Extra Ordinary

6.

"Esports? That's mostly something that's big in Asian countries, isn't it?" Dad asked at the breakfast table, dipping a biscuit in his tea while reading the paper. 

 I suppressed a deep sigh. "No," I replied. "There are also scholarships for it in western countries nowadays." 

"But you need to be really good for that, don't you?" Mom argued. "Win big tournaments on television. You can't be playing in your attic room and expecting to get one." 

"No, Mom," I agreed. "You can't."

I already regretted bringing up Esports as a counter argument against why gaming was always a waste of time, as my parents claimed. 

In my case, they might be right. Actually, they were right about one thing already: I wasn't going to get an Esport scholarship sitting in my attic room and not appearing in any major tournament. I was also more of a streamer, providing entertainment, than I was a real professional player. 

The real pros who won the big prices and got scholarships would chew me up and spit me out, while I didn't even know how these scholarships worked. 

I finished the last bite of my scrambled eggs - a classic Sunday breakfast at the Hill residence - and got up from the breakfast table. 

"Gabriel, why don't you go meet up with some friends today, hm?" Mom asked. "Go outside, take a walk, rather than sit in your room all day." 

Because I don't really have friends to hang out with outside of school, Mom -- it's strictly a lunch-buddies and online multiplayer games deal. Also, because going out and exercise is not a fix to every problem no matter what your Fitbit tells you.

"Don't think they have time today," I lied.

I ignored Mom's disappointed, worried frown aimed at me as I left the room. As long as she didn't come up to interrupt me while climbing the ladder in Double Singularity, I could handle the looks. 

And that's exactly what I did. I fired up my brand new game, and after zooming through a few single player campaign levels, I started my climb to the top. 

I briefly considered making a whole new account, rather than connecting it to my existing one. It had been compromised, after all. Damn Asa prying into things he had no business with. Just because he was cooler and more popular than me and everyone was lowkey terrified of him, didn't mean he get to disrespect my privacy like this. Not if I had a say in it. 

Unfortunately, I had absolutely no say in it. Asa had already seen it. He knew I was extra_ordinary online. 

To add insult to injury, the doorbell rang around noon. 

At first I figured it was just the neighbours coming over for a cup of coffee, a piece of my mom's lemon pie, and the latest neighbourhood gossip about Mrs. Taylor's failed boob job. 

Then my mom's cheerful voice rang out. "Gabriel! A friend of yours is here!"

Slowly taking out my earbuds, I glanced at the door. Friend? That was a lie. Randall nor Camilla or even Landon would come to my house.  

"It's Asa from your class!" 

I jumped up from my chair, bumping my head into the low, slanted attic ceiling above my desk. 

"Motherfu-" I swore under my breath, rubbing my head. 

"Gabriel!" Mom called out again, a tad more impatient. 

"Coming! Coming!" I replied. 

Not before pacing around my room for a few seconds longer, however, before finally deciding I didn't have any excuses ready to get me out of this situation. I had to admit defeat and trudge down the stairs.