"It's your fault that Post died!" shouted Mark.
And he angrily hit the table and kicked the wall.
"No, it was your crazy plan, Slight! We should have played as usual." A calm voice in Mark's headphones disagreed.
"Your mechanics are shit, Daveee you should not be captain."
Mark was on defense. But after he said it, he heard a ping
noting that someone left the conversation. Then another.
That's so usual when I mention that I'm the best and should be captain they ignore me, thought Mark.
"Shut up, Slight! Next time, we play as usual." Post ended it. Then came another ping. He disconnected.
Mark just thought that if Post set his pings as a human, he would not die.
He mutes me and then dies because of it.
Mark stared for a few seconds on the window with the client of the Game. It showed that the team bombed. One more loss, and they lose their division. They will not get to the tournament and will need to pay more for future releases.
By all the statistics, Mark was the best player on the team, he was playing the most, and he cared about wins. At least he was showing it. Why don't they respect him? One against one, Mark would win every time.
He closed the client and looked on social. There flashed some messages, but they were only ads, or nearly ads. Mark was not in the mood for funny videos, so he scrolled past them. Then there was Ariel's video. It was titled "I had fun cooking" she had nice lingerie, and in the middle of the video, she stopped cooking and used the kitchen equipment for something else.
Mark reached for the VR set and napkins. "I'm not in the mood for Ariel.
She is always the same."
Yes, he was still shaking with rage after the Game.
He closed a few ads, sighted about the video's resolution,
and after a few minutes, he found something satisfying.
After ten minutes, Mark went to the kitchen.
"Mum, where's my snack?"
He got some shake
and cookies, homemade, they were real. He smirked. His teammates live in basic apartments.
His mother has a flat from the time she and dad still worked. It's enormous, at least compared to the basic.
He can live there for free.
The only condition mum gives him is that he stays in class 3 in exercising. It takes him just 30 minutes
every other day. It's a bargain, and his mother sometimes bakes. She uses much more sugar than
he would be able to buy otherwise. Perfect deal.
Mark looked at his watches. Alert. He should exercise today. Damn.
He was sweating a bit, but his watches cut short his routine sooner than he expected. The Game was exhausting today, and he was angry. Maybe his wristwatch classified that as an exercise. Now just weight. 97.7, he looks at his virtual card. Mark, 31 years old, his healthcare comfortably in class 3. Nothing extraordinary.
In his room, Mark writes to Ariel and complains about today's Game.
"I got a great plan,
but my teammates are stupid morons. They should make me the captain".
Hopefully, she will have time for one of her honeys. After a few minutes, a message appears.
"Yes, they should make you their captain. You deserve it. You care about the team more than
they."
"I don't care about my team. I would rather join Frozen wolves. They are two divisions up."
"I'm better than Klutch, but he got into the team just because he is a friend with others."
"Darling, it makes me sad when they hurt you."
"Yes, I will beat Daveee and Klutch too. Both of them, I will break their hands so they cannot play."
"Calm down, honey. Here is a photo just for you."
It was a nice photo, but Mark was not stunned. He thought about it.
"I'm with Ariel for almost two years already. Maybe there is a time for a change."
The subscription got a bit higher. The production quality of her videos too, but Mark
liked them a bit more homemade. She felt a bit more real then. Some of her early posts
Were unexpected. He had to think about them. Not now. Everything was good, just a good feeling,
no rough edges.
So many people want to be with her. She has a lot of followers. On one early meetup, she had even time to speak with Mark. It was just a few sentences, but she knew his name. Now, everything is artificial. Even her responses are a bit canned. Of course, she cannot respond to everything herself, her team helps, but it's bland.
"She is getting old, 23. I stuck with her a bit longer than with
anyone else."
With that, he opened the folder titled "girlfriends" and started
browsing pictures. Next few weeks, he will spend a bit more money.
He will not cancel Ariel's subscription until he has a suitable replacement.
And he will need to schedule some meetup dates.
"She will need to play Game, but cannot be better than I'm. Ariel never played.
Also, she will like the Muzzle. Hot band that Ariel never mentioned"
Mark smiled to himself and started a new game.
In the middle of the Game Mark's watches buzzed. He ignored them. Just slight slack in concentration might cost him the match.
Then Mark started another game and then another. It was almost 2 am when he
looked at his messages.
"Message from Ariel, why? It was the day before yesterday when she started the conversation.
It does not happen often."
Mark was puzzled.
The message has not said too much: "Do you have time? I need to ask you something".
Mark was surprised. Usually, when he looked for a new girlfriend, the old one
tried to make it better. She offered a bit extra, cared a bit more before the breakup.
Now, he just thought about breaking up with Ariel. Is it possible that they would know even that?
Mark replied OK and then went to the toilet and thought if there are still some cookies left and whether he should take a shower or ditch it for today.
After a few minutes, Mark was munching on the remaining cookie and watching a video when
Ariel replied. "Can we call?".
It startled Mark. It was unusual, which means that this
is Ariel herself. She will not just read a summary. It is real.
Mark excitedly moved the table such that he could sit in front of the white wall.
He has not cleaned for some time. It was a mess, even by his standards. He tried three of his favorite
filters and settled for the grey one that made his face thinner with visible bones.
"I can call now." He typed and hit send.
In a few seconds, he heard Ariel's ringtone and clicked to accept the call.
He has surprised by what he saw:
her makeup was a bit off. Her blond hair just in an ugly bun,
and it looked like she was crying before. Now she looked even more like a little girl.
But she started with a firm voice: "Hi Mark, I have an offer for you. I broke up with my boyfriend,
and he hurt me. Now, I want to hurt him."
Mark recalled her last boyfriend, not a honey, like he is, but an one on one boyfriend.
It was official, but it has not lasted long. It never does.
Posts with Greg were mostly in nature and around the world. Mark liked them. He hadn't traveled for a long time.
They are better if there is an actual guy.
"You meant Greg?" asked Mark.
Ariel paused," not Greg. I was dating Adam, not officially, of course."
"Which Adam?"
Mark thought about Adam that Ariel knows, but from her socials, he cannot recall anyone.
"Umm, he was at last two meetups." Replied Ariel.
Mark slightly nodded.
He was not there, but he was ashamed about that, so he wanted to pretend
he attended and then watch the replay.
"I want you to take his dog. I liked Fluffy. He mistreats her. He does not deserve her."
Ariel fixed her hair and brushed her hand around her eye as she would dry a teardrop.
Mark had no opinion about this. He might help if she tells him what to do.
"You know, if you do it, I will have sex with you."
Too many thoughts came to Mark's mind. The first was: that it would be awesome. Mark was a virgin. Nothing unusual among his friends. He would liked it, but then he had seen Ariel's boyfriends. He would be so much worse. He does not even know how to do it. After all thoughts raced through his head, one remained. It was anxiety. Ariel hesitated. It showed in her face that the reaction was different than she expected.
Mark fell silent. Ariel continued.
"Adam has some deal to advertise some shakes. If you break the deal, I'll make you official."
"What?" asked Mark.
"You would be my official boyfriend for, let's say, two weeks."
"Wow, that would be perfect. I'll do everything," said Mark.
"Message me on Friday at 11. We will discuss your ideas. Bye."
Ariel closed the call and disappeared.
After the call, Mark could not fall asleep. He imagined his future. He will be a boyfriend, then an ex-boyfriend. His friends would envy him so much. Maybe they would respect him more. Or maybe, he can get to a better team. Everyone would love to have Ariel's boyfriend on the team.