7 The Fool

*Good morning early birds, it's you're host, Heather with the five o'clock news. Our previous host caught a mild cold. In today's news, police crackdown an underground gambling den. From what we were told, a fighting arena involving people fighting to the death using Manticore. Over the past few years, the issue of Blackout, has grown out of proportion,* cut, '-the power went out?' parting the curtains to check, '-I guess so.' The neighboring buildings, usually lit at this hour – were off, total darkness. 'Today's the day the exams begin,' door shut, '-I feel much better than yesterday. The fatigued and bloodshot eyes are gone – I can now think properly.

'Quite a few people up and about this early,' exiting the residential district, cars drove. Each second and the numbers increased, people headed to work. Buses made rounds collecting people in suits. Fresh and pure, the cars were powerful using electricity generated by day. 'Cleaning robots,' rare sight, one walked whilst picking up trash. Clean as if new, the streets were picturesque. 'A far stretch from what I saw in the books. Humanity has evolved, a lot from what I've read. Long ago, cars would have been emitting dark-smokes and polluting everything. How could a race be so greedy as to destroy their planet for money. Well, glad that the new generations, I included, take good care of our surroundings,' without realizing, the campus came in view.

[History and Arts, Starting time: 10:00 – 16:00]

'Really?' standing with a lighter backpack, the time read 06:15. 'Six hours sitting, should be fun,' big inhale later, '-the library opens at 07:00,' taking a seat not far from the building in question, a notepad with relevant information.

Somber and dim to blueish and lit, forty-five minutes passed. The library opened with a loud clang. With the guard at the helm, the librarian and assistants waited. *Woosh,* stood to change place, a piece of paper flew by as if an escapee.

"Catch that for me," yelled a young man with a bruised face and bandaged hands.

'Gotcha,' before the words reached his ear, subconsciously, as if something clicking, he grabbed the paper. *Entry for one,* written in red with a fingerprint on the bottom.

"Thanks, buddy," snatching the paper, "-you have fast reaction for someone who looks to be uninteresting."

"I'll take that as a compliment," not paying heed, first step taken, "-aye, wait!"

'What does he want,' uninterested, "-is there something else I can help you with?" asked with a polite tone, the man raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to be a little low on cash," pointing out the rough clothes, skinny body, and a beaten face, "-do you want to maybe," *cough,* scouring the vicinity for prying eyes and ears, "-one of our companions was, let's just say, had an accident. We need a replacement, the pay is good, around 10,000 Bits for taking part."

"10,000 bits for what exactly, your tone and mannerism are shouting for me to call the police right this instant."

"No, no," laughed the man, "-I'm Thomas," a pat on the back, "-here's my phone number. Give a call if ever you want to make some cash fast. The only thing you have to do is go one on one against another player inside the virtual world. Doesn't seem that bad, does it?"

"If you say so," saving the number, "-please excuse me," with a nod, the conversation ended.

'Peculiar,' glancing back, '-shady business. I'm not that desperate to get involved in illegal things. Crossing that line is the last thing I wish to do, well, not now anyway. Exams come first,' pausing midway to the building, '-10,000 bits for playing a game. I don't care how bad it sounds, that's good money for risking nothing at all. Put on hold,' headed inside, a summary of what was learned for the past four years.

07:00 to 09:00, the sun outside grew blinding. No clouds nothing, warm and gentle, the library altered from dark and misty to somewhat alive, students arrived in groups. Peering downstairs as a break for the eyes, '-oh,' a gasp, '-that girl is scary.' Arm crossed with Jay, the black-haired girl, '-she got what she wanted,' *thump.* 'Why's my heart rate spiking. I want to be alone but still, seeing Jay with her does make me a little anxious. Never mind that,' tapping the floor softly, the right leg moved nervously. 'Get it together, I've no right to meddle in their business. I've lived my life alone; craving interaction is the same as craving for sweets. I don't care, I won't get involved with someone else. I need to graduate, find a new apartment, or move back to the family home to the south. Dimia should have the keys – if I do that, I won't be able to check on Elise when I want, quite a quandary."

"Hey Sayer," a friendly voice broke the internal debate. Standing with arms locked, Jay with blond hair, a casual blue shirt, dark-color pants, an expensive-looking leather shoe. The girl, who's name was yet to be found, wore a similarly matching outfit.

"H-hey Jay," ignoring the girl, "-what brings you here?"

"Nothing much, she wanted to come by and find a book. I saw you so I decided to drop in and say hi," he smiled, attention from below turned to him.

"I see, you rarely come to the library so," staring the glabella opposed to the eyes, "-how's Lady Belle doing?"

"Mother's doing fine, she was wondering where you had disappeared too. Ever since that day, you never visit, chat nor text. I figured you needed some space," he leaned, "-you look tired and have lost weight, are you ok?"

"Is that so," a nervous chuckle, "-the stress of studying…"

"Let's go, we can't make the others wait," interjected the girl.

"Hold on Sophia," softly with subtle harshness, "-come visit sometime. Father's worried," on that, the both left.

'Jay, old friend, you've no idea how many things I have to tell you,' abled to breathe normally, '-sadly, I can't imagine to ever return the way we were. Lady Belle and your father made it clear on the day of the funeral.'

"Sorry but you're not cut out for the life at our place. I'm sorry Sayer; as a friend to your father Yuri, I don't think our family will be the best place."

'Like that, one by one, the family turned against me and my sister. A debt left by my parents – one that was cleared. I had to decide to either leave my sister and go live with another family or grow up,' lost in thought, the couple headed outside.

"Why do you always try to be nice to that guy?" asked in a harsh tone, Sophia's face changed.

"Sayer's my best friend. Honestly, I consider him family, however, the feeling isn't mutual. We were together since primary, family friends who grew up together. It might not look it but he's a very awesome dude. I was very shy back then, always with a smile, he'd jump into fights headfirst and win. The speed at which he dodged and reacted made me envious to the point of jealousy. Still, turning around, he'd always hold out a hand for me to stand beside him. In Primary, we got into playing games and virtualizing. There, I found that I had a talent for playing strategic games, I could see things from a bird's eye view."

"That's why you're nicknamed the mastermind," added Sophia, "-what about Sayer, did he hold you back?"

"Hold me back?" the wind blew cold, "-ha-ha," he laughed, "-far from it. He's crazy in a good way. Back when Mantis was popular, we'd jump onto random maps. The first thing he did, grab a sniper, and charge the front lines. Reckless and stupid, our team would scream and yell, needless to say – watching him play sent shivers down my spine. We were eight at that time, he'd destroy and take over the server. Turning corners, not even a second left to react, he'd shoot faster and move quicker than people older than us," taking out the SCHD, "-here," a picture materialized, "-this is us when we won a regional 2v2 tournament when we entered secondary school. The Fool was the nickname given,' a big and blissful smile. Then, the accident happened – things took a turn for the worse. I can't recall since my mother kept me in the dark – but the Asce family had issues. Gradually, I saw my friend shut himself from everything. A promising gamer, locked deep in a cage. The contagious smile faded, I cried, to be fair. I cried the day he changed. I'm hoping to see him pick up the mantle of sniper. I can say this as someone dubbed a prodigy and genius – I'm fake. You want a real prodigy, give Sayer a sniper and watch. I guarantee, the instant you hear a bell – you'll see an untamed beast let loose. The eyes, from focused to relax, I long to see that," browsing through folders, "here, here," now in a hologram.

"One versus five, bomb planted on A-site. You'll have to retake the site, the score is 15/14 in their favor, come on Sayer, SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO," the recording, a little old, played back the voice chat and showed a feed of Sayer's point of view."

"Jay, let's make a bet. Pay me ice-cream if I win this round," spoke on the way to the site, one in which held many boxes and places to hide.

"I'll buy you and Elise two boxes, chocolate flavored," replied Jay.

"Deal," spectating how he moved, from cautious to reckless, jumping into the angle that snipers would guard, *BANG,* no chance to react. Even in the recording, the playback could but see it for a fraction of a second. One down, he ran along the road – with the site in front. *Bang, bang,* two of the other team jumped out as a surprise attack – as if anticipating their moves, Sayer slid and shot without even using the scope. One after the other, the other team fell till the last guy remained, *BANG,* as he tried to peak out and check [Player One Killed Pheelo] the reaction, screams, chats, and claps.

"See, that's the Sayer I remember," time showed 09:45.

"W-wait,"

"There's no need to pull on my hand," he turned.

"Are you saying that the hopeless loser named Sayer, was this good at Mantis?" her eyes shot in flame.

"I've no idea why you hate him, matter of fact, it's something I'd rather not take part in," the tone changed, "-you used me to try and get a reaction out of him. You're the queen of the campus, not to mention the rumors. Therefore," taking her hands off his arm, "-I played along to see what sort of idea you had for him. We may not speak to one another, but I'll look out for him even if he doesn't want so," from friendly to cold, "-try and cause him harm, I swear, I'll end your career as a Pro-Manticore player before it begins. I'll make sure the academy knows of the many schemes you've plotted."

"I see," she backed away, "-blackmail I see," she smiled. "Go ahead and try, I've my ways also."

'Did they have a fallout?' exiting the library, Jay and Sophia were seen arguing. 'How low can I get,' he breathed, '-I actually feel relieved to see them part. Jay, old friend, please don't get involved with her, she's bad news.' A glare, '-she spotted me,' averting the gaze, '-exams, focus on the exams.' One by one, students entered and were sat according to name and subject. Focused, the exams began with a ding.

[Doctor, Doctor, emergency, patient in critical state] rang, the room number lit with a red color.

"What's the problem 0T3Z?" rushed in with urgency.

[Patients life in immediate danger, Morpit regeneration failed – body has stopped responding]

"Damn it," panic settled, a code-red.