Playing games (I): Set up

Number: Hey, Ms. Fluffy, your stuff's in the mailbox.

Me: I think we're already best friends, Mr. Sarcastic survey man.

Number: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they'll like you, especially her.

Me: Who's "her"?

Number: Just get your stuff and text me after.

____

Saturday, February 3rd, 2030

Sunlight filtered into Frey's room, catching the faint shimmer of her silvery-black streaked hair as she slept soundly. Her face was peaceful, and for a moment, I debated waking her up gently.

Then again, where was the fun in that?

I slipped out to grab two small boxes from the mailbox. The cool morning air stung my cheeks, but the promise of what was inside the boxes made me rush back upstairs. Frey was still dead to the world when I returned. My lips curved into a mischievous grin as I crouched down by her ear.

"Frey, wake up, sleepyhead~" I whispered in a tone dripping with fake seduction. Then I blew gently on her ear and set my phone timer for ten minutes.

It took her exactly thirty seconds.

Her pale blue eyes shot open as she sat bolt upright, her face flushed crimson. "What the hell?! Did you just give me a wet wake-up?"

"That was faster than I remember..." I mumbled to myself.

"Yup," I replied, plopping onto a chair. "It's the only way to make sure you actually get up. Plus, it's hilarious."

Frey clutched the blanket like a shield, glaring daggers at me. "You are such an ass."

"Don't get mad at me," I teased, leaning back. "You're the one who has wet dreams when someone whispers in your ear."

"That only happens when it's you!" she snapped, her voice a mix of embarrassment and exasperation.

I blinked at her, my expression blank. "Whomp whomp."

She froze for half a second, then lunged at me. "Did you just say 'whomp whomp'? Oh, you are so dead!"

Laughing, I held up the boxes like a shield. "Relax! I brought you something!"

Frey stopped mid-attack, her eyes narrowing at the boxes. "Oh, they came?"

"Yep."

Her irritation melted away as curiosity took over. She grabbed her phone and settled beside me.

____

Me: Okay, what do we do now?

Number: Open the boxes, duh.

Me: Yeah, no kidding. What's next after that?

Number: Fine, unbox the one with your name first.

Me: …This is just jewelry.

Number: Pretty jewelry. Also, it's what you use to play the game.

Me: Pretty jewelry doesn't explain how it works.

Number: Bluetooth.

Me: Oh, sure. Because obviously every gamer knows to connect their necklaces via Bluetooth. Totally standard.

Number: I don't really get it either. Apparently, the gemstones are synthetic and electronic. You know how they wrote the human genome on a piece of quartz a few years ago? It's like that, but instead of engraving it, the tech's built in.

Me: Oh, that kinda makes sense… I think.

____

"Alright, Frey," I said, nudging the box toward her, "you go first. You know, in case it, like, explodes or something."

Frey rolled her eyes but opened her box. Inside was a sleek, black lariat choker with a silver gem that gleamed faintly. She held it up, inspecting it with a smirk.

"Looks fancy," she said, putting it on. The gem rested perfectly against the slope of her chest.

I didn't say a word, but my eyes might've lingered a little too long.

"Oh, hello," Frey teased, pressing her hands against her chest. "Like what you see?"

"Nope. Just checking out the gem," I shot back, my face heating up.

"Uh-huh. Sure, you're not into those weird system stories where people power up by… you know what~."

I blushed furiously. "A-And you don't?"

Frey grinned triumphantly as she tapped on her phone. The necklace popped up as a pairable device.

[Are you sure it belongs to you?]

[Yes/No]

She hit yes, and the gem shimmered faintly as her phone downloaded files.

"Rika, stop staring," Frey said without looking up. "If you don't like what you see, then you're obviously jealous."

"Jealous of what? Back problems?" I shot back. "Anyway, those melons of yours are out of season."

"Melons? Please, these are soft, dense, and chewy pomelos. Your apples can't compete."

"How the hell do you know they're chewy? They're probably sour as hell, too."

"Wanna find out?" she teased, lifting her chest slightly as if offering them to me.

"Yeah, sure."

The room fell silent. Then we both broke into uncontrollable laughter.

Once Frey's setup finished, she opened the app eagerly, only to pause.

"Oh…"

"What's wrong?"

"It's a pet simulator," Frey said, deflating slightly. "It's cute, but I wasn't expecting this."

I snorted. "What, you thought it was going to be an MMORPG? I did tell you some grandma recommended it."

"...Okay, fair point."

I set up my brooch, pinning it to my shoulder. It was flower-shaped, with petals fading from black at the base to pale gold in the middle and bright purple at the edges. A small gem, possibly a pearl, sat in the center. Just as we finished, the Number messaged again.

____

Number: Congrats, you're set up! Complete as many challenges as you can before the servers shut down on February 9. The higher your completion rate, the better the rewards.

Me: What about this "growth percentage" thing for the pets?

Number: That's their version of your completion rate. It fills slower—about twice as slow, actually. Probably just something extra for players to grind after maxing out their own completion rate. At least, that's what it was for me. It took forever until an admin helped me.

____

"Ugh, of course there's grinding," Frey muttered, scrolling through the instructions. "And the admins give special missions, apparently."

"They do?"

"Yeah, they boost your growth percentage."

____

Me: Who are these admins, anyway?

Number: Some are weird, but most are helpful. One called [SilkWeavingMama] helped me finish my completion rate. She's kind of been spoiling me. I finished everything a month ago, yet she's still giving me missions.

Me: Does she like spiders?

Number: Yeah, the name kinda gives it away. Oh, and my name's Geomi, by the way. I was one of the first people to get access to the game, so I got a mission to help newbies register.

Me: Nice to meet you, Geomi. Do you know why the admins help us?

Geomi: Not sure. The one who's been helping me says it's to find players they're compatible with and make a contract with them. Apparently, the reason she keeps giving me missions despite no rewards is because she plans to contract me on the 9th or something.

Me: Why not make the contract now?

Geomi: Apparently, she won't be able to talk to me after the contract. Anyway, text me on my personal cell if you have questions: 818-xxx-8090.

____

Frey peeked over my shoulder, smirking. "Oh, so you made a new friend… and it's another girl?! Well, aren't you a chick magnet~."

"Shut up." I shot back, pulling up the game. "Let's just see who can finish first."

She held up her phone proudly. "Challenge accepted."

We both grinned, diving into the game