Page 5 - #2 Dive into Danger

“Better hit the books,” he says when things
get awkward. So I head down for the night. He
thinks homework is hard for me, but it’s not. I
may be fat, but I’m not stupid. Forty minutes

and all the assignments I didn’t finish at school
are done. Then I’m free to play World of
Warcraft, my favorite video game—as long as
he doesn’t know about it.
“Video games are a waste of energy,”
he says, “illusions to distract you from real

life.” He said the same thing about my art
and my mother’s dream of being a singer.
I respectfully disagree. Drawing keeps me
focused. Every doodle helps me learn. And
RPGs—role-playing games—are my life.

When I play WoW, I’m the guy he wants me
to be.
I haven’t been playing WoW long, but
when I sign on to the game from my laptop, I
am transformed. I am Hippocrates, an undead
zombie priest and healer, reanimated by the

power of a banshee queen. And while I’m a

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