Tage lay silently in her bed for several minutes after logging out of the game, her fingers blindly tracing the lines of embroidered flowers on her comforter while she stared vacantly through the purple plastic of her visor, which distorted her view of the ceiling.
That had been…
Well, it had been perfectly fine. Better than that, even. Halp had been his usual ridiculous self, she’d barely stopped smiling, and somehow having Ripley along on their adventure had only made things better. Tage almost felt like laughing at herself.
She’d spent that week so afraid. Afraid to re-enter the game world. Afraid that the virtual world she loved so much was now tainted, and that it would hurt her again.
It had turned out to be such a silly fear.
An unexpected gurgling noise jolted Tage out of her thoughts, and she suddenly noticed the faint ache of her belly. She squinted through the visor to peer at the clock projected on the ceiling, before letting out a sigh. It was well past noon, and she had yet to eat. She’d gone into the game almost as soon as she’d woken, afraid whatever confidence she’d gained in her sleep would fade if she thought too much.
She’d spent a good four hours playing with Halp and Ripley. Their small adventure with the Weevil Queen had, all told, taken up about a third of that time. After they’d parted ways with the baker, Tage had guided their little group outside the city, determined not to get mired down in another level one quest, no matter how much interesting side content it might have.
She didn’t stop moving until Halp suddenly jumped in front of her, brandishing his battle axe.
Tage tensed immediately, drawing her weapons, but there was a playful smile on her lips. “What? Wanna duel?”
Halp blinked. “What? No! I want to know where we’re going.”
“Somewhere more appropriately leveled,” Tage replied, serious again as she returned her blades to their sheath. “Don’t get me wrong, pelting you with flaming weevils was fun, but I want to fight something with a bit more challenge.”
Halp considered for a moment, before nodding. “Okay!” he agreed, before pausing again. “Wanna head to… what was it called again? Rosewick? That little village you were questing at last week? Finish whatever quest you were...”
Tage felt her heart leap into her throat, and blurted out a rough “No!” before Halp even had a chance to finish his sentence.
Halp started slightly at her vehement rejection, looking slightly bewildered, before offering an awkward smile. “The quests there that bad?”
“I… uh... “ Tage stumbled, uncertain how to respond. She was normally quite good at thinking on her feet, but the reminder of that quest left her flustered. “I… finished the quest. It’s gone. The bug in my account…”
Halp was staring at her, and Tage knew her words weren’t making any sense, so she shut up. But she still hadn’t answered his question, and now Halp was looking at her with more than a small trace of concern.
“Are you okay?”
Fortunately for her, a soft voice intruded on the middle of their conversation, providing her with a very welcome respite from Halp’s worry for his friend. “If you want a challenging quest, we could head to Haran. I heard a Red Moth Tree recently grew there.”
Tage turned immediately, throwing an incredibly grateful smile to Ripley, and a small nod of her head. “That sounds pretty good. It’s been a while since I fought anything that could fly.”
Luckily for her, Halp let the matter drop, and they were off to Haran.
Ripley’s advice proved sound, unsurprisingly to Tage. Even with the fast travel system it was a bit of a commute to get to Haran, since Halp hadn’t been to that region yet. However, once they got close, they quickly blended in with a swarm of other low-level players who had come to fight the moths.
Of course, Tage and Halp managed to make another game out of the quest, using the red dust that fell from the moth’s wings as fake blood and war paint. However, the fight was challenging enough that they didn’t have a ton of time to play.
They spent the rest of the morning on that event, and Halp was the first to log out after it was over, citing a mountain of homework that required his attention. Tage said goodbye to him, before settling on the edge of one of Haran’s orchards with Ripley.
“What are you…” Tage began, somewhat hesitantly. “Going to do? Like, while I’m logged out.”
“Questing mostly,” the AI replied, sitting down next to Tage with his staff across his lap. “I’ll also watch people, see how they quest, fight, and interact with each other.”
“I see,” Tage agreed, finding herself almost hesitant to leave. “...Be careful, okay?”
“I will,” Ripley agreed, showing none of Tage’s reluctance. “Thank you for your concern.”
Tage nodded, before standing back up. “See you later, then. Halp and I will probably log back in tomorrow, if you’d like to come play with us.”
“I’d like that! See you tomorrow, Tage.”
---
After dragging herself out of her circling thoughts, Tage finally removed her visor, placing it back on the shelves behind her bed. For a couple seconds after that she simply lay spread-eagled across her mattress, before another rumble from her stomach forced her to push her way to her feet. With slow steps Tage left her room, and make her way downstairs to try and scrounge for food.
Her mother would have certainly made breakfast, but the rule in the house was always ‘if you don’t come down when it’s time for breakfast, there’s no guarantee there will be any food left’. That was especially true if her mother had cooked something to order for her brother and father, like pancakes or eggs.
Tage made her way over towards the kitchen, before suddenly being brought to a halt by the sound of a voice coming from the living room.
“Good morning, Alyssa.”
Tage turned around, offering a somewhat strained smile in the direction of the voice. “...Morning, mom.”
Claire Summers had always been a model of suburban beauty. At a superficial level, Tage looked a lot like her mother, with honey blonde locks, cream colored skin, and bright blue-grey eyes. The difference was, Tage bothered with little more than brushing her hair most mornings, while Claire was all but a walking advertisement for women’s fashion.
Even now, sitting in the living room with one hand resting over her holotablet, Claire looked as though she’d just walked out of some photo shoot or advertisement.
A quick wave of the hand, and Claire minimized the book she’d been reading. “I see you’ve started playing games again,” she said, her tone lightly probing.
“Yeah,” Tage agreed, unconsciously rubbing the back of her head. “LIke I said I just… wanted a short break.”
Claire smiled brightly. “I think that’s good,” her mother said, waving one hand expressively. “It’s about time you started taking an interest in things outside of games. It’s fine to play occasionally, but it shouldn’t be all you do. I’m glad you’ve started to realize that.”
“Uhhh…” As usual, Tage was at a bit of a loss when facing her mother. She always found it hard to believe that people who looked so similar could understand so little about each other. She certainly couldn’t tell her mother that she had every intention of going back to her usual play schedule, especially since Ripley was now waiting for her in Djinni.
“I’m going to go… find some breakfast. Talk to you later, mom?”
Claire waved her off with one hand, opening her book back up with the other. “Go ahead, dear. There’s a yogurt parfait left in the fridge for you, if you want it.”
“Thanks.”
Tage made her way into the kitchen, and found a bright yellow bowl in the fridge, covered with saran wrap. A small smile crossed her face as she picked up the bowl, and fished a spoon out of the cutlery drawer.
As she made her way back towards the stairs, her mother’s voice floated out from the living room once again. “Don’t forget to get your homework done before playing any more games, dear!”
Tage let out an inaudible sigh, but forced herself to reply cheerfully. “Don’t worry! I’ll get it done.”
She was good to her word. After finishing the parfait, Tage fished her homework packets out of her backpack, before inserting them into her desk. A moment later, and the questions were displayed on her desk, organized by class.
Letting out another sigh, Tage set to work.
---
A few hours later, Tage noticed a small light flashing in the corner of her desk. She swiped to the side, bringing up a chat channel, which Halp had apparently been flooding with alternate versions of her name.
Halperion:
Tage
Tage!
TAGE
TAAGE
TAGGGE
TAGEEEEEE
More than happy to set aside her homework for a bit, Tage brought up her keyboard, and sent off a reply to Halp.
Tage:
What’s up, Halp?
Couldn’t wait until tomorrow to talk?
Halperion:
Tage! You’re here! Finally!
You remember I told you about that program I applied to back in July?
The Young Explorers Volunteer Service?
Tage:
Kinda. Was that the one you had to create a video for?
Halperion:
Yup, that’s the one!
Guess what? :D :D :D
Tage:
Don’t tell me you…
Halperion:
YES!!!!!
I got accepted!
Hundreds of thousands of applicants, and I’m one of the 100 who gets to go!
Tage:
Halp, that’s GREAT!
You must be so excited!
Halperion:
I am!
It starts in January, and we’re going to be going all over the world.
Over 30 countries in 5 months, if you can believe that!
Tage:
That’s so great!
...
If you’re traveling that much...
That... probably means you won’t be able to play with me anymore will you?
Halperion:
...
Tage:
No, don’t worry about it.
This is such an amazing opportunity.
I’m super happy for you.
Don’t mind me!
I’m just being silly.
Halperion:
...
Don’t worry!
I’ll come up with something great!
For us to do in celebration.
It’ll be the event of a lifetime, I’m sure of it!
Tage:
:D
I know you will.
Halperion:
I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Tage!
Just wait.
A moment later, and the green marker next to Halp’s name went grey.
For a couple of seconds, Tage stared at their conversation, trying to ignore the sound of her own heartbeat. She and Halp hadn’t been friends for long, in the grand scheme of things, but they had become great friends in that time.
She was really going to miss him when he left.
