Virtual Reality ✔

Jasper and the Wildcards

We hadn't won, but that was okay. There were plenty more games to play, and I found out that we would win by points; I also learned that towards the end of the competition, the games are worth more. Don't get me wrong, though, we would have to win sometime. If we always got second place, the other teams would have a gigantic lead on us. If we didn't worry soon about winning, we'd be stressed later. But right then I wasn't concerned. If other teams underestimated us, maybe they'd go easy on us in later games.

That's why I hadn't stopped Victoria from her rage. Her fists were clenched and she gave the winning team an envious stare. She wasn't acting out, yet, so I wasn't worried. I knew she wouldn't agree if I'd told her why she shouldn't have been upset. Our logic was different, she wanted results now while I was worried about our performance for later.

Suddenly, Duncan put his hand on my shoulder. I spun around in surprise and he began gently tugging me towards the leaderboard. "Come on, let's scout out the other teams," he whispered in my ear. He sounded mischievous but his smile told me it was a joke.

"Alright," I said without thinking. It hadn't occurred to me, until after we were already there, that I could have invited our other teammates to see the leaderboard. Honestly, they saw us leaving the group. I figured if they really wanted to join they could have. Besides, it was the same as the first day; only instead of competitors, they had listed teams. The teams were sorted by number and letter, though as our scores were put into the system the teams became jumbled.

"Who do you think we're playing next?" Duncan asked, staring with great admiration at the leaderboard. To him, I bet, the board represented his future.

"Don't know, I hope we don't have to play those jerks again," I commented. They had won again, but I was sure we'd win against a different team.

"Which jerks?" Duncan asked, I noticed in my peripheral that he was now looking at me. Not wanting to be rude, I looked back to him.

"D3. Mostly that guy, but they're all rude in my opinion," I explained.

Duncan crossed his arms over his chest, smiling down at me as if he knew something I didn't. "The guy? Do you mean the bad sport?" he asked. I thought back to the guy, it occurred to me that all I could really remember from then was a black head of hair, and getting pushed to the side as he walked by.

"Yeah, him," I replied. I would admit, my memory of him was limited. I came to the conclusion that he'd decided he hadn't liked that I'd killed him, or so that's what I assumed. He was one of only two people on his team that ran out of lives, which would explain why he was so bitter towards me after the game was over.

"Have you heard the rumors about him yet?" His eyes told me that he was eager to talk about it, but he kept his composure. I, on the other hand, hadn't wanted to talk about anything unless it was fact.

"No, and I choose not to believe things unless confirmed by the source itself. But go ahead and gossip," I told him. He barely let me finish before he started talking again, and I couldn't help but smile at him in amusement.

"Rumor has it that his contract is different than ours. That he's one of the few who were a wildcard, and the only reason they were chosen was because they agreed to cause drama," he said, voice full of intrigue. He stared at me intensely as if that alone could convince me it was true. People who were selected as wildcards weren't the best, but had shown potential. I originally thought they were just trying to give noobs a chance, and that maybe they'd learn from the rest of us. Nevertheless, the true reason for the wildcards were never revealed. I couldn't pick out those who weren't as good as the rest of us, so my theory had very little to back it.

"I would have thought the people in charge would condemn pointless drama. It would distract the players and some people might get hurt," I thought aloud.