'Home sweet home'

Four guys are walking down the street in a typical suburban neighborhood with school bags on their backs. Laughing and joking around they get to the corner of the block where they pause and get ready to go their separate ways.

"I thought math was never going to end today. I'm tired of learning about cosigns and tangents. To hell with geometry." Zach complains to the group.

"If you paid attention more instead of trying to sneak onto your phone most of the class, you would not have any issues with understanding the basics." Kevin ridicules Zach.

"That's why I have you guys to fall back on. If it weren't for you three, I would be failing big time." Zach says smugly.

"Not sure if a C- is actually passing or if you should be proud of it either," James comments with one eyebrow raised.

"Everyone was talking about Sanctuary Annihilation today, the pre-selection just opened up yesterday and it's already huge.

When I get home, the first thing I'll be doing is signing up my account and start the process." Nathan says to the group.

All of the guys' nod. They have a look of excitement as they discuss their plans.

"I'm glad Mr. Mariano gave us the heads up on how long the process takes. 500 questions... definitely not looking forward to completing that." Kevin adds.

James stretches out while saying, "Well it can't be helped. If the 500 questions are part of the process, we'll be doing it no matter what".

"We'll have to hope that all of us have what this secret algorithm is looking for to get selected. It would be amazing if we were all selected and able to dive together." Nathan says.

"Hell yeah!"

"Definitely!"

"Of course, we'll all get in."

"What kind of class will you play if you guys get in? Zach asks.

"From what I've read in the lore sections and from watching a few of the beta streams it looks like there aren't any traditional classes to choose from. I could be wrong though." Nathan says to the group.

"I noticed the same thing," Kevin says excitedly. "Every beta streamer's character started with 85 stats that they were able to assign to wherever they wanted. True customization."

The others could almost see the stars in Kevin's eyes as he dreams about the unlimited possibilities his character could have.

"Kevin the min-maxed maniac. You most definitely would have a blast with a no-class system. You could probably end up selling guides to people too." James gives Kevin a thumbs up.

"I remember that. A few of the streamers tried to act like those novels where the main character maxes out one stat. What an epic fail that turned out to be. The strength-only characters ended up getting one-shot by every single mob."

Zach laughs while ridiculing these types of players.

"Ha-ha, yeah, did you see the one who tried all dexterity saying they would be invincible because they would be able to dodge all attacks? They ended up only able to punch things, had no armor, and then was one-shotted by some random because their dodging skills were garbage."

All four of the guys start laughing while reminiscing of the different failed attempts at maxing only one or two attributes.

"Some type of balance is going to be key while playing towards your strengths. If Sanctuary Annihilation is like other FIVR games where players have growing stats, the actual player is going to have a factor in how they play along with the stats augmenting them." Nathan says.

The guys finish up their conversation and split up to go home. Zach and Nathan head east while Kevin and James head west.

While walking towards their houses Zach looks over at Nathan with a serious expression.

"About what I said this morning. I meant what I said. You're going to be ok right? If your uncle doesn't let you apply, you can come to my house to set it up."

Nathan walks a few more steps in silence before acknowledging what Zach said.

"Zach, you're my best friend and I appreciate you. Don't worry about me applying. That old bastard is probably out at the bar right now getting trashed. I'll set up my laptop and lock the door. He'll think I'm asleep and leave me be."

Zach nods his head, "If for any reason something happens, come to my house and we'll get you set up. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Zach waves to Nathan as he walks up to his house and enters.

Nathan continues to walk down the street until he arrives at a two-story home. In the front yard weeds can be seen growing here and there with some bare patches in the lawn. An old oak tree that towers above the house can be seen on the side of the yard. In the tree looks to be some old plywood of what appears to be an attempt at creating a treehouse.

The name "Emblemstar" is spray-painted on one of the pieces in black with some names written underneath it.

The siding of the house has a bit of discoloration, and a faint green of moss can be seen due to a lack of upkeep. The gray front door has paint chipping and the porch leading towards the door has more nails holding it together than it should.

Nathan walks into the house and is greeted by the smell of stale tobacco. In the family room next to a patchwork recliner can be seen a few open bottles of beer. Most empty, a few with cigarettes floating in the dregs at the bottom.

Nathan drops his school bag next to the closet and starts to clean up after his uncle. Walking into the kitchen the frying pan used to fry eggs for this morning's breakfast is still sitting on top of the stove with some egg caked onto the spatula.

The plates and coffee mugs are in the sink waiting to be cleaned.

Nathan lets out a sigh as he throws the old bottles into the trash and turns on the sink to start doing the dishes. After cleaning and drying the dishes, he puts them away.

Walking up to the refrigerator, Nathan opens it up to pull something out for dinner and sucks his teeth in disgust.

"This bastard did not go to the grocery store again and we have nothing to eat! I should have known better than to expect any less."

Inside the fridge is a half-gallon of milk with less than a mouthful left. A few bottles of beer, some condiments, and an old box of baking soda in the corner which should have been changed out.

Nathan whips out his phone and checks his bank account.

"I only have $24 left in my account. If I need to pay a fee for the pre-selection application, I won't be able to order any food for dinner…".

Nathan slams the fridge door in anger, walks, and grabs his bag. He heads up the stairs and goes down the hallway to the door down on the right which is his room.

Inside his room is a twin-size bed with nothing but a blanket and a pillow on it. A clothes basket in the corner is overfilled with a few socks and a pair of pants hanging off the side. Across from the bed is a small desk with a drawer and a small desk lamp on the corner. The walls have a few posters of past FIVR games. There are also a few pictures on the desk of him and his friends.

The one window in the room has blinds but no curtains and "Emblemstar" can be seen scratched on the windowsill.

Next to the window is a bookshelf filled with an assortment of manga and books. All the books look to have been read many times as some of the covers can be seen with crease marks on them.

Nathan reaches under his bed and pulls out his laptop. The back of the laptop is covered in different stickers from different FIVR games. In the middle is a big sticker with the Firestorm logo.

He turns the laptop on and looks up the website for Sanctuary Annihilation Online.

On the front of the website is the logo for Sanctuary Annihilation. Underneath is a banner showing the link for the pre-selection application.

Nathan clicks the link and does a quick read of what is necessary to complete the application.

"There it is, $5.00 to process the application. That will lead me to $19 left, I can get a cheesesteak, fries, and a drink from Seasons."

Nathan opens a new tab and quickly orders his food.

'I'll wait until I am done eating and then start working on the application so I will not be distracted.' He thinks to himself.

Nathan hops on his bed and pulls out his bag and begins to do his schoolwork. Around 25 minutes later he hears a knock on the door, and he runs down to grab his food.

Plopping the bag onto the desk, he pulls everything out and begins to eat.

'Nothing like "home, sweet home". I hope I get into this FIVR game so I can get out of this house and have something to call my own.'