Gamers' Quest by George Ivanoff

teenagers. They sat right at the back of the bus. There, with their arms around each other, they gazed out of the window as their bus drove through the perfect suburban streets, until it reached their perfect suburban school.
    Grey brick buildings with colourful murals. Happy students, chatting, walking, running and playing in the school grounds.
    John and Tina got off the bus and went straight to their first class, Maths, with Ms Waverly, one of their favourite teachers. She was short, round-faced and always wore a warm smile. They contentedly spent the next forty-five minutes discussing algebra, their hands shooting up into the air whenever Ms Waverly asked a question, eager to answer.
    Economics was the next class, with a discussion on inflation and how it impacted on the lives of people in Suburbia.
    At recess, they headed straight for the canteen and bought triple-scoop vanilla ice-cream cones.
    The rest of the school day flew by in a daze of interesting classes, inspiring teachers and enjoyable discussions.
    As the bell sounded an end to the school day, John and Tina headed towards the school gates and the waiting bus.
    ‘Have a good day?’ asked the headmaster as he walked past them. He was short and balding, but with a kind face.
    ‘Yes!’ they answered enthusiastically.
    ‘Always a pleasure to have you back,’ he called.
    The bus dropped them at Tina's house and they spent a couple of hours snuggling on the sofa watching television. Then John went to his home, next door. The routines of family dinner, homework and bed finished off their day.
    That night, John and Tina dreamt of each other and of a blissful eternity in Suburbia. It was the perfect end to the perfect day.
    The following morning, John and Tina waited out on their street for the bus. Patches of grey cloud drifted across the sky, occasionally obscuring the sun.
    ‘It's a little chilly this morning,’ said Tina, shivering slightly.
    ‘I'll keep you warm,’ said John, wrapping his arms around her.
    ‘And the bus is late,’ said Tina. ‘It's never late.’
    Beep, beep!
    With a screeching of tyres, the bus came hurtling around the corner. It looked as if it was about to speed right by them, but the driver braked at the last moment and the bus ground to a noisy halt. They climbed on and with the sound of grinding gears the vehicle lurched on its way to school.
    The late noisy bus heralded a day that was just a little odd. None of their teachers was as interesting or as friendly as they had been the previous day. In particular, Ms Waverly seemed distracted and a little dazed. When Tina asked if she was okay, she responded by giving the entire class extra homework. During recess, the canteen ran out of ice-cream. As the bell sounded an end to the school day, John and Tina were called to the headmaster's office over the PA system. It was unusual, they thought. They had never been called there before. They had never even seen inside it.
    They entered the dark and dingy office to find the headmaster seated behind a large, imposing desk. His attention was on the sheets of paper spread out before him.
    ‘Sit, sit,’ he said impatiently, waving a hand without looking up.
    John and Tina sat in the uncomfortable wooden chairs that were positioned directly in front of the headmaster's desk, and waited. The man continued to read the papers, umming and ahhing every now and then, until he finally looked up. He did not look at all amiable and friendly, as he had the previous day.
    ‘Well now,’ he said. ‘We appear to have a little bit of a problem.’ He glanced back down at the paperwork. ‘It seems that your grades are slipping well below an acceptable level.’
    ‘What?’ said John, surprised.
    ‘But we're good at school,’ said Tina. ‘We're always good at school!’
    ‘We like school,’ added John.
    ‘That may very well be,’ said the headmaster. ‘But you're hardly ever at school.’ He glanced down again. ‘It appears that you have been