All My Mother's Rules

Chapter 17: Milk and Cookies

As soon as Fortnite loaded on my computer, I got a pop-up message. A friend request? Probably some random person I'd played against recently. I went over to the screen where I could reject it. Seeing that notification continue to sit there was going to annoy me.

LisasuarasRex. That's who had sent me the friend request. Wait. I couldn't recall noticing Lisa's username during the tryout, but this was too much of a coincidence for it not to be her. I added her as a friend. A chat pop-up from Lisa opened almost instantly.

LisasuarasRex: Sarah????
Dragongirl27972: Yep
LisasuarasRex: good, this is lisa
LisasuarasRex: wasnt sure i remembered your username right
LisasuarasRex: all those numbers
LisasuarasRex: u up for duos?
Dragongirl27972: sure!!
LisasuarasRex: ive been practicing making runs to the grotto this weekend
LisasaurasRex: u could join
Dragongirl27972: seems risky
LisasaurasRex: not really
LisasaurasRex: loots worth it too
LisasaurasRex: easiest way to get a sniper rifle
LisasaurasRex: just follow and youll be fine

I saw a notification that Lisa had invited me to party up with her. I accepted it and clicked a button to indicate that I was ready to start the game. I'd forgotten to ask if Lisa had a microphone herself. We wouldn't be able to type to each other once the game got underway.

"Testing. Testing. Testing," I said into the microphone as soon as soon as the game loaded to the waiting area.

"Here."

I checked the route the bus was going to take over the island. Good, it was on the opposite side of the map from The Grotto. We'd probably be the only ones heading over to that location. Lisa pinged a spot on the map for where we were going.

"Best entrance to The Grotto is through the water passage from the ocean," she said.

Lisa must have spent all weekend playing. Once our characters had jumped into a telephone booth to get disguised as the AI henchmen patrolling the area, Lisa led us to every chest of items in the hideout. In just a couple minutes, we were stocked up on every weapon we'd need for the rest of the game.

I was just along for the ride. Lisa notched six kills, and I got two assists as we easily dispatched the first three teams we came against. In no time at all, it was just us and one other team remaining out of the fifty two-persons teams that had started in the winner-take-all game to begin with.

Building was one of the things I didn't do well in Fortnite. I get the buttons for it all jumbled up, building ramps instead of walls, and vice versa. And I wasn't even going to attempt to edit things I'd already built. Lisa threw out a fort for both of us in a matter of seconds, building higher and higher into the sky. We now had a clear view of our two remaining opponents. Lisa took the first shot with her sniper rifle. One down. One to go. I zoomed in with my scope and tracked the remaining player. And bam. I got him. First place.

"Woo hoo!" I shouted enthusiastically into the microphone. "We won!"

Lisa wasn't as enthused as me. I suppose she wins often enough that it wasn't too exciting.

"Potty time, Sarah," Mom yelled at me from the bathroom.

I winced at the announcement, making me glad I wasn't video chatting with Lisa. I didn't know how good my microphone was at picking up sound, but if Lisa heard anything, she didn't say so. I muted my microphone so I could reply to Mom.

"I'll be there in a second."

"You'll be there right now, young lady."

"I've got to run," I said to Lisa, as I turned the microphone back on. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."