Play For Me

3

Ray walked almost stumbling while smiling awkwardly at the security guard who was waiting for his answer. "I have urgent business."

Arya shook his head heavily. "You always have excuses."

Ray straightened up. "Have you done your homework?"

Arya turned his head in surprise. "Have you done your homework?"

Ray rolled his eyes. "I've done it."

"Good! I'll borrow it, okay!" Arya said with a grin.

Ray listened to the math lesson in class. He had studied the material before today so he just had to review his memory. In the midst of his boredom, Ray saw his right hand holding a pen. He lifted it, like how he held a sword in the game world on his mother's old cellphone.

Ray's eyes widened. He immediately took his bag and reached deep into it. His chest sank because he didn't feel the ancient object in there. He remembered the moment he changed his textbook for today. Because he was half asleep, he didn't realize that the old cellphone had fallen out of his bag.

Ray stood up. He turned his bag upside down until all the contents of his bag fell out. There were only four books, a pencil, an eraser, and small change.

Every pair of eyes in the class was watching him.

"Ray, what are you looking for? Please calm down, I'm teaching," said the man who was his math teacher.

Cold sweat quickly soaked Ray's face.

"Ray, what's wrong with you?" Arya, who was his deskmate, also stood up because he was worried.

Ray looked at Arya anxiously. "My mother!"

His hands grabbed the books and all the things that had fallen from his bag. As soon as everything was packed, he ran out of the classroom. His friends and teachers could only see Ray's back as he left without saying anything.

Ray passed through the school gate with sweat dripping down his entire body. He ignored the shouts of the security guard who told him to stop. His steps continued without stopping even though his lungs asked for mercy.

Ray turned sharply at the intersection to his house. His steps did not slow down even an inch. He did not even glance or care whether the woman in the black cloak was at the place where he met her this morning or not.

His hair was limp with sweat, his uniform was soaked. Ray opened the front door of his house loudly.

"Mom!" he called.

Ray heard no response whatsoever. Even though he was sure his mother was home at that hour. Ray gritted his teeth and ran up the stairs to his room.

"No. Don't, please don't do that, Mom," Ray muttered climbing the stairs.

Ray opened the door to his room quickly.

What was seen inside was the woman in the black cloak and his mother's old cellphone on the floor. The woman in the black cloak pointed at the cellphone in fear.

Ray ran and picked up the cellphone to see what was displayed. There was no writing. No game display. Only a blank gray screen and battery information in the upper right corner were displayed there.

"Where is my mother?" Ray asked.

The cloaked woman only muttered something inaudible.

Ray grabbed the woman's shoulder.

"Where's my mother?!" Ray urged.

The shabby-faced woman pointed at the phone continuously. Her eyes were glassy. "That woman... you... left."

Ray gritted his teeth and pulled the woman's shoulder. "You dragged her in there?!"

The cloaked woman shook her head quickly. "She... you... called... father... crying... left."

Ray bit his lip in fear. He pulled his hair impatiently. The cloaked woman didn't help him at all. Now his mother was trapped in a brutal game world. Ray dropped his body to sit down.

Ray sat in his room, pensive. The cloaked woman also remained silent in Ray's room, not speaking or doing anything for fifteen minutes.

Suddenly the phone vibrated briefly. Ray immediately picked it up. There was an unread message.

"Participants who passed in order 1302, please immediately enter the transition gate selection area," said Ray.

The cloaked woman lifted her head which had been lowered. She pointed at herself and Ray in turn.

"You and me? We are the participants of this message, is that what you mean?" Ray repeated.

The woman nodded. She pulled Ray's other hand and moved it to press the middle button of the old cellphone.

"Hey!" Ray pushed the woman's hand away.

Ray's left hand disappeared, causing his mother's old cellphone to fall. Ray, who experienced it for the second time, was no longer surprised. Instead, he observed the woman in the black cloak who also disappeared just like him.

"Are you ready for deathbattle?" Ray asked before he disappeared completely. However, the woman disappeared faster than him.

Ray closed his eyelids, trying to get used to this transfer process.

As soon as he opened his eyes, a green field appeared and at the end of the view was a giant gate guarded by two soldiers armed with spears. Ray turned his head in any direction and found the woman in the cloak standing nearby.

"I should be the one asking if you are ready." The woman turned to Ray. "Because I come from this world."

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Aye aye, i love the vibe~ See u on next eps!