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borkasaurusrex · 7 years

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(D·N·C) SEASON 1 | EPISODE 2 | "S&S"

With a high-pitched Doo-Doo! a pair of double doors swung open, and a tall, brunette teen strolled into the establishment, taking in all the atmosphere... and mediocrity.

Well, mostly that second one.

The shop was mainly white and gray, royal blues accenting the corners and farthest wall away from the entrance. Shelves, of both the wall-mounted and in-the-middle-of-everything sorts were scattered about, said shelves chock full of containers colored green, blue, and other similar schemes. Judging by the signs above each cabinet (Xbox Classics, PS3 New Arrivals, PC Exclusives, etc), they were video games.

Axel took a little stroll through the section labeled 'PC Exclusives', eyes grazing the colorful selections and dramatic (often lewd) promotional art next to the bigger displays. He looked up and down, left and right, sideways and longways... but he never reached out to any of the boxes, didn't even lean in for a closer look. He didn't do anything... but sigh.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Axel whipped his head around, towards an older man that, if he didn't know any better, would've thought was Adam Savage. Said man was tall, slim, blonde hair cut and glasses propped in almost a perfect replica of the Mythbusters (arguable) frontman. Judging by his pale blue uniform, nametag, and fake grin, he probably worked at the store.

Axel smiled weakly back, stammering, "Uh... nah, I'm okay. Just... just browsing."

"'Just browsing', huh?" the employee repeated. "Well, what kind of stuff are you browsing for? Anything specific?"

"Not really," Axel said. "It's just... with school started up and all... and homework being... well... homework, I'm trying to find something to..."

"Tide you over?" The man suggested. "Distract yourself from the monotony and boredom that is the American school system?"

"... Yeah. Pretty much."

"Well, we've got you covered!" The fellow craned his head over the aisle, eyes scanning the selections all squinty like... until, with a low "Aha!" he said, "Black Ops 3's coming out in a few months, maybe you want to pre-order that?"

"A few months?" Axel echoed. "I was kind of hoping for something..."

"Now?" The employee finished. Axel nodded.

"In that case, we have Evolve, the Witcher, Battlefield: Hardline..." the man continued, looking down at Axel. "... Still nothing?"

"Maybe something a little less popular? Something... indie?" He went on, "Y'know, like Undertale, Life is Strange, Pillars of Eternity, Swords & Sorcerers... that kind of - "

"Wait... what was that last one?"

"What? Swords & Sorcerers?" the guy repeated. "Surely you've heard of it."

"I... I don't think so," Axel said.

"Well, it's a MMORPG, see? Like... Guild Wars, or Everquest. You know Everquest?"

"I didn't understand anything you just said in the last five seconds."

"Well... uh... how can I explain this?" The man turned up his brows, obviously thinking. "Think of... uh... oh! World Of Warcraft! You've gotta know what that is at least, right?"

"Isn't that, like, a movie?"

"Okay, well, before it was a movie, it was a video game! A wonderful, powerful, incredible video game that had more fetch quests than I have friends.

"But... Swords & Sorcerers, S & S, it's like WOW... but, like... a Banjo Kazoolian times better! Everything better, from the art design, the aesthetic, the ASS-stetics... yknow, it has it all: swords... sorcerers... uh... servers, anything you could want. And it's free, too!"

Axel's eyes widened at that. "It's free?"

"Pretty much! Or... well, until you hit level 10, in which case it's just a... well, small fee..."

"... How long does it take to reach that?"

"Five minutes."

Upon seeing Axel's face, the man quickly stammered, "But it's not even that much money, if you think about it. $39.00... why, I... uh... spend more than that on condoms every day!

"That... that was a lie... but it's not the point!" He continued, "For such an exciting and enticing adventure... what's wrong with giving the company a little "tip" once and a while, huh? Like, so what if it costs almost half a Benjamin to unlock the 2nd area, or twice that for the next? So what if it you gotta fork over a little dough to sprint, or to get something better than the starting pants? It's all worth it, really, in the end. It... this game - nay, experience - is a phenomenon, a fucking legacy-in-the-making. It's amazing, a truly original miracle of modern art!"

Axel looked up at him oddly, the edges of his lips in a pretty clear frown. "I... I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

"No sarcasm, all truth!" The bespectacled employee said. "I assure you: this game will be the single most fantastical, addicting experience in your entire (possibly disappointingly short) life, or my name isn't Marvey!"

Axel's eyes traced down to the man's nametag. It said 'John'.

"Come on, kid. Whadd'ya say, huh?"

"..."

"...!"

"... Fine. I'll try it out."

"Excellent! I'll ring you up, over there." He pointed to the front of the shop, near the suspiciously cluttered cashier counter. "Do you want to purchase the eight DLC that come with the game too? Only $89.99!"

"Eight DLC? Really?"

"Well, nine technically, but since you missed out on the exclusive pre-order DLC when the game was announced, you're going to have to settle with that... or, uh... you could hypothetically buy it, but it'll be a bit pricey. $30.00."

"$30.00? On top of the other, what, sixty?" Axel asked.

"Ninety, actually," the man said, "Don't think I'll give you a discount, now.

"But... look, you can just buy the base game, I guess, but..." he sighed, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "You'll be missing out... on the whole experience."

Axel paused, mulling thoughts over in his head while the employee just stood there, rapping his fingernails on the counter impatiently.

"Well, what's it gonna be, kid?" He asked.

Axel turned to him, shifting his jaws as if tasting his words first.

Finally, he said, "... Fine. I'll take it."

"Awesome sauce! Here, let me package it all for you..." The man pulled several discs from under the counter, wrapping them together, grinning all the while. "A ha ha... and they say capitalism doesn't work! Heh, idiots!"

~-~

Axel rolled the game case between his hands, feeling the course plastic against his skin. He stopped playing with the box and instead held it up, getting a good look at its front. The cover art was minimalistic, the silhouettes of a heavily armored man, a robbed guy with a beard, and a woman with a bow, a boobplate, and not much else stood in heroic poses, under an almost cheesy medieval font reading "SWORDS AND SORCERERS".

Axel's eyes grazed around idly, connecting with the stack of papers (homework, most likely) on the desk below him, next to a surprisingly clean all-in-one PC.

His eyes went to the homework... then the computer. And back to the homework again.

I should do my homework first... He thought, placing the plastic case on the desk lightly. Then maybe I could... uh... play for an hour... or two...

He reached out to a mechanical pencil, at the edge of the desk... but stopped.

He looked back to the computer, and the game besides it.

His eyes furrowed, looking down at the box desperately.

"..."

"... Maybe just one quick game..."

~-~

Ding-Dong!

Mr. ElRite slipped right off the edge of his loveseat, smashing his face hard into the carpet below - and his finger, on the remote, shutting off the fleshy tones and moans from the TV above.

"... Uh... coming!" He shouted, pulling himself - and his pants - up to his knees at a rapid pace. He jumped to his feet, making his way quickly across his rather plain living room. It was... nice. Warm colors, pale reds and browns, made up most of the area with the occasional family portrait or window interrupting the flow of the wall. It was nice. Very plain... but nice.

Mr. ElRite stopped in front of the front door. No decorations at all, not even a different paint job. Just a clothes hanger, and an empty one at that. He leaned up against said hanger, slicked a few strands of hair behind his ear, and pulled the doorknob open.

The light from outside, not even that strong (due to the cloudy sky above) was like staring directly in the sun for the older man, and he squinted his eyes in as if staring into Ra's gaping man-beak itself.

Standing on his doorstep was a teenage girl. She was wearing a burgundy hoodie, her long red hair tucked neatly under a beanie. Her skin was pale, her eyes a particularly bright enough shade of amber they almost looked yellow. Mr. ElRite had to look twice to make sure they weren't.

But yet... he recognized her. She was...

"- Oh! You're, uh, one of Axel's pals, right?" He asked. "Uh... Anna, right? Or Ana?"

She huffed out a sigh. "... Evanna."

"Oh, right! You're Seelig's daughter! Well, uh, I was close at least! Ha ha... ha..." He coughed, clearing his throat. "So... uh... what can I do for ya, Evanna?"

"Is Axel home? He hasn't been to school in... well, ages."

"Oh yeah, he is! He's... he's in the study right now, actually."

"..."

"... Can I see him?"

"Oh, of course! Come... uh, come right in!" Mr. ElRite took a step to the side, leaving the clearing open. "Do you want anything? Refreshments, perhaps?"

"Some tea would be great," Evanna said, closing the door behind her.

"Uh... is Diet Coke okay?"

Evanna pulled her hoodie off, revealing a band t-shirt with more pentagrams and guys with makeup on than Mr. ElRite's usually comfortable with. She brushed back some spare hairs, giving him a surprisingly condescending look for someone 15. "Hrmph... I guess..."

"Alrighty... I'll... uh... get that for you." He walked away, turning around a corner and shouting, "Oh, the study's at the end of the hall... to the left! Just make yourself comfy, okay?"

She didn't respond. After a low slam! from the corner Mr. ElRite turned around was any indicator, she was now probably alone.

Without wasting another moment, Evanna walked down the hall at a slow pace, using her spare hand to feel the grooves and bumps of the nearby wall.

"Jesus Christ..." She whispered, squinting her eyes. "Is it always this sodding dark?"

She made her way down, the hallway becoming even somehow darker as she went on. She took a couple of steps forward tentatively, about to pick up her pace until she banged her shoulder hard. She slipped a "Shit!" out under her breath, rubbing the shoulder gently. She turned her head towards the object she hit, her eyes adjusted to the dark enough by now to recognize the silhouette of a door. She grabbed the edge and swung it open, taking a step inside.

The room was incredibly shadowed, so dark it was near impossible to make anything out at all. There was a faint silhouette of a desk, a bookshelf. Maybe two. This wasn't just regular darkness.

It was advanced darkness.

Evanna's traced the surface of the wall, trying to find a switch, a button, anything. She fidgeted a bit farther, feeling a slight changed texture until she hit her knee, a sharp pain rocketing down her calf like a waterfall. She cursed again, loud.

"... Where is that bloody...?" She muttered, stopping when she felt some kind of switch under her fingertips. She flicked it up.

Bright yellow light exploded into the room, flooding the entirety and even outside into the hall. Evanna squinted her eyes hard at the sudden rays from above, gritting her teeth from surprise.

She wasn't the only one in the room who was surprised.

"JUMPIN'-FUCKING-JAHOSAFATS, I'M BLIND! I'M BLIIIIIND!" With a loud Crash! the office chair in front of the desk smashed onto the floor, its sitter spilling onto the carpet like an overly moist Greek yogurt.

He covered his eyes with both hands, curling into a ball on the floor whole muttering over and over under his breath, "I'm blind... blind... bliiind..."

"... Axel? Are you... uh... okay? Evanna reached a hand down, towards her whimpering friend. Upon touching his arm he let out a literal hiss, clamoring forward onto the fallen over chair and curling up inside, like a wounded animal into their cage.

To say Evanna was weirded out would be an understatement.

"... Uh... Axel?" She stepped forward carefully, making sure to not get too close. "You...uh... okay, mate?"

"It's... so bright..."

"Compared to before? Uh yeah, it is..." Evanna craned her head, seeing the bright colors and scantily clad women from on the nearby computer screen. "What... uh... have you been doing?"

"... What?"

"What. Are. You. Doing?" She repeated.

"Oh. Uh... S & S. Y'know, Swords and Sorcerers?"

"... I've heard of it."

"Oh, Evanna, it's... it's so incredible, like oh my God, it's amazing..." Axel said, a blissful grin creeping up his lips. "The gameplay, the open world, the aesthetic, all of it. It's... it's the greatest game ever conceived by mortal men. Nay, after this, the men and women of Froststorm Games aren't just mortal... they're gods. Immortal."

"That sounds nice..." Evanna's bespectacled eyes glanced around the room, noticing empty wrappers and bottles littering the floor under the desk ahead. "Uh.. hey Axel?"

"Hmm?"

"How long have you been playing? S & S, I mean."

"Oh... uh, a couple hours I think?" He snatched his phone off the carpet, double checking the time. "Yeah, like... Maybe a few hours, I think. It can't be anymore than that."

"Why?" Evanna asked.

"I would know. I started playing at 2:30 today and now it's 4:47. And it's Sunday, anyway. I wouldn't miss school."

Evanna raised her eyebrows, like she was confused. "... But Axel, you did miss school."

"What? No I didn't."

"Yes, you did. I haven't seen you in at least a week, so I'm having trouble believing that you just conveniently forgot the ti - "

"A... a week? Axel echoed, grin quickly turning to a frown. "But... that's not possible. It's... it's still Sunday."

"Yeah, it's Sunday. A week later."

Axel's eyes were stuck on his phone screen, staring at the time as if in shock. He didn't say anything for a good moment.

Then, he whispered: "Crap."

"You should stop playing that game," Evanna said, "Maybe then you'd have a better grasp on reality."

"I... I do have a grasp on reality."

"You missed an entire week and didn't even notice it," She said, "I think you might be lying to yourself, mate."

"I am not!" Axel cried, slumping his weight upward to sit up. "You've taken a week off from school once, didn't you? Huh? What makes you any different?"

"I had pneumonia!"

"Pshuh..." Axel scoffed, crossing his arms. "Excuses, excuses..."

"Look Axel, you need help. And, if you're not gonna listen to me... then I'm not gonna waste any more of my time with you." Evanna turned back around the way she came, disappearing out of the doorway before Axel could even realize she just walked out on him.

"Alright, fine!" He shouted at the wall. "I... I don't need your help anyway! Unless you can somehow solve a Level 25 Apothecary Puzzle and get the loot before it despawns which... which I'm sure you can't! Suck on those lima beans and roast 'em!"

He looked down at his hands, them lightly shaking. In a tone barely louder than a whisper, he said, "I'm okay. Axel, you're okay. You don't have an addiction, it's just an...an obsession. That's all. An obsession, alright? You can quit, you can quit anytime you want. Anytime you need."

"..."

"... After one more puzzle."

-~-

" - so brace yourself, kiddos: pop quiz incoming."

Loud and long groans erupted everywhere, to which Mr. Davidson held up his hands defensively. "Hey hey... I know it blows, I do. But this is is state required, so... y'know, pretty dang important."

"Besides, it'll be easy..." He continued, taking a stack of freshly printed papers off his desk. "... if you've done the studying, that is."

Davidson's classroom was big. Bigger than your usual Midwestern high school classroom, anyway, who's thirty or so desks barely filled up half the room. Mr. Davidson gave a couple of sheets to the front of each row, the students (begrudgingly) passing them to the student behind them, and the student behind them, and so on.

With sheets passing by him left and right, Axel ElRite wasn't paying much attention. Mainly because he was asleep.

From out of nowhere a sheet smacked against his face, the boy's bloodshot eyes shooting open, wide with surprise at first until he looked around.

Davidson classroom. Paper on desk.

'Lang. Arts 4B' the sheet read. 'Lesson 3 Pop Quiz'.

Wait.

Pop Quiz? Oh, crap in a hat.

Axel sighed, picking up a mechanical pencil and squeezing the rubber bit between his fingers.

It's okay, it's just a quiz, Axel thought to himself, loosening his grip. You've got this, man, you got thi -

... Wait, we're studying Austrian history? I thought it was Australian!

Ugh... it's gonna be a long day...

-~-

"So... uh... how bad did you bomb it?" Weston asked.

Axel's mouth shifted into a hard frown. "Like... on a scale?"

"Yeah, a scale. On a scale of Family Feud hosts, ten being Steve Harvey - obviously - and zero being... uh, let's say Richie... how'd ya do?"

"... Louie Anderson."

"Oh. Shit."

Evanna peered from across the table, clearly confused. "Family Feud? What's that?"

Weston slammed his milk carton on the table, twisting his face into a look of disgust. "You don't know about the majesty, the awe, the sheer brilliance that is the 1976-to-present iconic staple of American history? Ugh, try reading a book sometime!"

"... Isn't it a sodding TV show?"

"Bah, whatever!"

The three students were sitting smack-dab at the end of the farthest (or closest, it depends) table in the Calcheri Valley High cafeteria. One that was the most empty of all six tables, and the most dirty. The two probably went hand in hand.

The cafeteria was like a photograph of high school mediocrity, beige tabletops and floors complimenting the faded reds and blues of the room's accents. Promotional posters of upcoming events and even corporate sponsors (if the large Dwayne Johnson 'Got Milk?' ad next to the garbage cans were anything to go on) were plastered on almost every wall, the entire room alive with the clunking of chairs, the laughter of children, and the faint despair from the nearby kitchens. How beautifully American.

Weston kicked up his sneakers on an empty chair which, well, wasn't hard. There were a lot around. He plunged his fork into a piece of broccoli on his tray, not eating it but just kinda squirming it around, like some sort of veg puppet. "Well, uh, anyway. How's uh... crap, what's that game called? Saints and... uh... no, Swigs and... oh fuck, dude, I don't know. What's that game you like called?"

"... Swords and Sorcerers?"

"Yeah, that's it! Swords & Sorcerers! You're uh... you really like that shit, huh?" Weston asked, digging the blades of his fork deeper into his branched victim.

"Well... I did," Axel said.

"You did?" Evanna asked, leaning up from her seat. "What happened? I thought you were addicted or something."

"I wasn't addicted, Evanna. I just - "

"Yes, focusing your attention and entire life focus on a single game for 168 weeks - plus! - isn't addiction. Of course not, how foolish of me."

"Yeah, Eve," Weston said, "Don't be stupid,"

She sighed, fingers tight around the nose of her glasses like a facepalm. Weston snickered.

"Look, it doesn't matter anyway," Axel said, "I'm away from it now, like completely."

Evanna chuckled, to which Axel added, "I'm telling the truth! I can't... I can't even use it anymore anyway, so like... hey. That's that, right?"

"What happened?" Weston asked. "You banned or somethin'?"

"Oh God I hope not... look it's... it's not that bad," Axel said, "I wasn't very careful, didn't lock my account good enough and I got hacked, it's no - "

"You got hacked? Seriously?" Evanna asked.

"Seriously. They must of figured out my info or something, I don't know, but now I'm locked out for good," Axel said, "It's... well, it sucks, really."

"What are you gonna do 'bout it?" Weston asked. "Track down the hacker, find their city, job, all of it, and blow them the fuck up?"

"What? No, I wouldn't do that," Axel answered, frowning. "I mean, who would?"

Evanna's eyes immediately went to Weston, who just cleared his throat in reply.

"So what are you really going to do about it, hmm?"

"Well, since I can't get my account back, not easily anyway, I thought I might as well tell a couple of my friends in-game about what happened," Axel explained, "I was the leader a pretty big guild in S&S - they're like, uh, special teams - and if the hacker uses that for their own gain, it can get... uh, messy. So I wanted to clear my name, before they ruin it."

"Cool, Ax. Cool." Weston took a nibble of his destroyed broccoli, asking, "So... how ya goin' to tell them the biz? Facebook? Instagram? Dare I say... MySpace?"

"I have some phone numbers, actually, of some of the other higher-ups in our guild," Axel answered. "I wasn't very close to some of them but there was one, the guy directly below me actually, that I've already called and asked to meet me... like, in person. We're meeting today around... 1:00, I think? I dunno, it's a short day anyway today so I thought - "

"Wait... 1:00? That's in eight minutes," Evanna said.

"Crap in a hat!" Axel cried, clenching his fists. "But I... even if I leave like right now, it'll take me like thirty minutes to get there! So, well, unless the bus is running today, but even then that's like twelve minutes to get there, and considering I don't even have any freaking money I - "

"Dude, here. I'll drive ya," Weston said, "No problemo."

"Really?! But... you don't have your licence yet."

"The cops don't know that."

"Well, I..."

"C'mon dude, it's me! Y'know, Weston, your best buddy? The greatest friend in the whole-freakin'-world? No offense, of course."

"Some taken," Evanna said.

"Well?" Weston leaned close to Axel's face, waiting with (literal) bated breath.

"... Okay. Fine."

"Whooo! A'ight, let's go boy! No time to waste!" Weston practically scooped Axel out of the seat, the far smaller man carrying his friend bridal style across the crowded lunch hall, wailing "WHOOOOOOO!!" at the top of his lungs.

Evanna sighed, taking a sip from a straw. "You'd think I'd have better friends by now. You'd think. You'd think..."

-~-

"He's late. He's not gonna show."

"Give him a second, jeez," Axel said "He's just a couple of minutes late, that's all... give the man a little time."

"Alright, fine..." Weston grumbled.

"..."

"... He's not gonna show."

"Oh, brother."

The two sat in silence, the faint wind brushing through the area was hitting Weston the worst, him constantly smoothing out any knocked-out-of-place hairs on what parts of his cornrows his beanie didn't cover. The two boys were sat (somewhat) comfortably on a wide metal bench, a couple of passersby and a winding array of aging, crusting antique stores their background. There was also a tree, small but sturdy to their right. It was the only flora for what seemed like miles. Hell, probably more.

Weston shifted himself to Axel's side, propping his elbow up and saying, "Look, Ax. If this kid doesn't show up in, like, three seconds, I'm gonna shit."

"Please don't actually do that."

"It's a figure of speech, y'know? Like... eating your hat. Or fucking a truck. Or fucking the milkman."

"I've never heard of any of those things."

"You will." Weston looked deep into Axel's eyes, adding, "Trust me. You will."

"But seriously," Weston said, "If this turns out to be a scam or somethin', I swear I'll fu - "

"Wait! There he is!" Axel pointed forward where, walking off the nearby crosswalk was a tall figure, obscured by a long coat and hat. "There, with the velvet coat and everything!"

"Uh, Ax... I think that's a drug dealer."

"No, it's the guy. The same coat, the same hat... everything's the same as he said it was going to be."

"Alright, fine... but if you get a dimebag we're going halfsies on it, a'ight?" As the coated man approached Weston put his hand on Axel's shoulder, adding, "I'll... uh... let you guys catch up. Later."

Weston jumped off the bench, walking off and disappearing into the oncoming crowds. Axel stood as the man approached, saying in almost a whisper, "PolkaDot1108?"

The man nodded. "LongJacket02?" He asked, putting a weird emphasis on 2, as if shaken.

"Yep, that's me. Is there something wrong?"

"It's just... I didn't expect the leader of the greatest clan in S&S to be... one of my students."

He took off his hat with one slow swoop, letting his long curly hair spill out into the world, along with his face.

It can't be, Axel thought, mind racing, There's no way that my raid partner could be...

It was Mr. Davidson.

The coated man, Mr. Davidson, let out a small sigh.

"Hey, Let's get a coffee or something..." his English teacher said. "You're going to want to be sitting down for this."

-~-

The only coffee shop for miles was a quiet little place called Smol Bean, owned by a couple of young'uns who somehow named their cafe after a meme and surprisingly no one's said anything about it. It was, as the title suggested pretty small, barely big enough to fit half a dozen tables into the shop. And, as the title also suggested, it had beans, or at least the smell of two day old coffee ones. The entire place was lit a little dim and, with practically everything being some shade of brown, black, or just straight up wood, it looked almost like a bar at times (if you squinted just the right way). As its owners were clear internet dwellers, pop culture posters and cutouts lines the corners and halls of the place, enough taped-down memes and movie posters the walls looked like a IRL version of a Tumblr dashboard.

Next to a particularly moist cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito was a single table, where Mr. Davidson and Axel sat across, sipping their various drinks. Axel had an espresso, two shots. Mr. Davidson had a drink that was so long Axel couldn't remember it to save his life.

Axel took a sip, almost cautiously, despite the drink already starting to get cold in his palms. "So... how's the guild going? Y'know, what's the status?"

"It's grim," Davidson replied, taking his own sip. "We've been losing raids left and right, the community mine's gone dry... hell, we've been losing our general resources pretty fast too. I had Pix track the goods back from who sold them and, well... he said it was you."

"I haven't played S&S in, like, a week. I... well, I got hacked," Axel said.

"You got hacked?" Davidson echoed. "Well... um... that definitely makes more sense now."

"What?" Axel asked. "Did... did something bad happen?"

"Well, not quite 'ruin your guild' bad so much as 'ruin your rep' bad but... you were flirting with Jogo, hard. Y'know, that annoying rogue who types way too quickly? You were flirting with her, talking dirty... you even sent her nudes, if you can believe it."

"Nudes? Of me?! How'd they get those?"

"I don't know but... damn. And now, looking back... crap, no wonder she was so freaked out," Davidson said. "If I saw an unfiltered of that under the bridge, I'd probably quit the guild too."

"Ha ha. Funny."

"But seriously, though. They, the fake you, has sold almost all our keeps, all of mounts... hell, he even sold Mr. Jibbles."

Axel looked at him, eyes wide in fear. "No, don't tell me... Mrs. Jibbles too?"

Davidson closed his eyes... and nodded. Axel groaned weakly, like a croak.

"So... do you know who hacked you?" Davidson asked, changing the subject. "Or an idea at least?"

"The only thing I have to go on is the account they linked with mine when they hacked me, but even then... it's completely blank, no name or nothing. Just a purple sugar skull as the icon. I know, it's weird."

"Huh. Well... if you really think about it..." Davidson said, leaning back in his chair, "... Maybe... maybe it's for the best."

"What? Not knowing who the hacker is?"

"No, being hacked in the first place. S&S, it's... it's ruining your life, Axel," Davidson said, "It's consuming all your time, your focus. School too. Hell, you were never very good in my class - nay, you were just straight up bad - "

"Thanks."

"- but even I can tell you that your life is going down a deep, deep Coachella porta potty, and no amount of chorizo mounts are going to get you out of this one, my friend," Davidson continued, "You've got this chance to let this game pass you by, to finally let you free of its addictive, addictive clutches. ElRite... this game was like a disease and your (probably) Mexican hacker your cure. Maybe... maybe it's for the best, you know?"

Axel didn't respond at first. He pondered, staring down at his drink in long thought. He did, however, look up at the English teacher across from him, and said, "... You know what? You're right. You're right, Mr. Davidson!"

"See? I didn't spend all my college funding for Yale on just potato latkes."

"... Potato latkes?"

"Axel, you have a chance to improve your life back to, no, better than what you had before," Davidson said, "Don't waste it."

"Don't worry, Mr. Davidson," Axel said, smiling wide. "I won't!"

-~-

Mr. Davidson's eyes traced the laptop screen in front of him, the bright golds and blues of S&S taking up most of his strangely erotic Yanni desktop. His little avatar, dressed in a long flowing white robe, walked around the cityscape, going from NPC to NPC to gather quests to gather things to gather experience.

I know, compelling stuff.

On the chat window to his bottom right the text was highlighted purple, reading 'GUILD CHAT' in bold letters while various members of the clan talked over a general box. In big white letters, a message popped up, saying:

NOTICE: LONGJACKET02 HAS LOGGED IN

Davidson rolled his eyes, fingers about to pound a warning to the rest of the guild on his keyboard before another message popped up, reading large:

LONGJACKET02: HAHAHAA

LONGJACKET02: THAT FUCKTRUCK THOUGHT THEY COULD KEEP MY ACCOUNT FOREVER THEY DIDD THEY DID

LONGJACKET02: LITTLE DID THEY KNOW I HAD A SECRET WEAPON A PLAN B A TRUMPPP CARD

LONGJACKET02: PASSWORD RESET BIOTCHHHH

LONGJACKET02: HAHAHAHAHHA

LONGJACKET02: I LIVED BITCH

Davidson couldn't help it, he let out a long, deep sigh.

"Something the matter, Richard?" a teacher from behind him asked, strumming his hand idly on the table nearby.

Davidson didn't respond. He bend over in his chair, pulled open a drawer, and took out a bundle of papers. Nothing on it could be read coherently, except for a name printed in the corner: Axel ElRite. He crumbled the papers together, shoving them into the nearby trash bin.

"Whadd're ya... what are you doing with all those papers?" the teacher asked.

The English teacher couldn't help it. He sighed again.

"One of my student's school career is going down the fucking garbage. I'm just... giving him a head start."

#dnc #school shenanigans #circumcision

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