Previous Life

Robin

I skimmed through the TLL article for what seemed like the millionth time. The article had risen my hype levels through the roof when it first came out and now it's all that I've been able to think about for the past month.

Oh, who am I kidding? I've been drooling for TLL since it first got announced.

It was by dumb luck that today is the last day of school TLL releases tomorrow. I wondered how many kids and adults were going to be playing the game tomorrow.

I tossed and turned in my bed, unwilling to get up. I probably still had 15 minutes or so before the bus would be outside.

As much as I wanted to skip I put my silver-rimmed glasses on and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Tasks like brushing your teeth and showering must've been so much easier in TLL compared to how long it took in real life.

I walked past my Patch and opened my close. Inside was my uniform with the tie and jacket and all...

I'm sure the school won't care if I just wear my dress shirt today. I thought to myself. I could already feel the sun from outside and my whole uniform would have made my "heat resistance" far too low.

I headed down the staircase and into the kitchen. Shockingly, my uncle and his butler were sitting at the breakfast table already.

"Good morning, Robin!" Uncle said warmly. He was looking at me over his reading glasses, no doubt reading the comics section.

"Good morning..." I said, still a bit sleepy.

I sat down at the table where something akin to a feast was waiting for me. No way even at our hungriest would three people be able to eat through that mountain of food.

It felt a little odd to be eating with them right at the table since I didn't necessarily feel the closest with either of them.

I moved in with my uncle a year ago and it felt like I barely knew him. He was a nice guy, but after the situation with my parents and his brother, it felt different to get close to him.

That being said, I still scarfed my plate down in record time, barely making a dent at the mountain of food.

"Today is one of Master Young's rare 'break mornings' so he wanted to see you off for school." Henry said. That was surprising. I hadn't seen my uncle in the morning for a few months now and it coinciding with my last of school was interesting.

I almost finished up eating when Uncle suddenly chortled at the newspaper, startling the crap out of me.

"Oh my goodness, this stuffed tiger that this boy thought up is hilarious!" He laughed. I laughed too.

"Yeah, that's one of my favorites." I said.

I had a minute or two to catch the bus so I quickly got up and thanked them for the meal.

My uncle waved goodbye and I set off for the bus. I was never good at interacting with adults anyway. Neither of them had any idea what TLL or the Patch was but Uncle was nice enough to buy it for me when I asked.

"I should be nicer to him." I scolded myself. As far as I knew he never married thanks to his multi-million business and practically jumped at the chance to take me away from my mom and dad with the way they were.

I played a few mobile games on my phone until the bus rolled by. I clambered on, cursing the heat.

The class was the same as ever even on the last day. A rowdy bunch that I felt home with even after only being with these classmates for the past year.

My friends were in the front, most likely chatting about video games or sports.

Please be video games. I thought.

"...And he swung with all his might, hitting the baseball and scoring a home and the game!" Thomas finished up.

Crap.

Our group of friends was the oddest I've ever seen, that's for sure. We were a mix of gamers and athletes who just clicked into talking with each other at the beginning of the year.

Georgia's face lit up when she saw me. "Heyy, Robin! I know it's last minute but we were wondering if you wanted to go on a trip with everyone to Hawaii as part of a huge party to celebrate the end of the year!"

I didn't want to let Georgia down but I didn't want to openly admit I was going to say no for Three Lives Left either.

Ron shook his head. "He's probably going to go play that Three Lives Left game he's been talking nonstop about." I gave a nervous laugh.

"I'm sorry, do you think we could do a local trip somewhere else when you get back? It's not against you guys at all." I said apologetically.

Ruby sighed. "Oh gee that was hard to see coming." I wanted to turn it into a joke, but I did feel bad.

An arm suddenly wrapped itself around me and pulled me close. "Hey man, it's cool if you don't want to go and all but do you think I have a shot with Ruby on this trip?" Earl whispered in my ear.

"Um, probably." I whispered back. Relationships were the last thing on my mind when I could be playing TLL.

Michelle laughed. "There's no chance in michelle you're going to get Ruby on this trip, Earl." She said. We all groaned.

"That didn't even make any sense!" Lux groaned.

She shrugged. "I guess that was a Misshelle." That one was so bad it even made me laugh.

We continued talking before class started at the rest of the day went quickly enough. I took out my phone from time to time to check out our group chat or any new TLL news.

I loved talking to them, but none of them were ready to play TLL on release day since they pooled their money together for the trip to Hawaii.

"I'm home." I said to no one in particular. Henry and my uncle were probably just doing work and house stuff so I headed up to my room, mostly messing around on voice chat.

Three Lives Left's release day was tomorrow and I would be a fool to miss it. Not even the world could stop me from playing it. Outside of the game itself, I wondered what type of people I would meet by playing it. The possibilities were endless.

Making friends in TLL and beating all the trials were going to be so much fun!

Maria

I choked, trying to catch my breath as I gripped the stolen Patch in my hands.

"She's this way, hurry up!" A store owner's voice rang out against the dark alley. I grinned. Three Lives Left would ironically be my chance for one new life.