Gaming and Reflection

“So, what do ya wanna do now?” Melissa asked.

That was a very good question. I had no idea. I probably ruined all the little goodwill I had with Nika, and by extension ruined the mission. Was she really that upset over us playing a video game? I was definitely overthinking this, but when the fate of the free world hung in the balance, it was normal to be concerned. But now, I had some extra free time on my hands. So, I said the only thing that was on my mind.

“Wanna go back to my place?”

Melissa swung her head around to analyze my living spaces as we entered the building. I suppose she didn’t have enough time to take in the surroundings when she burst through the door this morning.

“So Johnny, what did you have in mind by taking a cute girl back to your place with no one else around. Heh. You Ustasians sure live up to the stereotypes!” Melissa teased.

“Let’s go to my room,” I said.

Melissa paused for a second, as if she couldn’t believe what she heard. I ignored her and entered my bedroom, rummaging through one of my bags. Melissa cautiously followed me into the room, looking a bit nervous for once.

“Soooo, what do you want to do?” she asked.

I smirked as I pulled out one of my prized possessions from my bag, wildly waving it in front of her.

“Have you ever heard of this bad boy before?” I asked.

“Woah! Is that a real GameStation Lifer?” Melissa replied in amazement. Her eyes were shining like stars.

“That it is.”

“I’ve read about these online, but I’d never thought I’d get to hold one for real. The import taxes here in Miklagardia are killer. I’d have to save up for years to even think about affording it.”

“Well, I’ve got a Lifer and the proprietary connection cable to hook it up to the TV in the common area. You want to try some games?”

I had seen Melissa be energetically excited a few times since I met her, but this was the first time I had ever seen her with such a genuine smile. It was like looking at a kid opening her Christmas presents under the tree.

The two of us were in the common area. I was sitting back on the couch watching Melissa, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor close to the TV, furiously mashing buttons to kill her prey. Monster Slayer Frontier was a classic, and it was fun to coach Melissa on how to optimally play. We settled into an easy rhythm until Melissa broke the silence.

“Sorry about earlier today. I kinda forgot that Nika could get like that,” she mentioned casually.

“Like what?” I asked. “I thought she got annoyed at us playing video games. I hope she doesn’t hate me now.”

Melissa snorted. “You’re pretty sweet on her, you know that?”

“Well, I suppose. She was the first person I met in Miklagardia.”

“But nah, she doesn’t hate you. I’d go all in on that bet, and you know how good I am with gambling.”

“Didn’t you lose a stupid amount of money a few hours ago?”

“Yeah, but I picked out second place, so I was close! And my gut tells me you got nothing to worry about, or close to it?”

I didn’t say anything in response.

“Listen, Johnny. Nika, well, she’s actually pretty shy,” Melissa explained.

That was news to me. From the very beginning since I met her she always said what was on her mind. She was borderline arrogant in how she acted.

“She’s probably just comfortable around you. Nika really only talks around her family or friends. Normally, she’s pretty reserved, even more so than Io,” Melissa explained.

More than Book Girl? I could count the number of times Book Girl spoke on my fingers. She was more quiet than her? Speaking of her, I wonder where she was today. I thought she would have been with Nika and Melissa.

“Oh, Io? She had a meeting with her organization today. She’s got a pretty important role in some political thing. I don’t really know all the details.”

“I see,” I mumbled. I’d have to do some research on that. It may come in handy in the future. “But seriously, I can’t ever see Nika being like that.”

“It’s not really my place to say, but I think it’s got something to do with her family. If you want all the details, you should ask her yourself.”

Like hell I’d ever do that.

But this was insightful. It meant that she didn’t hate me. The mission was still on.

Melissa and I wasted playing games until the sun started to set. I’d had a lot of different experiences in my short time in Miklagardia, but oddly enough, this was the most fun I had so far while in the country. No, actually, this was the most fun I’ve had in quite some time, in either Miklagardia or Ustasia. Wasn’t that pathetic! I was supposed to get close to a girl to get into a position to ensure the global balance of power, and here I was goofing off with another woman. Somehow, though, I couldn’t feel too bad about that.

“You know, you can take the Lifer home with you if you want,” I said.

S-seriously?“ she said as her eyes shot wide open.

“Sure, I got to study and focus on other things for the rest of this month anyway.Just make sure to return it sometime.”

Melissa had a bright, genuine smile on her face. I was almost taken aback by the sheer amount of energy it radiated. It was like I was seeing a nuclear meltdown of pure joy and happiness.

“John, you’re one standup guy! Tell ya what. I’ll help you with your girl troubles, so leave everything up to your old pal Melissa,” she confidently said.

My old pal? I’ve barely known her for about a day in total. Still, I wasn’t going to turn down the help. I walked with her to the door and saw her off. Looking back on today, there were highs and lows, but overall, today was a good day. There was only one thing left to do.

I lazily walked back to my room and jumped onto the chair at my desk, opening my laptop and starting Lacey’s program.

“Lacey, pull up my stock portfolio,” I said.

“I’m retrieving the data now,” she replied as she waited to download the data from the network.

“Your investments are down by seventeen percent,” Lacey cheerfully announced.

“Seventeen percent!”

“Apparently, investors are incredibly hesitant about the future of the stock market after the Cyber Monday attacks, and they’ve all started to divest from the technology stocks you bet on.”

I centered my entire mental energy onto not bursting into tears.

“Are you okay?” Lacey asked worriedly?

I take it all back. This was turning out to be a really crummy day.

I tried to push everything out of my mind as I established a familiar daily cycle. I began to try and actually map a routine, doing some exploration and searching out the various places I’d need to use to continue my everyday life in Miklagardia: stores, post offices, government buildings, and all those other fun places. What stood out to me the most wasn’t anything to do with the actual buildings or the people in them. It was how quiet everything was in comparison to my outings a few days previously. The entire time I’d think about how if Nika were here, she would grab my arm and point out some historical landmark that I’d have to pretend was interesting. Maybe she’d chastise me for not knowing how the Miklagardian approach to some random activity, or maybe Melissa would make fun of her. Then the two of them would be running around screaming at each other as Nika tried in vain to catch Melissa.

Back at home, I had nothing to do but study and scrolling the Internet, which were my two pastimes. Yet I wasn’t feeling up to it at all. I was used to being alone, but for some reason, it was only now that I was starting to feel especially lonely. I wondered if I was homesick. I couldn’t be. It’s not like I ever went out of my way to be extremely social back home. My daily life consisted of going to class, doing research to optimize Lacey, working on base, surfing the net, and playing video games. It’s a typical lifestyle for a young man. It’s not as if I was a social outcast either. I once read a study that thirty-five percent of Ustasian adults don’t have any friends they meet on a weekly basis. I knew a few people back in Ustasia who I would occasionally play games with, so that automatically put me in the upper percentile of social butterflies back home. So why was I feeling this way? Those girls must have really left an impression on me.

I was in the middle of these musings when I heard the phone ring. If there was a single aspect of Miklagardia that I truly disliked the most, it was that my inner monologue was always being interrupted. Was there no place in this country for a man to think in peace?

I answered.

“Hello John, how are you finding life in Miklagardia so far?” the international coordinator said.

Come to think of it, I didn’t know her name at all. Too late to ask now. It’d be downright embarrassing to admit I didn’t know it.

“Fine enough. I’m still having some difficulties here and there, but I’m getting through them.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“As a matter of fact, there is. I need you to go to a funeral. Your landlady just died.”