Team Blue

1 ; 00404

     Bright guitar flooded my ears as I jumped from platform to platform. I landed on each obstacle perfectly on top of the beat. The climax was approaching, and if I was honest in that moment, I didn't think I would make it past that point. Nevertheless, I pushed myself further, knowing that thousands of people were watching live.

     "You are my little utopia..." I whispered to the chorus right before the climax reached.

     The bass hit.

     The course began rotating around and flashing lights obstructed my vision. I let my body move from memory and I continued to leap forward. After ten seconds, I found myself becoming almost unbearably dizzy. But I still had twenty seconds left.

     "Come on... Come on, come on..." I muttered in concentration.

     Ten seconds left.

     I saw the finish line. My feet hit the ground on every downbeat.

     Five seconds.

     I could almost feel the anticipation of the audience.

     One second.

     I felt my foot slide against something and I fell backwards. No, no, no! I thought, but before I knew it, the end screen took up my vision.

     "Maybe next time!" a voice cheered as bright electronic music played. A familiar figure was grinning at me and giving me a thumbs up. I let out a breath. I failed. For the umpteenth time, I had failed once again.

     "Well then, Theron..." I mumbled at the boy standing in front of me. "Maybe tomorrow."

     I brought my fingers up to my temple and pressed down. The world went dark.

     I opened my eyes and saw my computer monitor in front of me. 3.45 million people had watched me. Comments were flooding into the livestream, encouraging me to keep trying. Emojis filled the screen. I looked into the camera mounted on top of the monitor.

     "I'll try again tomorrow, guys," I sighed. "Like they say, practice makes perfect. I'm tired right now, this is... what? My fifteenth try? I'll see you again when I go to beat this song again."

     Even though i hadn't beat the song on hard mode, I still felt like I was intoxicated by some sort of drug. My head buzzed with adrenaline. Euphoria... That was the word that described how I felt.

     I ended the livestream and decided to go out for a walk to calm myself down.

     The moment I stepped out of my small apartment, I felt the cool chill of autumn kiss my skin. I took the elevator downstairs.

     Two of my neighbors were talking to each other outside.

     "Nova, Orion," I nodded at them politely.

     They smiled back at me.

     I went down the sidewalk and was instantly greeted by towering buildings that drilled into the clouds. The buildings of Terracras, the city I lived in. A couple hovercars floated past and I noticed their slick designs. One of the cars was a deep teal. Its wheels and accents were jet black and orange stripes slid around the windows in ribbons. It was a gorgeous car, and a functional one, too. I could barely hear the hum of its engine as it flew by.

     I found myself walking by one of the artificial canals. I looked into it and lights inside glowed bright blue back at me. My reflection wasn't warped by any ripples; it was completely still.

     "Watch out!" a voice suddenly cried, and I looked up to see a couple teenage boys zoom past me on their hoverboards, only missing my nose by a couple inches.