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This thing wasn’t scrolling anymore. Not that it was a surprise, after all, it had suffered a rather impressive sequence of unfortunate events. A dip in a pool. A nice introduction to a wall. Three, maybe four encounters with the floor, but who was really counting?
So now, as Bendek sank deeper into his bed, the phone remained stubbornly frozen. To return to his favorite classical piece; he had to endure the unspeakable horror of an ad; On classical music. There had to be a special place in hell for people who did that- right next to those who kept knocking on doors when it was painfully obvious no one was going to answer.
He was fine, wasn’t he?
Food was useless to him now. What was the point when he couldn’t even walk properly without that ridiculous cane?
“Beni! Darling, come talk to me.”
He guessed he had to talk to her.
For the first time in sixteen hours, he pressed his foot against the floor. It was cold. The cane sat nearby, but he ignored it, just as he ignored the open phone on his sheets, and instead half-hopped, half-lurched to the door.
She was worried again.
“Oh, Beni, you’re awake. Havcos said you weren’t answering.”
Havcos stood dutifully behind her, eyeing him like a good, obedient dog.
“What do you want?”
Giuliana exhaled, “Bendek, what do I want? You’ve been shut up in your room since-I don’t even know”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s not about me, darling. Do what you want. But your grandpa asked about you. Come sit with him.”
“He doesn’t ask about me.”
“Heaskedabout you, Beni.”
He caught the subtle flick of her hand to Havcos, who immediately moved to step past him.
Bendek blocked the way, then promptly shut the door “I don’t like people in my room. Fine. I’ll come down.”
His mother didn’t hesitate. She knew him too well.
“Oh, and Beni, darling- dress nicely for the evening. We have guests.”
“Iknewit.” He groaned. “I don’t want to see anyone.”
“Nonsense. You like these dinners.”
“Iwon’tbe joining. I’ll eat in my room.”
That was the breaking point. His mother, done with patience, stepped inside.
“Well, Beni, you arenotliving in a hotel,” she said, with the controlled frustration of a general dealing with an insubordinate soldier. “I don’t want to spend half the evening making excuses for why you’re not there. So let’s see what we have.”
Bendek threw himself back onto the bed as she began rummaging through his closet. She emerged moments later with a suit, hanging it up like a declaration of war. As she lectured him on the importance of tonight’s guests, he stopped listening entirely.
He held his phone above his face.
Another ad.
This time, it was a painfully awkward, low-quality game commercial featuring questionably animated women. Whoclickson these? He scoffed- then, without thinking, clicked.
It took exactly thirty-eight seconds to download.
Welcome toKingdom Choice.
He regretted it almost instantly when his AirPods blasted a narrator’s voice into his ears- some poorly compressed, overly dramatic storyteller outlining a tragic tale of exile. Some prince had been banished from his throne and now had to rebuild his strength to reclaim it. How original.
Click here. Earn coins. Click again. Upgrade something. Another click. Collect a prize. A loop of pointless tasks designed to keep him hooked. Two hours in, he had accumulated an absurd amount of in-game currency, the kind of economic system that barely made sense even within the game itself.
At level four, a new feature unlocked-chat with other players.
He froze. The thought of speaking with strangers in this ridiculous game made his stomach turn. Howpublicwas this?
That question, and his glorious, pixelated kingdom, would have to wait.
Right now, he needed a shower.
It was an ambitious thought, really. A shower.
Especially when he could barely balance.
After three minutes of standing there, wobbling like an uncertain newborn deer, he abandoned the idea altogether. The phone on his bed buzzed again.
Anna:Pick up! Seriously, Beni, you cannot just disappear.
Another message.
Anna:I know you’re reading this! I swear, if you don’t call back, I will bring the whole team and invade your house.
He sighed. She wouldn’t. Probably.
Another notification blinked at him.
Kingdom Adventure
Lamiak: You haven’t joined any alliance yet. You can join mine-I’d love to have you.
Beni:Ok.
The moment he joined, a flood of notifications hit him. Messages from multiple people, all welcoming him enthusiastically.
He had no idea how to respond to that.
Eliuv:Hey, new person. Cat team or dog team?
Bendek stared at the screen. What kind of question was that?
Beni:Cat.
Eliuv:Share them, it would help others. DM me
Beni blinked. Share them? he clicked on the Avatar and pressed Add friend.
