A few days earlier, Chalice sat face-down on his desk, asleep. The evening brought a lazy, warm breeze through the classroom window, ruffling his unkempt, dark hair and stirring him from his slumber, just as his class rep stopped next to his table to leave an assessment result.

Chalice woke up and stifled a yawn. His eyes were half open from drowsiness, but they were still possible to discern. Vibrant, hazel eyes. Their clarity was startling and appeared somewhat foreign. When he was more or less aware, Chalice finally noticed the class rep standing in front of his desk. She harrumphed with obvious scorn before she turned away and continued handing out the rest of the class’ papers.

Chalice glanced at his own. A bold ‘A’ grade. He made a mental shrug and opened a holo-book with a wave of his hand, after which he pretended to sleep, tuning in on his classmate’s oddly lively conversations.

In an undertone, a chubby man hushed to a friend seated across from him, “Hey dude, you pre-order Fantasy?”

His friend looked back at him, wide-eyed. “What? Of course I freakin’ have! It’s the greatest sensation worldwide and it hasn't even be released yet!” He yelled, earning a scolding from the physics teacher, who smiled, despite the interruption.

The teacher sighed in feigned annoyance. “It appears no one’s in the mood for the lecture.” He said, having long since noticed the energetic discussions of his students. “Alright, everyone, listen up!” The teach said in a raised voice, “It's free period until home time, chat away all you like,” he declared.

The teacher moved to lean on the edge of his desk, and joined the conversation, chatting to the closest student about Fantasy.

Chalice heard giggles and energetic chatter from a particularly loud group of girls and glanced in their direction. The bubbly blonde laughed at a joke before she turned to the class rep. “Prez, you going to join us?”

“Ugh, how many times do I need to tell you? Don’t call me that!” cried the silky-haired brunette in annoyance.

“Well, you are…” she muttered, slightly disheartened.

“Alright, alright, Rochelle. It's not the end of the world. Anyways, that's off topic! Have you gotten a Fantasy subscription? It opens today.” Another girl chimed.

The blonde quickly brightened at the mention of the topic and babbled fervently. “Yeah! Fantasy! Fantasy! We’ll become adventurers together! And I’ll become a Mage and destroy monsters with the mightiest of magics a-and-“

“Okay, Emily, calm down, I’ll look into it. Sheesh,” stressed Rochelle. The group cheered and broke into louder conversation, some shrieks of excitement added into the mix.

Much to Chalice’s annoyance, the class ‘prince’ swaggered over, all smiles. “Hello Chalice, care to join me in Fantasy?” he asked. To his dismay, the young man didn’t catch the message, obviously unfazed by his ploy. Chalice grumbled inwardly.

‘He does this every bloody day! I don’t even talk to him, let alone anyone else. Yet he still- '

He felt his mood sour, and decided to make a point of it. Jarred swallowed subconsciously, half regretting trying to talk to the introvert for the up-tenth time. Chalice’s stare was unnerving. Fortunately, one of his friends pulled attention away from himself.

“Oi, Jared! Ya know Chalice doesn’t talk to anyone. C’mon, we’ve got better things to do.” A stocky youth called, his voice laced with arrogance. By now, the irritated boy wished the period would end now.

‘Jackass Jared and his cocky ass cronies. Charming, rotten bunch.’ He rolled his eyes mentally, opting to sleep again, blocking off everything around him once more.

Half an hour later, the home-time bell managed to wake him up. By the time Chalice pulled himself together, the classroom was empty. Faint echoes of conversation could be heard from outside the building as students made their way past the front gates. Chalice stopped by a corridor window, and stared outside at nothing in particular.

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‘Fantasy, huh?’ he thought, silently.

Then he made his way out himself. A sleek sedan awaited him, which had pulled up in front of the school’s entrance. Chalice touched the door, after which it slid to the right, levitating to the vehicle’s side. He hopped in and threw his duffel in the back seat. Only then did he pay attention to the driver who smiled patiently at him. Chalice smiled back. “Hi mum.”

“Hello,” she said sweetly before facing the road as she pulled onto the main road, “How was your day?”

“It was fine.” Chalice sunk into his chair. His mum giggled lightly.

‘Same boy as always,’ she mused, ‘It's hard to tell what he’s thinking most of the time.’

The cityscape blurred by as they travelled to their destination. To his mother’s surprise, Chalice broke the long silence.

“Mum…”

“Mm.” She acknowledged.

“Could you… pre-order Fantasy and the latest headset for me… please?” he said, rather meekly.

His mother glanced at him, her eyes ablaze and flashed a wide grin. Chalice lowered his head, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The mother and son lapsed into quiet once again. Soon, city became outskirts as the car faced the evening glow a brilliant orange horizon.

Eventually, they left the main road and pulled up in front of a sheltered private property. His mother drove through the opened gate and the sight of a familiar bamboo forest greeted them. The passenger-side window dematerialised and Chalice stuck his head out to take a breath of fresh air. “Ah,” he exhaled.

‘Still appreciate dad’s tastes. Never get sick of this garden no matter how many times I see it.’ He thought, while he pushed his evening schedule to the back of his mind.

Finally, his mother pulled up in front of a humble one-storey home. Chalice hopped out of the car, and walked through the front door, his mum closing it shortly after.

“I’ve left you something to eat on the kitchen counter,” his mother said before she deposited her handbag and continued through the main corridor. He acknowledged with a grunt and decided he was hungry. Chalice passed the dining room and entered the kitchen. The latest and greatest household installations inside would make any hardcore chef grieve with desire.

Sure enough, a platter of flawless toasted sandwiches lay on the bench. Chalice smiled as he picked them up and carried them to the kitchen table. He nibbled on a slice absentmindedly while he turned on the surround system television. An advertisement for a latest fad product was displayed, which he ignored. Chalice waved his hand and the channel changed. The promotion caught his attention.

“Welcome… to the land of Fantasy! A world of promise, dreams, horrors, and adventure!” proclaimed a stern wizened, aged man dressed in ceremonial magus robes of intricate design. An amiable smile formed on his face while he raised his arms and mighty staff to indirectly gesture at the breathtaking view of a huge civilisation behind him.

The scene faded into a pan of a canopied woodland, which had a strangely exotic, ethereal appeal. All sorts of bizarre creatures and fauna thrived, some unbelievable to Chalice who sat in silence, entranced.

‘Wow…’ he thought to himself, secretly impressed, ‘I’ve never seen anything even close to this.’

The advertisement showed a few more sneak peaks into the whimsical world while Chalice just watched, the food in his hand forgotten.

‘I had no idea it was this huge…’ He got to his feet, flicked off the screen and head to his room. He passed his mother by the hallway, who beamed at him with a sly grin. When he turned a corner, he heard her faint sing-song voice, followed by a giggle.

“I knew you’d be interested…”

Chalice entered his room. As soon as he stepped through the door-way, the space came to life. The blinds opened slowly which allowed fleeting rays of sunlight to filter through. Holo-posters flickered to life on the previously bare walls. They depicted items ranging from army propaganda to an over-sexualised cover girl.

On his bedside table sat a simple frame containing a snapshot of his fondest family photo. In the picture, his mother wore formal army officer wear and his father wore a sharp business suit. His mother had a cheeky smile and his dad was rather solemn. However, what surprised him most was the pure white porcelain box which sat next to it. It sported an elegant purple motif on its front.

‘Hmm,’ he thought, ‘she saw right through me.’

Chalice sat down on the bed and picked it up with care, setting it on his lap. He placed a hand on its top-side and it triggered the opening mechanism. It hissed as fancy hydraulics slid the cover to the side and raised a small platform above the dry-ice fog frothing over the edges.

‘My gosh, this is over-the-top mum,’ he mused.

Chalice picked up the deceptively simple virtual reality headset. It was of a sleek gunmetal grey design.

“Wow,” he breathed, “she actually bought me the latest model, in advance.”

He examined it closely before tapping its side. A green holo-panel projected from the main frame containing precise instructions on its functions. Excitedly, Chalice slipped it over his eyes where it remained in place. He positioned himself comfortably on his bed before relaxing, arms by his sides while he immersed his mind into virtual reality.

“Enter, Fantasy,” he whispered before he felt himself being whisked away.

Unbeknownst to Chalice, his mother was peeking into his room and smiled as he found the surprise she had left him.

‘Ah, I’m too intrusive for my own good,’ she thought wryly.

She soon left him to his own devices and walked over to the main bedroom.

‘Now, to give him a bigger surprise. I’ll ensure that husband of mine joins in on the fun.’

She opened a bedside drawer and pulled out a similar headset before lying down.