Page 23 - The Muse 2019-20 Issue

“No, no, no!” my mom cut her off. “It’s fine. You can stay! Come in! You can put your bag on the couch. Wait! Please take your shoes off!”
After she took her shoes off, Emma sat down on the couch. Lily ran over to her and said, “Maya was being mean to me again. I wish you were my sister!”
“Do you wanna go to my room?” I asked, ignoring Lily.
Before Lily could complain, my mom asked her, “Emma, hey, why don’t we play the board game I bought?”
“Sure!” Emma answered. “It will be fun!”
The next thing I knew I was sitting at the dining room table with my mom, best friend, and annoying sister!
“Is there a cat? Because if there is a cat, I want to be the cat! And if there are two cats, then me and Emma can both be the cats!” Lily’s squeaky voice said.
“No, Lily. There is only one cat!” I said. I still could not believe my mom had roped me and Emma into playing this stupid game. Who knew she was so sneaky? Of course, Emma would say yes! She was always so polite around adults. Some people might even call her a goody-goody. But I knew better. Emma was so nice and sweet, I would not be able to survive without her!
“Alright, girls!” my mom said. “Let’s get started!”
When I put the little dog on the start sign, the room became darkness. Nothing, but darkness.
***
When I opened my eyes, I was laying on the floor. I took a look around and noticed the only
piece of furniture in the room was a table with a computer on it. Suddenly, Mom, Emma, and Lily appeared in front of me.
“Maya!” they all screamed as they hugged me.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Welcome to CityMania!” A robotic voice spoke from the computer. “To succeed you will have to
create your dream city. Don’t worry, you can visit the other players’ cities by teleporting. Time to start!”
“Wait!” I said, “What did it mean by ‘teleporting’?” Before I got an answer, the room went black again!
*** Around me, there was grass. It seemed endless.
“Let’s get started!” a high-pitched voice said. I looked down. A little dog, standing on its own two legs, was staring at me.
“Am I hallucinating?” I asked myself more than him.
“No, you are here in CityMania to create your own city!” The dog waited five seconds and then continued. “Now, let’s get started!”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“My name is Doodley. I am here to help you build your own city! I am like... your guide!” he answered.
“Okay, let’s get started then!”
***
I was starting to get the hang of this! My city was looking pretty fabulous! Suddenly, Doodley
appeared in front of me.
“You have one visitor. Do you want to let them in?” he asked.
“Sure!” I said. A door appeared out of nowhere and Emma came through it. She ran toward me
and hugged me. Instead of feeling happy, I was reminded that my own mother had not even come to check on me.
“Thank God, you’re here,” she said. “Now, we just need to get Mrs. Rain and Lily so we can go home!”
“No!” I shouted.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” she asked.
“I am staying here! It felt good to be in control for once!”
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