" Take the left, go through the straights upfront, the enemy is hiding behind the door".

Rowdy's commanding voice echoed through my old earphones.

It was summer, and my high ping was giving me serious problems with the in-game communication.

" Did you say the right doors or the left?"

I asked Rowdy through my ping of 600ms.

"Through the lllllllllll-------.

'ring ring ring ring'

It was my brother.

Of course, out of all the time, he could call in a day, it had to be the time when I was in the middle of a game.

"Hello brother, I am.-"

" Video calls me, I am free right now."

" That's good, But I am n--"

My brother cut me off midway.

I wanted to tell him that I was playing a very important match with my squad, but the mere name of PUBG would've made him lecture for a long ass hour. God forbid if a teenager pays more attention to video games than their daily regular, boring, and all the average things you can add in life.

Disappointed, I exited the game and turned on the video call.

My brother lives in the United States, and because of the difference in the time zone between home and his workplace, it's difficult to stay in touch with him.

But it's more difficult to stay connected in the game without being interrupted by someone now and then.

Trust me, if you are not a gamer, you will not understand how it feels to be interrupted.

" Hey little chump, how have you been?"

My brother grinned through my One plus 7 pro screen.

" I am doing good, was missing you, glad you called." I sighed.

"Liar, who are you, a ghost of my ghostie sister?"

"Oh please, why wouldn't I miss my lovable brother. How's the workplace?"

I asked him half interested, using my best oscar worthy acting skills to stay concerned.

" It's hectic as always, takes effort to earn money you know, especially if the sister overspends every week." My brother smirked.

My fingers ached to clout him.

If I could hit him through the screen I would have.

" What have you been up to lately, busy playing PUBG much?" He asked me with a knowing smile

If there is one person who is capable of detecting your whereabouts, trust me it is your sibling.

I don't know how he manages to guess when I am online in-game, but every time he calls me, he has this 6th sense that tells him that I was busy.

Being the brother he is, he takes immense pleasure in teasing and irritating me about it.

He knows I will give anything in the world to go back online, but at that very moment, and he has this strong urge of doing a family video call, and spend hours create half-hearted jokes. After talking to him for 10 more minutes, I give the phone to mom and go back to my room.

I open my wattsapp web and drop a text to Rowdy.

<sowy, bro called, had to pic up, it was imp.>

He was offline, I figured he must be busy in a match,

I wanted to call him to ask about my results but decided against it.

Only a gamer can understand how the last thing a gamer wants during a match is a phone call.

I am half scared to hear the results of my trial, but basic Sportsmanship required me to inform the IGL regarding my unexpected logout during a match.

My mom knocks on my doorstep to give me my phone.

After taking the phone back, I log in to the game again in the hopes to confront Rowdy or the other squad members.

I find Enigma online.

I send him a play request.

" Yo the ice princess cuts through the eyes of absence." He jokes the moment he enters my lobby.

" I am sorry, had to leave. My brother called. " I apologized.

" It's okay, I get it. I'm not angry at you. It's Rowdy who you should be apologizing to." He said while making his in-game character do a ballet split with a hoot.

" I know, I dropped him a text, but it appears he is in a custom room." I shrugged.

" Oh yeah, he was pissed. Soon after you left, one of his old clan  mate gave him a ID Password for a paid custom."

" Right, make money while you are angry." I retorted back.

" Gotcha."

While waiting for Rowdy, I and Enigma played a few mini-matches. It felt good to let go of all the agitation I had because of the wait. 

After half an hour or so, Rowdy came online after finishing his custom.

Since Enigma and Rowdy are best buddies, he told me that Rowdy always gives the first chance to everyone.

He even praised my assaulting skills, going as far as to say that they could do well with a girl- assaulter.

I had no idea what it meant, I was still new to the latest slangs of the game world.

This was the first game  I was playing seriously in a long while.

I send a game request to Rowdy.

He accepts.

" Hey mate, I'm sorry what happened back there, my brother called, and family comes first." I apologize the moment he enters my lobby.

" It's okay love, blood relations are important. However, they are not your only family. You have one right here as well. Your SQUAD. Am I wrong?" He asks me softly.

I could sense that he was angry with me, but the latest custom match must have been a good one because from his tone it was evident that he was beaming with the eyes of victory.

" True that. But there is a world outside of the game world, and it's an important one." I reply

 "But how do you choose what's more important? If you don't believe in this world, then why are you here?"