from memory Bella was not very demonstrative with him, but I always found that unfair. She is lucky to have a father who really cares and loves her, which is far from my case. I've decided that this will be the first change I'll make to the original story. When I made this choice a window appeared in front of me:

"Quest successful! Your reward will soon be granted to you »

"Charlie complicity: +1"

"Bonus Quest: Increase bonding with your father by 10 points... Reward: HIDDEN... Penalty: None... Duration: Unlimited"

Cool ! I can unlock alternate scenarios early on. It's decided, I'll try to modify everything that seems boring to me in the story. While I remember the first chapters, Charlie grabs my bag and I follow him closely, for fear of getting lost... Unnecessary worry when I realize that he came in a screen-printed car. I board hesitantly on the passenger side, not at all used to this place.

Charlie then sets out on the road without saying a word, looking a little tense... The silence doesn't seem awkward to me and the smile I throw at him from time to time seems to reassure him and he in turn relaxes. When he tells me that he has found a car for me, I have already earned 2 complicity points. Unlike Bella, I'm not suspicious, knowing full well the kind of car he bought me and I'm actually relieved that this car is old, because that means a manual transmission. The automatics and I have never been on good terms. I then thank him enthusiastically, earning another +1 along the way.

I then ask him what the car looks like, mostly because it would look suspicious not to and Charlie is a cop, let's not forget that. He shouldn't have me in jail for impersonating his daughter. Hey, I wonder if it's planned in the game...

"It's a flatbed pickup truck, a Chevrolet.

- Oh so it's an old model?

- Yes, enough, Charlie replied after a little hesitation. Billy bought it in 1984.

- Oh your friend Billy Black? It's his car ? »

My light tone seemed to relieve him, he then nodded, adding that he had tinkered with the engine to make it look a bit younger. I smile broadly at him.

"Thanks dad, I'm sure she'll be perfect, but now you can tell me her real age...

- As shrewd as his daddy, huh? Charlie replied with a soft laugh.

- Cop girl! I sneered

- It's a 1963 Chevy StepSide C-10 pickup. Not too disappointed? If you really don't like it...

- I'm sure I'll love it. You know, I like vintage. On the other hand, do not count on me to repair it, I will have to turn to Billy for maintenance. Mechanics aren't really my thing.

- Don't worry, Jacob can help you.

- Jacob? I said, feigning ignorance.

- Billy's son. He knows Billy is now in a wheelchair.

- Oh darn...

- That's why he sold it to me, he can't drive anymore.

- By the way, how much do I owe you dad?

- Let me give it to you.

- Really ? I replied expressing surprise. Thanks dad, you're the best!

Charlie grinned and didn't let go of that grin for many minutes. A window then appeared in front of me:

"Complicity: +2"

"Bonus Quest: 5/10"

The game started well. Then began a long, long drive in silence to Forks. I started to find this curious. Usually, when nothing in particular was happening, the game would circle around and start again at the time of the next action... There, I literally spent an hour in the car. Not that the silence was disturbing, on the contrary, it allowed me to appreciate the green landscape. I had never been to the United States and was curious about everything around me. The billboards particularly impressed me: they had even recreated in-game advertisements corresponding to the news of 2005... What meticulous work!

Finally we parked in front of the house I had seen in the movies. In front of her stood Bella's monstrous truck... Well... My new truck. I jumped out of the car to take a closer look. It was not the car of my dreams, but it had the merit of being able to do its job, that is to transport me to high school... Damn! High school... Twenty years since I left... I really hope the lessons don't go from start to finish like the car ride, because I'll have to suggest an "ellipsis" option to the designers. Hey... that reminds me that I didn't see a "communication" tab when I looked at my inventory earlier...

I must have made a funny face, because Charlie asked me if I was okay. I replied that I was just worried that I didn't know the route to school. He offers to drop me off the first day so that I can spot him. Thanking him both for his thoughtfulness and for the luggage he had undertaken to get out of the car, I followed him into the house, then into my bedroom. He shows me the computer with prehistoric internet connection promised to my mother. I reminded myself that I had to answer her emails before she started to panic. I had the idea that a hysterical Renee was not something I wanted to deal with.

Immediately after dropping off my things Charlie comes out to let me quietly unpack my bags. I close the door, sigh, then sit on the bed to take stock.

"Inventory, I whisper"

The blue window appears in front of me showing my handbag, a "bedroom" tab has been added, I find my belongings, furniture and computer inside. I then read the other tabs:

" Biography :

Isabella Mary Swan

Age: 17 years old

Level 1

Occupation: high school student

Title: Newbie »

I chuckle as I read the title, then move on to the next tab.

"Player Features:

STRENGTH: 50

DEXTERITY: 20

SMART: 150

FOCUS: 200

SHAPE: 50"

I'm thinking that's a mage profile in an RPG... Clearly, I'm not cut out to be a DPS. I'd have to see another character's stats to see the extent of the damage, but I sense in advance that my stats aren't very good. I chuckled while reading the following tab:

"Weapon Mastery:

- Purse: 1/20"

"Well, I'm not going to go far with that, I giggled"

The following tab intrigued me a lot:

"Gift Control:

- Mind Shield: Tier 1

- Foreknowledge: Tier 1

- Shock resistance: level 1"

Wait a minute ! Bella only had the Mental Shield going for her, so why were there two other abilities underneath... Weird... but I'm not going to spit on it...

"Innate skills:

Kitchen: level 10

Household: level 9

Learning lessons: level 8

Driving means of transport: level 4

Reading: level 15

Observation Skill: Level 11

Skills acquired (3 maximum)

Item Crafting: Level 20

Naturalist Knowledge: Level 19

Knowledge of the supernatural: level 15 »

After reflection it seems that the innate skills refer to Bella and the acquired skills to me... Does this mean that my body will react out of habit in terms of cooking for example? I've never been really good at cooking unlike Bella... But how can the game know about my personal skills? Did they research me? I frown. Big Brother is everywhere, but still! I have to ask them. Besides, it reminds me that I have to suggest that they add the ellipse option to the game. I then look for the communication tab, but as I suspected earlier, I can't find it.

I start to panic when I realize that the "disconnect" button is also not in the top right corner of the window. I click on "help" and another window opens.

"Hello and welcome to the Twilight DLC Help. This will be completed as and when requested. Which keywords correspond to your request? »

I then say aloud: "Disconnection button"

"The logout button does not exist in this version of the game. Do you have another request? »

I'm stuck for several seconds after reading the answer. My heart rate increases and feeling the panic coming, I then say: "Leave the game".

"It is impossible to quit the current game. Please complete the adventure to determine your destination. »

I'm speechless and my heart races. My vision is starting to blur and my last thought, before the world went black, was "a world-class bug!"