Backstory 2

Nash and I picked up our bags and started descending the stairs.

"You don't have to go to the library today?"

The senior had already mentioned that she wouldn't be around, so I skipped the library.

"Nope. I'll accompany you to the station. We should get baldie too."

Nash turned my way and raised his brows. "Baldie, who are you talking about?"

Oh, damn it. I forgot this was rude.

"There's like, six bald kids in our class alone," Nash continued. "Twenty-four if you count the entire first year. Even our teacher from before was bald. It's tough to know who you mean when you say Baldie."

Oh. He was ruder.

"I mean the guy who sits next to you."

"Jim! Well, he left earlier."

"Jim?" I winced. "What the hell kind of name is Jim? I am going to stick to Baldie."

Nash and I left behind the gates of Calla Lily. Other students in the go-home club cascaded out of the gates while most stayed back.

As we passed through the empty streets, we returned to the conversation from before.

"Games are fun," Nash said. "It feels like you are absorbed in a different world altogether. The mechanics, the storyline, the adventure. I like it all."

"Is that so…"

I had to be honest. I was not a fan of video games. A console was something that my parents never bothered with growing up. And grown enough, it became something I didn't bother with.

"FPS and Shooters are a little boring. But platformers and open world are just great," Nash continued.

Not having a console ruled out most games. While my PC never had enough specs to download any good games. I was slightly interested though, so I did play some flash games.

My gameplay experience was limited to Duck Life and Fancy Pants Man.

Of course, I still nodded and agreed with everything Nash said.

This was the most passionate I had seen him. Instead of asking about his future plans, it was better to ask about his 'now'.

We all rarely lived in the present anyway. The future was always full of anxiety, there was no safer space than the current moment.

"Have you tried Nier? Or maybe the Souls series? It's amazing, it's a form of modern storytelling that is only possible through video games. Even the latest Dragon Quest was amazing."

The more I listened to him, the more sure I was of one thing.

Nash and I reached the station and scanned our passes. The train rolled over soon enough and we both got on. It was pretty empty.

"Say, Nash. Do you like playing video games, or do you like video games themselves?"

Nash looked at me with furrowed brows.

"What does that mean?"

"You heard me."

Nash, this kid, seemed more passionate about the medium as a whole than just someone who consumed it. If he only cared about playing he would have tossed the controller over after he finished and only thought about it again when he picked it back up.

But he seemed to be enjoying every aspect of a game.

I wasn't a guru. Just two months back I was worse off than an average student, but there was still stuff I had learned in these two months.

Most people are just obsessed with the result of something. Many people who dreamed of being musicians didn't like music as much as they liked the thought of being on stage.

The same was the case with writing. I didn't like it at first either. I was more obsessed with the idea of signing books in Paris and having lunch in Milan.

But as I wrote more and more, I started to have fun in the writing itself. The aspect of making money made it even better. No, I liked it so much that I wanted to make money with it.

And my friend seemed to be in the same boat.

A moment of silence passed us by when Nash finally spoke again.

"My uncle cannot walk…"

I knew that one shouldn't speak when such topics came up.

"He got in an accident, it ruined him. He used to be very fun, but now he's extremely depressed. Always drinking, suicidal most of the time… Before it happened, we used to play games a lot… me and him."

"..."

"Haah… I think I like video games. Not just playing them. They feel like a gift from my Uncle. He seems to think that he's stuck, imprisoned to his wheelchair, and that he can't do anything anymore."

Nash leaned back and rested his head against the wall.

"The change shocked me too, I was just a kid back then. But… I do miss my uncle now. Those games we played together got me through my parents' fights, a death… so much stuff. It was all thanks to him. I want to help him back."

Make one…

I wanted to say those words.

But they didn't come out.

Life was not that easy, it was much more complex. I would just push my ideals on him by asking him to do something.

In the end, I simply placed a hand on Nash's shoulder and patted him.

That much was enough.

That would do.

[Ding! You have learned the second backstory!]