The room was painted in neutral blues and whites, probably meant to evoke some feeling of peace and openness. The colors felt sterile and cold to her. She couldn’t wait to add some color and her own flavor to her side of the room. She tossed the old suitcase next to her bed, realizing how out of place it was here, just like her.
Someone entered the room behind her, interrupting her thoughts of home. “Oh, I wondered when I would get a roommate.” A squatty girl with shoulder length purple and pink hair came bustling in with a small interface in one hand and some type of iced coffee drink in the other. She was pretty, or probably was, under the heavy eye make-up.
“I’m Ari.”
“Tessa.” She plugged in her computer and took a quick drink. “Don’t worry. You didn’t miss anything, just the regular losers chatting online.”
“Good.” Ari sat on her bed, not ready to unpack just yet.
“So, what’s your story?” Tessa looked over Ari as if her life history was tattooed on her tanned skin.
“Ummm ...” Was she that obviously out of place?
“I already know you’re one of the few scholarship students here. Do you already have published virtuals or what?”
“No.” The level of gossip amazed Ari.
“Huh?” Tessa shrugged off her lack of response and brushed back a strand of pink hair. “Okay then, about me. My dad owns ... well, too much to name, my mom was trophy wife number three, and I’m the gamer they wish they could remake. Don’t talk to me until I’ve had caffeine and don’t interrupt a game.”
Tessa didn’t wait for a reply as she inserted ear buds, activating the gaming bands on her wrist, and logged into her game. She blinked repeatedly to activate her contacts. “Tessa here.” After a short pause. “No, no. I’m logging in now. I knew that loser couldn’t hold onto our lead without me. I’ll take him.”
Okay. Ari turned to her bags. She had no desire to unpack. Once she emptied her suitcase, this whole thing would be official. So, instead, she dug out her old tablet and proceeded to finish her book.
Chapter Four
The next morning, Ari tugged at her purple shirt as she waited in the classroom. Tessa entered the room with a group of guys and took a seat across from Ari with no acknowledgment. She tried to catch her gaze to say hello, but soon stopped, not wanting to look desperate.
The class was on the second floor of her dorm. The bottom three levels of their building held classrooms, lecture halls and VR labs, while the top three levels were for housing. With the vending machines, the students didn’t even have to go outside.
As several other students came trickling in, one stopped next to her desk. He had an olive completion and short dark hair standing on end, forming a widow’s peak. His deep set brown eyes perched above a perfectly, almost too perfectly, shaped nose. Some might say he was attractive, except for the smug look which curled his lips.
“I didn’t think the school had such nice stuff.” He touched the edge of her new tablet.
Ari grimaced and didn’t reply, hoping he would just go away.
Of course, just her luck, he took it as an invitation to bend down and move even closer to Ari. His overpowering cologne wafted around her, and she leaned back against her chair.
“We’re all trying to decide what you did to worm your way into this program.” His fake smile displayed perfectly polished teeth.
“I tested my way into here,” Ari said, then clenched her teeth. Testing into programs was the official way, but desired slots like VR always had exceptions for daddies with big paychecks.
He flicked Ari’s long brown braid back over her shoulder and leaned down, his voice taking on a disturbing husky quality. “Maybe you did more than just a test, maybe ‘who’ is a better question?”
She swallowed her revulsion and realized her initial plan of ignoring him wasn’t going to work. Before she could shove him back, Tessa appeared behind him.
“Really, Wake? That’s the best you got? You’ve screwed the pooch in more games than I can count.”
Wake turned towards Tessa, his shoulders tightening as if ready to attack. He wouldn’t hit Tessa? Would he? “Daddy’s unwanted little miscreant is going to give me a hard time?”
“Drop the act. Your sales couldn’t pay for my coffee.”
Wake stepped forward, but the professor spoke, “Please take your seat, everyone. We have a lot on our agenda today.”
Ari mouthed “Thank you” to Tessa as her roommate took a seat.
She took a deep breath, rattled from the encounter, and turned towards the teacher, Professor Speltman. A tall middle-aged man, he appeared a bit wild. His beard was short and unkempt, and his brown hair swept long across his forehead. A defining nose took up major real estate on his face, but behind the facial hair and bushy brows were intelligent eyes. And once he started talking, Ari realized she had more trouble than some jerk named Wake.
Back in middle school, she was the top of her class, despite her fear of virtuals or, maybe, because of it. She had to work twice as hard studying books to achieve the feel of the world, while her classmates experienced a VR for an afternoon and came away with all the answers. The only reason the whole school day wasn’t in VR was due to the health risks involved. Even after school, she spent her time reading or drawing, while most of her friends preferred the virtuals whenever they could afford them. Dances, and other school events, were always cooler in another country, on the top of the world, or wherever. Ari spent many nights with her nose in
