Kit woke the next morning and moved his mattress against the wall, so they would have space for the capsule installation. He then went into the lounge area to see if Kat was awake, on entering the lounge he came across a familiar sight. Kat was sitting on the couch, although she was the wrong way up. She had her legs resting on the back of the couch with her feet dancing in the air, reading a manga while sucking on a pink lollipop.

Kat was 3 years older than him, but sometimes Kit felt she was the younger one, like right now. Kat pulled the lollypop out of her mouth and with a loud pop.

“Little Kitty you are finally awake I thought you would have been up at the crack of dawn. Worrying about your beautiful sister’s snacks. “

“…”

When Kit didn’t reply, Kat made a pouting face.

“Little Kitty I have a gift for you today, you have to promise to take it with you.”

Kit gave his sister a wary look, every time she had a gift for him it had something to do with her latest manga obsession. She was always trying to convert him to be a die-hard fan, like she was.

‘I will be uncontactable for a while. I suppose she will worry, so I hope this gift is not too out there. I still remember the time she brought me a female out fit to wear to one of the café theme nights. I don’t know how she convinced me to attend wearing the female costume, it was a bright pink dress with white stockings. I still remember the embarrassment and the itchy feeling from the scratchy wig.’

After that incident, Kit was on guard every time she mentioned a gift. He knew he would still accept it though. Kit sighed.

“Ok I promise.”

Kat swung her legs down and sat the right way up. A little squeal escaped her mouth. Her eyes lit up and she started bouncing on the seat in her excitement. She reached down next to the well-loved couch and grabbed a paper bag with a small anime character printed on the top right corner.

She handed the bag to Kit. He reached out with reluctance, he could already tell this was an anime gift just from the logo on the bag. Kat really was a terrible gift giver, she had no clue about thinking what the other person would like. Kit could never be mad about this though, because she was always so enthusiastic about giving a gift. At least she loved him enough to give him one.

Kit opened the bag, inside was a leather bracelet braided together with pink, blue and white strips. The pink was coated in a glimmering sheen, the blue was covered in clear sparkling stones and the white was plain. ‘Flying cabbages, what kind of bracelet is this. At least if I wear it in the capsule no one will see it on me.’

Kit pulled the bracelet out of the bag, “Thanks …, um it looks nice.”

Kit gave his sister what he hoped was a happy face. Kat burst out laughing, her shoulders started to shake, her eyes were moist and Kit’s ears were greeted with the tinkling sounds from her laughter. “I knew you would not like it, but it’s a good luck charm so it’s important you wear it when you enter the game.”

Kat helped him put the bracelet on. It fit his wrist snuggly, “Kat, they didn’t have a less dazzling one for sale?”

“They did, I liked this one though.”

Kat had an evil glint in her eyes. She knew that she would get away with the gift and he would not refuse. She may look like an innocent young lady, but she had an evil streak in her personality that would appear from time to time.

“…..”

Kit gave her a sour look.

“I don’t know if I have time to make any snacks before the installation company get here.” Kit replied in a spiteful tone.

Kats face went from gleeful to pleading, in the blink of an eye.

“Little Kitty you would not do that to your adorable sister who loves you to the moon and back would you.” Kat clung to his arm and gave him an imploring look.

“Who is adorable?”

“Kit, Kitty, my wonderful little brother, sister was wrong. She just wanted to have a little joke. It really is a good luck charm though. I saved for quite some time to get it, I even got it blessed.”

Kit started to feel bad, he knew she meant well. “Of course I’ll make you some snacks, and I do like the bracelet.”

Kat gave him a tight hug then pushed him towards the kitchen. “I’ll watch as you make some snacks.”

Kat chatted to him as he was making her snacks.

“Want to go over your plan for CAL again before you log in?”

“It’s ok, I’ve got it.”

“Come on, tell me one more time.” Kit gave him an encouraging smile.

“Pick one of the epic names I have come up with. Choose a swordsman class. Open a restaurant to feed Kat. Easy, see.”

“For someone that spent so long coming up with a plan, you just made it sound like you put no effort into it.” Kat chuckled at him.

Kit ignored her and finished packing up the snacks he had just made. She had enough food to feed two people for the time he would be unreachable. Kit knew her build was deceptive she could eat her way through twice her body weight if she was motivated. After he put together the last container of snacks, a knock was heard at the door.

Kat ran over to the door before Kit could even react, she flung open the door to a man standing in black overalls with a bright blue CAL written on the chest. He handed over some identification and a clipboard with some documentation.

“Kit, you need to sign this before they can bring in the gaming capsule.” Kat walked the clipboard over to him.

Kit looked at the paperwork and all the excitement from yesterday returned, his hand started to shake, and he had trouble holding the pen. His heart felt like it would break out of his chest, he could feel it thumping fast. Kit took a deep breath and tried to steady his hand. He looked at the documents in front of him, but he wasn’t able to read what was there.

“Kat, I need a little help.” Kit whispered.

He had trouble controlling his emotions if they were too intense. This was a side effect after the trauma of his father’s accident. They knew today would produce an intense reaction and he would have little hiccups.

He did not want the man in the overalls to see his reaction. He did not want to deal with outside interference today. Kat looked at his shaking hands, she blocked his hands from the sight of the man in the doorway and looked down at the papers in front of him.

“Kit I will read this over, I’m older and will understand things better.” Kat said in a loud haughty voice so the man could overhear. She winked at Kit.

“Thank you, Kat,” whispered Kit.

Kat read through the documentation then pointed out where Kit had to sign. Once he was finished, she handed the paperwork back to the man waiting in the doorway. He walked back out the door to retrieve the capsule, now that the permission was given.

“Kit, we need some breakfast. Go and make something while they install the gaming capsule.” Kit was thankful for the distraction. He was so nervous right now. A five-year wait would send anyone into a nervous wreck.

Kit was starting to make some scrambled eggs, as a large wooden crate was wrestled through the door on top of a hand trolley. A second technician had joined to help juggle the large crate, the two men in black overalls finally got the crate inside the small lounge area. Another problem immediately became apparent, there was no space to get the crate past the couch into Kit’s bedroom.

Kit stopped what he was doing and walked over to the small couch, he slid it over to the corner of the room then lifted the base up so the couch sat on its side on the arm of the couch. This opened enough room for the men to be able to get the crate into Kit’s room.

The men wrestled the crate once again through the door, they stopped in the middle of the bedroom, there was just enough room for them to open the box. They started to busy themselves with the task of unboxing the gaming capsule.

As Kit watched, his heart started to accelerate, his breathing increased and he was starting to feel dizzy, he went back into the kitchen to distract himself with making breakfast.

Kit realised over time that the kitchen was his happy place. It could distract him from his overwhelming thoughts, and stop them from spiralling out of control into a dark place that was hard for him to get out of.

The kitchen had been a happy place for him before his father died and he was glad it was still a place he enjoyed. He could enjoy fond memories of his father when he was in the kitchen, it was the only time he allowed himself to do so.

He had made the mistake of thinking he could reflect about his father anytime because he did so well with his memories in the kitchen. Kit had had a bad experience at school while remembering his father. He reminisced about his father coming to a parent teacher night and praising him to all the other parents. He had been so embarrassed at the time and had gotten teased the next day from his peers. It was a memory at the time he wanted to forget. Now looking back, it was a reminder how much his father had loved him.

But those thoughts of love soon went down the dark hole of despair when he realised he would never hear his father praise him to other people again. The crushing feeling in his chest returned, along with the feelings of loneliness and despair. He felt his emotions surge forth with dread, how was he supposed to go on without his father there to support him. Self-loathing and thoughts of worthlessness swirled around inside his head. He could hear his mother in his head telling him it was all his fault.

He shut himself down so he didn’t spiral even deeper, his teachers had found him sitting staring at a wall. He was taken to the hospital once again, the doctors decided that along with the medications he was currently taking, they also wanted him to start therapy. Luckily, the school had funding for him to see a psychologist.

After that Kit decided he would only think of his father in his safe place, that was over a year and a half ago. In his safe place his emotions were easy to control, just like now. He was starting to calm his breathing, his heart rate had slowed and the feelings of being dizzy disappeared.

Kit’s thoughts were only on the breakfast he was making. He would work through the steps in his head and think about how he could improve the meal even more. By the time Kit finished making breakfast he was calm, he called Kat to eat breakfast. She had been watching the installation of the gaming capsule while he was cooking.

“Little Kitty this smells great, even the workmen were smelling the air.”

Kit had made scrambled eggs on toast with a hollandaise sauce and a side of bacon. It was Kat’s favourite breakfast, Kit figured he should make it for her because she wouldn’t have it for a while.

“They will be done by the time we have finished breakfast.” Kat gave Kit a huge grin, then tucked into her meal.

Kit distracted himself with the flavours entering his mouth, he didn’t want to think about the gaming capsule until the installation was complete. Kit collected the plates after they had finished eating and washed the dishes. He then made a cup of coffee and lent against the counter, the technicians walked out of his room. One had the broken crate parts on the hand trolley, he headed out the door, the other approached him.

“I must go through some basics with you then it will be all yours. First, I’ll explain how to log in. The glass covering of the gaming capsule is also a computer screen. To activate it you must place your palm flat against any part of the glass. Make sure only one person is touching the glass for the activation process. Follow the prompts the gaming capsule gives you for successful log in.”

“The game will automatically log you off if you try to stay inside the game longer than the five days real time. It will give you a game day warning that time is almost up. Game time is three times that of real time, one hour in reality equals three hours in game time.”

“For trouble shooting outside of the game there is a yellow button you can press, or, if the gaming capsule is not working for any reason a phone number and website address is printed on the side of the capsule. In game there is a tab that will open, and you can interact with support through it.”

“You’re all ready to go, the next supply of nutrients will arrive in seven days. You will receive a supply weekly until your subscription is over. You don’t have to worry about installation, when you receive the supply of nutrients the technician will swap them over for you.”

“Do you have any questions?”

Kits mind was intentionally blank so he could keep his emotions under control, due to this he had no questions. He shook his head.

“Ok then, I am all done. Thank you for purchasing CAL, enjoy your game play.” The man smiled, then left.

Kit took a deep breath and glanced at Kat, he put the couch back in its original place and walked towards his room. He glanced backwards, Kat was following “Don’t worry, I would not miss this for the world.”

Kat smiled and followed him into the room. Kit was greeted with a sleek smooth silver capsule with a glass dome. The silver was so shiny Kit could see Kat and himself in the surface of the metal. It was just a little bigger than his old single bed, he would be able to lie comfortably inside the gaming capsule.

On the side of the shiny metal in big bold blue letters was Create A Legend. Kit felt excited and nervous at the sight of the gaming capsule. ‘It’s finally here. Dad, I’m going to do it.’

Kit’s thoughts shifted to the time his father had made him a promise to join him in game after he had completed high school. Kit felt a pang of sadness, he brushed it aside, his father would want him to succeed.

Kit felt his palms start to sweat, he had a tingling feeling spread over his body, he felt a warmth in his chest. A huge smile spread across his face ‘Looks like I found another happy place.’ Kit could feel a fine tremor spread across his body from his excitement.

This chaotic swirling of emotions was different from what he was used to. He recognised it was a good feeling, he was happy, excited and anxious all at once. Apart from yesterday I can’t remember the last time I was this happy. It was a strange feeling to realise being happy was out of the ordinary for him.

Kit brought his focus back to the gaming capsule he took three steps closer to the silver device and placed his hand on the glass covering so he could peer inside. Kit could see blue lights flickering under his hand. A voice that reminded him of a raspy old lady that had smoked to many cigarettes in her lifetime came from the speakers on the side. “Please do not remove your hand while registration is in progress.”

Kit almost removed his hand in fright, he was not expecting to initiate registration. He only meant to look inside for now. He kept his hand in place by a cat’s whisker.

“Scanning retina. Please keep your eyes open.”

The blue light flashed out and could be seen covering his face. Kit kept his eyes open, after a few seconds his eyes started to water, and he developed a twitch in his left eye.

“Scan complete.”

“Player please state your name and age.”

“Kit Vintage, 18 years old.”

“Please wait while we complete registration.”

Blue lights started to flash all over the glass dome, once the lights settled a number was displayed on the glass in bold blue, 7,987,655,434. The voice from the speakers repeated the number on the screen, “Registration number 7,987,655,434 assigned to Kit Vintage, 18 years old.”

Kit kept expecting to hear a drag from a cigarette due to the voice, it was a little funny. Kit removed his hand from the glass now that registration was complete.

“Place hand on the glass to open capsule, lie down and wait for the glass to shut to start login process.”

Kit glanced at Kat, he was not ready to login yet. His nervousness had gripped him, now that the time had arrived to start, his tremors started to increase, and he started to hyperventilate. “Kit it’s alright, come to the kitchen.”

Kat wrapped her small hand around his and walked him to the kitchen, she moved his hands towards the kettle. Muscle memory took over and he started to complete the task. He switched on the kettle and removed two cups from the cupboard. He filled the cups with instant coffee, poured the boiling water in and added a dash of milk to each cup.

Kit was back to himself after completing the task. “Thanks Kat, don’t worry it was not bad thoughts, it was just my nerves, I think I’m a little overwhelmed with excitement.” Kit gave Kat a reassuring smile.

Kat became an overprotective mother hen when she thought he was in a bad space. Kit thought if he didn’t explain himself, she wouldn’t let him complete the login process today.

“It’s ok, my little Kitty we expected hiccups. If you get nervous in game, rub your bracelet. Don’t forget, ok?”

Kit was a little curious now about the bracelet, ‘Does this come over to game play with me?’ Kit’s curiosity got the better of him and he asked Kat.

“Yep, cool right. It also has a special function, but I won’t tell you that, it’s a surprise. There is a chip in the bracelet so it will follow you over into the game. This way I will also feel like you’re taking a piece of me with you.”

“Pfft, Kat, you are so weird sometimes. I will literally still be in the same building as you. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Kit had a little chuckle at Kat’s silly behaviour.

“You laugh but it will make me feel better. I’ll seriously miss your face.” Kat squeezed his face causing his lips to pop out making a fish face.

“Haha, this makes you look more handsome.” Kit pushed her hands away and gave her a half attempt at a glare.

“Ok I feel better now, I think I should login before I get the physical effects of my nervousness again.”

“Good plan, but it’s ok if it doesn’t work.”

Kit put his cup in the sink. He felt ready to start an adventure in a new world. He recentred himself with a breath, then headed back into his room with Kat close on his tail. His eyes landed on the sleek silver capsule. He could feel the excitement starting to bubble. This time there was also a sense of anticipation.