The next few days went as they usually did. Robert met up with friends online, helped his mother with her psychical therapy and medical appointments, and worked. He was able to close out his part-time study by acing his final exam, getting the highest score in the class, and getting approval to continue for another semester as a part-time scholarship student.

Typically, schools didn’t extend scholarship offers to students that dropped to part-time status, but Robert, with the help of his advisor, had petitioned the school to allow him to apply each semester for an exception to the rule. It was a lot less complicated than he thought it would be, but it still had to be done each semester.

Besides finishing the semester, Robert completed his deal with Frederick and vacated his room in Excel. He was still the owner, but Frederick had come up with the idea of renting out the room to another friend who was looking for a home base and a safe place to store his gear. Robert liked the idea and it would put a few more credits in his account every week.

Unlike many MMORPG games, Excel left your equipment at risk if you were to log out and not set up proper security. It wouldn’t wipe you out, but more than a few players found out the hard way after logging out at an unsecured campsite and logging back in to find someone had stolen some of their gear.

This could be avoided by setting a save point at a secure room and always returning there before logging off or using a bank. Banks would hold your gear for a fee, but if you had your own place in a secure building, that was even better. Frederick and Robert had made sure that the F & R Depot was as safe as possible. With the money coming in from the purchase, he could save a little. It wasn’t a solution to all his problems, but it was a start.

Robert woke early Wednesday morning to get on the train and be at work early. They scheduled the launch announcement right before his workday began. So, he went to the break room and used his portable gear to log in.

A moment later, he was sitting on a bench in the central terminal, waiting for Juno and Sam to arrive. Suddenly he saw a face he’d hope to never see again, Jackson Collins.

Jackson was the terror of Robert’s childhood. They were the same age and had been in the same schools since junior high when Robert was awarded an academic scholarship to Berkeley Preparatory Academy, a private offline school.

Jackson had targeted Robert early on and teased and tormented him for the entire six years they were in school. Robert could have handled the torture, but Jackson often took it too far. He went after the people closest to Robert, making both Sam and Juno occasional targets.

Robert ignored or stood up to the bullying, which ended in a few fights and warnings from the principal. Juno could handle herself and had more than once given back as much as she got. Sam internalized the bullying, and it wore on him. Robert hated nothing more than a bully.

Jackson was never blamed or even punished for his behavior. Jackson’s family had a lot of money and a decent amount of influence. Jackson’s father was a councilman and a lawyer who specialized in international business law. Many of the parents at Berkeley Preparatory Academy just happened to be international businessmen and women, so it was no mystery why he was never punished.

Unfortunately for Robert, Jackson noticed Robert sitting on the bench and approached. “Hey there, Bob.”

Robert just remembered another reason he hated Jackson. He was the only person on earth that called him Bob.

All Robert said without getting up or even making eye contact was, “Jackson.”

“Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been. It’s been like three years?”

“Something like that.”

Jackson walked up, followed by a few other people that looked to be his followers. “Hey guys, this is Bob. We went to school together.”

Just as he stopped his introduction, Juno appeared in her usual smoky way and sat next to Robert. “Hey Rob, sorry for being late. I had to talk to my mom about something.”

Robert leaned back and said, “No problem, I was just sitting here, waiting for the announcement.”

At that moment, Jackson interrupted, “What? Are you telling me you’re waiting for the Elysium Online announcement? How the hell did your poor ass get ahold of a ticket?”

Both Robert and Juno ignored his question and looked over his shoulder towards the person who had just appeared. “They got a ticket from me, their friend,” Sam said from behind Jackson.

One girl in the group suddenly said, “Oh, wow, are you the Slayer?”

Sam had named his battle avatar the Slayer a year ago when he went pro in the fighting leagues. “Yes, but that’s my fighter name. My name is Sam.”

The girl actually giggled and shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. We should talk sometime offline.”

Sam’s smiled faded as he said, “I don’t think that will happen.” She frowned immediately, feigning being hurt as he continued, “In real life, I’m a pasty white guy in a wheelchair. I doubt you’d be interested.”

She looked shocked and decided to not reply, but Jackson couldn’t help himself. “Wait, is that you, Sam? The same Sam that went to Berkeley Prep? What the hell are you doing here?”

Obviously, Jackson wasn’t putting the pieces together, which wasn’t a terrible surprise considering how below average he was mentally. At least that’s what Robert thought.

Robert stood from the bench joined by Juno, and they both walked past Jackson to join their friend when Jackson almost yelled, “You will not ignore me. What the hell are you doing here?”

Robert turned around, slowly motioning for Juno and Sam to continue. “Jackson, I know it’s sometimes difficult for you to understand what is going on around you. Since you are so stupid. Even your friend there got that Sam is a fighter in the tournament. He gave us the tickets as a gift because that’s what friends do.” He paused, unconsciously rubbing his temple. “We were not ignoring you because we want to disrespect you. We were ignoring you because we have nothing to say to you. This is not high school. We don’t have to sit around and take your crap. If you don’t mind, we’re going to get closer to the terminals and watch.” He turned without waiting.

As he walked away, Jackson mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard, “I will remember this. And I will make you pay.”

The rest of Jackson’s group circled around him, talking about other things and making jokes as Juno, Robert, and Sam walked away. The entire time Jackson just smiled and stared at them as the announcement began.