play

Tossing her sneakers to the corner of her studio, Khelsey (Kels-sey) sits on her bed, taking in the cozy fairy lights and several duvets. Finally.

Honestly, she hates her job. She’s not fond of her coworkers given that they act like she’s not there. One of them didn’t even know she worked there. Khelsey rolled her eyes and hopped out of bed, grabbing her controller and turning on her console. Her hands scanned under her bed, snatching up a cardboard box covered in gift wrap. Her boyfriend, Lionel, gifted her a headset and was waiting for a change to play together.

But that was when they were still dating and, Khelsey hopes, before Lionel had started cheating on her.

Her eyes scanned the box. Quiet plasticky pops follow her nails as they pierce the tape and paper. The rather poorly wrapped gift bursting from the wrap and the box opening weakly. Inside sat the headset and a game. Reaching into the box and bringing the case to light, she read the title. Pit Stop Ln.

“Huh, well he did always like racing games” Khelsey mumbled, grimacing a bit before opening the case. The disk is popped into the console and a download begins as she starts inspecting the headset.

“How do I even…whatever, I’ll figure it out.” Khelsey shrugs and starts the game, popping the headset on.

On the console screen the icon, a small scene with a red car speeding past a black one, expanded to fill the now blacked out screen. For a moment she felt weightless, her surroundings loading into a textured white mechanics shop.

“Whoa…no wonder…” Khelsey mumbled thinking about how badly Lionel wanted her to play the game.

As she thought to herself, a thick neon sign flickered. An empty box lit by white filaments asks for a username along side a woman’s voice.

“Please create a username.”

Khelsey clicked her tongue and giggled as she started typing. She looked at the keyboard, curious about it being shaped like a phone keyboard.

“Kitt_y. Same username I’ve used for everything.” Khelsey sighed with a smile as she hit enter.

There was a quick loading screen before the sound of a garage door opening. In pulled a bright yellow car with a few stripes, a young man stuck his head out the window. His face was covered by a black sheisty and yellow goggles. He lifted the lower part of his mask as he stepped out the car his dark lips pulled into a boyish smile.

“What’s up, Kitt_y (Kitty)! Was getting’ worried ‘bout you. Names BK but just call me Bee.”

The man pat the hood of his car, the bumblebee hood ornament made far more sense to Khelsey now.

“Nice ride, sweet cutscene too.” Khelsey jokes, startling when Bee laughs with her.

“There aren’t cutscenes in this game, Kitt_y. It’s au naturel.”

“…So you’re not like…a character or something?” She stares at Bee curiously.

“I am. I’m actually your mentor.”

“Whoa whoa wait. So you’re like…AI?”

He shrugged. “Also no? But yes? It’s complicated. You got here a little after the other new guy. Here.” Bee tossed a red disk to Khelsey.

“What’s this?” She asked, watching 3 dashes appear on the flat part.

“Your car key, name tag, house key, race ticket, etcétera etcétera.” Bee tapped his fingers, yellow and black tape around the tips. “Let’s get you started—“

Khelsey grinned. “I mean I know this is a car game but this is so cool and this feels super real.”

Bee looked at her. “I mean…yeah? It’s…ah whatever, don’t wanna be late for your hot date.”

“Hot date?” She lifted her chin challengingly.

Bee grinned, “With your car.”

“Oh—“ She broke into laughter and clasped her hands. “Right right right. Alright let’s go.”

Bee nodded to the open garage door, only now did Khelsey look out to see the wide environment. Outside were racing cars and suited drivers walking around. Helmed racers sit on tire barriers as cars speed dangerously around tight corners and over steep ramps.

“Whoa…” Khelsey gasps with a smile. “Finally a game for us free roam girlies.”

There’s a gentle tap on Khelsey’s shoulder from Bee as he points to another garage door with a woman standing next to it, her long red braids twisted into a four buns. The woman perked up and spun around into a proud pose, clown make-up smeared across her face.

“Hehe, heyo!” The woman’s hands sit the asphalt as she threw her feet over her back, flipping like a slinky until she sprung up inches from Khelsey. “Yo yo! What’s poppin’, Kitty cat?”

What kind of clown says ‘yo yo’?

Khelsey wondered with a face of confusion.

The woman grinned a golden toothed grin, her grills sparkling in the sunlight. She pressed a gold ringed finger against her nose, a soft honk coming from her lips.

“C’mon, don’t get your balloons tangled!” She laughed as she clicked her red sneakers together. “I see Bee caught you first, did ya get your ride yet?”

Khelsey shook her head before grinning. “I like your style.”

The woman laughed and put her hands up. “Thank you!”

Bee cleared his throat and made a hand sign at the clown girl. The woman nodded and did a little twirl.

“I gotta get going! Catch you on the slick side! Names Gogo by the way!” And she ran—more like cartwheeled off to a big wheeled clown car.

Khelsey looked at Bee and pointed. “I want that car but like…cat themed.”

Bee shrugged. “Cars your oyster, now let’s hurry so you’re on time for your first race.”

“What? Already?” Khelsey whined as she followed Bee. “I haven’t learned the controls!”

Bee jogged to a garage and opened it, illuminated by the midday sun a grey car sat lonely only beside a mirror.

Khelsey circled the car. “Is it…supposed to be so boring?”

Bee shook his head. “Nah, not after you’re done with it. You don’t have to be boring either. Let me know when you’re done, Kitt_y, I’ll be here.” He sounded a bit hasty.

|🛠️|⚒️|🎮|

Admittedly, working as a lawyer has always been Uvi’s (Yu-vi) dream. Arguing was one of his best skills according to his mother and the pay, who wouldn’t take up law? Of course, being a legal instigator wasn’t his only choice but it was certainly the most advocated for. But he couldn’t pretend that the learning curve wasn’t hard, it felt like his classmates were born into law and he just kind of wandered in. When he did find himself bored, game after game finished and sitting digitally dusty in his console, he seriously didn’t know what to do with himself. Until, of course, his friend in game development gifted him a new game to try. Pit Stop Ln the words big and bold on the plastic case, came with one of those headsets too.

The case sat on his desk, the plastic wrap on the floor just next to his wastebasket. The console swallowed the disk slowly and the game began to download. Unlike the rest of his games, the icon was bright. A still scene with a red car speeding past a black one. Finally, the game opened, his fingers wrapped tightly around the controller as he slipped the headset on.

Then, it was like he was never in his dorm. Uvi could swear the white mechanic station he stood at was really there, a neon login screen flickering into his focus.

“Please create a username.”

A woman’s voice spoke aloud, surrounding him. Hesitantly, he reached for the text bar, a solid black keyboard appearing in front of him.

Sweet…How about…

He thought to himself as he formulated a username.

UUgo.

He snickered childishly. You know like, You Go? Truthfully he considered himself one of the funniest people ever.

As the username was entered, the sound of a heavy motor and loud music approached him. Turning around he was faced with a sleek red car, short and flat, like a ramp. On the side was one black streak like lightning. Equally as cool was the woman who stepped out, her long black locs fell out of the black helmet she tossed off her head.

“UUgo! Hope I’m saying that right, thought you’d never show up!”

She spoke smoothly, her voice rich and definitely the voice he heard earlier.

UUgo stared at the woman before a grin grew on his face.

“This shit’s fire. Who are you?”

The woman beamed, tossing her helmet on a dingy couch in the shop.

“My name is Jece.” (Jesse)

And she threw her hands up proudly, wiggling her red nailed fingers as she sprinkled vibes onto the ceiling.

“And this is my shop!”

UUgo bopped his head.

“This place is nice, real…industrial.”

Once again, UUgo laughed at his own joke, harder now that someone else laughed too.

“But you’re a buggy right?”

Jece asked, rolling the garage doors up and letting in more natural light. The sight is something. A stadium in the near distance, racers walking and chatting, guys in suits and other more sparkly affairs discussing what UUgo could sense was money. The question fell on deaf ears.

“God damn…” UUgo whispered.

“God damn is right, this is Pit Stop Lane.” Jece’s hand flourished the bright environment, the smell of oil, gas, fresh asphalt and scorched tires almost overwhelming

UUgo thought to himself with a fair bit of snark.

Yep there we go, she said it. That’s the name of the game.

“So, Buggy.”

“What?” UUgo turned to her, just in time to hold his hands out.

Jece was already facing UUgo, throwing a palm sized blue disk at him. UUgo catches it, looking down at the triple dashes “- - -“.

“What’s this?”

“That, UUgo, is your key.”

“Key- I get a car!?”

Jece nodded as UUgi bolted out of the shop, immediately a sleek grey car caught his eye.

“Aw shit, look at this baby!” UUgo peaked inside, fixing his plaits in the blacked out mirror.

“Heh, UUgo that’s not-“ Jece didn’t finish.

The window rolled down, revealing a clearly sun tan middle aged man, his hair swooped in a cocked pompadour. His gold lined shades and popped collar made UUgo gawk. But it was the Cuban link chan that really got UUgo going.

“WHAT’S UP, LIL MAN?” His voice was all bass and all volume.

“Bro…” UUgo was at a loss of words

“YOU A BUGGY? WELCOME TO A FRESH START. I SEE YOU MET JACE.”

“It’s Jece.” Jece sighed, rubbing her nose bridge. “And this is Rodney or-“

“HOT ROD.” Rodney chuffed, puffing out his chest. The woman in the passenger seat giggled and laid both her hands and her chest against his too tight leather jacket.

UUgo grinned to himself before looking down at his own avatar. It was still him, like in real life.

“Oh what, that’s so cool.” UUgo whispered before popping the headset off. He was back in his living room, the sun setting now. “Good thing it’s a Friday.”

As he slipped the headset back on, Jece and Rod waited a moment.

“DID MY ABSOLUTE COOLNESS SCARE YA?”

“Scare me?” UUgo questioned,

“You logged out for about five minutes, happens to buggies some times.” Jece chirped. “Now let’s get your car.”

UUgo claps his hand and cheers as he practically floats behind Jece. The walk is brisk, the anticipation killer.

But in the garage sat a normal white car. UUgo blinked.