The Roleplayer

Chapter 4: Bully

Chapter 4 Bully

"Sup dude!"

Riley felt a thump on his back as his best friend greeted him with, what he felt, was too much enthusiasm this early in the morning.

"Morning to you too, Kyle."

Kyle was Riley's best friend. They had known each other since elementary school.

He was athletic — the high school football star of Lincoln High, the high school they both attended.

He was roughly 3 inches taller than Riley and, due to the nature of his sports, was built much more muscularly compared to him.

If one did not watch them interact or was personally acquainted with them, they would never suspect that the two of them were best friends. Not only did their physiques differ greatly — Riley, who was much leaner than the incredibly buff Kyle — their personalities contrasted like night and day.

Kyle was an extrovert, the popular kid, that guy who was friends with everyone in school. Just walking down the hall, Kyle would get greetings and "high-fives" from everyone.

Riley, on the other hand, was an introvert, who barely had any acquaintances, let alone close friends. Sure, he shared a sense of camaraderie with his baseball team, but out of school, his only close friend was Kyle.

Unlike Kyle, Riley wasn't invited to any school parties, not that he would attend any of them; Riley would rather spend his time engrossed in video games.

Though they were close, Riley was slightly jealous of Kyle. Riley had breathed a sigh of relief when he knew Kyle had joined the football team. If Kyle were to join the baseball team as he had, Riley's chance of making the team as the star batter would've been close to zero.

Above Kyle was the usual floating text, showing: "Kyle Reginald, The Popular Kid, Lvl 25."

Riley wondered about this. The level of everyone he met so far was unknown to him — aside from his mum and Kyle. He had been looking around on his way to school for someone whose level was not unknown, but sadly, he had been rather unsuccessful.

"Let me guess, you spent the whole weekend playing games and forgot to finish your history homework."

Unlike Riley, Kyle had a "proper" life. He spent his free time exercising or working part-time at the local fast food chain. He was an outgoing and happy-go-lucky person, always cracking jokes among his classmates.

Riley had been approached by many girls, not because they liked him, but because they wanted to get closer to Kyle. Riley sometimes wondered how he and Kyle were able to maintain such a close friendship when they were polar opposites.

"10 dollars says I did."

"Oh? I'm impressed. You actually finished your homework for once. It was probably your mum who nagged you continuously into doing it though, am I right?

"You got me there. I was in the middle of raid night when she told me to do it, so I promised her I would finish it yesterday."

"Whoa, since when do you keep your promises?"

"Since... yesterday."

Riley wasn't going to expose his new ability to anyone just yet; not even his closest friend.

"That's good to hear! Whatever she did to change you, she should continue!"

"That sounds kinda wrong, Kyle."