The warm and soothing water of the shower rained down like a healing balm upon her body as she rinsed herself off and then basked in the calming sensation. If only I could have been a fish or something, or even a water-bird of some kind... or a real fairy, even, she thought with a smile as she ran her fingers through shoulder-length platinum-blonde hair. When she felt it was enough, the young lady turned off the shower and got out to dry off, taking a look at herself in the mirror before she got a towel. I hate it when they judge me for my size, the sad thought came out in a silent sigh. She was not slender, but she was also not obese. Curvy. Fun-sized. Plump. Those were the nicer words that Mandy King received about her appearance. Not that I really care, not too much... oh, who am I kidding... I hate it. I wish it would stop...
The college girl wrapped up in a towel and dried her hair with the blow-dryer. Afterwards she put on one of the oversize shirts she liked and headed out of the shower room to grab a bite. It was Saturday night. Her roommates Dana and Jamie were watching some mind-numbing reality show. Dana, the most peppy of the three of them, turned to Mandy with a smile.
“Hey Manders! We're gonna go have some fun in another dorm after this ends, you in?” she asked. Mandy affected a soft frown.
“You know I'm not in to that sort of 'fun', Dana,” she replied shyly.
“I know. But the one guy was asking about you a lot. Like really a lot.” the other said.
“I'm sure, and I can imagine the questions,” Mandy sighed, settling for a saucer of chips and crackers.
“I mean, sure, he did ask a couple of those, but overall it seemed like he really wanted to--”
“O-kay, you can stop.” the blonde girl said with a smile. “I have my thing tonight, anyway, so have 'fun'.”
I bet you don't even take precautions lately, do you?
“Oh right! Sure, we'll definitely have fun... with real people.” she said with a superior smirk, and the other girl stifled a guffaw.
“My friends are more real than yours,” Mandy quipped back as she headed upstairs, “And they're not the kind who judge people on body-type and personal interests.”
“Ooh... she got you there, Dana.” Jamie remarked as Mandy moved out of hearing range.
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“Yeah, whatever. Wish that shut-in virgin would transfer out already...” the other girl spat loudly.
I'll be the one laughing when you get preggo or catch a disease... Mandy scowled, silently shutting the door to her room behind her and locking it. She read over her assignment a bit more while she ate her snack, and when she was satisfied with this activity she leaned back in the chair, reminiscing about her first time in that wonderful world of Panarena Fantasy Online.
***
“Hmm... oh! I'll choose this one!” she had said after some consideration, settling on the pixie race for her character. “No classes, huh? Not by the traditional RPG selection, anyway... all skill-based? Challenge accepted!”
Mandy had been playing games like this since she was four years old and her older brother Mick had challenged her to a racing game. Her likes for them spanned all genres, from First-person Shooters to Real-time Strategies, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Slice-of-Life, Heroic Epics, browser games, and everything in between. But this one was the game that boasted to eclipse them all forever -- at least until someone managed to one-up them. But Mandy, who was quite the obsessive expert on gaming systems, knew that would take at least ten years, the way the industry had been shocked by the introduction of the Dream Machine.
Everything after it would now be based upon its basic design. It had become the new ultimate standard of modern gaming systems. And not just gaming, but everything that had once been done with computers and gaming systems might now start to merge into the virtual world network that was already forming. But that was probably a few years away. For now, Mandy would settle for being Sky Belle, her little blue pixie self. She had dedicated hours and hours to leveling this character, finding that her racial skills were more than enough to deal with enemies and becoming one of the purist pixies--at least for now.
The real shocker was the time she discovered she could adopt a human-size form, only to have her tiny dress not change size with her and instead return to her inventory, leaving her stark naked. Fortunately she had discovered this in a private room, and had since remained in pixie form for most of her game-play, until she had met up with the Silvernight Queens. The girls of that guild, quite simply, were her idols, Lana especially. They had tipped the fate of the Aldholt, tamed untameable beasts, had the respect of guilds far and wide (even if they didn't know it), solved unbeatable quests and overcame monsters that only a select few had. And now they were going to compete in the Grand Tournament.
***
And I get to be inducted into their guild soon!! she thought with happiness. Of course there was also Lysandra, the werewolf girl, who had made a bet to join them.
Hahh, couldn't be honest with herself, poor recluse. I have to be extra-supportive of her when she finds her way! Mandy nodded to herself. She then looked at the time. It was almost six-thirty. Maybe I should go look for some human-sized clothes while I wait for them...
“Might as well log in now,” she said, putting on the Dream Machine and activating it, leaving behind a messy reality to head for her virtual dreams.