Free Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi Page B

whinnied. "I'll ride over to your village
and meet you there."
    I logged into
Allora and realized she was still lying in the bed I'd left her in.
Blushing a bit as I remembered Sir Leo's good-night kiss, I quickly
ran her outside the inn and waited for Dad to arrive. I was psyched
to be playing with him at last and couldn't wait to see how much his
character kicked butt. I looked over to his screen again. Wow, he was
level eighty. That must have taken forever to get that high.
    "How often
do you play, Dad?" I asked curiously.
    He shrugged. "I
don't know. Whenever I have some free time."
    "I'm
bored!" Emily moaned, coming up behind us. "Dad, will you
play Barbies with me?"
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    "Not now,
sweetie," Dad said, not looking away from the screen as he
galloped toward the elfin village Allora lived in. "Why don't
you go watch a DVD or something?"
    I hid a smile. Take that, Emily. It was my turn to hang out with Dad.
    Huffing her
annoyance at being ignored, Emily retreated to the living room,
making a big show of stamping her feet as she left. I turned back to
the computer screen. A moment later I saw Dad's character approach on
horseback. I glanced over at his screen and saw Allora standing
waiting for him. How cool was that? Like looking at yourself with
someone else's eyes.
    RockStarBob
waved at Allora. I made Allora wave back. "Ready to play?"
Dad asked. I nodded. "Let's go kill stuff!"
    Suddenly, a
beautiful black-haired woman wandered up to Dad. She was wearing a
low-cut dress and carried a very impressive-looking silver staff that
sparkled with gems. I watched RockStarBob jump off his horse and give
her a hug. The woman winked at him and then blew him a kiss.
Evidently they knew each other. Hmm.
    [LadyAdriana] Hey, Bob. What are you up to?
    [RockStarBob] Nothing much. How are you?
    [LadyAdriana] Meh. Ex-husband's giving me trouble again. But what else is new?
    RockStarBob
gently pats Lady Adriana.
    [RockStarBob] Aw. Poor you.
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    [LadyAdriana] : Thought you'd be stuck with the brats today. Isn't it your turn?
    I shot a glance
over at Dad. Brats? Was she talking about Emily and me? Dad
tossed me a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he said. "Lady
Adriana doesn't always have the most tact."
    "Evidently,"
I muttered, turning hack to my screen.
    [RockStarBob] I've got my children with me this weekend, if that's what you mean.
    [LadyAdriana] LOL, kk. Listen, I was going to start a raid group. You interested in
coming to BlueRock with us if I do?
    [RockStarBob] Um, hang on a second.
    I felt Dad's
eyes on me again. He was obviously trying to judge how upset I'd be
if he blew me off for this woman. If he really was "stuck with
the brats" today.
    "Go
ahead," I said with a sigh. I didn't want him to feel like he
was forced to entertain me.
    "Are you
sure?" he asked, looking a little worried. "I mean, I know
I said I'd play with you. But I've been dying to do BlueRock for a
long time."
    I waved a hand.
"It's no big deal. I've got a few other quests to do locally
anyway."
    Dad looked
relieved. "Okay, if you're sure. And you can always watch me
play. . . ."
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    "Uh, sure.
That would be fun."
    Not catching my
sarcasm or just choosing to ignore it, Dad turned his attention back
to the screen. Back to Lady Adriana. A few minutes later he was
completely lost in the game, typing furiously as he rode through the
countryside to the BlueRock place.
    I stared at the
screen, trying to decide if I wanted to log off or play a little
anyway. It didn't seem that much fun to play by myself. . . .
    [SirLeo] (Yea! You're online. I was hoping you would be.)
    I grinned, my
heart picking up the pace at the instant message. Sir Leo had just
signed in. And he was, unlike everyone else in the known universe,
happy to see me!
    [Allora] (Woot! Sooo glad you're here. Do you want to quest?)
    [SirLeo] (Of course!)
    [Allora] (How's your day going?)
    [SirLeo] (Good. Just got out of drama practice.)
    I tried to
picture him onstage, reciting lines. It was tough to form a