Gaming-addicted Samara has big plans for her 20's, to be reincarnated into a fantasy world... or to get a job.
Sucks for Sam, because the person who gets reincarnated in this story is Remy, an elven girl from a land where magic is mundane and human...
Somewhere in the Human City of Ûr, a girl is passed out on the seat of a train car.
UNKNOWN VOICE: "Samara?!"
SAMARA (a 20-something-year-old woman with a ponytail) lifts the hood of her oversized sweatshirt. It's hard for her to discern who it is. It must be due to the influence of all the cheap alcohol.
SAMARA: "Huh?"
UNKNOWN VOICE: "It's me, Claire!"
Sam rubs her eyes. She can finally see Claire. Claire is a well-dressed yuppie who can be yanked off the street of any large metropolitan area.
Overcome with relief, Sam rushes up from her seat to embrace her old friend.
SAMARA: "OH MY GOD! I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!!"
Claire recoils with disgust.
CLAIRE: "UGH! YOU STINK!"
Claire gently shoves Sam off of her. Sam wobbles and falls against a handrail. Both balance and coherent speech are quite the tasks.
SAMARA: "S-Sorry. I didn't shower yesterday..."
CLAIRE: "It has to be more than just yesterday."
Samara gets a little defensive.
SAMARA: "How would you know that?"
CLAIRE: "You managed to get your own 'Business Class' seating on the train."
SAMARA: "Huh?"
Claire gestures behind Sam. There is a massive crowd of PASSENGERS who are pressed shoulder-to-shoulder. They nevertheless kept quite a bit of distance from our heroine.
SAMARA: "No, no. They're avoiding me because I yelled at them."
CLAIRE: "For what?"
SAMARA: "Disturbing my sleep... hey, what time is it?"
CLAIRE: "It's 6."
Samara snaps out of her fatigue.
SAMARA: "6?! I had an interview at 4?!"
CLAIRE: "...in the morning?"
SAMARA: "No, in the afternoon. Why would it be in the morning?!"
CLAIRE: "Because it's 6 AM right now?"
Sam goes quiet and averts her friend's gaze. Her sense of shame is palpable.
CLAIRE: "Tell me... is everything okay?"
SAMARA: "Yeah, I'm just in between jobs... and places to stay. I'll be back on my feet in no time."
Claire frowns.
CLAIRE: "That's not the entire truth, is it?"
SAMARA: "N-no."
Sam tears up a little bit.
SAMARA: "No it's not."
CLAIRE: "What happened to your roommate? The one who thinks she's a leprechaun or...?"
SAMARA: "She's gone."
CLAIRE: "Gone?"
Samara hesitates to answer for a moment.
SAMARA: "Just... gone."
The train slowly screeches to a stop, and the doors open. Passengers begin to depart, leaving them both to stew in awkward silence. Not hearing any sort of follow-up, Claire shoulders her leather purse to disembark with the rest of the commuters.
CLAIRE: "Well... this is my stop. I wish you the best of- "
SAMARA: "Wait, don't leave."
CLAIRE: "Sorry, Sam, but I really need to go to work. I'm actually running late-"
Sam grabs Claire's arm. Her friend freezes in place.
SAMARA: "Please."
Claire looks at her friend with pity. Sam's grip remains firm.
Claire sighs and acquieses.
CLAIRE: "Why... don't you tell me what happened?"
Sam chuckles nervously. The dam holding back all of the exhaustion and heartache groans from the collective stress of its load.
SAMARA: "I don't even know where to start."
CLAIRE: "Why not at the beginning?"
Claire sits down next to Samara, pinching her nose closed.
The subway doors close.
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