Read The Game for Free Online

apparent affection. The woman was oblivious to Alex’s lack of response, or more likely she simply didn’t care. After she had hugged Alex close for a few seconds, she affectionately broke away to gently hold Alex at arms’ length by her shoulders, inspecting her from head to toe critically.
      “Alex, my dear, it’s so good to see you again,” the woman said happily. “I must say that all things considered, you are in great shape.”
      Alex felt her face flush in rage. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of the statement. She decided to squeeze back the tears and laugh. “You can’t be serious, Lilith. I look like garbage! I smell worse than garbage. I haven’t eaten properly for months, and I’ll likely be dead soon. This is a horrible existence, and any gratitude I had for you as a Patron before is quickly fading away. Have you come here to gloat, or just bask in my pain and suffering? I thought we had more than just a business arrangement, Lilith. I thought we were friends .”
      Lilith’s face went from joy to hurt instantly. She removed her hands from Alex’s shoulders, slowly ran her hands down her blouse to straighten it, then calmly walked back around to the Toad’s chair and sat down. When she looked at Alex, her eyes were calm and professional, but the hurt was still present. Alex remained standing until Lilith waved for her to take a seat.
      Minutes passed in silence and Alex slowly calmed herself. There was air conditioning in here, she thought. At least she could sit and enjoy a break from the sweltering heat and backbreaking work that her life had become. Lilith couldn’t hurt her anymore. Or could she?
      Her eyes must have betrayed her thinking. “Relax, Alex.” She said. “I’m not here to hurt you, or to take pleasure from your misery.” Lilith sighed and leaned backwards in her chair. “Listen, kiddo, I know it sucks to be here. Honestly I do. But before I tell you why I'm here, I want to set the record straight on a couple of things, if you’ll hear me out?”
      Alex was angry. This woman had helped her so much, treated her lovingly while she was a high ranked player. Then, once she was no longer on top, Lilith had simply abandoned her.  But Alex controlled her emotions, pressed her lips together tightly, and with hot tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, she nodded sharply for Lilith to continue talking.
      “I’ve been a Game patron for over 12 years. I’ve sponsored over a hundred players, and most of them have gone on to make both me and themselves a good amount of money when they turned 18. I’ve also lost some, like I lost you, and it always breaks my heart when it happens.”
      Alex said nothing.
      “You know the rules are clear, Alex, even outside of the Game. When a student can no longer afford to enter the game, and they possess less than a certain amount of credits, they must immediately report to a government run public school where they are to remain until they are 18 and graduate.”
      “Government run public school.” Alex spit the words out with a bitter laugh.
      “I know,” Lilith smiled wryly. “It’s a joke. Slave pens is more accurate, and let me tell you, when I found out about the way the government schools are now being run I did the best I could to change it. You’re a little young to remember, but I tried to run for government office and my entire platform was to change the government-run schools. Thankfully, before I could ruin my life, and most likely lose it, a very powerful friend caught wind of my intentions and talked me out of what I was planning. If I had tried to change this system I know they would have killed me.”
      Alex looked up, searching Lilith’s eyes to see if she was lying. She saw only the truth, and sadness in Lilith’s face.
      “So I fought the only way I knew how. I began to sponsor Gamers, to try and help as many as I could to keep them out of here.”
      “But not