Prologue

It's always been said that you can never be truly ungrateful until you've tried living life in someone else's shoes. That we should enjoy life because things could always be worse…But trust me, in these last fourteen years, I can beg to differ. I honestly don't believe my life could get any worse. Matter of fact, I don't see my life going anywhere, and I'd take anyone else's at the flip of a switch.

I'm a girl whose name is Alex. A unisex name, and the most common of them all. I'm 14 years old, 5'2," and I'm a freshman at Greenbriar High. I'm introverted. There's nothing cool or special about me, and I'd be lucky to have a rock turn in my general direction when it comes to social functions. I live in the city -unlike those high-class suburban kids.. And on top of that, I live in an apartment.

Our apartment is crowded and runny. The pipes leak, you can hear the neighbors through the walls, and in the winter (if no one lives next to you), your heat bill goes up faster than a rocket. Other than that, the location is fine and there's not a lot of crime. We're not on the bad side of town, but it's not like we're really on the good side either, If you know what I mean.

I live with my grandma, mom, and sister. Yes, I know this sounds like it's the best bachelorette-pad-of-the century, but I can promise you that it's not. My grandma is my friend and mediator between my mom and sister. My grandmother's name is Pearl and her name is perfect because she truly is a "Pearl in the rough", or wait– no, that's a diamond. My mom, on the other hand, works and complains all day. Even when I make an effort to try to talk to her, she just wards me off. We don't have the picture-perfect, "mommy-daughter" relationship, that you'd think. The topic of my dad is pretty sensitive for her and everyone else, so we never really talk about him.

I have a little sister who drives me out of my mind... Her name is Shelly.

Whenever I ask her something, she answers briefly and in under one word. Whenever I try to warn her that she's about to do something stupid, she doesn't care. What sucks is when I clearly warn her and she gets hurt, she tells my mom, and I get blamed for it. The only time when she's not a problem is when she stays in her room and plays with those dumb dolls of hers. In that said room, she has a giant pile of sharp plastic toys which if you step on, or fall into, is a death trap. I try not to venture into her room much.

My family is overall pretty ok, but I mainly keep to myself. That is for peace of mind and also so that I can have some time to myself. Time for me, of course… and the two-hundred and fifty million other players on my only escape from reality, which is a game called MAGI.

MAGI stands for Multiplayer, Avatar, Gaming, Interface, and it is exclusively for computers.

Amazing_A is the name of the character that I play online, and she is NOTHING like me. She's spontaneous, outgoing, and everything that I'm not. I designed her character with pink eyes and hair, light fair skin, and bright pink lip gloss. She wears white-brimmed aviator sunglasses, a feather necklace, cropped leather jacket with a pink skirt, and pink studded boots.

When I play as Amazing_A I can be anything. On MAGI, there are endless amounts of games you can play. You are also playing with millions of people online who are around the world and in real-time. These other players also create games available to all players online. There are simulation games, fantasy games, mini-games, and tons more. Not to mention the graphics in some of them are stunning. And you can do all of this from the comfort of your room.

When I'm online time flies. I smell dinner from down the hall, but sometimes I just can't get up. I'm so often encapsulated in the game that the outside world doesn't affect me. Of course, I get up and go to the bathroom, but sometimes I don't eat. It's fine really because I barely even notice. I couldn't think of another place I'd rather be than on my computer. And even when I'm not on the game, MAGI is the only thing I can think about...