THE MOMENT
Jubilee felt like she was really there. She'd had a full day of training with Morgan, and all she wanted to do now was relax in her favorite movie. It was a phrase she never would have imagined two weeks ago, when she was wherever she was summoned from. But, this new world had extremely advanced VR technology. And, it wasn't a movie she'd ever seen before, that she could remember. She began the movie, and then made her way to one of the empty tables.
She was still in her room, with a headset on; but, the Chinese restaurant felt so real. The red and gold dining room was moderately full; but, by now she knew what table to sit at for maximum immersion. She'd only seen a handful of movies from this new world, and even less presented in this format. But, she could easily say this was her favorite one, even if she couldn't pick out why. The Pineapple Cup was a classic underdog sports story about a roller derby team. She felt like she knew all of the major characters on a personal level, and the overall technology was amazing. She sat down where she started the movie, a group of girls walked into the restaurant.
Jenny, a Japanese girl with spiky black hair, was the story's protagonist and the one Jubilee identified with the most. Dirge, a pale girl with an abundance of raven-colored curls resting on her shoulders, and Dread, the Nordic member of the group with spiky white hair, were already best of friends before they met the team. Bailey, officially appointed stickler of a team captain, and Britt, an African American spoiled princess who got in as a corporate favor, had met the rest for the first time. They chose Donna Chang's as the place to get acquainted. It wasn't the first scene of the movie, but Jubilee really liked watching the girls getting to know each other. With the VR technology, she felt like she was there and part of the group too. It was comforting in a way she couldn't explain, other than they seemed like a genuine group of friends.
She was having fun watching the girls have fun, then for the first time, she met Jenny's eyes. It shouldn't have happened, she'd seen the movie enough times to know that. But, it did. And, even more surprising, the teen did a double take at Jubilee. She looked once, then, the second time, they looked into each other's eyes for a full second. Finally, Jenny looked around at the conversation still happening, and excused herself. That was a new development. The teen stood from the table of friends, then walked over straight to Jubilee's table.
"Hi, I'm Jenny," she introduced herself with a smile, and Jubilee nodded with a confused smile. Maybe the VR aspect was more robust than she knew about. But, as she considered it, she was blown away again. "You're Jubilee, right? Jubilee Luna?" There was no reason she would have used her name, and even less she would have known Jubilee's surname. She rarely used it in this new world.
"How did you know?" She had to ask. Jubilee glanced over at the table, and she realized it'd gotten quieter. The girls were just sitting there waiting, it was like the movie was paused while Jenny talked to her.
"It was a lucky guess," Jenny shrugged and dodged the question completely. "I need you to do something for me," she said. Jubilee was under the impression she'd unlocked a game more of some sort, and she was willing to go along with the adventure for now. Her tiredness was gone now that she found something interesting.
"Don't compete in the tournament at the end of June. Or, if you do, make sure you let Flutter win," Jenny said.
"What?" Jubilee laughed and tilted her head. It was hard to keep up, but now it was easy to assume she was being pranked. It was useless to Jenny how she knew about real-world events. "I need to win, it's my only chance of getting home," Jubilee said.
"It's not," Jenny shook her head. "In fact, if you do win, you'll never get home, there are other forces at play. The only way for you to get back is to not try."
"So.. what, the summoning is just going to wear off??" Jubilee asked. She hated the thought of not doing anything at all to help herself.
"Technically, no; but, essentially, sure. There's a time limit counting down, you can make a comfortable life here till August, right? It's practically summer vacation for you. I mean, you don't even have a Dark Lord to fight, so just relax," she grinned.
"Who are you?" Jubilee had gone through a lot of questions in a short amount of time. In the end, a prank didn't make sense. "Are you real?"
"Am I real?" Jenny asked with a giggle. "I'm sitting here, aren't I?"
"You're not dodging this time," Jubilee shook her head. "I need to know more about you if you want me to listen to your advice. What's happening? How do you know so much about me?"
"Kids these days, no patience for mystery," Jenny sighed and shook her head. "Alright, sunshine, I'll come clean. You're lucky I like your parents enough to help you get back," Jenny said. At least, the teenager's mouth moved, but it was a deeper, male voice that spoke. She reached up and snapped her fingers; the restaurant and all other patrons disappeared. Jenny and Jubilee stood alone together in a white void for a brief second; then, Jenny shimmered and expanded wider.
"Stop hiding, I want to talk to you!" Jubilee yelled. Jenny was gone and replaced by a golden A/V cart with a large CRT TV sitting on it. The screen was on even if it wasn't plugged in.
"Hey," a golden, faceless mannequin in a red suit popped up on the screen. "I don't criticize your appearance, don't criticize mine," he said without a mouth. The mannequin finished walking onto the screen and stood there with his arms crossed. He stood in a white void like the one they were in.
"So, this is me," He gestured at his body on the screen. "Helios," he said. "Now will you sit out of the tournament?"
"What happens if I don't?" Jubilee asked.
"You'll probably win," Helios shrugged.
"But, that's what I want!" she said.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...," Helios dragged it out far too long. "Silly me. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bothered you at all. I thought you wanted to get home; but, if you want to win that makes my job a ton easier, I don't have to do a thing."
"I DO WANT TO GET HOME!" Jubilee raised her voice to a firm town without yelling.
"Well, pick one," Helios said.
"I want to go home...," Jubilee sighed. "I won't win the tournament."
"Wonderful!" Helios snapped his fingers on the screen again. By the time the sound reached her ears, Jubilee was standing in the restaurant once more in front of Jenny.
"Enjoy the movie, I'll be in touch," Jenny waved at Jubilee.
"Wait! I wanted to ask you about my parents!" The conversation happened so fast that she put that detail on the back burner for a bit until she found a spot to ask.
"No time, next time!" Jenny said. Then, she disintegrated into white dust and vanished. But, Jubilee looked over and saw Jenny sitting at the table again laughing with her friends. It'd been an eventful few minutes and Jubilee was glad to have Jenny and her friends around. She'd been a big fan before, but after meeting Helios, the VR technology was more amazing. Jubilee had made new friends in her new real world; but, the group was special to her too. The team of girls might not have been real; but, at the moment, they were there.
