Chapter 12

It took several hours of discussion with my parents for them to understand how I'd earned a very expensive capsule gaming unit. For some reason, it took even longer to explain why I no longer needed a bed and why I couldn't just put the capsule in the garage.

"You play while you sleep," I repeated a third time. "I can't sleep in my bed and inside the capsule at the same time."

"And we can't put the capsule in the garage because why?"

"Do you want me to sleep in the garage with car fumes?" I asked in growing irritation. "And the garage is barely insulated! I'll die if the temperature drops suddenly."

We compromised by keeping my bed and moving out all the other furniture. By hanging up all my clothes—even my underwear and socks by using plastic bags—I could live without my dresser, but I wasn't too happy about losing my desk, my bookshelves, and my physical books.

My beautiful, wonderful books....

I felt like I was betraying every volume as I shelved them in their new garage home. It didn't matter if I read the stories on my tablet more often than I read the paper copies. These were some of my all-time favorites—those which I had to keep nearby in case of nuclear winter (bad snowstorm), an EMP attack (school field trip), or the zombie apocalypse (pandemic scare where my parents banned electronics in the name of family time).

My dad ruffled my hair in sympathy and my mom rolled her eyes over my dramatics.

Ironically, I was so exhausted that night—physically and mentally—I fell asleep on my bed without putting my headset on. It was the first time since getting Aetherscape that I slept without playing. I woke the next morning feeling groggy and confused.

I slogged into the living room to find my parents arguing over some news story while they drank their morning coffee.

"What's going on?" I asked around a yawn.

"It's nothing," my mom said. "They had a fluff piece about that game of yours on the morning news. Your father suggested we try getting our own headsets, but I was telling him we could just use yours since you won't be needing it anymore."

I felt relieved the matter was so easy to solve. "You're right. There's no reason to argue. Dad can try it tonight and you can try it tomorrow. If you decide to get another headset afterward, I won a gift card to the Lobby store. It won't cover the whole cost of a second headset, but it'll make it cheaper. If you need it, I can probably sell some of the stuff I got from the tournament to cover the rest."

My dad sighed and shook his head. "That stuff is yours to do what you want with it. I know I taught you to be frugal, but I'm not so tightfisted I can't afford to buy your mother a headset."

My mom scoffed playfully. "You better watch yourself, Mister. You're not the only one who makes money around here. Maybe I'll be the one buying you a headset."

I rolled my eyes and went to make myself a bowl of cereal since it didn't seem like we'd be having a sit-down breakfast. I barely had time to eat, shower, and change into clean clothes before my delivery arrived.

A pair of workers in matching uniforms carted the capsule inside like it was a refrigerator and unboxed it in my room.

It didn't take long to understand why they thought the aquatic-skinned capsule wouldn't sell. It was very eclectic. At the core, it was the same as any model. But with all the bells and whistles attached, it resembled a fantasy submersible. It wasn't even a futuristic fantasy submersible. It was more like a mid-century steampunk model made using rusted copper instead of brass or steel fittings.

The only thing magical about it was how they'd used Atlantean script to write the designation on the side.

Even so, I didn't feel a moment of disappointment. Regardless of how the outside looked, the inside worked the same. And having my own capsule was too exciting to feel anything else. There were still many of my classmates who didn't have a headset yet. For once, I'd jumped ahead of everyone!

Thank goodness for them, I wasn't the bragging type.

While one of the deliverymen quickly checked the room's outlets, the other one patiently answered all the questions my parents had. Hearing about all the safety, security, and eco-friendly features from another adult helped put them at ease faster than I could.

On their way out, I whispered 'thanks' to the man and he tipped his hat at me with a knowing smile. "It's fine. There's a reason the system has its own delivery and installation team. This isn't the first time I've had to calm someone's parents, although I do have to say yours are more relaxed than most. I suspect I'll be installing more capsules here within the next few years."

I didn't deny the possibility. My parents might not jump on bandwagons like a lot of people, but they could easily adapt to the technology that stuck around.

"Jay, come here a moment," my mom called before I could run in to test the new capsule. "We need to talk about ground rules."

I groaned internally, but I joined my parents in the dining room to negotiate.

My dad saw straight through my attempt at a poker face. "Don't sulk. We already talked about it and you're only a few months from turning eighteen. A few months after that, you'll be graduating. You've proven you can be responsible and you've even alleviated some of our concerns about your health by picking up a habit of exercising, therefore we won't restrict how you decide to use your new capsule as long as you keep it up and don't let your grades drop. We'll even remove the parental restrictions early."

"You guys are awesome!" I exclaimed.

My mom laughed. "You've earned it, which is why..." She glanced at my dad as if giving him a cue.

He grinned and slid an old-fashioned bank book across the table. "This is the information to your bank account. We set it up when you were a baby and we've been adding a little to it with every paycheck. It's not a million-dollar trust fund, but it should be enough to help you start your life as an adult—no matter what kind of life you choose. We won't push you in any direction. It's up to you whether you choose to join a university, technical college, workforce, military force, or some other direction we have never thought of. The only thing we really care about is you continue to grow as a happy and healthy man."

"We're giving this account to you now so you'll start thinking about your future," my mother continued. "Take a look at it and feel free to use it how you want, but we want you to remember it took your entire life for us to build this for you. Games are fun and they can be addictive, but this is a precious time for you. You need to start thinking seriously about what you want to do after you graduate."

I carefully opened the bank book.

[Checking... (xx10)... $500.00

Savings... ... (xx11)... $44,250.00]

Money had never felt so precious to me.