Laye
I hate the real world. Real world, fake people, fake emotions. When they came out with the new game system Jaylemm, I jumped at the chance to escape. To leave this place.
I kept my expectations low of course, because who knows, the game could totally have sucked and I would've been left with all my old allowance spent up and nothing to do while my dad was out drinking. But it was amazing. Better than anything the real world could ever dream of.
I started playing the game with a four hour timer, so I couldn't play long enough without losing track of my eating and sleeping schedule.
But after awhile, I just ignored the timer, and stayed on the game.
•••
Jemma picks up some wrappers off the ground as I straightened up Elle's spellbook shelf.
"So, what's your real life like?" She asks.
"That's pretty sudden." I reply.
"I guess you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just curious." She says.
I sigh, "I lived in London until I was ten. When my mom died, we moved to Virginia. Dad started drinking while falling into depression, and bam! It's the set up for a corny teen drama. Minus the fall in love with the hot guy and get scholarships to the college of my dreams." I say.
"Oh. What happened to your accent, then?" She asks.
"What accent?" I ask.
"You know, your British accent." She says.
"I'm starting to wonder if you're going crazy." I say.
"Oh well. It must have gone away when you moved to America." She says. America. Where have I heard that word before? I think back to seventh grade social studies. America was what the land with the thirteen colonies was called during the Revolutionary War. When Britain won against the patriots.
"America? Who calls it America? Are you some kind of history buff or something?" I ask.
"America. You know, red, white, blue. 'Land of the Free'?"
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
She stares at me for a minute before asking, "Laye, who won the Revolutionary War?"
"Britain. Duh." I say.
"Are you really stupid, or just an NPC?" She asks, looking at me with a look of total confusion.
"I'm not stupid, and I'm not a damn NPC." I say.
"What's going on?" Elle asks, opening the door.
"I thought you were in class." Jemma and I say in unison. We look at each other, confused and a little scared.
"Class was cancelled, now, what's going on? Why do you look as though you'd just seen a ghost?" She asks.
"E-Elle, who won the Revolutionary War?" Jemma stammers.
"What's the Revolutionary War?" She asks.
"W-what?! That's stuff you learn in primary school!" I say.
"Primary school? It's elementary school." Jemma and Elle say in unison.
"What is going on? It's like we're from different worlds." Elle says.
"I don't know! Are we all from different countries or something?" Jemma suggests.
"I'm from England." I say.
"America."
"Gernaya."
"America doesn't- Gernaya?! What's that, a city in Thailand or something? I've never heard of it!" I say, voice raising in panic.
"Gernaya is the country I'm from. And quite frankly; I've never heard of America before, either."
Before any of us had time to reply, the door buzzed. Elle opened it, and a girl in a white suit stood in the doorway. She had a dark pixi cut, and she tapped her booted foot. My eyes widen. She looked the same, but there was something in her face that I couldn't quite detect. Confidence?
"Nice that you finally answer the door, damn, I knocked for about seven minutes." She says, stepping in. She notices me staring and winks.
"Um, who are-"
"Why are you here, Serenity?" I interrupt.
"Existentially? Jeez, that's a tough one. I could say God, but I don't really believe in him. Huh, I don't really-"
"You know what I mean. I haven't seen you in a year and a half. I thought you were dead." I interrupt.
"What is going on here?!" Elle yells.
"Oh how rude, Miss Layanne, not telling your friends about your girlfriend."
"Ex girlfriend. You disappeared out of nowhere!" I yell.
Jemma, who had been quiet since Serenity walked in, looked at me, then her, then me again. "What."
Serenity waved off the conversation. "We'll discuss this later. I've come by with a message from the House. Layanne, Elianna, and Jemmalyn, please report to the Official Government House of Jaylemm to be assigned your testing location. If you have any questions- why are you looking at each other like that?"
"You're full name is Elianna?" I ask.
"Yeah, Layanne." She says.
"And yours is Jemmalyn." I say, pointing and Jemma, and she nods her head slowly.
"Huh. We all used our nicknames. Funny." Serenity mocks, "Now, no more interrupting. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."
"Laye, you're a lesbian?" Elle says, and my face turns pink.
"Well yeah, it's not like the topic ever came up or anything.." I say, and Serenity throws her hands up.
"What the hell, people? You know your task. I'm leaving." She says.
"Wait, WAIT!" I yell, "When did you start working for Jaylemm's government? I didn't even know that was an option."
"About a year ago." She answers, and left. No one even stopped to inquire the fact Jaylemm only came out about four months ago.