Memory

4 - The Impostor Among Us

"Hey everyone. I would like all of us to try out this game that got popular recently called Among Us. You can have up to 10 people on a game at each time; 2 will be impostors, and they have to try to kill the rest of us. For the people who aren't the impostors, called crewmates, they have to figure out who the impostors are while trying to complete tasks. Who all is in?" Memory added 7 of her friends to a group message on Discord and messaged them.

It had been a while since she had a full-on conversation with any of her friends. Two and a half months had already gone by since quarantine started. No one knew what to talk about, so no one called or texted. Memory hoped that playing this game would help bring everyone back together.

For a while, no one answered. Memory kept trying to tell herself that it was fine, that maybe they were busy doing something or eating lunch. Still, it kind of hurt that no one responded. It was almost 6 o'clock when she got a response from Devin.

"That sounds like a great idea, Memory! I'm in!"

It was Devin who convinced the others to join in. For once, Memory did not have to be the ray of sunshine. It was all Devin, and she was thankful for that.

After a long conversation, they all agreed to play the next night at 8 o'clock. Memory was ecstatic. Finally, she would be able to talk to her friends again. It felt like it had been forever. The extroverted part of her wanted to be around her friends and hang out with them all the time. On the other hand, the introverted side was glad that she was not constantly around her friends. Quarantine was exhausting.

Memory was too excited to sit still the next day. She began pacing her room, watching the clock on the wall. Taking a nap was out of the question; she had way too much energy. To try to calm herself down, she decided to play Call of Duty. Surprisingly, it worked.

Daddy noticed her excitement at dinner that evening. He had been sleeping most of the day because he worked nights. Mom worked during the day as a manager for MidFirst Bank.

"What are you so excited about?" Daddy asked when they sat down at the dinner table.

"My friends and I are getting together tonight to play a game. I haven't talked to a lot of them since school ended back in March. I can't believe it's already the end of May," Memory's excitement faded at the thought. Almost three months had gone by.

Daddy stayed silent as if he did not know what to say. In the background, Memory could hear the news, but she lost herself in thought. She fantasized about messing around with her friends at lunch and innocently flirting with Derrick. At the thought of her friend, she smiled. Then, she tried to shake the thought away.

Between dinner and 8 o'clock seemed to take longer than the rest of the day. She laid down on her bed and daydreamed about school. Memory missed school because she missed her friends. Hanging out with her friends and messing with them was what she missed most. Sitting at the lunch table, laughing at the stories they shared or being supportive if one of them was going through something.

Then, she thought of Derrick. How he was going through so much with his parents fighting all the time and how down he sounded on their call. It broke her heart to know what her friend was struggling with. She could only imagine how much hurt covered his green eyes that day. Memory hoped that playing Among Us with their group of friends would help Derrick be happy.

Finally, 8 o'clock came around, and that meant it was time to call everyone.

"Hey, suckers! What's up?" Ian's voice came through Memory's headset.

"Ian! Oh, how I have missed your voice," came the voice of Maya.

Everyone laughed. To Memory, it sounded like they had not laughed in a long time. Quarantine hit everyone pretty hard, especially for the kids and teenagers. Among them were the extroverts and social butterflies that took it the hardest.

After about 30 minutes of talking with her friends, they started their game. Memory and Devin were the imposters first but failed terribly at it. They got caught in the first two meetings.

Next up were Zac and Teagan. Of course, since Teagan thought it would be funny, Memory was killed first. Almost soon after that was Derrick, killed by Zac. They sat in silence for most of the round because the imposters did not kill anyone else. A scheme, concocted by Devin most likely.

"So, Derrick," Memory started awkwardly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. You?" Derrick responded.

"I'm doing okay."

Memory looked down at the floor, trying to think of something to say. She wanted so badly to talk to him like they used to. To flirt innocently again with him. He seemed so down and out of it lately. Worry for him was always at the back of her mind.