The Connection

Thud.

Dust filled the air, as dad opened a heavy chest filled with old blankets.

“Agh, hack!” I coughed, scrambling out of the way. “Dad, did you really bring me up here to show me old rags?”

He laughed.

“Bring it up to your mother,” he mused. “I don’t know why she still keeps these, but that’s not why we’re here.”

He smiled a boyish mischievous grin, then hurled out old garments and blankets in my direction. I screamed trying to dodge them all, but failed as a particularly big one covered me. It was old and smelly, but somehow I didn’t mind it.

“Raah!” Dad screamed, pouncing on me and tickling me till I had tears.

“No, stop!” I yelled, half-giggling, half-wheezing under the blanket.

“Is everything ok up there?” Mom called from downstairs.

“Yes, honey. Everything’s fine.” Dad said. “Just giving Sam her first tickle session in a while.”

Mom sighed. “Just take it easy, guys.”

“Ok!” Dad responded cheerfully.

I threw dad a grimace, which he responded with a full smile. I couldn’t help but smile back, so I started hitting him, instead.

“Haha, ok sorry.” He said, unaffected by my punches. “Come on, I still have to show you something.”

“What is it?” I asked, crawling back to the chest.

Dad pulled something small and rectangular from the bottom which almost made my heart stop. On the cover was a man with a gun and explosions in the background. I recognized it immediately from the lessons at school. It was a video game.

“Dad…”

“I know, I know.” He said quickly, “it’s not really accepted in today’s–”

“Not accepted??” I interrupted, stammering, and looking at him in disbelief.

“Dad… This is illegal. You know that, right?”

“Of course, I know.” He said, patting my head. “You know, you’re really too mature and serious for your age.”

“You’re gonna get rid of it?” I blurted.

“Of course not.”

“But, why?” I pleaded. “This is wrong and illegal.”

“It wasn’t when I was a kid.” He said curtly. “Honestly, I don’t see what’s all the hullabaloo.”

“Hulla–what?” I started. “Nevermind. That’s not the point. Does mom know about this?”

“No, and let’s make sure it stays that way. This is our little secret, ok?”

I couldn’t respond.

“Ok?” Dad asked again, more sternly.

“Yeah… I mean, I have to.”

***

School the next day was horrible. I woke up with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes. Breakfast should’ve been good; a lightly-toasted ham and cheese egg sandwich, but every bite was heavy and hard to swallow. The world looked dark and somber as I walked up the steps to my junior high school.

“Woah, who died??” Allie said, looking me in the face.

“Nothing… I mean, no one.” I replied, putting my bag in my locker. “Morning, Al.”

I gave a slight smile. Somehow seeing Allie’s unburdened face lifted my spirits a bit.

“There she is,” Allie said, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Come on, first period’s English. You don’t wanna get chewed out by Mrs. Haverford. She’d give even you detention.”

“Haha, yeah. Sorry, I didn’t realize the time. Let’s go.” I said, as we took off with books in hand, but something stopped me.

A large red and black poster stared at me from across the hall.

“Is that… new?”

Allie turned back. “What, the campaign poster? Of course not, that’s been there all year.”

Time slowed, as I found myself walking towards it. Why had I never seen this before? And why was it only now so intimidating? Of course, I knew the answer. I tried to pull away, but my eyes were transfixed by those red letters:

Violence will not be tolerated.

Report any and all suspicious persons

In possession of a violent video game.

I felt sick. The burden had returned two-fold.

“Sam? You ok?” Allie asked, a worried look on her face.

“What, yeah.” I found myself saying. Now wasn’t the time. No one could find out about it. Not even her best friend.

“Come on, we’re gonna be late.” I tried with a smile.

“Yeah… Ok.” Allie said, as they walked silently to first period.

The bell had just rung when they walked into class. I sat down near the front trying to keep my composure, but everything felt distorted. The room, itself, was twisting into strange contortions with unblinking eyes staring at me. Stop, it’s all in your head. You know that. Just don’t let it show. Just act normal.

I tried to focus on class. Mrs. Haverford was saying something about sentence structure, but it wasn’t coming through. I felt paranoid like everyone was staring. Maybe they knew? A cold shiver went down my spine when suddenly, Mrs. Haverford said something about school violence, and I couldn’t help myself. I raised my hand.

“Yes, Sam?”

“Why were video games outlawed?” I found myself asking.

“Oh,” Mrs. Haverford seemed taken aback. “That’s not really relevant to this topic, but I suppose there’s a connection there.”

She went on.

“Video games, particularly violent video games, were outlawed more than a decade ago. Can anybody tell me why?”

Some hands came up, and someone spoke.

“Because they promoted violence, and murder, and all kinds of crime.”

“That’s right,” said Mrs. Haverford. “ Years ago, in the 2050s, when video games were at its height, the world saw an inconceivable level of violence and crime. Mass shootings, even at schools, occurred too quickly for the news to cover it all. The government decided the culprit was in the form of digital games, so they declared a hard… top-down measure on the abolition of said games.”

“But that’s not democracy.” I muttered.

“I’m sorry?” Mrs. Haverford said. “I couldn’t hear you, Sam.”

I bit my tongue. My head felt like it was gonna split open.

“What happens to people who are caught with them?” I asked.

The room went silent. Now, all eyes were on her.

Mrs. Haverford cleared her throat. “Well, I believe they’re reprimanded, and taken to a… correction facility.”

More silence.

“But that’s not something you should worry about.” Mrs. Haverford said cheerfully. “Unless, you’re aware of something?” Suddenly, there was a chill in Mrs. Haverford’s voice like a snake coiling around its victim.

I put on my best smile, the kind no one would ever suspect.

“No, of course not. I’m sorry, I was just curious.”

“Oh, ok.” She replied with relief. “I know you’re the smartest in our grade, Sam, but even knowledge has its limits.”

I paused. “Of course.”

“Now, back to the lesson.”

The paranoia was still present, but I acted normal all the same. I glanced over at Allie who was staring at me white as a sheet. Her usual smile was gone. The rest of the day was a blur. I smiled and acted the same as I’ve always done. No one would ever know. I just needed to get home and destroy the evidence, even if it meant dad would hate me forever. I turned the corner to my house and found it in flames. The police outside my home. They asked me some questions, but I couldn’t respond.

“Where are my parents?” I said finally.

No one spoke. I never saw them again.