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It’s All about the Gamer-Boys
Everyone had a type.
I’d had only one serious boyfriend ... Devin Kapadia. Honestly, one boyfriend total, since it probably doesn’t make sense to count Jordan Nguyen, my boyfriend from kindergarten. And I supposed a pattern of one wasn’t really a pattern. But I was pretty sure my type was gamer-guys. Because even though Devin had above-average intelligence, a great sense of humor, a respectful attitude, and good hygiene all going for him, nothing had affected me more when we were together than watching him, or his playable character at least, slay a horde of dragons and orcs in less time than it took my sister to pick an outfit.
And now a new guy was making my knees weak, and he was also a gamer-guy. LostAxis, the person who had inspired this self-discovery, wasskilled. Watching his fully decked out Dark Mage thoroughly decimate all the green enemies on his way to the center of the dragon’s nest made my insides turn completely into goo. I forgot where I was, who I was, and even what I’d eaten for breakfast. I hadn’t felt this immersed playingDragon Arenasince I’d played with the aforementioned ex. But never mind Devin.
The best part of this near-religious gaming experience was that it wasn’tjustLostAxis expertly obliterating the enemies on the way to the Obsidian Egg at the middle of the nest; instead it wasbothof us. Me and LostAxis played better together than anyone I’d ever raided with.
Like right now. I was gaming in my room, and we’d been working through this quest for hours. There was hopefully just enough time to finish it before Mom called me for dinner. LostAxis cued up a fireball spell at the orc pounding at him, and I hit him with a restore the second his spell landed. It was a tricky sequence—if I didn’t time it right, my spell would piggyback off his and end up healing the orc instead. But that never happened when I played with LostAxis. Our battle maneuvering was like a symphony ... but not like ... orchestrated, or anything like that. More like ... improvised. Like on those old jazz records my grandfather gave my dad. Dad said those musicians weremagicwhen they played together. That’s what me and LostAxis were together:magic.
We reached the dragon, and wasted no time and started pounding on her, too. LostAxis threw incredibly powerful destructive spells, while I watched our individual health points, ensuring we survived the dragon claws, fire breath, and tail whips that could take 75 percent of our health in one sweep. It was touch and go for a while, and at least three times I was sure LostAxis was going to be charred like a kebab, but after a complicated double spell maneuver, the dragon was turned to dust.
LostAxis approached the gleaming black egg the dragon had been guarding. The entire point of today’s incredibly challenging quest wasthisegg—there was a 5 percent chance that it would contain an Obsidian Staff, a rare and powerful weapon that could be used by either Dark or Light Mages. And since he was a Dark Mage and I was a Light Mage, we intended to keep repeating the Obsidian Dragon quest every weekend until we each had a staff. He opened the egg, and the loot spewed in a plume above it before falling to the ground. I saw a bag of gold, some random jewels, a few potions, and most importantly ...
The in-game chat lit up with a message.
LostAxis:Holy shit. 3 obsidian staffs!
My hands shook with excitement as they flew over the keyboard.
GreenEggsAndSam:Is that a glitch?
The chance of one staff was pretty slim, but three?
LostAxis:Hang on ... Lemme look it up. Apparently, it’s very rare. Called a hat trick ... happens when the quest is completed with only a Light Mage and a Dark Mage, and they can’t have more than a three-level difference between them, and they have to keep their health above 25% for the whole battle. Even then it’s not a sure thing.
I was grinning ear to ear as I typed my reply.
GreenEggsAndSam:You mean we got three staffs because we’re awesome?
LostAxis:Of course. You knew we were awesome. How about we sell the third staff and split the gold?
GreenEggsAndSam:Deal. Why is it called hat trick? Because it’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat?
LostAxis:Hang on I’m looking that up.
Still giddy from the drop, I moved my player to pick up one of the staffs. After equipping it, I started a spell to heal us both. The magic swirled a faint rainbow haze from the tip of the black staff.
LostAxis:Hat trick is a hockey reference. It’s when three goals are scored by the same player in a game. Lol, why would they think people who play RPGs would know anything about sports?
I used the staff again, this time to cast a protective bubble around me and LostAxis.
GreenEggsAndSam:This thing is epic. I can’t believe we got three.
LostAxis:I told you last night—we’re the best team on the server. You and me, Sam? We’re dragon slayer duo goals.
We transported back to the nearest village and were chatting about how cool that run had been, and about how every time either of us had a close call with an orc, the other was there to save them, when I heard my mother yell that dinner was ready.
GreenEggsAndSam:Dinner—I gotta go.
LostAxis:Damn—I didn’t realize it was so late. Gold Aegean Dragon after dinner?
I logged in to the game’s chat function on my phone so I could keep talking while I headed downstairs.
GreenEggsAndSam:Can’t play late tonight. Mom says I have to rest my brain for the first day of school tomorrow. Shouldn’t you, too?
