Cameron took the controller with a blank expression and selected ‘restart“. The sound of combat filled the room.
Xander stopped laughing and folded his arms, watching the screen like he was settling in for a show. “Alright punk, let’s see how good you really are.
“Wait, why are you jumping on its head? You need to hit the chest. That’s where it takes the most damage!
“Trust me, I learned this from two days of getting my ass kicked. Get down now!”
Xander couldn’t help backseat gaming, getting more worked up than Cameron herself.
Cameron completely ignored him. She kept her character firmly planted on the boss‘ head, unloading a barrage of bullets directly into its skull.
At first, the health bar barely moved. But after 30 seconds, Cameron blasted a hole right through the boss‘ head, and its health started dropping like crazy.
A few minutes later, Cameron’s character still had more than half its health left when the boss collapsed. “VICTORY” and ” LEVEL COMPLETE” flashed across the screen.
Xander was speechless.
Cameron tossed the controller back to him. “So, are we doing this tutoring session in the study or what?”
Xander’s mouth slowly closed. He leaped off the couch and grabbed Cameron’s arm. “You little punk! Did you play this game before? Is that how you knew the head was the weak point?”
Cameron peeled his hand off and brushed her clothes. “Never played it.”
“No way. You must have,” Xander insisted.
“Why would I need to play it? I could see the solution with one glance.”
Xander was speechless again. ‘One glance?‘ he thought. ‘It has taken me two whole days to get nowhere!‘ He felt like he’d just been hit with a critical damage multiplier.
Cameron stood up and headed for the stairs. “Come on. Tutoring time.”
Xander scrambled after her. “Seriously, how are you so good at everything? Basketball, running, academics, and now gaming too?
“Not gonna lie, if you were really my little brother, I’d be pretty proud.”
Cameron stopped in her tracks as Xander babbled behind her. “You think I’d be proud to have you as my brother?”
Xander’s mouth snapped shut.
In the study, Xander flopped onto the couch and crossed his arms. “You look down on me, don’t you, punk?”
“What do you think?” Cameron replied.
Xander lifted his chin. “Listen up, I’m actually pretty awesome myself. You know I have tons of fangirls at Langford Academy, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cameron said dismissively. “Can we start the tutoring now?”
“What’s the rush? The clock started ticking the moment you walked into Murphy Manor.”
“The clock starts now,” Cameron countered.
“Whatever. Let’s get this over with so we can play another round together.”
Cameron opened her notebook, searching for last week’s math practice test. “Not interested.”
Xander rolled his eyes. “I’ve figured you out. You’re only interested in one thing, money.”
“Smart,” Cameron scoffed.
Xander looked thoughtful. “Is the Wallace family that broke? Are you guys poor?”
‘Could it be that Milena won’t see me because the Wallace family is poor and she’s insecure?‘ Xander thought. ‘I’ve never looked down on her.‘
So Xander pulled out his phone and texted Mil
Successfully unlocked!
Xander: [Ms. Wallace, I don’t care that your famil, poroty you. fault, so you don’t need to feel insecure.]
23
ད.་་ ད。
Milena was dumbfounded.
