29 Girl Advice

Sink or Swim exploded practically overnight. Alexa's boast about it taking off wasn't an empty one. Her large number of Blogr followers helped give the game exposure quickly. They told their friends, who told their friends, who told their friends…the game had thousands of reviews and an average 4.6 star rating within a month.

Justin still couldn't believe it. Walking around campus, he would see multiple people playing it every day: in the cafeteria, in the hallways before class, sitting around on benches outside. He never would have imagined this kind of popularity when they started out. He had even played a few levels himself, though it was way too easy because he knew what was needed to win.

Sitting in the library one day, he was surprised by a familiar voice and a tap on his shoulder. "Sam?"

"Alexa! What are you doing here?"

"I go here, remember? I didn't know you were still a student." She parked herself in the chair across from here and expectantly rested her chin on her hands. "Sooooo have you seen how big our baby has gotten?"

"I've seen a lot of people around school playing it," he confessed. "You were right. It did take off."

Alexa grinned, satisfied. "I told you so. Get this; a big game app company actually contacted me about buying it! They want the rights so they can start making merch for it and expand it to allow in game purchases to help with levels. Isn't that crazy?! It's only been out for a couple months!"

Justin was surprised. He honestly hadn't expected there to be a payout on this job. He did it solely to have something to do with his summer that didn't involve getting mixed up in Emily's relationship.

"I'm sure Mr. Costa will be glad to know that his investment paid off."

"Yeah, I still need to email him about it once I accept the offer. It's way more money than I expected but they said it's because they want to go a bunch of different directions with the game. And if things get really lucrative with expanding the franchise later on, it's in the contract that I'll still get a cut," Alexa said happily.

"I couldn't have done this without you, Sam! You and Mr. Costa made my dream come true. And even only keeping half of the profits I'll still be set through the rest of college."

Justin smiled. She looked just as pleased as Emily had when she got his fake scholarship. School loans must really stress people out.

"Glad to hear it! You deserve this; you worked hard on the game concepts for so many levels."

She played with a strand of her hair, embarrassed. "You spent way more time on everything than I did."

"Time doesn't necessarily equal effort," he pointed out. "Coding is time consuming. Honestly, I should be thanking you. I wouldn't have survived the summer without this project."

Alexa bit her lip before asking, "How so?"

He blushed. "I'm trying not to think about a girl. She's with someone else."

"I'm sorry! That was personal, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's fine, it's not like it's a big secret. I was tired of moping so I needed a distraction and building your game was the perfect one," he said matter-of-factly.

"You're welcome, then?" she laughed lightly before hesitating. "Do you maybe want to do something to celebrate the success of the game? Since, according to you, we worked equally hard on it."

Justin's eyes widened. This was the first time in his life that a non-relative female had asked him out to do anything.

"Like what?"

"Dinner, maybe? Coffee? Ice cream? I don't know what you like."

"I'm not picky," he said. "You pick. Neither of us would have anything to celebrate if you hadn't come up with the idea in the first place."

Alexa smiled. "Alright. I'll text you. I've still got your number."

She sauntered away with a wave and Justin was left dumbfounded. Did this count as a date? Or was it just a celebration between colleagues?

He had never celebrated anything with a colleague before. None of his colleagues had ever met him. He honestly didn't know a thing about girls despite Sam's best efforts to explain the female mind.

He didn't want to deal with Sam freaking out on him though so he went to the only other source of female advice he had: a_special_discontinued_grape_juice. Thankfully, she was online.

'SOS, Grape Juice!'

She responded immediately. 'What's wrong?!'

'Does a girl wanting to celebrate something with you count as a date?'

'Depends on the situation. More details, please'

'Sink or Swim is getting sold to a big gaming company. She wants to take me somewhere to celebrate'

Justin tried to think if there were any other relevant details but that was the long and short of it. Was he just overthinking things?

'Hmm I'd need to know more about the girl's personality…wait. This is sunshine-daisy-butter-mellow we're talking about here. Give me a few minutes to investigate and I'll be right back!'

'Investigate what?' Justin asked but Grape Juice had vanished.

She was still online but didn't respond for thirty minutes before logging off. By the time he got her next message he was already home and done with classes for the day.

'Sorry, my investigation took longer than expected then I had class. I looked through her profile. Mostly art memes, selfies, and funny text posts but I get the vibe that she's not really into romance. Hate to disappoint you but it's probably not a date'

Disappointed? Justin was relieved. He had been on the verge of a panic attack at the thought of dealing with a female's feelings outside of Emily's.

He sent a gif of someone kneeling on the ground in relief with the caption 'I'm saved!'

'What's wrong with you?! sunshine-daisy-butter-mellow is funny, talented, AND gorgeous. Why wouldn't you want it to be a date??'

'You, stupid,' he thought but obviously couldn't say that. 'I have enough girl problems already. I don't need any more'

'Ah, right. Your girl who has a boyfriend. Wouldn't going on a date with someone else help you get over her though?'

Justin sighed. How to explain it…he typically loved computers more than people. Aside from his family, Emily was the only person who had managed to capture his attention. He didn't have any affection to spare for others.

'Unfortunately, that isn't going to work'

'Why?'

Clearly, she wasn't going to back down without an explanation. He supposed it wasn't rational but hearts weren't rational. 'All of my affection towards the opposite sex has gone towards her for the past seven years. I don't have any left to give to anyone else'

Emily didn't respond for a minute. 'That's actually pretty sweet. I'm oddly touched, RoboCat. And also sad for you. You deserve better than that'

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. If only she knew.

'There's no one better than her. Having her in the periphery of my life is better than nothing'

'Not to rub salt in a wound but…does she seem happy with her boyfriend? Maybe you still have a chance someday'

'That's what my cousin said. She considers herself an excellent judge of character and she thinks the guy's a pompous jerk' Justin couldn't believe he was talking to Emily about this directly but it's not like she knew he was talking about her so it didn't matter.

'When did your cousin meet him?' Emily asked before remembering a previous conversation and sending a second message. 'Oh yeah, the concussion incident'

'Don't remind me. That was a terrible day'

She sent him a gif of someone playing a tiny violin, mocking his sadness. He sent back a gif of a kid brattily sticking his tongue out.

'Seriously though, RoboCat, if the boyfriend is no good you still have a chance! Anyone would have to be crazy not to like you'

'Guess she's crazy then' he replied, laughing a little that Emily was unknowingly calling herself crazy.

'Worst case scenario we both die alone as crazy cat people together'

Justin was confused. Did this mean things weren't going well with Brandon?

'You may have forgotten, but you have a boyfriend'

The three dots indicating she was typing flashed for several minutes before the next message popped up. 'I haven't seen him much lately and whenever I do he's in a bad mood. He's a senior and stressed about finding a job post-graduation. The fun has kind of worn off so being with him feels more like a habit than anything else at this point…he and his friends are my only social contact'

His brain needed to reboot. Was Emily actually thinking about dumping her boyfriend?! Morally, he couldn't push her toward it with his identity as her anonymous online friend. It would feel wrong. So what on earth was he supposed to say?

'What do you mean by the fun has worn off?'

'Well, obviously I liked spending time with him at first. He was considerate and kinda funny and easy to talk to. But now he's always snapping at me and when he does have free time he doesn't want to do anything fun. I don't know if this is just because he's really stressed or if he was always like this and I didn't notice until it was too late…I still like him but the relationship is stale'

Wow. Justin was completely floored. Stale, huh? That didn't sound like a relationship that was destined for the long term…at least that's what Sam would think.

'Have you tried talking to him about this?'

'Once or twice. It was like talking to a brick wall. He thinks I don't understand the pressure he's under even though I used to get the same kind of pressure from my dad and instantly dismisses anything I have to say about the matter'

Emily's dad was a real piece of work. She had talked about him a lot during her parents' divorce. Justin hated the man for hurting her so badly. He frowned. Boyfriends weren't supposed to dismiss their girlfriends' feelings. It was looking more like Sam was right. Brandon really was a jerk.

'I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I really don't have any advice for you though. I don't know much about people'

'Just computers, right?'

'Right'

She typed a while before sending. 'I kind of wish I'd met someone like you before I'd met my boyfriend. You're the funniest person I know and you're really kind too'

The world stopped. His heart wasn't beating and he couldn't breathe. What on earth was  that supposed to mean?!

Before he could stop himself he sent 'Someone like me or me specifically?'

'I thought you were off the market? Someone like you, dummy. Maybe if I'd gotten to you first... You do seem pretty devoted to that girl and I sure could use a little devotion'

Head and heart were at war as Justin sat frozen in front of his computer. Should he tell her the truth? No, she would probably kill him and then his chances would be ruined forever.

But this makes it seem like she could possibly like him! Unable to respond for several minutes, he sat there in a daze.

'Can't deny that. I doubt you'd find anyone more pathetically devoted than me after all this time'

'You're not pathetic! Honestly, it's kind of sweet. Wish I had someone like that'

Justin wanted to scream. 'You do!!! I'm right here!!!' But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he sent 'I'm sure you'll find love like that someday'

If she really broke up with Brandon he would be right there and would actually take action to pursue her. If Emily let him he would work hard to make her happy for the rest of his life without complaint.

He needed to be ready for when that day came. He couldn't lose his chance again!