---------LEGEND---------
PLAYER/USERNAME
Amber/Davina
Grace/Lasair
-------------------------------
One of the things Xia had said to justify her passion for money was correct: Xia's computer was a problem; there was little that Amber could have done for her NexNet, she certainly didn't have the money or even the will to spend half her salary on a new set, but what she could do was try to get her a more modern computer. For the occasion she had involved Dave in an exploration mission of the city and the city landfills in search of computers that some company or family had decided to throw away.
Dave was one of the many childhood friend of hers and he was the living contradiction of the stereotype that all muscular boys are stupid and all skinny boys are intelligent: he had a physique worthy of Him-Man and at the same time worked as a repair technician and computer data recovery for a large company in Halifax. He had short, lacquered black hair and a mustache that made him look like a classic Mexican.
After rummaging through the garbage of a company that was doing some renovations inside its offices, Amber e Dave headed to a landfill. There, waiting for them, there was a giant bin big enough to walk on, it was crazy how many people threw away electronic stuff every year, and Amber highly doubted that all those computers were broken or completely useless!
“So what are we looking for here?” Amber asked as she tied her hair with a hair tie and rolled up her sleeves.
Dave snorted and took a look at the bin from the outside, “Look for computers that are similar, this way we are sure that the new computer I assemble will have all the compatible parts and if something else is needed to make it work the cost will be negligible.”
“At your orders, commander!” Amber exclaimed, clicking her low heels and saluting. He smirked at her.
Of course, rummaging was a boring and tiring practice, and if there was one thing Amber struggled to tolerate it was boredom. Dave was busy looking at pieces inside open cases and unscrewing parts using a small tool kit he had brought along for the purpose, Amber went back to grabbing and lifting old computers, humming with pursed lips and sighing heavily every now and then.
“Is it as quiet at your work as here?” Amber asked, trying to make conversation, the most effective method to defeat boredom.
“Yup,” he replied, “it's relaxing, it's you and the machine that you have to put back together, no noise, no distractions…”
“I wouldn't last twenty minutes.”
“This is why you have another job!” Dave laughed. “Speaking of work, who are we doing this for?”
“A new friend, one of the ones I do live shows with on YouPipe,” Amber explained, moving one of the computers to look at the ones it was covering with its mass, “she has an old computer that is unsuitable for competitive gaming.”
“Do you also know her offline?”
“M-mh!” Amber nodded a few times.
“And… how does she look like?”
She smiled slightly, “are you asking for yourself or for me?”
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“Why not both?” He shrugged.
“You know how I am: I love pretty things, and she's pretty,” Amber smiled softly, “I can't explain it, she gives me that 'I can fix her' vibe. She is not very tall, jet black hair, with vaguely oriental features.” Once Amber got out four computers, she climbed out of the bin and landed nimbly on her feet, “is this enough?”
Dave nodded looking at the computers and then at her, “yeah, I should be able to assemble something capable of running your video game smoothly in an afternoon... and an additional one hundred dollars.” He picked up two computers with his sinewy arms… Amber stared at him for a while, imagining touching all those muscles, “so are you going to do your move this time?”
"What?" Amber fluttered her eyelashes, as if she had been awakened from a trance, “ah no, no moves, I'm a dog chasing car wheels; I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it!” she giggled a bit.
Dave in the meantime had opened the trunk of his car and placed the two computers inside, “sometimes I don't understand you; You're a beautiful girl, why don't you find someone to really love?”
Amber retrieved one of the two remaining computers and carried it to the trunk, "I love too many things to love just one", she rubbed her hands to remove the dust once she got rid of that old computer, "I want to bring joy to everyone, I wouldn't be able to do it if I have to give half my attention to just one person.”
“Yeah, your idol thing”, seeing that Amber wasn't moving, Dave decided to recover the last remaining PC on his own, “how's the channel going?”
Amber smiled and winked, "we have already reached four hundred members and received the first donations!"
“Remember to write down some autographs for me, they will be worth a fortune in a few years!” Dave replied by giving her a few light shoulder pushes. The difference in muscle mass and size between her and him was such that, even with delicacy, he managed to shake her slightly.
“I definitely will! And maybe I'll even hire you as a bodyguard to keep the most annoying fans away!”
- - -
Grace had served herself food and taken a seat at the table for dinner, the whole family was gathered with her parents on the other side of the table and her sister sitting next to her. Faith didn't look much like Grace even though they were sisters: her hair was a softer red, auburn and straight, brown eyes and even though they were four years apart and she was still maturing she was already much more beautiful than Grace, nature had blessed her in every manner, intelligence and beauty. If Grace had quoted a video game character, she would have said that she was the one born with all the recessive genes, while Faith was the one born with all the dominant genes.
The study of genetics had made great strides since that video game was produced, without a doubt.
Grace was on her second bite when her father started speaking, “We should talk about your school performance, Grace.”
She put her fork on the plate, "y-yes", Grace put her hand together with the other under the table and bowed her head.
“your grades are once again, albeit unsurprisingly, below our expectations,” her father put down his fork so he could drink some wine, “this is unacceptable, not just because of the expense of money that you are causing to the family, but also to its own prestige.”
“I'm sorry”, Grace had nothing else to say, they were right, her ineptitude had no excuse. Not even Xia was able to raise her grades to the point of excellence.
“Our family can trace its origins back to the first Scottish settlers who arrived in Canada, we're among the most prestigious families in Nova Scotia. Why can't you be like your sister and honor our roots?”
“Great job with your grades, by the way,” Grace's mother said to Faith. She had a radiant smile, she was so proud of her second daughter you could almost see it, “top of the class again!”
"Thanks Mom!" Faith exclaimed, giggling, “but really, it's nothing special… it's so easy!”
“Not so easy, evidently,” their mom's eyes focused on Grace.
“I-I'll try harder.”
“Maybe it's the case, it's not possible that the only thing you're capable of doing is waving a stick,” Grace's mother shook her head in resignation and shrugged her shoulders, “but seriously, when in your life will you ever have to give a beating to someone?”
“It's a shinai, not a stick,” Grace muttered so softly that she almost struggled to hear herself. Maybe Grace said it so quietly that she only imagined she was saying it because her mother looked at her as if she hadn't said anything, waiting to hear what her defense was for finding practicing kendo fun.
“Forgive me dear, I didn't hear you… did you say something?”
“I…” Grace bowed her head “N-no. I didn't say anything."
After a few minutes Grace ended up withdrawing from any conversation at the table, she was retreating into her personal world, imagining herself already connected to LotA together with Genevieve and the others. Everything was so simple and happy in that world, no parents, no problems, no worries or fears... only issues with an easy and painless way to fix them.