The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale Page B

ball; the crowd grew silent; I put up the shot and … oh yeah, it was good. The buzzer sounded. We were going to overtime. I jogged over to our bench while looking up at you guys. You were going nuts. I couldn’t have imagined a better scenario. Come to think of it, from what I learned about Lifelight, it was the exact scenario I imagined.
    The team manager threw me a towel and I sat down on the bench to catch my breath. I wiped the sweat from my face and did my best not to smile too broadly. That’s when I heard a voice I didn’t want to hear.
    â€œHaving fun?” asked the intruder.
    I looked up and saw Aja sitting next to me on the bench. It actually took me a second, again, to remember who she was. But I did, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t want her there, no way. Not then. She was going to ruin it.
    Aja looked around at the screaming crowd and added, “Wow, you really like to get the old adrenaline pumping, don’t you?”
    â€œYeah, so?” I shot back. “It’s my fantasy. I can do what I want, right?”
    â€œAbsolutely,” Aja continued. “Only one problem. Your jump’s over.”
    â€œWhat?” I shouted. “It can’t be over, we’re going into OT!”
    â€œSorry,” Aja shrugged. “I told you, the jump was timed.”
    â€œGive me twenty more minutes,” I begged.
    â€œSorry. Besides, it’s good to end like this,” Aja said. “It’s the perfect demonstration.”
    â€œThere’s nothing perfect about ending this now,” I complained. I then noticed that the silver band had returned to my wrist. The button on the right was blinking red. I didn’t like the looks of that.
    Aja picked up another towel and threw it at me. “Wipe your face. You’re all sweaty,” she ordered.
    I caught the towel and wiped my face. But when I dropped it, I realized with horror that I had gone blind. At least that’s what it seemed like because the gym had gone black. Worse, I had gone deaf, too. A moment before, the place was rocking with the sound of hundreds of frenzied fans. Now it was like somebody had pulled the plug on the TV. Everything had gone dark and silent. I was totally disoriented, until I heard a voice. It was a calm, familiar voice that brought me back to reality.
    â€œRelax, Pendragon,” Aja said. “Nothing is wrong. You’re coming out of the jump.”
    I then realized the truth. I wasn’t deaf or blind. I was lying in a dark, silent tube.
    â€œJust lie still for a few minutes,” Aja said. “I’ll be right there to bring you out.”
    I was filled with all sorts of emotions. First off, I was angry. Lifelight had just given me the most incredible gift I could imagine, only to snatch it right back. But I was also still high from the excitement of the game. I wasn’t physically tired because I hadn’t actually done anything. But the emotions were still there. I could remember the thrill of sinking those foul shots. But most of all, I felt sad. I had been given a small taste of being back with my family. It all seemed so real, and it made me miss them even more.
    I heard a slight hum as light entered the tube. The silver disk behind my head was sliding into the wall. It was now official. I hadn’t moved an inch since I was first sealed in. I had “jumped” into a computer simulation. I felt a slight movement and the table slid out of the tube. The first thing I saw was Aja. She stood at the control panel looking down at me.
    â€œHow do you feel?” she asked.
    â€œLike I need another twenty minutes in there, thank you very much.”
    â€œI’m glad it ended that way, because it only helps illustrate the point I need to make.”
    â€œWhat point?”
    Before she could answer, an alarm sounded. At least I thought it was an alarm. It was a loud, persistent horn that sliced through the quiet pyramid. Aja quickly