Game Changer: Corrupted Save

Chapter 1

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Meryl

I sighed heavily as I pulled my headset off and leaned back in my chair to stretch out my arms. I’ve been sitting here too long, totally lost in the game I’ve been playing. It was too easy for me to lose track of time when I’m really into a game. Especially when I’m avoiding other things that I should be doing instead. My to-do list was pretty long right now, but I”d badly needed the break.

I stood up from my desk and spared a glance at the pile of clean clothes still sitting in a laundry basket and waiting to be put away. They”d been there for a few days already. Nope. Not right now, I decided quickly. I moved on into the bathroom instead to turn on the shower. I stripped lazily and stepped into the shower while the water was still cold to wake myself up and help shake the fog in my brain. I was feeling a little out of it today and the beginning of a headache throbbed behind my eyes.

Still, I hummed lightly as I washed my blond hair and scrubbed my body. I lingered in the shower a little longer and continued to hum quietly to myself. I used to like singing in the shower and I mourned for the times when I could use a small speaker to play music. The walls were much too thin for it in this building, but that was true for most apartments in the city. I tried to be mindful of my neighbors and they were mostly pretty quiet too. Mostly.

My stomach grumbled as I finished up and got out. Time to get dressed and grab a quick dinner. I dragged the basket of clean clothes over to the closet and rifled through it until I found the outfit I wanted. I tended to wear and re-wear only a handful of outfits anyway. My small wardrobe was a bonus of working from home and I preferred it that way.

The black leggings I pulled on felt a little tighter tonight so I spent an extra minute looking myself over in the mirror. Maybe I’d put on a little weight recently? It was hard to tell from just looking, but it seemed likely to me. I hadn’t been moving around very much, so it made sense. Life in a chair did that to people. I put on a baggy sweater and my usual walking shoes before I headed out.

The elevator took me down to the ground floor and opened right by the building”s mailboxes. I quickly decided to grab my mail on the way back instead when I saw one of my neighbors lingering down there. He was standing tensely by the door, looking at his phone.

His name was Aiden and he lived right next me. He’d moved in about a year ago and had asked me out a few times before getting the message that I wasn’t interested. He was nice enough and he was even rather handsome, but I was on a long break from dating. It was for the best, really. Dating someone who lived right next to me just sounded like a terrible idea anyway. He’d taken my rejections well, but Aiden still tried to talk to me every time he saw me. It was incredibly awkward. Maybe he was just lonely? Or just naturally too friendly? I never stuck around to get to know him and find out.

“Hey, Meryl!” he called when he spotted me and waved before I could duck around the corner. I forced a polite smile and waved back, then I turned away and kept moving. It was a solid escape attempt, but Aiden wasn’t that easy to shake. I cursed mentally at myself for not moving out of sight faster.

“How are you? I haven’t seen you in awhile,” he continued as he rushed over. His dark hair was wet like he’d just showered. His green eyes locked onto my face and I tried not to let my impatience show outwardly.

“I’m good. No complaints,” I smiled and shrugged. He nodded along dismissively like he wasn”t actually listening to me. I pressed my lips together in a thin line to keep from outright glaring at him.

“I’m glad I ran into you. I actually need a favor,” Aiden admitted sheepishly. I almost flinched. That was fast and made a lot of sense for the way he”d ambushed me. Aiden usually rambled a lot more too, so he must really need something if he was getting to the point this quickly for once. I was dreading where I suspected this might be going. Why did I have to run into him tonight? I cursed my luck.

“Okay…?” I prompted and waited expectantly. I was hungry and feeling less patient than normal. Dread swept through me as Aiden hesitated and fidgeted in front of me.

“Yeah, so…I got a dog,” he then revealed excitedly. Aiden smiled brightly at me and ran a hand through his dark hair nervously. I relaxed a little.

“That’s great,” I said and crossed my arms over my chest. Maybe he wouldn’t be lonely now. But he’d probably be coming and going from the building more often, which meant I’d likely run into him more than before. So not a total win. For me anyway.

I realized suddenly what a total grouch I was being about a perfectly nice neighbor whose only crime was sometimes making small talk with me when I didn”t want to. Which was always. I never wanted to. What was wrong with me? When had I become such a recluse that I couldn’t occasionally stand two minutes of polite conversation?

“It is, yeah. She’s very friendly and well behaved. But I have this trip planned soon and I am having a hard time finding someone to watch her while I’m gone,” he continued and I snapped myself out of my troubled thoughts. My self reflection could continue later.

“You need a dog sitter?” I guessed and felt incredibly relieved. He just needed someone to watch his dog. A dog I hadn’t even heard barking yet. With the walls being so thin, I’d know if he had a noisy dog. Maybe this one didn’t bark much? Some dogs didn’t. I couldn”t wait to see it.

“Yeah, I’d pay you of course,” Aiden offered hopefully. He twisted his hands together in front of him like he was worried I might say no. I was a dog person though and the idea appealed to me.

“I can do it. I like dogs,” I agreed after a moment. It would be nice to have a dog around for a bit, and it would get me moving around more too.

The more I thought about it, the more I was looking forward to doing it. It’d be good for me in more ways than one. I’d been stuck in a rut of routine and boredom for too long. I needed to get out more and shake things up. A dog would help me actually do that.

“Awesome! Thank you. Oh my god, this is so perfect,” he told me sincerely. It felt good to be able to help him out. He smiled so gratefully at me that I thought he might try to hug me.

“I’ve got to get going now, but text me the dates you’ll be gone and we can go over more details later,” I offered him quickly so I could begin my escape and he nodded his agreement.

“Sounds good, thank you. This means a lot to me,” Aiden thanked me again, then I took out my phone and we exchanged numbers. His green eyes were a little intense as we finished up.

“See you later,” I said and waved good-bye as I finally made my exit. I heaved a big sigh of relief once I was outside on the sidewalk. The chilly night air felt really good after being in my stuffy apartment all day. The noise of the street kept me from opening my windows for too long during the day.

I wondered what kind of dog Aiden had gotten? And when? Or how big was the dog? Couldn’t be too big since he lived in an apartment, right? Was it a puppy? Would all my furniture have bite marks on it from a teething pup? I should’ve asked more questions, but then I”d have had to stick around longer. I was too hungry for that. I guessed I’d find out later. I’d text him after I had some food and was thinking more clearly.

I’d been so caught off guard by Aiden’s nervous favor that I only realized now that I hadn’t decided what I was eating yet, which meant I didn’t know where I was going. I lingered outside the building for a moment as I considered my usual options, then I turned right and followed the sidewalk further into downtown.

I’d moved to Durham about four years ago and I liked it well enough. Well enough to stay anyway. It wasn’t a big city like New York or Los Angeles, but it had many amenities of a larger city. It suited me just fine. I enjoyed being able to walk to most places and the good variety of restaurants in my area. The lights of the city at night were beautiful and I liked to sit on my balcony in the morning in the fog. Until summer came around. I hated summer.

I reluctantly passed my favorite burger place and opted for a smoothie place instead. The tight leggings around my waist didn”t let me forget that I needed to make some changes. A protein smoothie wasn’t much of a dinner, but it was a good way to start some better habits. I’d been sitting still for most of the day so I’d make up for it with a lighter dinner.

Soon, I’d be walking Aiden’s dog everyday while I watched it and I could eat the burgers then if I”d earned the calories. Maybe. I liked the idea, even if a little voice in my mind reminded me that defeated the purpose of it all. I ignored it for now. Deciding to eat them later made it easier to say no right now.

I was going to make some changes and I was going to start now. I felt motivated for the first time in a long time. First, I’d put my efforts into being healthier. Then, maybe I’d consider trying to be more social. That was what normal people did, right? Those were my two biggest areas needing the most improvement. I’d think about it more when the time came.

My drink didn’t take long to make, and I took my time walking back to my building. When I returned, I peeked cautiously into the mailroom to make sure Aiden was gone before I grabbed my mail and quickly hopped on the elevator.

I got my keys ready before the doors opened so I could minimize how long I spent in the hallway, too. Gods, I really had become the grouchiest of hermits. A streak of shame filled me at what I’d let myself become without even noticing. What was that saying again? If you aim for nothing, you’ll get it? Something like that.

I”d developed a self imposed solitude that had once felt like a shield, but was now becoming more of a wall between me and the things I wanted for my future. Things like a family. How would I meet someone if I never went anywhere or did anything?

My shame burned furiously as I once again walked past the chores I was supposedly going to do tonight and continued on to my computer chair. I was still determined to make real changes, but in baby steps. I was nothing if not realistic. I’d gotten a smoothie and now I deserved a little break. I slipped my headset on and scrolled through my game library.

There were a couple of games I hadn’t touched in a long time that made me nostalgic for my youth. My friends and I would team up and spend hours together talking and playing. My two best friends were not able to get online as much anymore. One of them had kids now and just didn’t have the time or energy. The other had moved and lived several timezones away from me, so coordinating our schedules was harder.

I missed them both. My heart ached for the old days. I sent a quick text to our group chat to see if either one could get online tonight. The chances were slim, but it was still worth trying. I should really try more often.

While I waited for them to respond, I opened one of the games we used to play together most often. It had been a long time since I’d tried it, and I figured I could reacquaint myself with it while I waited. Just in case. It was a team based game though and I’d have to play with random people for now. I didn’t usually play team games without my friends because it could be incredibly frustrating to play with people I didn’t know. But I was in the mood to make more of an effort.

I always kept my microphone off on games like this so the other players wouldn’t know I was a girl.It was just better that way. And easier. Online gaming could be just awful for female players. It was draining to have to deal with the commments and the targeting. A lot of jerks became extra terrible when they could hide behind screen names and anonymity. One or two assholes could ruin a whole game for me by themselves, even if everyone else was playing normally. It was fucking awful.

It was challenging to keep my mic off though. Coordinating on a team was already hard when you didn’t know each other, and not talking exacerbated everything. Stuff happened so fast that it made it almost impossible to type and respond timely enough for it to make a difference. Especially shooting and combat games.

But that was okay. I was a decent enough player that I could still have fun, even if it meant my team didn’t win much. This particular game wasn”t too bad without talking.

Once the game loaded, I took my time looking at all the new updates and items I could try out. There was actually more new stuff than I’d expected and I was excited to play, so when my friends responded that they couldn’t join me tonight I started a game anyway.

This game had a solo mode that was still fun, but I was missing my friends so I selected the squads option as well. The game would put me in whatever type of match was starting next so I waited to see what kind of round I’d be in.

I was placed on a squad. Of course. Alright, that could be fine. I’d only just started so I was trying to stay optimistic. My little guy raced through the level clumsily as I got a feel for the controls and I dashed across the finish line as the third of our four person squad.

I loved the arcade feel of this game with its bright colors and frantic pacing. It was a race through an obstacle course and your team received a combined score that was compared to other teams’ scores. The lowest scoring teams were kicked out over four rounds of different levels with different goals and obstacles until it was finally one foursome against another.

We made it through another round together, but our team was eliminated in round three after a suspenseful struggle. I found myself smiling anyway and really enjoying the game again. This one was easier to play without using a mic and was fast paced enough that the losses didn’t sting for very long because you were already starting again.

I readied up for another round and was placed into a squads match once again. This time I had really gotten the hang of the controls and navigation, so I played much better.

I finished first for the new team in round one and placed second for our squad in round two. One of my teammates did a little celebration dance at the finish line before they crossed. It was so fun! I slipped up a little in round three but my teammates still did well enough to carry us into the finals.

Anticipation surged through me and I bounced in my seat a little as we took off towards the finish line. One of my teammates grabbed a rival and held him back so it was really a three versus three sprint to the end. I jumped and dived, weaving my way through airborne projectiles trying to knock me off the map and then snagged the win for us by a hair. I grinned and laughed out loud.

“Yeeessss! Eat it,” I said to no one. It felt so good to win and even better to get the win for my team after they’d carried me in the last round. A request popped up for me to join their party and I accepted immediately. They’d been good teammates and I wanted to win again. My little guy loaded into their group and we all readied up for another round.

‘Discord?’ the party leader asked me through the party chat on the screen. Nah, I wasn’t about that. I didn’t want to give away my gender and I didn’t really care about these people anyway. I wasn’t going to even play this particular game for very long tonight. I had a lot on my mind and was even thinking of going to bed early.

‘Can’t,’ I sent back quickly before we loaded into the first round of the next match. He replied with a frowning face, but then were in the middle of the game and got lost in the frenzy of the race.

This time we came super close to pulling off another win, but ended up in second place. The rush of coming so close was thrilling. Not bad, but not winners either. It took a couple of minutes for everyone to ready up this time and I was a little impatient.

‘Can’t talk?’ a different teammate continued while we waited.

‘No,’ I replied and rolled my eyes since he couldn’t see me.

‘Can you listen?’ the same guy asked. It felt pushy and I just ignored it. I still wanted to play and I wanted to win again, of course, so I couldn’t send anything too biting. I wanted to though. Saying nothing felt like my best option, or just the easiest. It didn’t matter. None of this mattered.

Thankfully, we started another round right after his message and I hoped they’d just assume I was too caught up in the level to write a reply. I couldn’t type and race at the same time, after all. I used a controller for this game and it was way easier than a keyboard. Navigating a character with the directional keys was hard for me, so I preferred a joystick for games like this. It paid off for me when the maps got too crazy.

It wasn’t long before my smoothie was gone and I was bouncing in my chair. I’d missed this and hadn’t even realized it. Maybe I could play this game more, but just on solo mode. Though the more I considered it, the more I suspected I was enjoying being on a team more than this specific game. I liked the victory dances, the added pressure of not letting them down, and having someone notice when I played particularly well. Celebrating together was so much better. The wins felt more rewarding and the losses weren’t as painful when I shared them with my team.

Maybe I’d needed some change in my life more than I’d thought.