[Anything non-story will be in brackets. I've basically been throwing this around since middle school. No background needed; it's its own story.]
[The Side Project is copyright 2008 by Elliot "Gale" Gaylord]
Have you ever had one of those dreams that just seemed so real? Or maybe you've had times where something happened to you that seemed like illusions? Maybe I'm too into games as a whole, but recently I had the oddest experiences, and they really made me start questioning my existence. What am I? Am I who I think I am? Are others? What about the world? Is it a real thing, or is it all just part of someone's dream? Life... what is it's meaning? Is it real? Certain things I do every day without a thought. Are these really my actions, or is somebody out there pulling my strings? Rather, buttons. Pushing... buttons. It all feels like a game.
Sorry about the senseless rambling. I'm Kenneth Faia (A name I adopted myself), but just call me Ken. I'm a 17 year old Caucasian male from a place known as Zephyr Vale. You won't find it on any map; it's pretty small. It does, however, have everything one of those big cities has, so it's been a great place to grow up.
I wonder how my parents found this place? Awesome as it is, I don't quite feel like I belong...
Right, anyway, I guess I should explain more about those odd experiences. Er... tomorrow. It's getting late.
---------
I guess the odd story needs a little back history beforehand, so I'll just start with that morning. I got up, tired as usual, seeing as school schedules don't take into account the teenage body clock. The morning was pretty routine, ending with a small breakfast and a mad dash for the bus. By the time I got there, I was feeling a little case of deja vu. I'm not sure why, considering this hardly ever happened, and certainly not on a school day. Whatever it was, it made me uneasy. Was I really repeating something? Would it be good or bad?
I guess it was a bogus feeling though. Everything was pretty different once I got where I was going. For one, my friends weren't at the table we usually sat at in the morning, so I headed to my locker early. After another check of the table, seeing still nobody, I got up the gall to finish my homework from the night before.
I'll spare you the boring details of that, though. The usually short morning was just dragging on. I ended up with 10 free minutes prior to the 6 minute bell, even. Boring? Yeah, very, especially since nobody I cared for was around. I decided to go to my locker again, though I'm not sure why, as I cleaned it out on the last trip.
When I got there I saw some other people. You know, the kind that are really into school? They like making sure they don't forget anything. I guess I have to admire their ability to always be prepared. I didn't know any of them though, except Lindsey Sheen.
You know those girls at school that seem to have it all? Grades, guys, looks, money, talent, and seem to be at everything all the time? Lindsey was one of those. Now, usually I wouldn't be interested in someone like that, but there was more: She worked at the local ARCADE. Yeah, unbelievable, right? And she had the locker next to mine (The reason being my original last name, but I've discarded that completely. You figure it out.). I never much said anything to her, but seeing as I had the time for once I figured, why not?
Before I could say anything, she asked me if my morning was as odd as her's.
"... How'd you do that?" I questioned.
She laughed, "What'd I do?"
"You read my mind, that's what! This is the weirdest school morning ever. First I get deja vu, then everything is completely different..."
"Ken, right?" Lindsey smiled.
"What?"
"Your name. It's Ken Fire?"
"Faia," I corrected her. I was baffled that she cared to find out my name; I'm just about the biggest nobody, "though you were pretty close. What happened to you, anyway?"
"I don't think I could really talk about that..." she said.
"Well now you have to tell me," I responded. People saying things like that only serves to add to curiosity.
She looked like she didn't really want to, but she outed it anyway, "You know what you were saying about your morning? Pretty much the same for me."
"Really...?" I asked, trailing off. We both just sorta stood there staring at each other for a minute. Lindsey's hair was really long and always dyed some outrageous color. Today it was purple with pink highlights, not that I can really criticize that, what with my own orange spikes getup. She was a little shorter than me and had a really cute face, especially with that smile. The rest of her... well, perfect, as far as I was concerned. I could see why guys really wanted her.
The bell ended up breaking our silence. I didn't even say goodbye, seeing as I jolted off in response to the bell, but she yelled after me, "I'll see you tonight!"
Again. She did it again. Throughout the course of the morning up until talking to her, going to the Arcade that evening was all I really thought about. Lindsey should really consider becoming one of those telephone psychics.
Anyway, if you must know how classes went, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary either. American Studies, Digital Art, Studio Drawing, Advanced Algebra, Minorities, PE, and Lunch all proceeded normally, well, except for the fact that my friends couldn't seem to answer where they were in the morning no matter how many times I asked. That pissed me off to the point where I wanted to beat the shit out of them, but I'm the weak pacifist who doesn't want trouble.
On the tail end of the school day I accidentally ran into this really short kid, maybe four feet tall or so. If I was anyone but myself, I'd have probably gotten into some argument, but I simply apologized and helped him pick up his stuff. He was rather bogged down, and I wondered why.
"Thank you for aiding me. Normally I am not so clumsy," the guy said.
"You go to this school?" I asked, not catching how rude the question was.
He wasn't mad though; he just grinned and answered, "Many inquire that, in actuality." This guy certainly talked funny.
"Oh..." I just stood there stupidly.
"My name is Tyler Sheen. I am twelve years old and a freshman here." he said. Twelve?! "They say I am a genius. That answers your question adequately, yes?"
"Sure thing. Though there's one more thing..."
"Certainly."
"Are you Lindsey's brother?"
"Indeed." Tyler said as he began to leave. "By the way, your bus is leaving right now; I would advise you catch it."
What a way to end a conversation. I thought he was joking, but I jetted out of the school as quickly as I could anyway and just barely caught the bus on its way out. Once there, his last answer actually sunk in. Perhaps he was the reason Lindsey needed a new guy all the time? As if I'd know. What I did know, though, was that he was every bit a psychic as his sister. At least, that was my impression, especially since I didn't even introduce myself to him yet.
It took about an hour to get home that day. My bus is one of those that's full of people who can't seem to settle the hell down, so we often get taken back to the school and get reprimanded. Not that it's a particularly big deal to me, but it gets pretty tedious when that happens in the ups of twice a week.
I checked the mail as usual, but there wasn't anything in it for me. Sometimes I hoped there would be something in there other than a monthly magazine. Even if it was just spam mail, it would make me feel like I was alive at least. Though, the chat with Lindsey that morning helped in that department.
The afternoon and early evening featured my usual sitting at the computer catching up on forums and the like. I didn't watch much TV anymore thanks to it, but then, which is the worse of two evils?
At around six I tossed on a sweatshirt and strolled downtown to the Sidestrike Arcade. The place was ridiculously busy, regardless of the time of day. Well, except for the obvious closed hours. When I walked in, all of the noise from the people and games nearly deafened me on the spot, but my ears quickly adjusted, leaving the rest of the stress to my eyes. Flashing lights and massive crowds aren't really the most desirable things, after all. It seemed as though there was a new attraction in that everyone was flocking for, and I saw Lindsey doing her best to keep the restless crowd calm. After pushing my way through several dozens of people, I saw a pair of amazing new DDR machines, which lived up to the hype the crowd gave me as I approached. Lindsey tried to say something to me I think, but I couldn't hear her at all, and I was too into watching the people playing anyway.
They were playing on light mode, which most people seemed to do usually, myself included. If there was anything close to proper exercise that I enjoyed at all, it was DDR. One guy wasn't really anything special, but the other hadn't failed to miss a perfect so far. His skin tone was a light brown, and coupled with his unusually long black hair, there was a mysterious aura about him. He looked to be in good shape, but then he was wearing quite concealing clothes, so I couldn't judge for sure. At some points he did some showy maneuvers for fun; he wasn't challenged, that's for sure. When he turned around, his blue eyes stood out against the rest of him. The song soon finished, and his opponent, tired and worn, shuffled away in a shameful defeat. As tradition held, the winner stayed on stage.
"Anyone else for a game?" the teen asked. He certainly wasn't very loud. In fact, his voice was quite gentle and kind. The way he moved threw off a similar feel, no jerky or sudden motions. He seemed at peace in his place. Everyone in the crowd seemed to want this guy off the stage. I guessed that he'd been running champ for some time, but he didn't even seem to have broken a sweat yet. While everyone else was arguing about who should go up and lose, another kid jumped up, carefree. Sure, Mr. Motion was getting more bang for his buck, but the important part was the fun, right?
I tuned out on this match so I could talk to Lindsey, who I needed to get uncomfortably close to in order to hear at all.
"So what's the story with that guy?" I asked, pointing at the machines.
"He's been up there for at least 20 games. So amazing, and he doesn't seem to be tired at all." It seemed Lindsey was swooning over this guy.
"That long, huh?" I returned in my lazy manner of speech. When I looked back, he was facing the crowd again, the last challenger walking away happily. Seeing as people couldn't make up their minds as to who would go up, I figured, why not?
[I'll be continually making additions. C&C always welcome.]
[The Side Project is copyright 2008 by Elliot "Gale" Gaylord]
Have you ever had one of those dreams that just seemed so real? Or maybe you've had times where something happened to you that seemed like illusions? Maybe I'm too into games as a whole, but recently I had the oddest experiences, and they really made me start questioning my existence. What am I? Am I who I think I am? Are others? What about the world? Is it a real thing, or is it all just part of someone's dream? Life... what is it's meaning? Is it real? Certain things I do every day without a thought. Are these really my actions, or is somebody out there pulling my strings? Rather, buttons. Pushing... buttons. It all feels like a game.
Sorry about the senseless rambling. I'm Kenneth Faia (A name I adopted myself), but just call me Ken. I'm a 17 year old Caucasian male from a place known as Zephyr Vale. You won't find it on any map; it's pretty small. It does, however, have everything one of those big cities has, so it's been a great place to grow up.
I wonder how my parents found this place? Awesome as it is, I don't quite feel like I belong...
Right, anyway, I guess I should explain more about those odd experiences. Er... tomorrow. It's getting late.
---------
I guess the odd story needs a little back history beforehand, so I'll just start with that morning. I got up, tired as usual, seeing as school schedules don't take into account the teenage body clock. The morning was pretty routine, ending with a small breakfast and a mad dash for the bus. By the time I got there, I was feeling a little case of deja vu. I'm not sure why, considering this hardly ever happened, and certainly not on a school day. Whatever it was, it made me uneasy. Was I really repeating something? Would it be good or bad?
I guess it was a bogus feeling though. Everything was pretty different once I got where I was going. For one, my friends weren't at the table we usually sat at in the morning, so I headed to my locker early. After another check of the table, seeing still nobody, I got up the gall to finish my homework from the night before.
I'll spare you the boring details of that, though. The usually short morning was just dragging on. I ended up with 10 free minutes prior to the 6 minute bell, even. Boring? Yeah, very, especially since nobody I cared for was around. I decided to go to my locker again, though I'm not sure why, as I cleaned it out on the last trip.
When I got there I saw some other people. You know, the kind that are really into school? They like making sure they don't forget anything. I guess I have to admire their ability to always be prepared. I didn't know any of them though, except Lindsey Sheen.
You know those girls at school that seem to have it all? Grades, guys, looks, money, talent, and seem to be at everything all the time? Lindsey was one of those. Now, usually I wouldn't be interested in someone like that, but there was more: She worked at the local ARCADE. Yeah, unbelievable, right? And she had the locker next to mine (The reason being my original last name, but I've discarded that completely. You figure it out.). I never much said anything to her, but seeing as I had the time for once I figured, why not?
Before I could say anything, she asked me if my morning was as odd as her's.
"... How'd you do that?" I questioned.
She laughed, "What'd I do?"
"You read my mind, that's what! This is the weirdest school morning ever. First I get deja vu, then everything is completely different..."
"Ken, right?" Lindsey smiled.
"What?"
"Your name. It's Ken Fire?"
"Faia," I corrected her. I was baffled that she cared to find out my name; I'm just about the biggest nobody, "though you were pretty close. What happened to you, anyway?"
"I don't think I could really talk about that..." she said.
"Well now you have to tell me," I responded. People saying things like that only serves to add to curiosity.
She looked like she didn't really want to, but she outed it anyway, "You know what you were saying about your morning? Pretty much the same for me."
"Really...?" I asked, trailing off. We both just sorta stood there staring at each other for a minute. Lindsey's hair was really long and always dyed some outrageous color. Today it was purple with pink highlights, not that I can really criticize that, what with my own orange spikes getup. She was a little shorter than me and had a really cute face, especially with that smile. The rest of her... well, perfect, as far as I was concerned. I could see why guys really wanted her.
The bell ended up breaking our silence. I didn't even say goodbye, seeing as I jolted off in response to the bell, but she yelled after me, "I'll see you tonight!"
Again. She did it again. Throughout the course of the morning up until talking to her, going to the Arcade that evening was all I really thought about. Lindsey should really consider becoming one of those telephone psychics.
Anyway, if you must know how classes went, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary either. American Studies, Digital Art, Studio Drawing, Advanced Algebra, Minorities, PE, and Lunch all proceeded normally, well, except for the fact that my friends couldn't seem to answer where they were in the morning no matter how many times I asked. That pissed me off to the point where I wanted to beat the shit out of them, but I'm the weak pacifist who doesn't want trouble.
On the tail end of the school day I accidentally ran into this really short kid, maybe four feet tall or so. If I was anyone but myself, I'd have probably gotten into some argument, but I simply apologized and helped him pick up his stuff. He was rather bogged down, and I wondered why.
"Thank you for aiding me. Normally I am not so clumsy," the guy said.
"You go to this school?" I asked, not catching how rude the question was.
He wasn't mad though; he just grinned and answered, "Many inquire that, in actuality." This guy certainly talked funny.
"Oh..." I just stood there stupidly.
"My name is Tyler Sheen. I am twelve years old and a freshman here." he said. Twelve?! "They say I am a genius. That answers your question adequately, yes?"
"Sure thing. Though there's one more thing..."
"Certainly."
"Are you Lindsey's brother?"
"Indeed." Tyler said as he began to leave. "By the way, your bus is leaving right now; I would advise you catch it."
What a way to end a conversation. I thought he was joking, but I jetted out of the school as quickly as I could anyway and just barely caught the bus on its way out. Once there, his last answer actually sunk in. Perhaps he was the reason Lindsey needed a new guy all the time? As if I'd know. What I did know, though, was that he was every bit a psychic as his sister. At least, that was my impression, especially since I didn't even introduce myself to him yet.
It took about an hour to get home that day. My bus is one of those that's full of people who can't seem to settle the hell down, so we often get taken back to the school and get reprimanded. Not that it's a particularly big deal to me, but it gets pretty tedious when that happens in the ups of twice a week.
I checked the mail as usual, but there wasn't anything in it for me. Sometimes I hoped there would be something in there other than a monthly magazine. Even if it was just spam mail, it would make me feel like I was alive at least. Though, the chat with Lindsey that morning helped in that department.
The afternoon and early evening featured my usual sitting at the computer catching up on forums and the like. I didn't watch much TV anymore thanks to it, but then, which is the worse of two evils?
At around six I tossed on a sweatshirt and strolled downtown to the Sidestrike Arcade. The place was ridiculously busy, regardless of the time of day. Well, except for the obvious closed hours. When I walked in, all of the noise from the people and games nearly deafened me on the spot, but my ears quickly adjusted, leaving the rest of the stress to my eyes. Flashing lights and massive crowds aren't really the most desirable things, after all. It seemed as though there was a new attraction in that everyone was flocking for, and I saw Lindsey doing her best to keep the restless crowd calm. After pushing my way through several dozens of people, I saw a pair of amazing new DDR machines, which lived up to the hype the crowd gave me as I approached. Lindsey tried to say something to me I think, but I couldn't hear her at all, and I was too into watching the people playing anyway.
They were playing on light mode, which most people seemed to do usually, myself included. If there was anything close to proper exercise that I enjoyed at all, it was DDR. One guy wasn't really anything special, but the other hadn't failed to miss a perfect so far. His skin tone was a light brown, and coupled with his unusually long black hair, there was a mysterious aura about him. He looked to be in good shape, but then he was wearing quite concealing clothes, so I couldn't judge for sure. At some points he did some showy maneuvers for fun; he wasn't challenged, that's for sure. When he turned around, his blue eyes stood out against the rest of him. The song soon finished, and his opponent, tired and worn, shuffled away in a shameful defeat. As tradition held, the winner stayed on stage.
"Anyone else for a game?" the teen asked. He certainly wasn't very loud. In fact, his voice was quite gentle and kind. The way he moved threw off a similar feel, no jerky or sudden motions. He seemed at peace in his place. Everyone in the crowd seemed to want this guy off the stage. I guessed that he'd been running champ for some time, but he didn't even seem to have broken a sweat yet. While everyone else was arguing about who should go up and lose, another kid jumped up, carefree. Sure, Mr. Motion was getting more bang for his buck, but the important part was the fun, right?
I tuned out on this match so I could talk to Lindsey, who I needed to get uncomfortably close to in order to hear at all.
"So what's the story with that guy?" I asked, pointing at the machines.
"He's been up there for at least 20 games. So amazing, and he doesn't seem to be tired at all." It seemed Lindsey was swooning over this guy.
"That long, huh?" I returned in my lazy manner of speech. When I looked back, he was facing the crowd again, the last challenger walking away happily. Seeing as people couldn't make up their minds as to who would go up, I figured, why not?
[I'll be continually making additions. C&C always welcome.]
