Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

mental
image when I had no clue what the guy looked like in real life. He
could be an ugly troll for all I knew. Fifty pounds overweight with a
zit-covered face. But for some reason, I didn't think so.
    90
    Yeah, he
probably pictures you as a six-foot-tall blond elf, too. And we all
know how true that fantasy is.
    The thought
sobered me. What would Sir Leo think of me if he met me in real life?
Would he be disappointed? Would he think I was a freak, like everyone
else did in my school?
    I realized I
hadn't typed a response.
    [Allora] (Drama? How cool. I always wanted to try it but I think I'd get stage
fright.)
    [SirLeo] (LOL. Nah, you'd be fine, I'm sure. I mean, you role-play with me.
That's very similar.)
    [Allora] (It's a lot different typing into a computer than getting up in front
of everyone.)
    [SirLeo] (I guess. But it's really not as scary as you might
    think. I mean,
you're up there playing a part. A lot easier than being yourself.)
    [Allora] (If you say so...)
    [SirLeo] (I do. And I'm always right, remember?)
    [Allora] (LOL. But of course!)
    Allora
cheers at Sir Leo.
    [SirLeo] (I thought you were going to be at your dad's this weekend.)
    [Allora] (I am. But he has two computers. He's playing next to me.)
    [SirLeo] (Ah, cool. 1 wish my dad played. He's always working.)
    [Allora] (What does he do?)
    [SirLeo] (Banker. Fun, fun. How about yours?)
    91
    I started to
type in my answer, then stopped, remembering Dad's warning. Don't
want to give out too much information online.
    [Allora] (Why, he's a knight, of course! Level eighty!)
    [SirLeo] (LOL. Right, of course. Silly me.)
    [Allora] So, my fine sir, art thou ready to go on a quest or two?
    [SirLeo] Indeed, my fair lady, now that you are here by my side.
    And so we began
questing. And questing and questing. With Dad completely sucked into
his own adventures, there was no nagging parent to force me to shut
off the computer after an hour or two online. Instead, Sir Leo and I
played for hours, side by side, each locked into our own little
worlds. Once in a while Emily would wander over, pronounce Dad and me
hopeless nerds, then head back to the television.
    After a while,
Dad was done with BlueRock and he and Lady Adriana started
adventuring with Sir Leo and me. With their high level help, we were
able to fight bigger monsters and win better treasure. And the whole
time the four of us were joking around, teasing one another and
generally having a grand old time. I grinned over at Dad and he
grinned back at me. He was so much fun. How could Mom not see that?
She really needed to lighten up.
    "Want to
take a break for dinner?" he asked. "Or just get pizza
delivery?"
    92
    "Pizza
delivery." I didn't want to stop questing.
    He laughed and
hit the number two on his phone's speed dial. Obviously this wasn't
the first time he'd made that decision. "I was hoping you'd say
that."
    "I want
french fries and chicken fingers," Emily whined from the next
room.
    Dad rolled his
eyes. "Anything you like, sweetie," he called over to her.
He gave me a wink. I winked back.
    we continued to
play into the night. Before I knew it, I turned level fifteen and had
learned some amazing new spells. The wolves that had troubled me my
first day were absolutely no threat anymore. In fact, I could kill
them in one blow. And I did, too, saving some newbie from certain
death and then suggesting he go back and play in the beginner area.
    I was beginning
to feel like a real gamer girl. Totally 1337--elite--as Sir Leo would
say.
    Finally, Dad
stretched his hands over his head and glanced over to the adjoining
living room, where Emily had passed out in front of the television.
"I'm going to put her to bed," he told me. "Say good
night to your Sir Leo. It's time for you to hit the sack, too."
    I looked at the
clock, surprised to see it was already midnight. We'd been playing
for over eight hours straight! Crazy. Still, I couldn't remember a
day in the last year when I'd had as much fun.
    "Okay,
Dad." I smiled at