Testing - Chase

Chance of a life time. That's what I'd been thinking since I signed up. It was insane how lucky I was; almost as if hours upon hours of my life had been spent on a project that I never thought would succeed. I suppose I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that hard to get a spot, in fact I had even managed to get a spot reserved for my friend as well, Alana.

Alana and I had met in middle school; we became friends through mutual friends. Even though I had only just met her at the time, I instantly began admiring her kindness, and intelligence. We weren't the closest of friends until through sheer coincidence; we ended up at the same high school. Ever since she and I have been very good friends, good enough for her to accompany me on my little excursion, which I would be doing today.

I ran through my closet wondering whether or not it would be worth dressing up. It wasn't as if I was attending some fancy dinner party, but I still wanted to be somewhat presentable. So what would work here? I flipped through my collection of t-shirts and sweaters. Too bright, too edgy, too casual, or too ugly. I gazed over the drawers, digging my fingers into my palms out of frustration. I'd been waiting for this event, anticipating everything that would happen. Yet something as mundane as the outfit I'd be wearing, failed to capture my attention during my excitement.

Finally I decided on a simple hoodie and some jeans, so much for being formal I suppose. Not that it really mattered, I wasn't headed to meet a bunch aristocrats. I was only going to test a virtual reality recreation of my favorite video game.

The games name was Way to Win. It was also the name plastered across my hoodie, a hoodie I had apprehended at an event last year. It was strange how I had been introduced, but not as strange as how addicted I had become ever since.

Several years ago, when I was 10, my sister's friend, Stacy, played the game. Well, 'played' wouldn't be giving him nearly enough credit, he had it completely mastered. In the game, you technically only have 20% chance of winning, but she had 74% win rate. The only person, who could possibly be better than her, was my sister. Together they competed in local and national competitions, winning thousands of dollars.

At first I didn't really pay attention, I'd never been a "Gamer Boy" especially after all complaining my parents did on, 'Your sister spends too much time on that stupid game.' Naturally they stopped complaining after she started making money off it.

My sister had introduced me to the game pretty early on, but I had never really gotten into it. In my mind it was a waste of time, but in hindsight, I've realized it was probably just because I was terrible. Eventually my sister was sent to university. That left Stacy with an empty spot on her team for the upcoming national competition. As some form of cruel prank my sister suggested to her, that I could become partner instead.

I tried to explain that I couldn't, but Stacy insisted on it. Then we went to nationals wiped the competition and each gained a million dollars. We didn't. The truth is a lot more predictable. We lost, we were completely decimated. For the first time in my life I felt completely and utterly humiliated, in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

From that day forward, I decided I'd become better than my sister. Of course it hasn't actually happened, whenever she comes back to visit, we play a game together and she always does better. It doesn't discourage me though, because even if it seems impossible, there's always a way to win.

Pulling the hoodie over my head, I wish my sister was here as well. I'm still unhappy with her after all these years, but we share a common passion for the game, and it would've been nice to have someone who understood.

A knock on the door jolted me out of my thoughts.

"Chase, Alana's here!"