Warren had slept later than normal Saturday morning.
Every inch of his body was sore. On top of school the team had been practicing
together, three hours a night, every night. He kind of hated Kelly and Gordon for
already being in the kind of shape that made combat practice not a shock to
their entire system. Technarious sent them home Friday evening and told them
that baring the appearance of any monsters or on set of catastrophes they were
free for the weekend. Warren didn’t know if his decision had anything to do
with Warren’s tournament or not but Warren had already notified what little fan
base he had that the tournament on Saturday would be his last. He refused to
call it retirement, choosing to calling it a leave of absence instead. Everyone
else had either been forced to forgo their afterschool hobbies due to the ship
crashing into the school or chosen to give them up for the greater good and
unity of the team, and so it was only fair that he set his gaming career aside
for the time being.
He head meant to catch the first bus to the mall but
snoozed his alarm for over an hour. The first game of his tournament wasn’t
until the early afternoon, so all he was missing was some extra practice time.
He spent long enough in the kitchen to grab a pack of toaster pastries, made
his way to the front door of his parents place, shouldered his bag and slid his
feet into his over sized shoes. He made the bus stop just in time, flashed his
monthly pass and slid into the furthest bench in the back. He was the only
person on the bus and it was a long ride to the mall, the sun peeking out from
behind the clouds was lulling him back to sleep. He put his headphones on and
pulled music up on his phone.
QQPewpew was lit up like normal. Arthur was leaned
over his counter like always, still playing his game. The faded black eye was
the only remnant of Hexa’s attack on the mall. It also was an unwelcome
reminder that Warrens new job was all too real and that his, their sacrifice mattered.
Arthur looked up from his Game as Warren entered the
shop. “Hey Warren, you’re later than I was expecting. I already got you booted
up in back.” He gestured to the back of the shop where he had set Warren up the
week before. Warren walked to the back of the shop, set his bag down and
dropped down in front of the computer, popped his knuckles and logged into the
server. He had enough time before his match for at least two practice games
possibly three if he stuck to his strategies and didn’t come up against another
pacifist player in the quick game pool.
His first game had gone well, He made some reactionary
economic decisions that drew the game out a little longer than he would have
liked but ultimately he secured the win quickly and without purchasing a single
combat unit. He pulled a water bottle from his bag as he waited for the quick
game pool to find him another opponent and looked up at the front of the store
where Arthur was showing a Father and his young son to a chair. Arthur set the
TV in their section to the coverage of the Movers and Shakers tournament which
was streaming online. He had never listened to the coverage of any of the
tournaments he was in. He had studied his opponent’s games with the audio off
on YouTube to figure out ways around their plans and strategies. He had never
heard the announcers voices and it threw him for a momentary loop when he heard
them talk about his record so far for the season and that this tournament would
be the last of his career for a while.
Arthur came into the back of the store and knelt next
to Warren’s table. “Hey, I know you are about to play, and this is your last
tournament and all, but if it wouldn’t bother you too much, you have two fans
up front who are here to watch your last tournament, they come in from time to
time and I Thought it might be fun for them and honestly good for you to have a
reminder of why you’re doing,” Arthur paused. “What you’re doing.” He finished
off, and Warren knew he wasn’t talking about leaving the game.
Warren looked out at the Father and son sitting in a
two person recliner together, they were watching
replays and highlights of
games from earlier in the day. Warren Nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He stood up.
“You
know I’ve never actually met any of my fans in person?” Warren asked.
Arthur shook his head. “Yeah, you have.” He said
simply and went back to the counter. Warren followed him out to the shop and
introduced himself to the father and son. He knelt next to the kids side of the
recliner, signed his Uneven Bubbler hat and they talked about the game until
just before his first match started.
As far as last days went, it wasn’t so bad.
