Chapter 14 - Recollection

November/6th/2022

Sumiko

My eyes have been stinging for over an hour now, I really should just turn off my computer and go to sleep.

I laugh a little at my train of thought. Who am I kidding there's no way that's happening, at least not in the next few hours.

It is early in the morning and I didn't sleep one bit. I've been up playing games all night, while I wait for the right time to go out and get another. Sword Art Online. I'm so excited.

I've been so hyped all week that simply saying VRMMORPG brings shivers down my spine, it's exhilarating. Full diving is what has me the most excited. To be completely transferred into a fantastical land simply sounds amazing.

I click my mouse quickly again and again, as my pointer stands over the massive boss of the dungeon. My character moves up and starts cutting it with a small sword in one hand and a shield in the other. She moves swiftly while attacking, but this is merely because of my excellent skills. I smile smugly at the screen and pull a little on the mic attached to my headphones.

"Where is my back up?" I ask changing my voice to a sweet and soft melody.

"Right away, Princess," say a couple of voices in unison.

That's right, I'm a princess and all of you are but my loyal subjects. I smile again and keep attacking the boss, feeling the constant tapping of my finger on the button I start feeling excited. Just a little more, we are almost there.

I browse over the screen and see a spot that should be occupied by a healer on my party empty. It appears one of my loyal guards is not standing where he should be. The boss lifts its massive fists and smashes the ground, creating a shockwave that completely destroys my character and all others in my party. I mute the mic and slam my keyboard with both hands.

"Fuck!" I yell loudly, "Gah! Fucking idiots!"

I simmer down a little and hear some chatter on my headphones.

"Princess, I'm so sorry," someone cries.

I breathe in deeply and switch to my melodic voice once again.

"It's ok, nothing but a simple mistake. Be sure it doesn't occur again please," I say.

Strangling my healer a few times in my mind I keep breathing easily. Playing and online game when virgin boys know you are a girl is just freaking satisfying. Since they have virtually no chance at a girl like me in real life they think being in a virtual worlds ups their chances. It's funny, but also very very pathetic. They will try to do anything to please, they buy you gear, armor, even other games sometimes. It really does payoff to be all nice and sweet to people you will never meet face to face.

I glance at my clock and see I still have a bit to go before I go out of my house. Just a few more minutes Sumiko…just a few more minutes. Whatever little patience I had suddenly disappears.

"Screw this! I'm going to pick up SAO!" I shout into the mic.

"Wait, wait Kay-"

I shut off my computer and stand up. I grab my head and ruffle my own hair a bit. I sigh deeply and move my chair away as I head to my bathroom. My room is rotting mess, maybe I should consider cleaning it up a bit. Perhaps…nah, it's ok the way it is. I reach the bathroom and lift the toilet lid. I sit quickly and go about my business. Looking around I notice something that might be troubling for some people.

"Even my bathroom is a freaking mess," I mutter to myself.

I stand up and flush. I make my way to the sink and open the water tab for a little while, letting the water run I stand idle for a second. The mirror reflects a fun image. My blonde hair is everywhere and my eyes seem baggy as usual but this time around they are also incredibly bloodshot. Strangely enough I have gotten used to this kind of state and no matter what, I find myself sleeping very little every day. I wake up tired and exhausted yes, but I can't go to sleep any earlier anymore. I place my hands in the water and make a little bowl to gather some of the falling water. I lean over a bit and splash my face with cold refreshing water.

I open my mouth and gasp a little as I let the water drip off my face. It's a nice feeling. An alarm in my room suddenly starts making a ruckus. It is time. I grab a towel that was lying on the floor and quickly dry my face as I grab a hoodie that I left on the floor a few days back. I close the water's tab and reach my phone to turn off the alarm. I start getting excited and grab some loose pants from the floor. In a hurry I try to dress and end up tripping as I try pulling my pants up. I start falling face first unto the floor and manage to twist just in time to not hit my face.

"Dammit," I grunt as I roll on my back.

Not wasting a second I pull up the rest and button up the pants.

"Hat…hat…hat?" I murmur looking for the obvious.

Unable to find the one I wanted a settle for a baseball cap lying in my nightstand. I snug it on and pull the hoodie over my head. I can't help but to smile and head to the door of my room almost running.

"Shit! My wallet," I cry as I turn around on my feet.

Making more of a mess in my room I find my wallet under some clothes and quickly bolt off the door. Going down the hallway, the door of my brother's room suddenly props open. Quickly moving to my side, I barely manage to avoid hitting myself with the door.

"Sorry, sis…" he says half-asleep.

Mad and growing impatient, I frown at him.

"Watch it, you dumbnut!" I yell and rush down the stairs.

Hoping my mother won't wake up I pass her room at full speed and jump down the little step before the door of my house. Quickly putting on my shoes I go out the door and into the fresh, cold morning air. I breathe in deeply and smile at the gloomy looking day.

"Just how I like it," I say, grinning at the clouds.

It's a small walk to the bus stop and then a small wait on it, ten to fifteen minutes, it really depends on how punctual the bus-driver is. After that I get off on the stop close to the shops. It takes a bit to walk up and get on the street where all the stores are, but since I'm running it really shouldn't take long. I'm excited, I've been waiting for this game so long.

The big grin in my face is soon erased as I see a long line of people leading to the particular shop of my interest. I sigh in disgust and pull my hoodie down some more. I don't really like being around people...real people.

I get in line and keep my head down as some more guys get in line behind me. I hope not to make a fuzz, in this particular kind of line is not the one where you could expect to see a girl. The guys tend to get excited and ogle frantically if they find out. I soon realize I didn't tuck my hair into the cap, but it is already too late.

"Dude…is that a girl in front of you?" I hear behind me.

Like fucking clockwork. I start getting irritated the longer I stay in line. I don't notice at the start but my foot started tapping against the floor, I'm growing impatient.

"She looks hot…" I hear.

I can feel a frown taking over my face, but I try not to mind it so much, I'm close to the store's entrance which means I'm closer to getting what I came here for and closer to getting the hell out of here.

I stay in line, hearing comment after comment. Perhaps some of them aren't even about me, but the constant muttering behind me is pissing me off.

Just a bit longer Sumiko…just a bit longer.

I have been grinding my teeth for a while now. The person in front of me steps away with a NerveGear and a copy of SAO and I smile widely. Finally. I look inside my pockets and hand the clerk a receipt of my reserved copy. He looks at it for a second and then stares at me.

"Could you show me some id?" he asks.

"What?" I answer, "I come here often, what's the problem?"

"An id. I need to make sure this is your ticket," he insists.

I guess that's what I get from getting a points card here.

"Just give me my stupid game," I mutter.

"What?" the clerk says.

"Nothing, here," I say with a fake smile as I give him my student's card.

He checks my name and then the name on the ticket. He sighs and searches under the counter. He places a boxed NerveGear and a copy of the game on top of it on the counter.

"Here you go. Shouldn't you be at school?" he says after placing the items on a plastic bag.

That's it.

"It's Sunday, you dumbass. Besides shouldn't you mind your own fucking business?" I say somewhat loudly.

I feel everyone in the store staring at me, but I feel incredibly satisfied. The clerk has his hand extended to me with my id. I yank it away from his hand and turn to the line of people staring at me with their mouths open.

"Damn…" someone mutters.

I grab my bag of goodies with my left hand and walk off the store slowly. The eyes of everyone are trained on me but I repress all other impulse to insult anyone else. I exit the crowded store and breathe in deeply again. I look up at the cloudy sky and smile as a single rain drop falls on my cheek.

"Just how I like it…" I mutter again.

I walk to another bus station and wait for a few minutes. I want to get home and play my game, but the ride home is slightly longer. Thankfully I released quite a bit of stress on the nosy clerk, so I can wait just a bit longer.

I arrive home and walk at a fast pace towards the door. I open it and find an unpleasant figure in front of me. A woman with long black hair and brown eyes. It's my mother.

"So, now you run off to god knows where without telling me?" she asks.

I kneel on one knee for a bit to take off my shoes and stare at her with a blank expression.

"Yes," I answer in a flat tone.

She rolls her eyes and looks down on me, angry.

"You need to stop doing this, for your own sake…"she mutters softly.

"Yeah…no," I say and walk past her.

Why is everyone poking their noses into my business it's starting to become really annoying. I'm halfway through the stairs when I hear her voice again.

"What happened to you, Sumiko?" she says. "What happened to my sweet little girl?"

I step back a little and look at her from the first landing in the stairs. What is she trying to do now, guilt trip me?

I can play too, mother.

"I don't know..." I say, breaking my voice intentionally as I look at the ground.

I glance at her briefly and see she is clearly confused. I look up at her with teary eyes and then look down quickly again. Her eyes literally brighten up and she starts getting closer to me.

"Wow, haha! You fall for that?" I answer before she gets any closer and can't help but to start laughing loudly.

Her expression seems sad now, but I turn around and head up stairs to the small hallway where the door to my room and brother's stand. His door again comes ajar and I see the little black haired boy step out of his room. He looks so fragile it almost makes me feel warm inside.

"Why are you always so mean with mom?" he asks.

"Mind your own business," I say harshly as I nudge him away from my path. "She is not even my mother. She is your mother."

I go through my door frame and I feel safe and sound all of the sudden. I sit on my floor leaning against the door and start opening the box containing my NerveGear. I take out the heavy helmet and smile wildly as I stare at every inch of it. This is it, my game.

I stand up with the helmet under my arm and the box of the game in my free hand. I walk to my chair and turn it around to sit on it. Slowly placing the NerveGear near my keyboard I feel myself grinning again.

"It's time for Kayla to be reborn," I mumble to myself.

Another game, another delightful place filled with endless possibilities. Another place filled with adventure that I'll get to experience in full-dive. Another world to not be me.

Crysina here!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

This chapter has been updated as of July/29/2016

Thanks to Donna Hufflepuff for beta-reading this chapter!

Games can be a place of pretend but they are also worlds filled with lies.
This is sadly the advantage and disadvantage of anonymity.

These chapters are short, yes, but there aren't many so if you don't like how short they are, don't worry.

Steve The Man: A sketch of Owl is on the works, just wait for it a while longer.

It's a bit funny how just a few chapters ago I was getting excited over getting over 5 views every day and so far this month you guys have given me over 200 views in just 8 days. THAT'S AMAZING! Thank you guys so much. MAN OH MAN do I have an announcement, this is the last chapter I originally posted back when I was updating my story over two years ago now. THIS MEANS ALL NEW NEVER BEFORE SEEN CONTENT STARTING NEXT WEEK! Are you excited? I really am.

If my story were an anime this is where my first season would end. Let's call it the first Arc of my story. Is it weird that I picture it like that? It probably is.

Thank you for reading!

Next Chapter: "Reset"