The Dodgeball Sweetheart

Epi 2 Blindside Ball

Raven's sleepy baggy eyes sparkled with excitement as she gazed at her computer screen. She had been coding for hours, and finally, her game was starting to take shape. On the screen, she saw two characters - a boy on the left and a girl on the right. Instead of throwing dodgeballs, the boy was tossing hearts at the girl, who was giggling and blushing. Raven's hands flew to her cheeks as she smiled, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Just as she was about to celebrate, a voice behind her said, "Um, Raven? I think you might want to rethink this." Sarah, her project co-worker, was standing behind her, looking at the screen with a teasing expression. "I mean, I like the creativity and all, but we're making a dodgeball game, not a romance simulator."

Raven's face turned bright red as she quickly minimized the screen. "Oh, yeah! I know, I was just, uh, testing out some animations." She tried to play it cool, but Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Animations, huh? Well, maybe we should focus on making the actual gameplay then?" Sarah suggested, trying to hide a smile.

It had been weeks since the last time the team went for a party or a drink, they had been physically so drained and uptight for the game designing that some had even less appetite since they started. The game was going to be made any day but the bugs and fixes in the game stuck like the struggles in our daily lives.

For Raven, this game was solace, she didn't need to return home to occupy her empty walls, rather sit in the design studio for hours with study lights on her desk, her loneliness could only vanish through the tiring days spent in front of the computer screen.

Raven's eyes lit up as she excitedly shared her progress with the head of the game development team. "We're making great progress, sir! The game's mechanics are coming along smoothly, and I've even started working on some additional features to enhance player experience."

The head smiled, chuckling at Raven's enthusiasm. "Ah, My Nerdie Raven, you always were one for details. I think we're almost done with the game now. How about we all go for a team party to celebrate?"

Raven's face fell, her mind still focused on the game. "Party? But sir, there's still so much work to be done! I can't afford to take a break now."

The head laughed. "Come on, Raven! You deserve a break. Besides, it'll be good for team morale. We can discuss the details later."

As the team began making party plans, Raven's phone buzzed with another text from the unknown number. "Hey, Raven, it's KC. When are the promotions? Can we meet beforehand?"

Raven rolled her eyes, dismissing the message as spam. "Unknown number, probably a wrong contact. I'll deal with it later."

As the team headed out for the barbeque, Raven remained behind, her eyes fixed on her laptop screen. She was determined to fix the errors and meet the deadline, even if it meant missing out on the fun.

Meanwhile, at the barbeque, Sarah invited KC to join them, excitedly telling him about the team party. KC arrived, expecting to finally meet Raven, but his face fell when he didn't see her.

"Where's the designer of the game?" KC asked, looking around confused. "I thought she personally wanted me to promote her game?"

Sarah raised her hand, a sheepish grin on her face. "That's me, I mean, I'm Sarah. I personally wanted you on board. Well, Raven doesn't know yet, but she'll agree."

KC's face fell, his eyes widening in disappointment. "So, she didn't...?" he trailed off, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sarah nodded sympathetically. "Raven's been pretty busy with the game development. She didn't know about the promotion plans yet."