Stage 10: Movie Night Drama!
Thursday evening, Tracer was attempting to finish homework for Friday when a series of light taps came from the door. Putting away her papers, Tracer straightened out her T-shirt which depicted a blue tentacled monster with one eye underneath the Chronal Accelerator and light-blue booty shorts. Approaching the door quietly, Tracer opened it and saw Zenyatta floating in the hallway while Genji stood behind him looking embarrassed.
"Hey! Come in," Tracer said stepping aside wearing knee-length socks with blue stripes.
"Upon realizing your room was in the girls' dormitory, Genji got us special permission to enter when he claimed we were here for a group-study session," Zenyatta stated.
"Good idea, Genji," Tracer said scratching the back of her neck. "Wish I'd thought of that."
"Think nothing of it," Genji said shyly.
The Omnic and cyborg were then introduced to Pharah, who was wearing a shoulder-less blue blouse and skinny black jeans. Then after that, Tracer loaded They Came From Beyond The Moon into the DVD player attached to the big-screen TV. She sat down next to Pharah while Zenyatta and Genji were to her left. The movie told the story about aliens that resembled the creature on Tracer's T-shirt attempting to invade Earth when a group of scientists stationed on a lunar base attempt to stop them. Pharah seemed to get caught up in the action along with Tracer, while Genji and Zenyatta watched it with expressionless faces.
###
"So what did you think?" Tracer asked Zenyatta when the movie was over and they were having a snack break.
"It was very interesting," Zenyatta replied as Tracer downed a soda can. "The scientists seemed outmatched by the aliens' superior technology at first, but then they managed to defeat them by being resourceful and working together as a team."
"I agree with that," Pharah said munching on a bag of chips. "Plus, you got to know the scientists and relate to them before the aliens show up."
"But what the scientists used to defeat the aliens seemed unrealistic and way too convenient," Genji observed.
"Actually, Winston told me the science in the movie checks out even though the aliens were made up," Tracer responded.
"Winston? The gorilla genius?" Pharah said sounding surprised. "You know him?"
"We grew up together," Tracer answered.
Everyone fell silent, making Tracer fell awkward.
"It's a bit of a long story," Tracer said nervously. "And it would take too long to go into, so let's watch Six-Gun Killer before Light's Out."
No one seemed to question Tracer as she popped the DVD in. Unlike the previous film, this one was about a cowboy whose family is killed by six bandits and so he sets off to eliminate them one-by-one while collecting their guns as proof.
"The main character kind of looks like McCree," Pharah muttered.
"McCree?" Tracer said turning to Pharah.
"He's the official hall monitor for the school," Pharah responded. "You'll only see him if you're late for class, but I wouldn't recommend it."
"Why?"
"It's rumored that he threatens students with his six-bullet revolver known as Peacekeeper, but I don't know if that's true or not."
After that, the two stayed silent as the movie progressed. But during a loud action-packed gun-shooting scene, Tracer thought she heard a door opening. Glancing over her shoulder, Tracer saw Zarya peeking out of her room. She seemed entranced by the scene, and then tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"Is something wrong, Zarya?" Tracer asked.
Zarya wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Is nothing."
"Do you want to talk about it? We could pause the movie if you want."
"No, I'm fine," Zarya said, and slammed the door shut.
A heavy cloud hung over the group as the movie wrapped up. Then afterwards, Zenyatta and Genji got up and left while Tracer escorted them to the door.
"I hope your roommate is all right," Zenyatta said quietly. "Though I was caught up in the movie's engaging story, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with her."
Tracer looked surprised. "You must have really good hearing."
"Omnics are known to pick up sounds that most people wouldn't normally hear," Zenyatta replied. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."
"Yeah, I'm not sure," Tracer said shaking her head. "I thought if she interacted with you, she'd realize that not all Omnics are bad. But I guess her hatred of them is stronger than I thought."
"Maybe you should talk to Doctor Ziegler about this problem," Genji suggested.
"You mean Mercy?" Pharah said cautiously.
"Yes, that's her call sign," Genji replied.
"How did you know her real name?" Pharah asked.
"She saved me when I was near death, and made me what I am now," Genji said cryptically. "I've heard that she's not only the school nurse but also a counselor."
"That is correct," Pharah answered and turned to Tracer. "I'll show you where her office is tomorrow around lunch. We could talk to her then."
"Okay, sure," Tracer agreed and looked at Zenyatta and Genji. "Did you both enjoy the movies despite the drama that ensued?"
"They were highly entertaining," Zenyatta nodded. "I'll be sure to watch more Hal-Fred Glitchbot movies when I can."
"I wasn't particularly found of the first one, but the second one was really good," Genji said. "The action scenes were amazing, like a martial arts movie but with guns, and I found myself relating to the main character's plight for revenge."
"In what way?" Tracer wondered.
Genji hesitated to answer. "We should probably get back to our dorm, Master. Light's Out is in ten minutes."
"You're right, Genji," Zenyatta responded. "We should probably go. I had a good time, though."
"Same here!" Tracer smiled and waved as Zenyatta and Genji walked down the hall.
###
Inside a small office that was made of white-colored metal, Tracer was sitting across from a woman who was typing things on a holographic computer screen. She had a fine figure with a kind-looking face, medium blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail, wearing a white lab-coat over an orange turtleneck and tan slacks. On the wall behind her was a framed picture depicting several members of Overwatch including herself, a younger version of Soldier: 76, Torbjörn, Reinhardt, and a few other individuals Tracer didn't recognize. One was a tall brooding man wearing a black hood, another resembled Ana only she was much younger and wearing a blue military uniform, and below her stood a little girl with braids that were shaped like Pharah's.
"Now what seems to be the trouble?" the woman asked looking up from the computer screen.
"Well, Mercy, I'm concerned about one of my roommates," Tracer began. "Her name's Zarya, and she demanded that I remove some things from my room because they disturbed her."
"In what way?" Mercy asked taking down notes.
"They were posters depicting movies made by Hal-Fred Glitchbot and a statue of Tekhartha Mondatta. Because these items were related to Omnics which she hates, Zarya wanted me to get rid of them but I refused. So then I invited an Omnic friend of mine named Zenyatta and his cyborg roommate Genji up to the dorm for a movie night—
"Oh, I know those two!" Mercy interrupted. "I'm glad you've made friends with them — anyway, continue."
"Zarya was initially against this, but then she complied reluctantly and stayed in her room all night while the rest of us were watching the movies. Apart from Zenyatta and Genji, the only other person there was Pharah, who's my other roommate. She thinks I should've gotten rid of the Omnic things because of Zarya's troubling past regarding the Omnics attacking her home and her parents being killed."
"Ah, yes," Mercy noted. "You're not the first roommate to complain about Zarya. Last year she and Pharah had a roommate who had a robotic arm. This roommate didn't feel comfortable around Zarya due to false accusations of being affiliated with the Omnics and so she transferred to a different dorm. Do you wish to do the same?"
"Not really," Tracer said. "I like Pharah, and I want to be friends with Zarya too. It's just that I think she needs help, but isn't reaching out for it."
"That is true," Mercy agreed. "At every required mental and physical checkup, she's physically healthy but seems mentally disturbed."
"Then what can I do to help?"
"Don't take her words personally, be kind to her, and understand where she's coming from," Mercy stated. "Try talking to her about your thoughts on Omnics and see if you two can come to some kind of compromise. If you can't, then you might have to transfer to another dorm. The deadline for dorm transferals is coming up, so chose quickly and wisely."
To be continued…