Mysterious Minstrel

Chapter 37

"You were wearing a skin." It's a wild guess, but it's the only one that makes sense. Sam Lowe moved from my high school at the end of ninth grade. I never saw him again, but maybe the sense of familiarity I feel with Nathan is because he was involved in making my life miserable. I would think I'd know my bully's voice by heart, but what if that voice was modified, along with everything I saw about Sam?

A skin is a fake persona one can "wear" when they enter the VRS. Anyone can become an entirely new person, changing physical features to become more desirable. Skins are outlawed in certain virtual settings, including school and workplaces. Sam Lowe had a perfect body and face. Was it because he was wearing a skin?

"Josiah...." Nathan's voice teems with guilt. There's no other explanation, and he didn't outright deny it, which tells me all I need to know.

Sam Lowe had a distinct personality, an ability to be nasty. But he also had a different side, one that was able to draw his classmates near to him. He was a perfect storm. And if you were lucky enough not to be his target, you'd be on the receiving end of his kindness. He was a persona.

And Nathan Lum was Sam Lowe.

"You're Sam," I say, and there's nothing I can do to hide the pain in my voice.

"Josiah...."

I turn to leave, not knowing where I'm going. I run across fallen vines and branches, speeding away to put as much distance between me and Nathan as possible. How could I be so stupid? The truth was right in front of me. Nathan and Sam share the same defining qualities, which is a personality that shines above all others—meanness disregarded, Sam was just as magnetic. It's his confident personality that allowed him to become a legend in Starlia. His bullying days may be far behind him, but that doesn't change what he did in the past. All the days I was shoved and ridiculed in the school halls come back to me. Sam and Nathan. Nathan and Sam. He's a fake.

As I run, I don't even register that the smart thing to do would be to log off. Or maybe I don't want to face the bedroom I grew up in—it was the first thing I saw after a long day at school, where I was made a fool in front of my classmates. No one stepped in until Aileen came along. And today, I don't want to face those dark memories again.

I want to escape in the world of Starlia. As I put one foot in front of the other, I think about the moment I knew Sam hated me. It was the beginning of the school year. I had just finished a presentation on DNA and RNA in front of the class. I was nervous as anyone would be. I thought I did okay. I went to sit down in my seat, breathing deeply to recapture the oxygen I released while speaking.

Sam stood up and began clapping. The class turned to him, amusement on many of their faces. "Let's congratulate Josiah for getting through that," he said. "We all know that he sucks at anything related to entertaining people."

My face burned. The teacher shouted at Sam to sit down, to shut up, but he wouldn't listen.

"Let's meet at a virtual cafe sometime, Josiah." His sneer was forever engraved into my memory. "I can show you how not to be such a bore."

This was one of the many times Sam along with the other bullies made my life miserable. All in all, the other bullies were worse, but Sam acted out at a few key points, wedging the knife deeper. Sam wasn't the leader—save that title for two prominent members of the pack. But he was a shining emblem.

I had no idea about his motivations. I suppose I was just an easy target. When I lied in bed at night, I reminded myself that the bullying would stop one day. I tried to have some sympathy for him. Maybe he had a horrible home life. Maybe he was bullied in the past and decided to process his hurts in an unhealthy way.