Chapter 78: Chapter 78 – Amy: Invitation

My work shift was, like all weekday nights, quiet. Not that I minded. It gave me a chance to read webserials on my phone.

It was nearing midnight when a car pulled into the lot and parked in front of the door. Hugh got out of the driver’s side.

I remembered him saying that he was going to come by, but I honestly had doubted it would actually happen. The students at the college didn’t mix much with townies like me outside of very specific circumstances, like the LARPing club – an organization chartered as part of the town instead of part of the college.

I was glad that he did, though. I liked him. He was funny. That whole tongue in cheek I might have access to a system thing was played so deadpan. He really had Larry going.

Then a really pretty blonde girl got out of the backseat behind him. She wore a short dress and knee high black boots. Wow. That was Hugh’s girlfriend? I didn’t know what I was expecting but definitely not someone so sexy. After all, he wasn’t all that much to look at. How did he land someone like her?

Then I noticed something really weird. Another girl exited the backseat, a brunette dressed similarly and almost as pretty.

As the two girls walked toward the store, it became obvious that neither were wearing bras. My face heated as I couldn’t help but wonder what else they might not have on. I would have died to be seen in public dressed like that.

Of course, both of them had the body for it. I didn’t.

I wondered which one was Natalie.

“Hey, Amy,” he said brightly as they entered the store.

He seemed oddly nervous. Maybe because of whoever the other girl besides his girlfriend was being there?

“This is Natalie,” he said, gesturing toward the brunette. “You remember me telling you about her?”

I nodded. Again, she wasn’t at all what I’d pictured in my mind. Really pretty and dressed like she was going clubbing, except she seemed really uncomfortable in that dress with her hands clutching her skirt to keep it stable.

“And this is Julia,” he said. “She’s… uh…”

“I’m Nat’s girlfriend,” the blonde said with a laugh.

Okay. This was just getting stranger and stranger. It wasn’t unusual for girls to refer to each other that way, of course, with no implication involved. Her teasing tone, however, made it seem like she meant something a lot less innocent.

“Well met,” I said.

And I immediately grimaced. Larry and his dorky greeting. He had me doing it now.

I think Hugh understood the exact reason for my expression because he grinned.

“So,” I said, trying to cover my embarrassment at being so awkward, especially around these two girls who were so much prettier than me, “you said something about a costume?”

“A costume?” Natalie asked.

“Oh. Yeah. I forgot to tell you,” he said. “Amy does a lot of the costuming for her club. I told her you might be interested in having something done.”

“Hugh!”

“What? It’d be fun. I’d pay for it.”

Julia laughed.

That entire exchange was really weird. Why was she so embarrassed about a costume? And If Natalie didn’t think she was coming to meet me to talk about that, then why were they here?

Natalie shook her head at him and approached me directly. “Hi. Sorry about that. Hugh tells me that you’re really into archery, huh?”

“Yeah.”

I had no idea where this was going.

“And that you’re really knowledgeable about gaming and litrpg, right?”

Was she helping him do research for his book?

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“Yeah.”

“Tell me,” she said, “how would you feel, hypothetically, about being in a party with Hugh, Julia, and me?”

I was pretty sure she wasn’t talking about LARPing. Girls as pretty as her and Julia did not, as a rule, LARP. Were they into some new video game and needed a fourth player? But, for some reason, she just didn’t strike me as a gamer. So was this just more research?

Ignoring all those questions, I focused on what she actually wanted to know. Hugh seemed fine. He’d fit in great with my group of friends. The two girls on the other hand would make me definitely feel like the DUFF, and I hated feeling like that.

“Why me?” I asked.

She nodded like I’d passed some kind of test.

“Because neither Julia nor I have any experience with weapons at all,” she said. “And I think he gets frustrated that neither of us truly get all the gaming stuff. He’s having to constantly explain everything to us. Honestly, he thinks you bring things to the table that are essential and that neither of us do.”

Something struck me as off about the way she said that, and it wasn’t just because I had no clue what the heck she was talking about.

“And you’re okay with that?” I asked.

Ah. Yeah. From her expression, I’d hit the nail on the head. It almost seemed like she saw me as a threat, but that made no sense. How could I be a threat to a girl as pretty as her?

“I really wish that I could be everything for him,” she said, “but I can’t. If you joining our party makes the chances of us surviving higher, then I’m all for it.”

She said that in the most serious tone I’d ever heard. Whatever this was, it was apparent that she considered it life and death.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but I have literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

She turned back to Hugh, who nodded.

“Hugh has access to a system,” she said. “Julia and I are system users. Status screens. Attributes. Experience points. Quests. The whole deal. We’re here to invite you to become one, too.”

I narrowed my eyes, staring at Hugh. “I thought you were one of the good ones. I should have known better.”

“Huh?”

“Larry said that you impressed him, and it’s hard to impress Larry.”

Hugh looked at me like I was the one spouting nonsense.

“Just because all of you are students at the college does not make you better than us, than me,” I said. “Townies are people, too, you know. It’s not okay to pick on us or play pranks or whatever it is that you’re doing right now.”

Hugh looked frustrated. “It’s not a trick or a prank. We’re not picking on you. But I can see that there’s no way words are going to convince you of that. Let’s just go with the direct approach.”

His eyes glazed over for a moment, and then the weirdest thing that had ever happened to me occurred.

A blue box popped up right in front of my eyes.

A real system screen straight out of a litrpg was hovering in front of my eyes. I moved my head around, and it stayed right there in front of me.

Larry’s and my instincts about Hugh hadn’t been wrong. He’d actually been telling the truth. He had access to a system, and now he was offering that opportunity to me, too.

I did the only thing that made sense. I concentrated on answering, “Yes.”

“No! Wait!” he yelled.

Too late.

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