CHAPTER 3

The last bell rang and instead of heading home like most people I went straight to the second floor of our school building. Our club room wasn't in the computer lab like most people would assume. The teacher that was sponsoring us had a storage room in a sense and let us use it. It was a little smaller than a computer lab but it had enough room for what we needed, and wanted.

There were about six computers in the room that the school gave us. They weren't anything crazy but they could handle the games we competed in against the other schools. There was also a tv and throughout the years other members provided an xbox and ps4. Recently our leader bought a switch for the group since super smash bros was about to join the list of games the schools competed in. Everyone brought their own games but sometimes the club would get together and buy games for the whole group. Behind all the competitions we still used this as a way to hang out. Lucky for us the teacher didn't mind and even enjoyed it. To be honest, he was kind of lonely.

The teacher in charge of us is Mr. Rogers. He was in charge of a small group of honor students so he was the most laid back. His room had a couple large tables with seats that barely took up the room due to his students being able to just do what they wanted for classes. He had no need for desks and whatnot. Besides that he had a couch and an area for food and drinks. Whatever his students brought they could have.

By the time I got to the classroom connected to the club room, the leader was already in there chatting with Mr. Rogers. Another member who I didn't really know was in the actual club room playing something on the tv. If I remember correctly her name was Sarah and all she really did was sit there and play something on her gaming laptop that she brought from home. She was a part of Mr. Rogers class even though she was a freshman. From what I heard she didn't have the best life at home so she joined this club mainly as a getaway. She was still pretty good though.

I set my bag down in the corner I usually set it in and sat next to our leader, Ashley. She was the kind of person who looked like a cheerleader and even acted like one just a bit. She had blonde hair and a fit body that seemed like she was in gymnastics. Her attitude was always positive and her enthusiasm was unbearable. But for a leader she was determined and right for the job. It just seemed odd she was so into video games.

She got to a stopping point in her conversation and looked at me.

"Hey Jessica. Andrew will be a little late so it's just us today."

It was a small club but we had enough members not only to stay but to compete as well. But with spring coming up and our name getting more out there, we're expecting new people to join next semester.

Right after she said that though Ian came in and leaned up against the wall.

"Forgetting about me already? How cruel Ashley."

I looked at him and was actually surprised he came. He tended to be all bark and no bite so it was an odd sight. And yet it felt nice to see he kept his word.

"Glad you could show up, Ian," Ashley said as she jumped off the table she was sitting on. She tripped a bit in the process but was still able to stay upright.

"Alright, shall we head in there?"

Mr. Roger got up and grabbed his satchel.

"I'll leave you guys to it. Don't stay too late."

We all nodded our heads as if to let him know we understood. He then awkwardly walked out leaving us alone. You're usually supposed to stay with the students during club meetings but Mr. Rogers trusted us. Ashley even had a key not only to the club room but the classroom as well. A copy at least. Besides with how few of us there were it just didn't seem necessary for him to have to stay.

We all walked into the club room and sat at our usual places.

"Oh my god, Jessy-"

"Don't call me that," I interrupted. Ashley stared at me with her mouth open for a couple seconds before continuing.

"Anyway, last night I finally beat that boss in dark souls 3 you were stuck on."

"Oh cool. How long did it take?"

"I'm not 100% sure but I think that it was my best fight yet in any of the games I've played."

I looked at her with a bit of a sarcastic face, raising an eyebrow.

"What about the final boss of that one game you binged through a couple months ago? What was it? One of the Final Fantasies, right?"

She started nodding her head as if it would help her remember and then snapped her finger.

"You're right, I remember that. That was an amazing fight. Three minutes top."

We started laughing remembering the moment she just murdered the last boss without hesitating.

Ian rolled his eyes but there was still a bit of a smile on his face.

"For a couple of girls, you guys are really weird."

"Too bad you're stuck with us," Ashley said as she signed into the computer she was sitting in front of.

Ian shrugged his shoulders and then brought out his phone as he got comfortable in a chair next to me.

"So what are we doing? I mean, I know I showed up but I would like to keep this to a minimum," Ian complained. I nudged his arm leaning into it a bit.

"Aw, you know you love coming here."

He quickly put down his phone and grabbed mine that was sitting on the table. He then raised it up making it too far for me to reach.

"Hey! Give that back!"

I leaned over to try and reach it better. I was practically on top of him at this point. He laughed and I could feel his chest shake as he did. I started to stand so I could actually reach my phone only to slip and really be on top of him. Luckily Ian was quick enough to catch me so I wouldn't fall all the way to the floor.

Trying my best not to be embarrassed I grabbed my phone and sat back down in my seat. I folded my arms and stuck out my tongue.

Ashley cleared her throat as if to get our attention and then motioned toward the calendar up in the room.

"We have a couple weeks until the last game. It's to determine the winner of this season so why not just play around in the game to sharpen our skills? There's no such thing as too much practice."

"That sounds like a good idea," I answered, straightening myself up.

We both looked at Ian as he just sat there staring into space.

"Are you going to join us, Ian?" Ashley asked as she set up the game. Her words brought him back to reality and he sat up.

"I can just do this at home."

He got up and started heading out.

"I'll join you guys in like thirty minutes."

And just like that he left. I got up at grabbed a bottle of water from the area where all the snacks and whatnot were kept in Mr. Rogers' room and looked at my phone. It was a little after 4. I slowly walked back to my seat clearing through notifications. Once I sat down I looked at Ashley as she looked at me. We sat in silence for a minute before she turned over and looked at Sarah.

"Hey Sarah, do you mind joining us?"

She looked up from her laptop and pulled off her headphones.

"Why not," is all she said before slipping her headphones back on.

I gave Ashley a small smile and she took a deep breath.

"Okay. Games up and running. I sent you guys a request."

I looked at my screen and saw a notification pop up.

"All right, I'm in," I said, clicking on it. Ashley and Sarah were already in the lobby. After a few minutes I saw another name pop up and knew it was Ian.

Ashley reached over and put on her headphones. I followed and got comfortable.

"All right. Let's at least practice some combo moves. After that we'll do team matches and so on and so forth."

I nodded my head and the next thing I knew, the game was loading. I shifted a bit and watched the timer count down.

Begin.