Feyland: The Dark Realm

Chapter Four

Jennet walked into the Media Room and stopped, her heart sinking. The room held a cluster of netscreens, an old console, and a dismantled moto-sense setup. She’d assumed the Gaming Club would have basic sim equip. But no. Not in Crestview.

A clump of boys and a purple-haired girl were sitting around screens showing a battle RPG. They hadn’t noticed Jennet yet.

She took a careful step backward, trying to breathe softly. This had been a mistake. Maybe she could still get away unseen.

“Hey. Rich girl,” a voice called. “You in the right place?”

Jennet halted and looked across the room, meeting the gaze of a large girl with fierce eyes. She looked familiar, and her name rolled into Jennet’s mind—Marny. They shared a few classes. The rest of the gamers lifted their heads, fingers on their pause buttons, and the air in the room went heavy and cold.

Great. An invisible exit was out of the question now.

“So, you’re too good to answer?” Marny asked. “What are you doing here, anyway? Looking for a cheap boyfriend?”

The other kids laughed, though the big girl’s words hadn’t been entirely kind to them, either.

Jennet took a deep breath. This was her last chance. If there wasn’t a ‘leet player here, she didn’t know where she’d find one.

“You guys aren’t the only ones who game, you know,” she said. “I’m a simmer.”

The tension in the room gained an interested edge. One of the boys pushed his yellow hoodie away from his big-nosed face.

“You? A simmer?” He looked her up and down. “Right.”

The skinny boy next to him let out a high-pitched giggle. “Yeah, like I’m sure she’s really prime at Unicorn Fantastic. Or RainbowGems.”

The other kids laughed, ready to dismiss her.

Jennet gestured to the netscreens. “Do you guys play Rumble?”

Yellow-hoodie’s eyebrows went up. “What, you’re gonna challenge one of us to a duel? If you hadn’t noticed, princess, these are screens, not sims.”

“Ease up, Fernald,” Marny said, leaving her solo screen and walking over to the other gamers. “If she wants to duel, let her. Maybe she could show you a thing or two.”

“Right. You really want to duel?” The boy named Fernald folded his arms, then glanced at the skinny kid next to him. “Clarc would be a good pick—he’s fairly dud.”

The skinny boy flushed, but he didn’t say anything. Clearly Fernald was alpha dog in the Gaming Club.

“Or you could face off with Shella.” Fernald nodded to the purple-haired girl. “You know, stay at the female level. Girl on girl.”

This guy was an idiot. Jennet stepped forward. “Who’s the best player here? That’s the one I’m dueling.”

Fernald gave her a mean smile. “You’re looking at him.”

“Then we’re on.”

She was glad, actually. Fernald was too full of himself by far. And he was in for a serious battle, whether he knew it or not.

There was a general scramble as the gamers shifted, and an empty chair opened up for her. Jennet sat, put on the headset, and gave the 3D-mouse a couple test swipes.

It had been months since she’d played Rumble, but it was a pretty simple PVP combat game. The worst that could happen was that Fernald would end up beating her. She pressed her lips together. If he proved to be the best gamer in school, she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask his arrogant face for help—let alone spend time in Feyland with him.