The lobby was loading around me and I squeezed my eyes tightly. I wasn’t ready to see the scoreboard, I was bracing myself.

Deep breath, T. You can do this!

My ears fill with a small smattering of applause and I open my eyes. Speedy Sue is on the winners podium but Marcus has stepped off his runner-up spot. I’m surprised she seems to have so many fans already, it's only round one. She’s signing autographs and posing for pictures. I’m not ready for that, I just want to read the scoreboard and drink a glass of water while I adjust to reality again.

I step off my podium and head to the nearest chair, an overstuffed purple couch. I pour myself a glass of water from the jug on the nearby table and breathe slowly- reading the score board:

SPEEDY SUE 1800 ★★★ MARCUS 580 ★★★★★ TINA 440 ★★★★★

Of course I was ranked third, but I was proud of my five star rating. There was a small plate of cookies on the table so I took one and surprisingly, I munched it down hard. I needed sugar!

I was in my own world of sugar and cookie goodness when I felt someone sit beside me. It was Marcus. He looked a little tired and I recognised his department shoulder bag. We go to the same university? How? I’d never seen him before.

“She’s something, isn’t she?”

Oh lovely. His first words to me and they’re about Speedy Sue.

“Sure is.”

Keep it short, be cool. Don’t get cookie on him. KEEP ALL THE FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH.

“Not surprised she’s got fans already, she seems like an intense competitor.”

Brilliant- talk to me MORE about Speedy Sue, I love it.

“Yeah”

“So… business systems? I’m in my fourth year… Design and Development.”

What do I say to that? Do I congratulate him for stalking me?

“Yeah, I was originally doing psychology, then I started to look into business a bit. It's interesting.”

Lame, lame, lame. Be interesting!

“I have no head for business. Grandfather paid for my entry in the game. It would be amazing to win, but… you know.” He tossed his head in Speedy Sue’s general direction. I get it, but he wouldn’t get much sympathy from me. He added, “Who paid your fee?”

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That was a slightly intimate question, right? It costs a lot of credit to go into any of the Fully Immersive Games, (F.I.G. 's) and KSK was a big one, it was fun, popular and had heaps of subscribers. He was looking at me like he expected an answer but I didn’t know what to say, it was like walking up to a total stranger and going, “Hey, so… I like the little yellow ducks on your socks..”

“Um, I’m gonna be honest. I don’t know who paid for it, ok? I woke up in it and it was awesome, and now… I’m here talking to you.”

He looked at me like I had sprouted a duck head.

Stop thinking about ducks!

“You don’t know who paid for it? For real? Woah.”

Well, you blew it. The one friend you could have made and you blew it. Good job, duck head.

Out of nowhere one of the Speedy Sue fan girls sat next to Marcus, took the last cookie (Rude much?) and said, “I got it! A player's lobby cookie!” Her friends made jealous sounds and one of them took a photo- then a man I recognised as security tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the door. Wow, what were the rules here? Fan-girling over Speedy Sue is like… totally allowed, but take a cookie and you’re out? The game is weird.

In that awkward moment, Marcus walked away. I brushed the cookie crumbs off my regular clothes and realised, I was expecting them to be damp. Had I not been attacked by a savage, red headed demon child and his flying latte? That DID happen…. But only in the game. It had felt so real, I could swear I still smelt like old milk.

I was checking my hair when a shadow fell over me and I saw Speedy Sue standing right in front of me. She was gorgeous. Like, ridiculously pretty. Her eyes were bright blueish greenish and she wore very distinctive earrings: big red hearts with a golden lightning bolt through them. It didn’t matter where her hair colour came from, it was a shade of red that screamed RED. Her lips were red, her tight crop top and mini skirt were a strange matching red plastic, like the wrapper of a chocolate bar. And she wore the world's coolest thigh-high boots, the same red plastic stuff.

She was simply the coolest, reddest, coolest thing ever, except she was sneering at me like I was dog poop she stepped in.

“Hi, I think you should just tap out early. You can get a refund for your entry in the game and buy clothes that are less….sad. You can totally join the Speedy Sue Fan Crew! Ok, sweetie? Bye!”

That was literally all she said, she didn’t wait for me to reply, she just tossed her incredible hair (RED, so RED!) and walked off back to her adoring fans, as if I was totally going to obey her. I was pretty insulted but I had no words at that point. So I blinked once or twice, then headed to the security guard and asked what the next step was. I noticed Marcus had gone somewhere too, clearly not wanting to hang around with Speedy Sue and the Dopey Crew. Was that funny or just mean? I don’t know. I kinda want to think a little and have a nap.

The guard lowered his sunglasses (Inside? Why?) and explained that the F.I.G. players were free to do whatever until the next round, which was not for two hours. He explained that if we lasted, the rounds would get further and further apart as the games got harder and harder, but in the early rounds, it was a lot more relaxed.

“What’s there to do? Can I just chill?” I asked naively. This was a long way away from my normally quiet life of studying and part time work. F.I.G. facilities are meant to be amazing but there was a lot that didn’t make it to streaming channels.

“There’s lots to do, just go through that door, show your tag and do whatever. No one is allowed in from the outside world, except in the lobby, at least in the first ten rounds. But they know that, it's ok.” He handed me a tag from his pocket, it was the size of a card, on a lanyard which I put around my neck. “Go explore.”

I really wanted to talk to my family so they’d know I was ok, but they knew the rules. They were probably watching me in the lobby right now. I wondered where the cameras were. As if he read my mind, the guard said, “You can choose what you want to broadcast. Look for the panel on the side of the room before you enter. If you hit private, the filter blurs you during the stream. Some players want viewers to see everything but honestly, it's up to you.”

I’d watched other F.I.G. games before, but K.S.K. was new and I hadn’t watched the first streamed game, so I had no idea what to do. Before this, I was busy with study and work, and now, out of nowhere, I was only doing ONE thing: trying to win.

I thanked the guard and left quietly. Time to explore the purpose-built gaming centre I would call home… for… no idea how long.