Aunt Naomi woke me up around six in the morning to kiss my forehead goodbye and tell me that my parents had come home.

A few hours later, I got up to make a bagel for breakfast and placed it on the deck above my computer keyboard. My parents were still asleep from last night's outing, so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about someone reading my conversations with Valentino over my shoulder.

Hey

The greeting appeared on my screen upon logging in to CrusadEon. I grinned as I typed.

Hi!

Your still level 20 I see

Rocking that armor

Oh haha thankss :)

And I didn't have much time to play

Studying and all that

I can help you level up

if you want

That would be amaZING!

Zinggg

Lolll typo

I settled comfortably in my chair and took a bite of breakfast, using my left hand to move my character to where the quest told me to go. After swallowing, I began to type.

Have you heard of the song Love Storm?

Hm

Nah

You shoulddd

Does it have anything to do with the quest

Nooo I just like it

Like I like you

Just messin with you lol

Of course I'll listen

Yay!!

Let me know what you think!

Mhm I will

You can recommend me something once you listen to this one :)

I like YankE

Isn't he a celebrity??

And you

The guy's a poet

A philosopher

O yeah?

I've never listened to his stuff

His real name's

Yusuf Elwahdee

Oh wait

Listen to Ryuu no Guardian intro first

Okay that one it is!

I searched for the name, and my eyes widened slightly at my results. The song was from an anime. Valentino watches anime? I didn't expect him to be the type.

Oh, it's from an anime?

Valentino didn't reply this time, though he made the necessary hits to the boss on time. I assumed he was embarrassed.

I like anime too!

Have you heard of Hayao Miyazaki?

I watch his stuff with my parents

He's a legend

Which of his is your favorite?

Howls moving castle for sure. you?

Spirited away is mine

You should watch out when they hit

There's secondary damage after three seconds if ur not a mystic

I didn't even notice

I think my game is lagging

Oh, and I love No Face!

Maybe there's an update you haven't downloaded?

Yeah, I think Haku is pretty cool too

Wait!!!!

I'll log out real quick

Brb <3

No prob :)

I had forgotten to update the game, so I finished my breakfast while waiting for it to download. More than that, I loved that Valentino responded to all my flirting. I could never bring myself to say things like that in person, but with Tireya, I couldn't help it.

Hello again

Hi!!! lol

Let's get this party started

:)))

It was past noon when I finally told Valentino I had to be AFK (away from keyboard) so I could stretch my legs and take my breakfast plate to the kitchen to wash. I went to the bathroom afterward to perform wudu before I did zuhr prayer.

After, I went to the living room to find my parents. They were snuggled under a light blanket with an old movie on the TV. I stared at the white and green dragon on the screen. Haku! Mama noticed me first.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Mhm," I replied, a little zoned out that my parents were watching Valentino's favorite Studio Ghibli movie.

Mama tilted her head back into Baba's chest. "Did you take out the chicken this morning?"

"Uh," was all he said, eyes slightly widened at the mention of an undone task.

Mama turned to look at me again. "Inaya, why don't you order whatever you want? You can eat here with us while we watch."

"You're not going to eat?"

"We had a late breakfast."

I thought for a moment. "Is it okay if I eat in my room instead?"

"Sure," my dad answered, and my mom nodded.

"Cool!"

I rushed to place an order from my phone, scrambling for the nearest halal restaurant and got a Cajun-stuffed chicken with a side of fries and a can of soda. I hesitated a moment, then added a side of dusted chicken wings and a half-pound cheeseburger for my parents. Even if they weren't hungry now, a whiff of the spiced meal would be enough to make them salivate.

Settling back into my desk chair, I typed a message to Valentino.

I'm back!

Getting lunch now

Welcome back

what you havin

Cajun chicken

Mmmmmm

Would totally share if I could :P

Would totally have some if you did :P

You know

I can cook a bit

I could make it for you

I was grinning at my screen, but then I thought—what if Valentino thought about how I, Inaya, shared my lunches with him, too? Would he piece together that I was the one behind Tireya?

<3

You know that boss we just fought

Ya

Didn't he look a bit like Thor?

You right

Guy was just missing his hammer

Omg

I just realized

What?

We fought the boss to steal his hammer!

That's why he doesn't have it lol

Lol the devs thought we wouldn't notice

Devs?

Developers

Ohh lol

Should've guessed that

All good

Your next questline I can't help you with btw

Huh?

Why not??

I'm a templar so I can't enter some of the cities on your side of the map

Oh :(

"Inaya, lunch is here," I heard my dad say from behind me. I turned, using the back of the chair to hide the chat on the screen, and took the bag containing the food from him.

"Before you go," I said, placing the items on my desk, "for you and Mama." I retrieved the dishes I'd ordered for them.

Baba smiled. "Wow, your mama and I raised you right. Come here, my little princess."

I beamed at my dad's words and set the food back down to accept his open arms.

He rubbed my back and then let go. "Now, let's eat!"

"Oh, uh," I glanced toward my computer screen, still half-hidden.

Baba followed my gaze, seeing the CrusadEon Online game open. "Oh, right." He gave me a knowing nod before taking the food.

"Don't tell Mama?" I suggested in a low voice.

My dad watched me for a moment and then rolled his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Sure. Have fun, kiddo. Make sure you don't forget the studying."

I bounced back to my chair to unpack my meal with haste. Laying it out on my desk, I took a picture of the food and computer setup and then put the newly printed picture into my scrapbook with the caption Weekend with C's: CrusadEon Online, Cajun chicken, and Crush.

My life was pretty much perfect, and I was just getting started.