Elle
Freshmen year of college. I physically can't take the constant late nights, blaring music into my headphones, trying to finish homework, essays, and the fifty-percent-of-my-grade projects.
It drives me crazy.
My family is considered perfect. My mother and father were "high school sweethearts", they got married in their early twenties, and had three kids with the perfect genetic mixture of both of them. My eldest sister was a doctor with two kids, twins; and my younger sister was fifteen, a straight A student, and played every sport you could think of. And then there was me, who was honestly pretty average, but apparently that was okay because I'm the middle child.
It drives me crazy.
My parents got me the Jaylemm gaming system when I first moved into the dormitory. The first time I put the headset on, I loved it. It was like forgetting your responsibilities completely, and just living. My least favorite part of the day was when I had to log off to go to classes or head to some family business meeting.
•••
I sit in the living room of the apartment, counting the seconds on the clock. Jemma and I had no way of contacting Laye. At this point we didn't even know if it was a possibility that she could come back.
Jemma looks around the kitchenette, as if trying to occupy herself.
"So," I start, "Why the name Jemmalyn?" I ask.
"What about it?" She asks.
"It's kind of an uncommon name. Usually you'd think Jenna. Well, what I'm trying to ask is why your parents named you that." I say.
She stares down at the counter, then raises her eyes to look at me.
"I don't really know why. My parents died a little after I was born." She says.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I say.
"You couldn't have. And I didn't know them, so it's fine. I can't miss what I don't remember." She says.
A minute goes by, and she laughs to herself. "So, Elianna, why Elle instead of Eli? It would make more sense." She says.
I smile, "It's dumb, but my parents say Eli too much of a guy name."
One of her eyebrows raises. "I'm sorry if I offend you or anything," she laughs through her breathing, "But that is the stupidest reasoning I've ever heard, and my grandparents don't face me in person because they say I look to much like my parents." She says.
"I know it's stupid." I say, and we're laughing, like nothing else matters.
Until in the corner of my ear I hear the faint sound of a door closing slowly down the hall.
I run to Laye's room, where she stands just outside the door. I hug her, and soon Jemma is over and we're all standing in silence, as if no one wants to start the conversation.
"So," Jemma starts, but cuts herself off.
"What happened?" I ask.
"I had a panic attack. Technically, I hyperventilated until I passed out. That made me exit the game." She answers.
"I didn't know that could happen." I say.
"It can't. I've checked the manual tons of times. Passing out or dying in game doesn't make you log off. It makes you respawn." Jemma says.
"It logged me off, nonetheless. I had to spend a few hours at my neighbor Mrs. Dennie's. She helped me out; I was pretty sick." I say.
"What illness?" I ask.
"Um, it was just like a cold, or something. But she fixed it pretty quickly." She answers, not looking me directly in the eyes.
I look at Jemma, deciding if I should believe Laye or not. I decide to, for the sake of the headache that was starting to form.
"Well, what about that Serenity girl?" Jemma asks.
"I can tell you what I know about her," Laye starts, "She moved to my hometown during the beginning of summer break last year. We spent a lot of it together, and we- we started dating and I liked her a lot." She says, squinting like someone was about to hit her. "It was the beginning of winter when I got the news that she killed herself. I was devastated. I still am- devastated. When I saw her earlier today," her eyes widen, and start to water. "It was like seeing a ghost. Serenity's dead. She's been dead, for little over a year."
"Was she like herself?" I ask.
She shakes her head no. "It's kind of like she lost her self consciousness. It was odd; like she was reborn with way more confidence."
"Hey guys, remember what she said about the Government House?" Jemma asks.
"Something about going there for a testing location." Laye answers.
"What testing?" I ask.
"The testing every player has to do when they enter Jaylemm. To get your power. Did you even read anything on the game before playing it?" Jemma asks.
"Not really." Laye and I say in unison.
She sighs, and slides her finger down in the air, revealing the help option and manual log off button. She pushes help, and hits the button labeled "teleportation".
She reads the information listed before looking up.
"Let's see if the old counter guy can teleport us." She says, already heading in the direction of the doorway.