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“AARGH!”
SullyWan59 had managed to flank me, firing off a lucky shot that had shaved off the last twenty hit points I had.
“Too bad, Wendy,” Gwen spoke in my ear.
“And I was just about to collect the shield potion, too,” I moaned.
There was just no way to get over bad luck. Rank #7, again. For the last week, the top five spots had eluded me like a shadow during overcast weather. As the lobby loaded, I grabbed the can of Sprite from my desk and finished it off. The soda had gotten flat and warm, but I didn’t really care. The lobby loaded, and it was relatively full.
Over the last week, I’d gradually gotten more involved in the universe of Fortnite, like a swimmer first sticking her toe in the water before lowering herself in step by step. I would say I’d gotten in deep enough, but Gwen’s very existence served as a reminder that I was nowhere near as dedicated as her. She had been consistently top-ranked since I had started, and now it came as a surprise to us if she didn’t crack the top three. Anna still struggled from time to time, and when we played as a three-man squad, we had to carry her more often than not. But it was a situation we did not mind, as covering for her came with the added benefit of having better practice scenarios, and she could easily be used as a sacrifice if needed, a noble task we’d have to spend precious minutes convincing her to perform.
The usual gaggle of avatars awaited me in the lobby. Anna, who had just neared her best rank of #10 with a #14 finish, was waiting in a corner. I strolled over, idly tapping the melee attack button to swipe at a few players who were in my way with my pickaxe. I had come to realize what a great vent it made for my frustration.
“Not bad, I guess?” Anna said as I neared.
“Damn that SullyWan59,” I groaned.
He had managed to get me a few times over the last week, and his kills always came at a time when I was in a good place, primed to enter the top five with a good Epic or Legendary weapon loadout. It always boiled down to sheer bad luck with him - collateral damage from a grenade he’d thrown to kill someone else, a hasty retreat from his hail of assault rifle bullets leading to a fall from a cliff, or, worst of all, dying just as the countdown for the shield potion was about to expire. One day I’d make him pay, I swore; humiliate him with a pickaxe kill for the overall #1. He was good enough; I’d seen him trade places with Gwen for the top spot multiple times a season.
“It’s probably because you asked me to help you out with that flank,” Anna replied. “If I had not died there, I would have caught him off-guard and gotten you out of that mess.”
“How was I supposed to know?” I found myself angry again, for no apparent reason. This was a game, for crying out loud. There was no need to get riled up over it.
“What we’re lacking is communication,” Anna said.
“What do you mean? We can’t communicate any better.”
“We could have a call going on,” Anna said.
“Yeah, I’d never thought of that,” I replied, hoping my sarcasm would get through to her.
“Or we could meet.”
I started typing a withering response telling Anna just what I thought of that idea, but my fingers stopped on the keyboard. What she was suggesting was not half bad. Gwen was at my place practically all the time.
“I guess so,” I replied, a little afraid to commit.
Revealing where one stayed on an online messaging board was a good way to get robbed. And with parents who both worked long, often nocturnal, hours, I’d be a rather easy target.
“Cool then. Are you also living in Australia?”
What a coincidence, I realized, before coming to the exact opposite conclusion. Of course, the game would prefer short-distance matching for players. Reducing lag, or 'ping', as the game called it, was essential. And the more they kept players in countries with fast broadband together, the fewer the bottlenecks.
“Yes.” I decided to take a risk. “Sydney, in fact.”
“Me too! Edensor Park.”
The depth of the coincidence was beginning to freak me out.
“Bossley Park.”
“That’s barely two kilometers away.”
Anna’s replies were coming quickly. She was clearly excited.
“Let’s meet at Stockland-Wetherill?” I asked, mentioning the mall she’d have to know about if she really lived there. "Come to think of it..."
“Fine. How about tomorrow? We don’t need to play together, I just want to meet my teammates.”
“I suppose eleven would be a great time to meet tomorrow,” I replied.
This was another risk. I was surprising myself with every reply for this was incredibly unlike me. I had no idea how Gwen would react to this.
Almost on cue, FreakShow3298 popped up next to us in the lobby.
“#1,” Gwen proclaimed.
“Congratulations,” Anna and I replied simultaneously.
“And yes, tomorrow at 11,” Anna reiterated.
I prepared myself for a tough conversation with Gwen later in the day and clicked on the New Match button. I did not want to talk to Gwen right away; I still had to prepare myself to listen to her discourse on privacy and safety. It wasn’t even three in the afternoon.
As I jumped out of the bus, (I still had no idea why it had to be a bus) I noticed a ghostly male avatar heading towards Shifty Shafts, a place that was fast becoming my favorite starting area. Knowing myself, I usually played it safe, choosing a place as far away from everyone else as possible, but there was a niggling doubt in my head, one that insisted I take the brave route. Fortnite was certainly making me a more brash and cheeky individual. Perhaps it was the effect of playing this game all night without a break. I hope this idea of meeting Anna doesn't backfire.