As the glowing red light got closer and closer, I began to think about what would happen next and where I would be. Once the glowing red light got close enough to the point where it was right in front of me, I could see that it’s center was a little transparent, as if it were a portal. So, as I went through the center of the glowing red light, I was then transported to another place.

~On the other side of the portal~

Once I had reached the other side of the portal, I then met Alan and Chelsea right by what I assumed was an entry and exit way.

“This is it, this is the game.” Alan said.

“Because we don’t have much time, we should probably go to the game master to see if you can be accepted in. And then just you and I will return later, that way I can get you started up Aria.” Chelsea said.

Chelsea and Alan then led me down this long hall that was straight in front of the portal room. At the very end of the hall we entered a room in which I assumed was the office of the game master.

“Hello game master, we have a new player who needs to go through the acceptance test.” Chelsea said.

“And what is this new player’s name?” the black hooded figure asked.

“Her name is Aria sir game master.” Chelsea said.

“I know the Aria. Since it’s just Aria and you two, you can call me by my actual name.” the black hooded figure said, taking off the black colored hoodie.

After removing the hood, I found out that the supposed game master was Alan’s brother, Eli.

“You’re Eli, right?” I asked.

“Sure am. You’re here for the acceptance test, are you not?” Eli asked.

“I assume so.” I said.

“Alright, you stay here while Alan and Chelsea will wait in another room of this hall. I’ll just ask you some questions and you will answer them. That’s it, that simple.” Eli said.

Alan and Chelsea then left the room escorted by two people who stood by the door of Eli’s office. I was then ordered to sit down. Once I did, I was then asked the questions from the acceptance test. After completing the questions, I was directed to the room where Alan and Chelsea were waiting.

“So, what did he say?” Chelsea asked.

“I’ll have to come back at another time to find out whether or not I made it.” I said.

“Okay, I can come back here with you after school. Do you know whether or not you have practice today?” Chelsea asked.

“I do, but I can just tell my mother that I’m spending the night with you, and that I’ll just be going to your house directly after practice.” I said.

“Alright, but I’ve also got practice. Since my practice lasts a half hour longer than yours, you’ll have to come to my practice after yours ends. For today, since the whether is nice enough, we’re having cheer leading practice on the field. You can just come to the field once your practice is over and wait for me there.” Chelsea said.

So, after discussing how this would happen, we went ahead and left the game room to go back to school.

~Back in school~

Once we got back to the school, we went straight back to the cafeteria so nothing would be suspected from any of the three of us. Everything went smoothly, and we got through the day just well. And once it came time for the end of the day, I went to practice as usual. When it ended, I took a short five minute break before heading over to the field. Once I got to the field, I sat there in my car waiting for Chelsea. Half an hour later, Chelsea came to my car as her practice ended.

“Hey, you ready to go?” Chelsea asked.

“Yeah, do you think we’ll have the time to shower real quick, I don’t know if it would be best to be showing up there if we’re covered in sweat from practice.” I said.

“If we go to my house, we should have the time. There are multiple showers in my house, so we both can take showers to save time.” Chelsea said.

So, once Chelsea got into her car, we headed off to her house to take a shower. And once we got finished, we got back in our cars and went back to the back parking lot of the high school.

~The parking lot~

“Okay, but how are we supposed to get back in?” I asked.

“Practice for the basketball kids is about to end. We can go in now pretending like we’re there for one of our friends, but instead we’ll go to the stall for the portal.” Chelsea said.

Following by her plan, I followed Chelsea with nothing but my own self to the stalls. And after turning the tile stone, I was then transported to the game room once more.

~In the game room~

Once we made it through the portal, Chelsea led me to Eli’s office once again.

“Hey Eli, Aria and I are here for her results from the acceptance test.” Chelsea said.

“Alright then, I guess you’ll want to know whether or not she made it, right?” Eli asked.

“Of course sir.” Chelsea said.

“Well, congratulations, she made it. You can go ahead and take her to the lockers so she can get her starting stuff. After that, bring her back here.” Eli said.

Chelsea then led me to another room that went down another long hallway. In the room, there were a bunch of little lockers. And also in the room were a few of the other players.

“This will be your locker since this is the one Eli gave me a key for.” Chelsea said.

I then had taken the key from Chelsea, opening my locker.

“And what are these for?” I asked.

“That device is for you to use only when you’re here in the game. It’s basically like a smart phone, but it only holds information about the game. You can use it to message other players, learn about upcoming events, and even to sign up for the events. As for that outfit, that is your beginners outfit. It is what you are going to be wearing for your training courses. But since there are more male players than female players, the outfits put in each of the lockers were in men’s sizes. We can go to Eli’s office for a change of size. For now, since you know about the locker stuff, we need to head back to Eli’s office. Leave the device here, but bring the outfit.” Chelsea said.

I then put the device into the locker, locked it up, and brought the outfit with me as Chelsea and I went back to Eli’s office. But when we entered Eli’s office this time, there was someone else there.

“Hello again Chelsea, you two will need to just sit in those seats beside the guards while I talk to these two people.” Eli said.

There before Eli stood two people. One of them was Alan, and the other was a person I didn’t recognize. Once they left the room, Chelsea and I then went to sit before Eli.

“Alright, I assume that you have a mistaken size in the beginning trainer’s outfit, correct?” Eli asked.

“Yes. Actually, she didn’t really try it on.” Chelsea said.

“She can quickly go change in the restroom by the back corner of my office. If she needs help getting it on, you can help her.” Eli said.

So, I had gone to the restroom in the office to change into the beginning trainer’s outfit. But, I found some difficulty with trying to get it on.

“So, does it fit?” Eli asked.

“Not really, it’s a bit too small.” I said.

“Too small?” Eli asked.

“Yeah, mainly because of my height.” I said.

“Well, that’s a men’s size, and all of the men’s sizes are larger than any of the female’s sizes, so you’ll just need a larger men’s size. Chelsea will go get you one and return that one.” Eli said.

Chelsea then left the room, coming back with a new outfit in her hands.

“Alright, go try this one on. But this time, if it fits, keep it on and come out wearing it.” Chelsea said.

I then went back to the restroom to change into the trainer’s outfit. Since this one had fit, I came back out with it on.

“Alrighty, looks like we found a good fit. Since you have a beginner’s training outfit now, you can start your training. Chelsea will take you there, and Alan will help you the rest of the way through it.” Eli said.

Chelsea and I were then led out of the office, and into a rather larger room. The room we were led to was a room that was different from all of the other rooms. It was much larger than all of the other rooms, and it was in the center of the portal room. It had clear walls and doors, so everyone and anyone inside could be seen.

“Alright, this is training. Since Alan is already here, I’ll just go ahead and leave him to direct you through your training. I will see you later after your training has finished.” Chelsea said.

Chelsea then left, leaving me in the training room with Alan and one other person.

“Hello again Aria, since you are in training right now, you won’t have to worry about setting up a game name. But, one thing you must know about this game is that most of the events require you to have a partner. So, every single person you walk past does have a partner in the game, who is also the person they compete with as their team. For right now, your partner will be Shane here. And because he never had before found a person with equal challenge and skill levels, he had went for a little while without a partner, which kept him from participating in the duo competitions. But now, since you are his partner, you two will work together to compete as a team in each of the events. For this year, we are doing weekly events. So, every week, there will be an event held for each category of skill. You can technically compete in all of them, but it is recommended that you not, it’s all up to your guys’ decision. Now, to not waste time, I will go ahead and take you guys through training. Don’t be afraid of a little sweat, because we will really be working at your skills today since this is your guys’ first time in the game.” Alan said.

Alan had then directed the two of us through some training courses, some which required more mental abilities, and some that required more physical abilities. I mainly did well in the ones with speed and smarts, while Shane was stronger in the ones that required strength. Though, we still made it through the courses at a quite similar skill level. Once we made it through the final course, we had to go back to the beginning where Alan was.

“Alright, that’s it for training. You two can go back to the game master’s office if you want, or you can just go ahead on your own to the lockers and change back out of your training uniforms.” Alan said.

So, having been given the choice, Shane and I both agreed to go back to the lockers.

~Locker room~

Once the two of us had returned back to the locker room, we went to our assigned lockers and got our clothing back. After having changed back into our clothing from our training uniforms, we had then returned back to the training arena where Alan was located.

~Training Arena~

“Alright, now that the two of you guys are back, I will go ahead and have Chelsea here take you through the rest of the process.” Alan said, then leaving the arena.

“Hello you two, my name is Chelsea. As Alan has said, I’ll be taking you guys through the rest of the process. I will need the two of you to follow me to the computer’s room. There, I will ask you guys for your game name. I will also be helping you guys to be setting up your profiles. You will have a solo profile that is of just yourself, and then a team profile that is of the both of you. Using your game devices, you can also view the profiles of other members and teams as well as your own. For now, let’s go to the computers.” Chelsea said.

Chelsea had then lead us down the same hall as Eli’s office, but we instead went into a room on the left side of the hall that was rather closer to the portal room.

~In the computer room~

“Alright, this is the computer room. As obvious, there are a bunch of computers. They can be used by almost all of the players. The only time a player cannot use the computers is if it comes to the master computers. The master computers can only be accessed by a few of the most elite players in the game, who are the ones that help Eli out most of the time. Since I am one of those players, I will have the access to the master computers to help you guys get your profiles set up. Come over here.” Chelsea said.

Chelsea led us into a smaller room that had a few computers in it.

“These are the master computers. This room can only be accessed by a keycard given to the elite players by the game master. Let’s just go ahead and fill out your guys’ solo profiles for right now. I’ll just be asking about your guys’ hobbies, favorite activities and such, plus some stuff that may relate to your real life. That way, the game players can possibly identify you in real life if they run into you. Of course, all game players who decide to speak of or about the game in the real world do get eliminated and instantly trapped within the game world. So, I’d advise you two to never speak about it in the real world. Trust me, I had a friend who did it once, and I haven’t seen her in quite a while.” Chelsea said.

Then, Chelsea proceeded with asking questions to fill out the profiles for Shane and I. Once she finished asking the questions, she then took us a room with a bunch of green screens in it to take profile photos. Once the photos were taken, we went back to the computers and she set them up.

“Alright, these are your guys’ profiles. But last of all, what will your guys’ names be for the game this season?” Chelsea asked.

“Can mine be Skar?” I asked.

“Of course. And yours Shane?” Chelsea asked.

“Zarkem.” Shane said.

“Alright, your guys’ profiles are finished and fully uploaded to the game devices. Now, any player or team in the game can see your solo profiles. I’ve decided we’ll wait a little bit to get your team profile set up, that way the two of you have time to get used to each other. And by the way, you don’t get to choose your partners for any season, so you are always stuck with whoever you get. Sometimes the newest players are put with the most elite, if they are lucky. Since you guys are done for the day, you can go home now.” Chelsea said.

“So what should I exactly do about that, I already told my mother I was staying at your house, remember Chelsea?” I asked.

“Oh, uh, I kinda forgot about that. You can still stay over tonight anyways.” Chelsea said.

“It’s a weekend you know, tomorrow is Saturday.” I said.

“Um, okay, you have a car right?” Chelsea asked.

“Yeah.” I said.

“Okay then, would you be able to drive yourself home if I woke you up Saturday morning, because my parents don’t allow me to have friends over alone when they’re both gone.” Chelsea said.

“I’m sure I’d be able to, yeah.” I said.

“Okay, conflict solved. Let’s go gather up Alan and go home now.” Chelsea said.

“What about Shane, what’s he gonna do?” I asked.

“He’s in our school you know, he’ll just be going home with us too, unless he decides to stay and train.” Chelsea said.

“I’ll go home for today, I’m tired enough after the first courses.” Shane said.

“Alright then, let’s go get Alan and get home.” Chelsea said.

We then went looking for Alan, and went to the locker room right after finding him. All we did in the locker room was return our game devices, and then headed right through the portal.

~On the other side of the portal~

Once we got to the other side of the portal, we found ourselves in the school bathrooms once again.

“Uh, Chelsea, how are we supposed to get out of here without getting caught?” I asked.

“The window right here by the wall. There are no cameras in the bathrooms, and none on this side of the school building, so it’s an easy way out. The boys’ restroom is right beside the girls’, so we’ll see Alan and Shane right there. Let’s hop out now, and get out as quick as we can. I’ll boost you up to go first, just open the latches on both sides and then I’ll lock them back right before I hop down.” Chelsea said.

Chelsea then boosted me up to the window of the bathroom, allowing me to unlatch the window so we could get out. Once I opened the window and hopped out, I found myself right beside the parking lot. And right there were four cars, three that belonged to Alan, Chelsea, and I. The fourth one was right next to Alan’s, so I assumed it was Shane’s. Once I made it to the pavement of the parking lot right in front of me, I could see that Shane was already there. Then behind us came Alan and Chelsea from the windows of the bathrooms.

“Hello again Aria, I know we didn’t get to actually get a full conversation out of the training and stuff. Since it’s really not that late, do you think you’d want to get to know each other before the sun falls? Maybe we could go to the park or something.” Shane said.

“Sure, I’ll just have to let Chelsea know so that she is aware that I won’t be at her house until later.” I said.

“That’s alright.” Shane said.

As Chelsea climbed the rest of her way out of the window, I walked over to her to tell her about the situation.

“Hey Chelsea, Shane and I decided that we were gonna go get to know each other for a bit, so I probably won’t be able to make it to your house until later. Do you think you’d just be able to text me the location once we’re done?” I asked.

“Sure, just talk to me on Snap Chat, I don’t really use my actual text messaging app that  often, so I may not end up seeing it if you send an actual text to me.” Chelsea said.

“That’s alright. I’ll just see you later, bye Aria!” Chelsea said.

Chelsea and Alan then left in their cars as they got into them.

“So, I don’t want to offend you by asking this, but do you think you’re more of a girly girl person, or a tomboy?” Shane asked.

“No offense taken, big time tomboy. I’d say I’m the tomboy of my family, then again I am an only child with no siblings.” I said.

“Okay, so do you think you’d be interested in skateboarding?” Shane asked.

“I’ve never tried it, but I am pretty sure I’d be able to get used to it.” I said.

“Okay, I’ve got an idea of somewhere we could go. If you can tell me your Snap Chat I can text you the location, because I’m rather a fast driver.” Shane said.

I then gave my Snap Chat username to him, and he messaged me the location.

“That’s it right there, just pull it up on the G.P.S. and you should be able to get there. It’s not that far from here, see you in a few.” Shane said.

Shane then got in his car and headed off. As soon as I got to my car, I entered the location into the G.P.S. and started driving.

~At the skate park~

Once I arrived, I found that it was the location of a skate park. I only saw but three other cars there at the time I arrived, but none of them were Shane’s. Seconds later, I saw Shane pull in as I got out of my car.

“Hey, you got here before me, what route did you take?” Shane asked.

“The one the G.P.S. gave me.” I said.

“Nice answer, that says a lot. But, I wasn’t sure whether you minded or not, but I’ve got a few of my friends here as well. But ahead of time, just so you know, they’re probably gonna try teasing me about talking to a girl. The last time I spoke to a girl, they teased me about it so far to a point that she literally stopped talking to me because she thought my friends were weird. Either way, let’s go ahead and go over there to them, they’re just over on that piece over there.” Shane said.

Shane then took me to a part of the skate park where three younger boys sat.

“Hey, Shane, you finally made it. What took you so long? And who is that?” a blonde haired boy asked.

“It took me so long because I had to do some chores, plus you remember I had football practice.” Shane said.

“That doesn’t answer my question about who she is. Hey girl, what’s your name?” the blonde boy asked.

“Okay, hang on. Aria, these are my friends Jake, Tanner, and Quinton. Guys, this is Aria.” Shane said.

“Interesting name, haven’t heard of that too commonly. Wait a second, I think I know you. Do you remember me at all? My name is Quinton.” said a brown haired boy.

It took me a second, but then I realized who he was.

“Quinton T?” I asked.

“That’s me, I knew you were familiar.” Quinton said.

Quinton was one of my co-workers in the fast food restaurant.

“How do you two know each other?” Shane asked.

“We’re co-workers.” I said.

“Ohh, okay. He never told me he had friends there at work. Either way, let’s go ahead and get to skating you guys, shall we?” Shane asked.

The five of us then got started on skating. We skated for a while, and I got to know Shane quite a bit. But when the sun began to fall, we all went off home, and I went over to Chelsea’s place. Chelsea and I ended up having a sleep over party with some of her cheerleader friends, so we got to talk to each other about stuff, and mostly gossip. Either way, once it came to night time, we all went off to bed.

~THE END~

That’s the end of part two to my series. What do you guys think so far? What do you think will happen between Aria and Shane? And with the elite players, do you think there may end up being some conflicts or arguments when it comes down to it? Either way, I hope you enjoyed part two. This story, “The Set Up”, is part two to my story “The Game”. Do you want a third part to the series? Tell me your thoughts below!