They picked a Chinese restaurant which is perfectly fine with me. It's one of my favorite types of food with Mexican being my first choice. We're shown to our table by a small, older woman who eyes us wearily. I don't blame her. All of us, except for Carter who throws off the vibe, look like a bunch of thugs. To make matters worse, it's nearly midnight. It's strange the place is open so late. If they don't want trouble, why not close at ten or eleven like most places?
Regardless, I can't find it in myself to smile at the woman. Truth is, I don't feel like smiling. I don't like the table we're seated at. A big circular table centered right in the middle of the restaurant. I prefer tables that are situated near walls. That way I can sit against the wall and have the view of the place and the people in it. But, tonight, we're the only ones here. So I suppose this will do. I don't need to feel trapped. I hate feeling trapped. I sit down, still uncomfortable with the fact that my back is facing the door.
The hostess who I now realize is also our waitress, passes out thick menus to each of us. The menus look like they are about to fall apart they're so old. I trace my fingers over the gold leaf, double dragon design. I'm no stranger to it. I've been here dozens of times as a kid not with my family, but with the housekeeper who would occasionally pick up dinner if my father wanted Chinese. God forbid he take the fam out for a meal together.
"They have the best egg rolls!" Carter bounces in his seat.
The other guys agree. I say nothing. I don't need to agree. Everyone knows Double Dragon's egg rolls are the best.
"I hope they never go out of business," Donovan whispers to himself, concentrating on the menu.
"Why would they go out of business?" Carter worries.
This is annoying. I don't know why I came. Sometimes I don't know why I hang around these morons. "They're not going out of business for anything other than retirement. Relax."
All eyes shift to me, but I don't bother looking up from the menu. I'm in a dicey mood. They all know it was because of the exchange I had with Luna. Well, more so with Carter bringing up my lack of finesse dealing with women. What the fuck is his goal? I throw my menu down when the waitress comes back asking for drink orders. I order a water. I'm not a drinker. Maybe a beer or two here and there, but other than that, I make it a point to never become intoxicated like my dumbass friends who all order a round of drinks. I'm their designated driver.
"So," Carter begins.
I should really pound his face in. My eye twitches. He shifts in his seat uncomfortable. I do have to say, the kid is pretty brave. He knows my temper. Dragging in a deep breath, I give him permission to proceed with a look.
"Shy." Carter smirks.
"Get it out of your system, Carter." I wave him on.
"Ah yeah. According to you, Shy is too shy to talk to chicks," Alex chuckles at Carter.
"Yup. I'm one hundred percent convinced."
Donovan shakes his head, "And how in the world did you come up with this idea?"
"Simple. He never talks to them. Like...ever."
"So?" I shrug. "Why do I need to?"
"Well I don't know about you, but I like having a girlfriend."
"Not all of us want a girlfriend, Carter." Tyler interjects. "I don't want one. I'm too poor."
"Yeah, but, Shy ain't poor," Carter throws out.
The guys agree. They're right. I'm not poor. But what they think sustains me is my parents' money and that's not quite right either. I'm not attending school on their dime. Thank God for small favors. I received a full scholarship. The money in my bank account is money I earned last summer from striking a deal with a very large video game company selling a virtual reality video gaming device I invented. It's going to revolutionize virtual reality gaming and make me money for many years to come. But no one knows that, nor do they need to. I swear video game nerds get a bad rap, but I don't care. Video games saved my life during one of the hardest times and have made me rich. So anyone that wants to hate on games can suck my dick.
"Get to the point, Carter. You have until our waitress takes our orders," I toss out, then laugh as the waitress returns with our drinks.
Carter groans, "No fair!"
The waitress gives Carter a confused look, but decides to ignore him and takes our orders. She smiles before disappearing into the back room. She seems more at ease with us being in her restaurant as we've been relatively quiet. That's good. If I ever got banned from Double Dragon, I'd have to truly kill my friends.
"As I was saying, Shy is too shy."
"What do you want, Carter?"
"Huh?"
All eyes turn to me. "What do you want? You have some preoccupation with my ability to talk to women. Why?"
"Ah. Thought you'd never ask," Carter rubs his hands together.
Knew it. He wants something. What a fuckin' weasel. I really don't like this kid. My eyes narrow on him before turning to Alex. I can see he doesn't like him either.
"Why are you in our friend group? How'd you get in?" I decide to ask. I mean, fuck it. I wanna know.
Tyler's hand goes up, his head bows. "Sorry guys. It was me. I let him in," he shrugs. "I thought he was cool. Maybe I was wrong?"
"Fucking A right, you're wrong," I toss out.
"Oh, come on. Hear me out."
Collectively, we shake our heads.
"I propose a little bet."
"A bet?" I ask. Not gonna lie, Carter is dangling some bait in front of me that I kinda wanna bite.
"I bet you can't talk to one chick and form a relationship with her."
"Pff. I'm not gonna string some poor girl along and then break her because you think I can't talk to people. And for what? You're amusement? I don't need it."
Carter bites down on his lip looking genuinely ashamed. "I didn't...I didn't mean it like that. I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"Take a good look at me, asshole. What do you see?"
Carter's eyes flick up and scan me over knowingly. Wow, he just might have a brain inside of his skull after all. Douche.
"I see a dude who can easily be a super model. You, like, have perfect features. All symmetrical, and your skin looks really smooth." He lifts his hand and bravely pokes my cheek.
This guy must have a death wish.
"Especially with all those tattoos. Did the ones on your head hurt?" he lifts his finger.
"Touch me again and die," I warn. Is he in love with me? Huh. Maybe. Wouldn't be the first time a guy tried to pursue me. They're worse than chicks, I swear.
"Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just answering your question. I guess I see a guy who can get any girl."
"Exactly. So what do you think will happen if I befriend a chick? How do you think she'll feel when I tell her to hit bricks?"
"But, if she becomes a friend, why would you have to un-friend them?"
"I don't want it, Carter. Okay? Fuck me," I run my hands down my face.
"What if you don't need to befriend anyone?" Tyler pipes up.
This is really getting confusing and out of hand. I don't like attention. I don't want it, I don't seek it out. I gotta end this. I look around at the table. My friends are all intrigued. Great. I give up.
"Whatta ya mean?" Carter adds.
"What if Shy establishes a virtual relationship?"
My ears perk. Can't help it. He said the word virtual.
"What do you mean?"
"He means something online," I chime in.
"Exactly," Tyler points at me with a wink.
"That'll be perfect actually," Carter brightens.
"And I know the perfect thing."
I know nothing about online dating nor do I want to. I don't want to slide into anyone's dms on Instagram or any other gram. What the hell could Tyler mean? Carter bounces up and down like a little kid waiting in line for a ride.
"Tell us, tell us, tell us," he squeals.
This is getting weird. Where the hell is our food? Even though it's now past midnight, I'm pretty sure I'm starving to death.
"There's an app called AnimeSpeak for Otakus. It's perfect," Tyler beams.
"AnimeSpeak? Never heard of it," Carter itches his head exchanging curious glances with our friends.
AnimeSpeak. AnimeSpeak. I know this name. Where have I seen this? Wait. This is a phone app. A game.
"My sister plays it. It's an anime game app. Pretty much it's designed...,"
"For chicks," I interrupt. I remember now. I've seen it advertised among many others. It's an anime app geared for the feminine population. Sure, it's open to anyone who wants to play but mainly girls play it.
Tyler scratches the back of his neck. "Well...yeah. Kinda. I mean, mainly Otakus play it."
"What is it and what are Otakus?" Donovan asks.
"Otakus are people who are like hardcore into anime and stuff. And AnimeSpeak is an app where you can meet people and talk about anime."
"So why do only girls play?" Carter asks.
"Because. You have to create an avatar. And while you can choose to be a boy or a girl, it's really feminine. My sister says that mainly girls play."
"Sounds like a little kid game."
"This app is eighteen and up. Anyway, Shy could create an avatar on the app and meet a friend and have a conversation. Mission would then be...accomplished."
"Huh," Carter scratches his jaw with a nod of his head. "Yeah. I like this idea. It's settled."
"Hold up. I never agreed to this stupidity."
"Aww. Come on. It's harmless," Carter whines.
"What are we betting for? I don't wanna lose any money," Donovan says.
"No money," Carter brightens. "Just bragging rights. If we win, Shy has to bow down to us and acknowledge that he sucks at talking to girls. If he wins, we will acknowledge him as Mr. Casanova himself."
"Wow. That's...so motivating," I roll my eyes.
"What?! Bro, you're the one who didn't even want to do it." Carter throws his hands up.
I don't. In fact, I'm not gonna. I'm relieved when our food comes and everyone is distracted by their plates, including me. I ordered Chicken Lo Mein, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and two egg rolls. I always order extra so I'll have leftovers the next day. I love leftover Chinese. Nothing better. But, fuck, I'm hungry. I hope I don't eat it all.
"There. Done."
I frown and look at Tyler. Oh. Hell. No. He's holding up my phone. And what do my eyes see? A great big pastel square with a smiling rabbit in the middle. He didn't do what I think he just did. And I didn't do what I think I just did, did I? I left my phone on the table unlocked. I deserve this. The boys cheer.
"It's settled. The bet is on!" Carter high fives Tyler.
Grabbing my phone from Tyler's grasp, I shake my head. Does he honestly think I'm going to keep this app on my phone? How would any one of these dorks even know if I'm holding up my end of the bargain? And for what? Bragging rights?
Biting into my egg roll, I stop myself from rolling my eyes in pleasure. Instead, I down it in two more bites. I should have ordered five of them. Damn, they're good. As I chew, I think. If all my friends want is to make a silly bet for bragging rights because they're pathetic lives are boring, why not? What's the harm? Have one conversation with a chick and call it a day. I can do that. Why not?
"Okay, I'll do it," I declare, licking my fingers clean of hot mustard sauce. That's one way to clear the sinuses. Holy shit that stuff's hot. I love it.
Everyone stops chewing and looks at me dumbfounded. Yup. That's right losers, I'll play your stupid game.
"Do my ears defy me, my lord?" Carter wipes his mouth clean with a huge smile.
"Cut the my lord, shit. But, no, your ears don't defy you. You heard me," I grab my remaining egg roll before its crunchy exterior becomes soggy. I'm ordering more of these things. I don't care I haven't started on the rest of my food. Where's our waitress?
"Yes!" Carter fist pumps the air. "Gimme your phone, Shy. I wanna set up your girl."
"Have at it." I hand him my phone not really caring how he makes my avatar look. Wait. Should I care? What the hell am I thinking? Of course I don't care. Fuck. These guys are gonna have me going soft before I can blink. And that's not something I'm willing to do.
"I'll set up his avatar. You'll make him look ridiculous, Carter, and we don't want that. We need to attract friends. Give it."
Carter hands Tyler my phone, and I'm secretly cringing at all the germs that are now on it. I fucking hate people touching my phone. I'm gonna have to sanitize that when I get home. There's no way I'm getting sick. I have too much work to do. Too many expectations on my damn shoulders.
"Do you want to be pink, blue, orange or green? Shy? Shy?!"
Huh? My eyes snap up. "What?"
Tyler grabs a Crab Rangoon, "I said what color do you want to be?" He stuffs his face.
"Oh. I don't care."
"Pink it is," his tongue sticks out of his mouth as he concentrates.
"Dude, let's just set this up for him. He's not even listening," Carter offers.
Tyler nods. "I'm gonna give him blonde hair. Whatta ya think?"
"Mhm. I think you should give him glasses too. Glasses are so cute on a girl. I dig em," Carter adds.
"Same. Check out the outfits."
I think another fifteen minutes goes by before they finally have my avatar completed to a point where it's time to name her. Damn. I ate both my egg rolls and all of my Lo Mein. I had wanted to save some of that. Screw it. On to my Sweet and Sour Chicken. I'm getting full, but I can't leave without eating at least some of it. And if the waitress graces us with her presence ever again, I'm gonna order extra.
"Strawberry Shortcake? No. Cutie Pie? No. Sweet Potato," Tyler shakes his head.
"Those names are lame, man," Donovan says.
What the hell? I think I should at least have a say in the naming of this avatar. I better speak up before they settle on something totally stupid and irreversible.
"I'll name it."
They all look at me a little surprised and expectant.
"Will there be anything else?"
A shy voice floats above our own, and I look up to see the older woman replaced by a younger girl who must be the granddaughter or someone related to her. Her eyes had been on me until I looked at her, then they hit the floor with a furious blush spreading up from her neck and over her cheeks. Every time. The guys and I exchange knowing looks. If I really wanted to, I could have her. Easy. But that would require me having some interaction with her, and I don't want to prove Carter's point. Any conversation had between me and her would be awkward in front of my friends.
Could Carter be right? Do I lack in this department? When was the last time I ever held a decent conversation with the opposite sex? I wrack my brain trying to remember, but come up short. No way. There was no way Carter is right. Fuck that. I dismiss the thought from my brain because I have more important things to take care of. Now is my chance! I only waited nearly an hour for someone to come to our table, and I'm not about to let the moment pass me by. I need more water and more egg rolls, dammit!
After I place my order, she disappears into the back room, and I resume my earlier thoughts. I need to name this avatar.
"How 'bout Sally?" Boom. There. Simple. Yeah.
"Lame," Carter curls his lip.
"I agree. Super Lame," Donovan adds.
"I know I've been pretty much silent this entire time, but I have to admit that's a weak name, bro," Alex says.
Alex is my best friend. He usually goes along with anything I do. We're similar in many ways, but also different. While he's been quiet this entire time, I'm surprised he spoke up about the name. It tells me he's not opposed to this entire thing. It's amusing really.
"It has to be a cute name," Alex adds surprising me again.
"I don't know. How 'bout, Aela?"
"Like, Aela the Huntress from Skyrim?"
I shrug. It's the first name that pops into my head. Why not? Tyler types it in. It's settled. My avatar is a pink, blonde haired, bespectacled nerd called Aela. That'll do.
The rest of my group laughs and cheers, and I take it all in. It's the first time I realize something. This is the beginning of our final year in college. After we graduate, the likelihood of me seeing these dorks outside of school is slim to none. They will be out of my life just like others have come and gone.
Nothin' I'm not used to.
-#-
Author's note:
Hi guys! Hope everyone is safe and healthy. How many of you are doing on line school? My son is and it really kinda sucks. It seems like there's more homework than when you go to school irl. And his teachers want all of the assignments turned in by end of day! That's not how it is when he's at school. Is this what your teachers are doing? Anyway, I just want life to go back to normal. In the meantime, I hope my story along with all the others on Wattpad are keeping you guys entertained during our lock down. Lol!
Oh, and I hope you're enjoying Different IRL so far. If you are, a vote would really, really be much appreciated. Thank you so much for reading my story!
Have a great week and wash your hands, don't cough, don't sneeze, don't blink...just don't move! LOL! Cya!