Filed to story: Outplayed Story (Brooklyn & Ethan) Book PDF Free
He drummed his fingers against the desk. The first round was that night. The competition was run so that they all played the same scenario in parallel. The eight teams who finished in the shortest time would go into the next round. So … he just had to remember to keep good time. Bravura’s character was a small elfin thing. He could carry her and run if he needed to.
It wasn’t the soundest of financial plans. But he only had a few weeks, so this was the best he had.Brook worked steadily into the evening, writing more pitches for Shanthi Bags. Sitting at her computer for so long was making her shoulders stiff, so she stood up, flexed her neck, and swung her arms around to loosen up. It was probably time to call it a day. She wanted to get home in good time so that she could eat and have another quick practice on the SyrenQuest training scenarios before the competition started that evening.
A few minutes later, she was ready to go. On her way out, she met Ethan coming down the stairs, also leaving. He was dressed in cycling gear, for his commute home probably. She couldn’t avoid him without being obvious, so she nodded to him in greeting. They fell into step as they walked up to the front desk to sign out.
‘How are you getting on?’ he asked.
‘Not bad,’ she said. The silence that followed was awkward. There was someone else ahead of them, signing out, so they had to stand together, waiting.
‘Thanks for your notes,’ she said to him. ‘They’ve been really useful.’
‘That’s great.’ He smiled. ‘I’m glad it was helpful.’
‘It was. I’m glad you spilled my coffee now. You’ve definitely more than repaid me. In fact, I probably owe you coffee for your help.’
Whatever Ethan was about to say next was interrupted by Kim. ‘Hello, you two. Calling it a day, are you?’
It was their turn to sign out. Ethan pulled the entry book and pen towards him. ‘Uh-huh.’ He bent his head over the book.
‘Are you coming to George’s birthday drinks later?’ asked Kim.
‘No,’ said Ethan.
Kim looked at Brook.
‘I … don’t know who George is,’ she said.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ said Kim. ‘I’ll introduce you. You should come. It’ll be a good way for you to meet the rest of the people in The Nest.’
‘The socials are pretty fun,’ said Ethan. He pushed the book towards Brook.
‘So, does that mean you’re coming, Ethan?’ asked Kim.
‘Oh. No. I can’t. I have a thing.’ He pulled his cycle helmet on and clipped it under his chin.
‘I can’t either.’ Brook signed out. ‘I’ve got plans, too.’
Kim looked from one to the other. ‘Wait a minute. Have you both got plans … together?’
Ethan’s eyes went huge. ‘No, of course not,’ he said, colouring slightly.
Kim’s sceptical expression didn’t do anything to help. She was so obviously teasing and Ethan seemed to be walking straight into it.
Brook felt sorry for him. ‘I don’t know what Ethan’s doing,’ she said. ‘But I will be at home, in front of the telly. I promised my cousin I would hang out with her tonight.’
‘I’d best be off. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.’ Ethan practically fled.
Brook and Kim watched him go.
‘It’s almost too easy.’ Kim chuckled as she sat down. ‘He gets so embarrassed, bless him.’
‘Poor guy,’ Brook said.
‘Seriously, though, is there anything going on? He was looking for you the other day. You guys seem to be quite chummy just now …’
‘He’s giving me some help with my crowdfunding campaign.’ Brook hitched her bag onto her shoulder.
‘Oh, well, that’s dull.’
It was? ‘I thought it was kind of him, actually.’
‘I’m sure it was. Ethan’s always doing stuff like that. I doubt there’s any new business here that he hasn’t helped out in some way. He’s a good guy. Not bad-looking too, once you get past the shyness. And, you’ve seen him in cycling shorts. Phew.’ She pretended to fan herself.
Brook laughed. ‘Sounds like you have a thing for him, Kim.’
‘Too late for me,’ Kim said, pointing to her wedding ring. ‘But you …’
‘Goodbye, Kim.’
‘Think about it,’ Kim shouted after her.
By the time Brook got outside, Ethan was nowhere to be seen. She couldn’t help feeling that it was mean of Kim to tease him. Also, why on earth did Kim think that she liked sweet guys? An image of Blaze’s rakish grin on his avatar flashed across her mind. Her perfect man was handsome, super competent, and nice. If she was going to play alongside him, she was going to have to get herself home.
Round One: You must obtain the first key. It is expected that you will complete the quest in under three hours. All players will start at the same time. The eight teams with the shortest game times will progress to Round Two.
Ethan stared at the instructions. Was that it? No other clues? Just a picture of the key. He frowned at the object on the screen. From the side, it looked like a slice of it was missing. When he rotated it, he could see a small hole at one end and a peg on the other. This was a component of something else. They probably had to collect the pieces and make the final key.
He knew how the characters moved and how realistic the graphics were, but apart from that, he had no idea what he was getting into.
He messaged Bravura.
Blaze:
What do you think? Not much of a clue.