Page 42 of Love in Development

ScarlettSaber: We talked about working toward overcoming our weaknesses.Im not ready with, you know, the one we talked about before.But I just realized that Im not the best friend at times.Im going to start doing things for others.You may laugh, but Ill get you that Dragons Eye Opal.

IvoryKnight: Ive no doubt.Ill leave that to you then.

He always knew exactly what to say.

ScarlettSaber: Not for the next few weeks though.I wont be on much because of I have a game jam coming up.

IvoryKnight: Im going to be busy too.Good luck.

I felt a connection with him.There was something I could give him right now.Honesty.

ScarlettSaber: I dont know what Im going to do without you.

Immediately regretting what I’d done, I logged off.Coward.

Chapter 13

Three weeks of spendingevery waking minute preparing for the game jam had prepared me as much as was possible.There was nothing left to do but play.I made it to check-in easily enough—even without a cursor showing my location on the SCAD map—and entered the theater-sized room.It sat about a hundred, with a giant screen on the wall at the front looping a slideshow of life on campus.

Lin and Charisse thought I was trying to kill myself from overwork.I’d spent every spare moment practicing for the game jam as if my life depended on it.Well, my future did, though they didn’t know that.I’d need every advantage I could get.I’d built some small game levels, and I had my notebook of ideas.With a little luck and hard work, I could win that coveted scholarship.

At best, I felt like a ghost; at worst, like a zombie with nerve endings.Luckily, I’d had a good night’s sleep, because over the next forty-eight hours, there’d be little time for rest.

I sat down among the other contestants, who all seemed older, wiser, and much more prepared than I.Many were talking about previous game jams where they’d won prizes.I hadn’t played a game in weeks.Forget about finding theDragon’s Eyefor IK.To be fair, I’d been avoiding him.It turned out it was easier to avoid someone when you only knew them by their gaming handle in a single game.Still, the thought of his response to my confession scared me to death.I knew what I’d meant by saying that I wouldn’t know what to do without him, but had he?Would it change our relationship?Would he want to meet?I shoved the circling thoughts that had chased me since that moment back into their bag.There wasn’t time for that now.

I thought I would feel more comfortable around people speaking my language—games, coding, engines, assets—but the majority were guys who made me want to forget about my hopes and dreams.They looked me up and down, leering at the fresh meat.Pulling my jean jacket closed, I hugged my backpack.Despite the continued summer heat outside, the lecture hall felt like theSnow Queen’sthrone room.

Finally, a man with graying dark hair moved in front of the lectern to shouts and clapping from the crowd, and the slideshow stopped.He reeled off all the annoying but necessary information, somehow making it fun.Like popular teachers do.Then he explained the rules and expectations of the contest.

“And what you’ve all been waiting for.The theme for this year is...”

A word appeared on the screen:Sweetheart

I felt first place slipping through my grasp.Could they have picked a theme I’d be less enthusiastic about?

The room erupted into conversation as overly friendly seniors were assigned to each contestant, then we were guided to our individual workrooms.Each one was a mostly glass cubicle with windows for writing out problems and ideas, equipped with computers and everything else needed to build games.