“What are we eating today?” asked Amelia, as she stepped into the kitchen.
“Leftovers,” answered Ricardo, taking the turkey out of the fridge.
“Hey, that's a whole raw turkey!”
“It's what's left from yesterday; therefore leftovers.”
Mom had called Amelia as soon as she left the bed, which was early by Christmas day standards. Luckily, she was already awake by that time. They had talked for a while, Amelia deciding to come to spend the day with them after that.
“Is it okay for you to not spend Christmas Day with your father?” asked Ricardo after putting the turkey inside the preheated oven.
“Yeah, he's probably relieved,” answered Amelia. “He must already be in the VR machine coordinating stuff or whatever.”
Ricardo didn't remember ever seeing the guy. He was out of Lima the majority of days, and unreasonably busy the rest of the time. Their maid was the one who used to pick up Amelia at school when she was younger.
“Did you talk to Minerva?” asked Ricardo, while putting a timer on his cellphone.
“For a bit,” answered Amelia, looking downwards. “She needs some time.”
“You know what's this all about, don't you?”
“I have an inkling, but she should be the one saying it.”
Having said that, they stood still for a moment, only the sound of the oven's fan in the background. Amelia fidgeted with her fingers; Ricardo took out his cellphone, looking up a recipe for later.
Mom and dad must be still in their room, dealing with the situation their own way. With Minerva indisposed in hers, Ricardo had been forced into host duties. He checked the time in his phone before taking out the vegetables. It was way too early to start making the salad, but it was at least something to do.
Amelia ended up helping Ricardo with the peeling and cutting. Working side by side, they kept themselves busy, so they didn't need to fill in the silence. At some time after they finished the salad, mom and dad came down the stairs and put a Christmas movie in the living room to wait for lunchtime.
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“The leftovers look really good,” said Amelia, helping set the table.
“They do, if I do say so myself,” said Ricardo, pushing the kitchen's door with his shoulder while carrying the turkey trey. The spicy bird's aroma had been filling the house since a couple of hours ago.
Mom and dad were already sitting at the dinning table. They had just checked on Minerva–she didn't want to come down yet, saying she wasn't hungry. They set the plate and cutlery for her anyway.
“Wow, we should take a photo,” said mom, nudging dad in the shoulder.
“Alright,” said dad, stepping back and taking the picture.
Thinking about it, it was the first Christmas photo of the year. Being done with that, they cut the turkey and began eating. It was really good. Was it the extra time in the marinade? Maybe they were just hungry.
About ten minutes into it, Amelia stood up and started filling Minerva's plate. Nobody said anything when she turned around and went upstairs.
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Even after they finished with the coffee, Amelia still wasn't back. They put on some music and made small talk, not wanting to clean the table yet.
“About vacations, what's the status of our reservations?” asked Ricardo.
“They are confirmed,” answered dad. “We still should be able to cancel them before Monday.”
“She's still in shock,” said mom. “By tomorrow she'll be better. She really wanted to make this trip.”
Indeed, Minerva was the one who proposed the trip in the first place. She was so excited at that time that all the family decided to do the impossible to make it reality.
“What's it about anyway?” asked Ricardo.
“Something happened in that game she's playing,” answered mom. “She didn't say much, and I didn't understand most of it.”
Ricardo felt like he was the one mostly in the dark through all the affair. Amelia didn't want to tell him; neither his mom. And asking Minerva directly was unthinkable. Maybe he deserved it, he hadn't been paying attention to them in a long while.
“Anyway, the plane tickets will be lost if we cancel,” said dad. “So we might just wait and see for the time being.”
“I'm sure that after a day of rest she'll feel better,” said mom. “The vacations will help distract her.”
“Yeah, we'll be able to make plenty of memories,” said Ricardo.
From there on, the conversation stayed around the vacation's topic. Ricardo talked about what he had found around Córdoba, telling them of the small towns along the sierra. They got excited again, thinking of the clothes they should bring, the food they could eat, and the souvenirs they would buy.
And then Amelia finally returned, uttering the words that put the last nail in the coffin: “We must cancel the trip.”
“Are you sure Minerva won't go?” asked mom, as if begging for a different outcome.
“She lost her reason for wanting this trip,” answered Amelia. “As things are right now, it's the last thing she would choose to do.”
“That, you should explain it to us,” said Ricardo.
“Alright, I'll tell you,” said Amelia, sighing. “What do you know about Virtual Connection?”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Isn't it about fighting monsters with swords and magic, finding treasures and leveling up?” said Ricardo.
Ricardo thought he knew very well what Virtual Connection–VC for short–was all about. Needless to say, most young people played it nowadays–including Sandro, his best friend.
It turned out he was completely wrong. VC wasn't a generic fantasy role playing game, it was a dating game.
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Minerva and Amelia had joined VC around a year ago, just after Christmas, a few weeks into the game's launch. Virtual Connection was a very pretty game, using the latest, state of the art, VR technology.
“We had played other VR games before; VC was in a whole other level,” said Amelia. “But it still was just a RPG.”
“You didn't use the dating features?” asked Ricardo.
“We ignored them,” said Amelia. “Until Valentine's Day.”
Valentine's Day, it was the most important event of the year for a dating game like that. The rewards had been too good to pass for the two teenage girls.
“From that point on, we started doing dungeon dates,” said Amelia.
“You two together?” asked mom.
“No, we couldn't,” answered Amelia. “We could only date someone of the opposite sex.”
“Really?” said Ricardo. “We're in the 2020's...”
“There is a way around it; it's in the process of creating a new character, though,” said Amelia. “Anyway, that's how we met Johnny.”
Johnny, that was the guy in the middle of everything. What kind of handle is 'Johnny' anyway? Is it like a John, but easier to approach?
“We leveled together a lot,” said Amelia. “The three of us made a good, balanced party.”
“That was around the time the school year started,” said mom, thoughtful.
“Yes, we both had joined Johnny's guild but, unlike me, Minerva went hardcore,” said Amelia.
Ricardo remembered how his sister would run to her room as soon as she returned home. He could barely see her those days; they would be together only for lunch on weekends.
“They soon hit it off as a couple,” said Amelia. “I stopped playing as much with them; I didn't want to be intrusive.”
“Were they dating? Like for real?” asked Ricardo.
“As real as it can be inside a VR game,” answered Amelia.
Minerva, his reclusive baby sister, had had a VR boyfriend for almost a year. And nobody noticed. Who knows who he's in real life; he could be a perverted old geezer for all that they knew. His parents were shocked, for saying the least. Ricardo was also, if he was to be honest.
That being said, there was still a piece missing in the puzzle.
“Johnny lives in Argentina.”
They had been talking for hours, but everything made sense now. The trip–as far as it concerned Minerva–was always about meeting her boyfriend. Now ex-boyfriend. Having heard that, dad sighed, going upstairs to cancel all the reservations.
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“Won't Minerva get mad at you?” asked Ricardo.
“Maybe a little,” said Amelia, half-smiling. “But I needed to say it for you to understand. She surely knows that.”
It was already late; mom had insisted for Ricardo to walk Amelia home, carrying the box of leftover turkey. They went at a slow pace, enjoying the breeze of the summer night.
“How's this Johnny like?” asked Ricardo.
“Well, he seemed like a fun guy. He's about your age, just a couple of years older than Minerva.”
“That's what he says.”
“I don't think he's a perverted old man, if that's what you're implying,” said Amelia, stopping in her tracks.
“How could you be sure?”
“He showed pictures, family pictures.”
“Those could be faked.”
“They could, but there's lots of successful couples who first met through VC,” said Amelia, raising her tone.
“That's just survival bias,” said Ricardo. “The lucky 1%, exposed as a successful, heartwarming story, as a marketing ploy. It's like the lottery ads, saying you also can be a millionaire.”
“You probably think of us as naive little girls who don't know anything. And maybe you're right,” said Amelia, straining her voice. “But Minerva at least gave it a chance. It's easy to not make mistakes if you never try.”
They walked the rest of the way in an uncomfortable silence, trying to not cross glances at each other.
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Ricardo returned home in a pensive mood. Was I really that ignorant? It was a very uncomfortable thought–but one he could fix. He started looking up general stuff on his own–calling Sandro would need to wait for tomorrow.
Once he had read some reviews and tutorials for Virtual Connection, he got into the VR machine and watched a few gameplay videos. Even with the output limitations, the game felt incredible. Having expected VC to be bad, like most 'freemium' games tended to be, Ricardo was utterly surprised.
And yeah, it was pretty much made for dating. There were daily 'Dungeon dates', a matchmaking system, and even a marriage system. If he didn't evade any conversation about gaming as the plague, he could have figured it out long ago.
He also got into the official VC forums, searching for anything in relation with Minerva or Johnny. That's how he managed to find the 'Torinelo City Workshops'–Johnny's guild–main page. He read the all their presentation for prospective new members–it was a mostly Latin American guild, active in Torinelo Starting City. As for guild size, they were small–around 50 active members–more about casual playing than hardcore leveling.
Ricardo clicked on the user Johnny334–no way there was another Johnny in the same guild–and looked at his posting history. There was nothing for the last few days. When he was going to open the latest one, the page suddenly refreshed.
Johnny had posted a guild-wide announcement.
Torinelo City Workshops' Speed Dating Club
Open all January!
Did you hear about the Virtual Connection Couple's Tournament?
Of course you did; everyone should be beaming with excitement. Or not; maybe you don't have a partner yet. If that's the case, don't worry! We are here to help.
The Speed Dating Club accepts sign ups from every single (in-game) member of the guild who wishes to find a partner for Dungeon Dating, the Couple's Tournament, or even for life.
How does it work: The speed dating rounds last around 6 minutes per person, in which you'll have the chance talk privately with prospective partners. After the time is up, you will mark if you are interested in dating that person. Next day you'll receive a private message with the names of your matches, so you can contact them and try exp dating, leisure dating or just going out for a coffee. It all depends on you!
And every week a lucky couple will get a free private date ticket from Guildmaster Wanora's stockpile!
When and where: Every Friday of January, from 8 to 9 pm TCT, at the private lounge of “The Grinning Flatfish” of Torinelo City.
The organizers are also participating!
For more information, PM: Johnny334 or Wanora009.
Ricardo was dumbfounded to say the least. He immediately searched up Virtual Connection Couple's Tournament.
It seemed like VC was going to have a big update soon, opening up a Player vs Player combat league. And the tournament was planned as the highlight for next year's Valentine's Event.
He paced in his room, trying to comprehend what transpired from Johnny's announcement. That he posted it hours after breaking up with Minerva was damning in itself, like he knew he was going to be single soon. Something didn't add up. And it bothered him.
The sketch of a plan was already being drawn in his head.