v
The Guesthouse
5:44 PM
21 August 2014
Freshman Year
Basketballstar63: wassup?
Sexiblonde37: nothing really... drinking Starbucks...
Basketballstar63: well, obviously
Sexiblonde37: haha hbu?
Basketballstar63: unwinding, just had a tough practice
Sexiblonde37: oh, at the work-out zone?
Claire named the Wurld Social in-game gym, figuring that he was talking about the game.
Basketballstar63: ha no, irl
Sexiblonde37: oh cool
Claire sat back, surprised that he was taking the conversation to in real life so fast. But this was a game to meet new people in... She leaned forward and typed again.
Sexiblonde37: what sport do you play?
Basketballstar63: varsity basketball
Sexiblonde37: awesome, I love basketball
Basketballstar63: you play?
Sexiblonde37: no haha, but I watch my school team all the time
Did WCHL even have a school team? Oh well. Claire shrugged and went with it.
Basketballstar63: is your school D1?
Sexiblonde37: ya!
Claire had no idea what D1 was, but it sounded important. WCHL was pretty important, so Claire used basic logic to come up with an answer. Hopefully he wouldn't ask her about Basketball skills like lay-downs or two-point shots next,
Basketballstar63: awesome, my hometown is full of D1 schools... It's tough to win in the Westchester league alone
Sexiblonde37: you're from Westchester?
Basketballstar63: yeah... Irl
Basketballstar63: Makes sense because I'm in Westchester right now in this game haha
Sexiblonde37: hahaha oh right
Basketballstar63: you from the 'ol WC too?
Claire hesitated. Was this safe? Westchester county was pretty big... He could be all the way in Scarsdale for what she knew. Where was the harm in telling him?
Sexiblonde37: yup
Basketballstar63: cool
Sexiblonde37: ya :)
Basketballstar63: so how was your day?
Sexiblonde37: Alright, I guess
Basketballstar63: you don't sound so happy... What happened?
Sexiblonde37: uh nothing important
Claire smiled as she started in on the package of hazelnut toffee. This total stranger was asking her about her day for no reason at all. What was he getting out of this? Nothing! It was almost endearing... none of her friends in real life ever acted this concerned.
Basketballstar63: do tell
Basketballstar63: I'm all ears :)
Sexiblonde37: oh haha you're sweet... Well today was...
Basketballstar63: yeah?
Sexiblonde37: the second day of school for me and it didn't go well
Basketballstar63: why did it not go well?
Sexiblonde37: well my friends are being all weird about not being popular anymore and I got in trouble for being a tiny bit late to my literature class and we went to the mall after school and these girls showed up and were total female dogs to us... Ugh
Claire clicked enter nervously, wondering if her new friend would be freaked out by her download of information. It took a moment for the blond avatar to respond.
Basketballstar63: wow, rough
Sexiblonde37: sorry for complaining haha, that was probably too much to tell you...
Basketballstar63: no, no worries I like talking to you
Claire grinned ear to ear. It was so nice to have support, the feeling felt totally foreign to her. Her friends were always panicking over popularity and none of her family ever seemed to be around to vent to. Todd was always at lacrosse or hanging out with the 8th grade Briarwood elite; her mom was always either carting Todd around, working out with Kendra or stress-eating after said workouts; and her dad was working more and more.
Sexiblonde37: :)
Basketballstar63: anyway, your friends sound ridiculous. Popularity is so not important in the long run believe me
Basketballstar63: and getting in trouble for being late? I'm sure your teacher was overreacting, I hate when teachers are so high strung like that
Basketballstar63: And whoever those girls are? Forget 'em. I bet they aren't half as cool as you
Sexiblonde37: awh thanks
Sexiblonde37: I think you're right :)
Basketballstar63: haha, people always say I give good advice
Sexiblonde37: well they're right
Claire hit the submit button and quickly dashed out of the room for a bathroom break. With lightning speed, she sprinted back to her chair, finding Basketballstar63 waiting for her.
Sexiblonde37: back haha, sorry
Basketballstar63: you had me worried :(
Sexiblonde37: sorry! I forgot to type brb
Basketballstar63: no worries... So I was saying when you were gone, what's your name?
Claire panicked momentarily. What did she do? Was Claire really common enough to maintain her anonymity? Had she told him too much?
Sexiblonde37: Samantha :)
Basketballstar63: cool, I'm Tobias
Basketballstar63: don't make me regret telling you that haha, don't stalk me ;)
Claire felt a flash of irrational guilt for not being honest.
Sexiblonde37: well if we're being honest my name is actually Claire :p
Sexiblonde37: sorry for not being honest...
Basketballstar63: no big deal, haha I get you... This site can be kinda scary if you meet the wrong people
Sexiblonde37: I'm glad I met one of the good one ones :)
Basketballstar63: so how old are you, Claire?
Basketballstar63: if that doesn't make me scary for asking...
Sexiblonde37: haha no it doesn't
Claire didn't think twice of exaggerating her age. Why should she admit she was only 14? There was literally no harm in padding her maturity a little.
Sexiblonde37: 16, you?
Basketballstar63: oh cool haha, I'm 18
Basketballstar63: haha...that's not creepy to you, is it?
Sexiblonde37: no way!
Sexiblonde37: I like maturity :)
Claire could feel the conversation moving into flirting territory, and she liked it. It was nice to have someone to talk to, someone who was interested in her - not her hot friends. As she waited for 'Tobias' to respond, she let her eyes drift to the top of her iMac screen. She immediately swore. It was seven-thirty and she still had more than half of her homework to complete. As much as it pained her to admit, it was time that she got back to her real life.
Basketballstar63: works for me :)
Sexiblonde37: hey Tobias, I gotta go... I have to eat dinner and finish my homework... Sorry :(
Basketballstar63: no problem! Go keep those grades up, you have a bright future ahead of you
Sexiblonde37: haha thanks, hopefully I'll see you sometime?
Basketballstar63: yeah hang on a second
Sexiblonde37: ok
Almost immediately a blue screen popped up in the corner of her screen. 'Accept friend request from Basketballstar63?' Claire immediately clicked yes. When Tobias spoke again, his username was in green instead of black.
Basketballstar63: awesome, now we'll be able to see when each other is on!
Sexiblonde37: great idea! Ok, I'll see you later
Basketballstar63: bye :)
Sexiblonde37: bye :)
Claire wasn't logging out quite yet, however. She clicked on Tobias' profile (now available to her because they were friends), and read through his information. He was 6'3", blonde and most of his interests were related to basketball, he read Tolstoy in his free time (whatever that was) and his favorite novel was Anna Karenina (ditto). His specific e-location was closer to Scarsdale, ten or so miles from Claire's.
Tobias sounded exactly like her type. He would make for a great online resource for chatting, venting and all-around attention. He really did like talking to her, and he was really really good at listening. He knew exactly how she felt when everyone else in her life was wrong and Claire was right.
A/N: Let me know what you think!
-Bridget