Eric Lamarque:

"I still love you, Marco" The beautiful woman declared.

"No! No, Gina. It's over between us." With a look of pain, Marco turned away.

"I can't accept that! Don't you remember how happy we were? How hot the nights were?" Gina intoned.

"You were the one that left. You turned you're back on us..." Marco brokenly answered.

"I made a mistake. It's all in the past now." Gina said softly.

Marco slowly turned towards Gina.

"Damn you, Marco. Stay strong! She doesn't deserve you!" I roared to the TV.

Sigh. What am I doing getting bent out of shape with Marco and Gina's escapade in That Mad and the Beautiful.

It has been 2 week since the "INCIDENT" happened, and I'm still having trouble coming to grips with it.

I can still remember Nadine's words. How she looked while publicly dumping me. How she just turned away.

Countless scenarios flashed before me through the days.

Me saying something something cheesy making her stay:

"Don't go! I love you! We'll make beautiful babies together! I'll do anything, just don't go!" I would plead.

"Oh, Eric. I was just waiting for those words. Hold me baby! Let's never be apart again!" She would then run to my arms.

Or maybe, an edgier me:

"Eric, I'm breaking up with you."

"You're breaking up with me??? NO! I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU!"

What about something classic:

"Eric, I'm breaking up with you."

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

With a dramatic flair I would turn around and walk away.

Sigh... Sadly those will forever stay locked inside my head.

Thinking back through the week. I was just going through the motions.

Everyday, I wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, go home and zone out in front of the TV.

And that's where I am right now. Watching soaps.

"Don't you dare give in Marco! Be a man!" On the edge of my seat, my eyes intently waiting for the next scene.

"Gina..." the screen goes black.

"What the hell!!!" I turned around and saw my sister holding the remote.

"I was watching that!" Glaring at her.

"Eric. I can't take this anymore. I hate seeing you like this. Mom and dad are getting worried too." She started. "All you do is go to school and watch TV! You don't go out anymore, you don't touch your computer, and I heard you're even spacing out in school."

I was silent. I understand what she's saying.

Hell, I hate seeing me like this too.

"Look Jacquie, I know what you're saying. And I agree with you, just give me some time." I tried to placate her.

She stood there staring at me. She sighed.

"Look bro, I know how you feel, but..."

"No you don't!" I cut her off immediately. I stood up. For the first time in days, I felt something aside from numbness.

"How can you?!? The girl I thought loved just broke my heart! That hurt, but I can accept that. But that she did it it in the most public way possible. Can you just imagine how small I feel right now? People stare at me whenever I pass by. They talk behind my back. All they see when they look at me is a loser! And all my "friends" just keep saying, they know how I feel as if saying that would help. As a matter of fact it doesn't!"

"I'm really sorry bro." She said in a small voice. Her lower lip was starting to tremble.

Damn, I know that look.

I quickly went over to her and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry squirt, I shouldn't take my frustrations out on you."

"S'okay. [Sniff] You're not angry at me right?"

Now I'm really starting to feel guilty.

"[Sigh] Of course not. I was just acting out my frustrations. Its not fair to you. I just feel so helpless. Ever since Nadene... I feel like I lost something, and it's making it difficult for me to talk to people." I tried to explain.

"What do you mean?" My sister asked.

"I don't really know myself. It's just when I see the people around me, even my friends, I feel a sense of insecurity. I know, psycho mode" trying to lighten the mood.

"Boiling that bitch in oil is too good for her. Seriously bro, this isn't good for you"

"Yeah, psycho Eric is bad. Sigh...Right now I wish I can be someone else. Somewhere different." Wonder if the feds still have witness protection program?

My sister froze up.

"What if you could?" She looked up at me and asked.

"Well... I'd have to witness a crime or something." I answered. Wait, did she just read my mind?

She grabbed my head with a growl.

"Focus Eric! I meant, what if you could be someone else."

"What do you mean?"

"Transcend! You can be anyone there." She is now glowing.

"The game? C'mon squirt it's just a game. I have tons of games on my hard drive."

"It's not just a game. You don't move your mouse or controller to walk, to fight or to cast magic, you just do it yourself. It's a completely different world. Think about it. It's like starting a new life!" She was now grinning like a maniac.

She was looking at me intently. I've played a lot of RPG's in the past, so I was intrigued by the concept. And the thought of playing in a virtual environment is almost akin to entering a new reality. Thinking about it more, it might not be a bad idea after all but...

"And how much did yours cost?" I tentatively asked.

"$3500! I got a discount for being one of the 1st hundred people who bought the unit. Hehehe." She was proudly tittering.

"$3500! What the hell! That's discounted?!?" Way to burst my bubble kid. Thinking of my finances, I probably have a couple bucks stashed somewhere, but definitely not enough.

"Look, unless you have a couple of thousands lying about... Where am I gonna get the cash to get the hardware. It don't think it grows on trees"

"You can ask..."

"And no! I'm not gonna ask mom and dad for it." I interposed quickly.

She was subdued only for a moment. Then a dangerous gleam entered her eyes.

"How much money do you have?" She asked.

Thinking a bit.

"I guess about $900, give or take." I hesitantly answered. "Why?"

"Hehehe. A friend of mine was actually selling a unit. I think he said one of the older ones but still can be used with T:O. I think we can get it for $1000."

I really don't trust that smile. I know I'll regret asking but...

"And why is your friend selling it for that price?"

She suddenly took a keen interest on the lampshade behind me. I just waited for her answer.

Finally she looked at me disgustedly.

"Fine! It's actually a friend of a friend deals." She answered.

"And....???" I urged her to continue.

" I think he said it fell from a truck." Jaquie gushed out.

"You mean it's stolen!" I exploded.

"You are sooo paranoid. It might really have fallen of a truck, you know." She defended

"We can get in a lot of trouble with this. If mom and dad found..."

"Look, do you want it or not?" She cut me off my tirade.

Decision time. On one hand we could be buying a possibly stolen product or worse something defective, but on the other hand it might be just some guy selling a product with mundane reasons and wanting to spice up his story a bit.

Arggghhh... Why am I even thinking about this.

It was really a no brainer. I don't know why whoever this was is selling his unit and at the moment I don't care. What I know is that I don't wanna stay here moping and avoiding people everyday. At least if I bought it, it might give some different perspective or even a measure of peace. And you know what? That's enough for me.

"Let's do it!"

****************************************************************************************************

I spent my days researching about Transcend: Online. There wasn't a lot of information as it was still basically a new game.

Bugging Jacquie yielded no results.

She was tight-lipped about it, saying she doesn't want to spoil the experience for me.

Sigh. I didn't have a choice but to search for some info online. I got some basic info from it's wiki page. Not a lot, but enough to spur my imagination.

Basically it was a typical fantasy MMORPG. You get to choose your race from the 4 basic races. You can choose different kinds of jobs or classes by looking for a master.

Right now the known jobs are just your basic vanilla set, knight, mage, ranger, priest, and merchant. According to the developers there are tons of jobs out there you just need to find them.

Hmmmm... Should I be a knight? I close my eyes.

I can see myself already.

Decked in light armor, holding my trusty sword in my hand, rushing towards my enemies.

I thrust my sword through one. Instant death! Kicking the corpse to free my sword. I swung high, decapitating another. Not waiting to complete the motion, I delivered a kick to the belly of another, taking a moment to regain my balance, I then drove my blade through its skull. I raised my head looking for my next target...

"Mr. Lamarque!"

"Huh." I started. I looked up and saw my teacher glaring at me.

Uh-oh. I forgot I was in class.

"Did you have a nice nap?" His voice dripping with sarcasm. "Apparently, my lesson isn't scintillating enough for you."

"Of course not sir!" I quickly rebutted. Then thinking about it. " Err... I mean it was or..."

" If that's the case, please get out of the room and stand in the hallway!"

I thought of giving an excuse, but looking at man, I doubt he's inclined to listen.

Mr. Homer Cole, or as we call him, Hammer Cole. The biggest pain in the neck in our school. Seems He doesn't like anything made in this century, extremely old fashioned.

I silently put my things away and went out.

Now, where was I? Swordsman, huh? Maybe something else...

How about a mage? Harnessing the power of the elements. Materializing balls of fire and ice and throwing them at Eddy Fustenberg's head blowing it up. I'm sure it'd be an improvement.

I smiled at that idea. Feels good to smile.

"Hey, you."

I turned towards the voice. Still holding my smile.

"Hey, Lyla." My smile froze a bit.

"You're looking better." She beamed at me.

I don't know why, but I suddenly started feeling a bit nervous.

"Thanks." I tried to think of anything else to say, but coming out blank.

"Uh... You're looking good too." I lamely offered.

"Thanks." She was looking at me expectantly.

C'mon brain, think of something to say!

"I...ah... Uhm..." Thank you brain for being so articulate!

Yeah, I think being sarcastic to yourself is probably a bad sign.

Lyla was starting to look at me strangely.

"Well, nice talking. See you later." With a pat to my arm, she sauntered off.

Awkward much?

I looked at her back as she walked away.

I felt strange. I never had trouble talking to Lyla before, she was very easy to talk to. But today, seems like the switch is off and nobody's home inside my head.

Before I could analyze this, I was shoved back to the wall.

"Hey, Twerp!" Edi said with a sneer.

Sigh, and today was going so nicely.

"Seems like you never learn. Seeing as you're always on the student top list, I thought you were smarter than this. Let me help you understand. I'll speak slowly."

He pointed a finger at me,

"STAY. AWAY. FROM. LYLA." He punctuated each word with a stab to my chest. "Just saving you the heartache, Romeo. She's out of your league."

And with that, he turned away.

Geez... As if I didn't know that already.

I walked away as well. Choosing to just forget about it. I have more important places to be.

[Ring, ring]

I looked at my phone. Jaquie!

"Hey, squirt, what's up?"

"Attention, agent Lemarque, the mission is a go! I repeat, the mission is a go!"

"Huh?"

"Mission brief will be sent via a secured channel. Good luck agent!"

[Click]

Did mom drop her on her head when she was a baby?

**************************************************************************

Damn! I was running late. I was supposed to meet Jacquie 15 minutes ago in a cafe nearby.

Okay, no biggie. It's just around the corner.

I entered the cafe. I looked around for Jacquie. I don't see her.

Where is she? She wouldn't just go home, right?

I walked around trying to find a vacant table.

[Psssttt..]

Huh? I looked back. Trying to see if I recognize anybody. Nada.

"Over here!"

I turned towards the voice.

What the...

"Jacquie???"

"You're late!" She sharply said.

"What are you wearing?" I couldn't help but ask.

She was wearing a tan trench coat with a fedora hat complete with dark glasses.

"Oh, this? Well duh... This is so I'm not inconspicuous. Sit down already and do try to blend in." She said as if explaining to an idiot.

With a mental face palm, I sat myself down.

"Okay, so where's this friend of yours?" I asked.

"He'll be here, he already sent me a message."

We waited another 5 minutes before a thin man sat down across from us.

"You the buyer? You got the cash with you?" He asked.

He was nervously looking around.

"Lemme see the goods and I'll show you the green." My sister said in a low voice. She's plainly enjoying being in character too much.

"Huh?"

"She meant, we would like to see the unit." I explained.

Thin man put a battered box on the table and opened it.

Inside is the VitaGear helmet, but unlike anything I've seen before.

The helmet was blue-green all over. It has a transparent visor. The design was very minimalist almost incomplete. There wasn't even a logo of the company.

"Hey, you're not trying to con us, are you?" I lift an eyebrow.

"None of that sir. This is genuine, bonafide VitaGear helmet. Probably an older model, but tried and tested. You can check if you want,"

I put on the helmet and turned it on.

Welcome to VitaGear

Please wait as we configure VitaGear

...

Searching for network

Please wait...

Updates available...

Initializing...

Downloading updates

Please wait...

Flashing ROM

Please wait...

Dumping bios...

Please wait

Integrating with OS version 2.0.0

Please wait...

Integration successful

Registering VitaGear Prime

VitaGear Prime? First time I've heard about it. It seems it's compatible with the updates for the VitaGear 2.0. Probably a legacy model that's compatible across the board.

I turned it off and removed the helmet.

I looked at the thin guy again. He really does seem nervous.

"We'll take it." I finallly said.

Jacquie handed over a brown envelope.

"Remember, if there's anything else do not contact us, we will contact you." I'm kinda lost with how Jacquie's mind work.

Oh, well.

We watched the guy slink out of the cafe, occasionally looking around.

"That is one weird guy." The weirdo beside me said.

We immediately went home with our booty.