Kim Harrington - Attack of the Not-So-Virtual Monsters

The monster had a penguins body, a unicorns head, and sharp fangs. It bounced from one webbed foot to the other. The little beast was taunting me, right there on the sidewalk in front of my own house. But Id get it.

I narrowed my eyes and concentrated. The late afternoon sun burned against my back, and a bead of sweat dripped down from my forehead into my eyes. But I didnt blink. I acted.

With a quick swipe of my finger, I launched a BattleNet. The monster ducked. I swiped again, anticipating its next move, and BAM! Caught!

My best friend, Charlie, whooped and hollered from over my shoulder. Yeah, Bex! You got it!

I gave Charlie a little smile, but I didnt feel a huge sense of satisfaction. Id caught Uniguins before. They were common in our neighborhood. I wanted to catch something better, like a VampWolf. Id only caught one of those.

I reached up and tightened my ponytail. On humid days like today, my mess of long, brown curls seemed to double in size. Want to walk to the park and see if there are better monsters there?

Charlie held up the cellphone in his hand and waved it back and forth. My hour is up. I have to return this to my mom.

Oh, right. Monsters Unleashed was a mobile game, and while I was luckytwelve years old with my own phoneCharlie had to borrow his moms. So he could only play for short periods.

I guess Ill go home and bring it back, he said, looking up at his house but not moving his feet. His older brothers bike was in the driveway. And when Jason Tepper Jr. was home, that meant Charlie would be tortured.

Do you want to come over after? I asked. I think my mom made lemonade and cookies today.

Charlies face lit up. That sounds great! See you in a minute.

He ran to his house, his sneakers kicking up dirt, and I started walking to mine. Charlie and I had been friends since I moved into the house next door to his when I was five. He was always around and more than willing to play or hang out.

Wed finished elementary school about a month ago and would be entering seventh grade at the end of the summer. Middle school. Sometimes I worried that things wouldnt be the same in our new school. Toward the end of sixth grade, some kids had started making fun of us for being best friends because he was a boy and I was a girl. But no matter what changes came, I would never dump my best friend. And hed never drop me. I hoped. In the meantime, we had the summer and Monsters Unleashed.

When the Monsters Unleashed game came out a month earlier, its popularity quickly exploded. The first couple of days, it was just the kids and gamers out there playing. Then I saw Mrs. Dorsey, the librarian, playing it in the park. And Old Man Humphrey, whose former favorite hobby was yelling out his front window at any kid who dared poke a toe onto his grass, was caught trespassing in a neighbors yard to catch a TeddyGlob. Now, instead of yelling at us to stay off his lawn, he yelled things like, Theres a FireWing in the common! Good luck!

My parents usually nagged me about playing too many video games. Why dont you and Charlie go for a nature walk? Or ride bikes? When I was your age, I spent all summer riding my bike. But when they were our age, video games were, like, Stone Age quality. No wonder they abandoned their joy sticks to wander outside aimlessly.

Anyway, they didnt complain much about Monsters Unleashed. To play, you had to leave your house. The game was about hybrid monsters that were created in a lab. But then they broke out, and players needed to catch them in the real world. The mobile game used your phones camera and graphics card to make it look like the monster was really there. You caught them by launching BattleNets, which were nets made of magical material that could trap a monster and zap it into your phone.

The door slammed behind me as I entered my house. A breeze from the air conditioner hit my face, and it felt so refreshing that I closed my eyes and sighed.

Bexley? Moms voice called out. Is that you?

I cringed at the use of my full name. The day I turned eighteen, I swore I was going to legally change it to just Bex. I turned the corner into the kitchen and inhaled deeply. Mmm, cookies. Was there any better smell in the world?

Mom was sitting at the kitchen island, squinting at her laptop.

I grabbed a warm cookie and said, You know, your glasses work better when you put them in front of your eyes.

I lost them again, Mom said absentmindedly as she scrolled.

I did one of those fake coughs into my hand.

Mom looked up. What?

I pointed to the top of her head. She patted her wavy brown-and-gray hair and laughed as she felt the wire-rimmed glasses perched on top. Thanks, honey.

No problem, genius. The joke was, my mom was kind of a genius. Shed started her own online business selling personalized jewelry out of the house. And it had grown a ton this year, increasing sales month after month. But, while she ran a business entirely by herself, sometimes the little things slipped by her. Like losing her glasses when they were on top of her head.

Charlies coming over in a minute, I said between bites of cookie.

Her eyes had returned to her computer screen. He can stay for dinner if hed like. I have a lasagna in the oven.

My parents were pretty cool about Charlie coming over a lot. Mostly because he was my best friend, but also because they knew how miserable things were for him next door with his bully of a brother.

The front door opened and shut, and a voice called out, Yes! Air conditioning!

Charlie came strutting into the kitchen, his blonde hair flopping into his eyes. He wore a gray T-shirt with the NASA logo on it because it wasnt enough to be nerdy; he had to advertise it as well.

He immediately grabbed a cookie and moaned after his first bite. This cookie is incredible, Mrs. Grayson. When youre done conquering the jewelry world, you should start another business selling these.

Maybe I will, Charlie! Mom beamed. But in the meantime, I have to take a conference call in my office. She pointed at the oven. When that beeps, take the lasagna out.

Mmm, lasagna, Charlie said dreamily.

Yes, youre invited, I said.

Mrs. Grayson, youre the best! he called out.

Mom waved over her shoulder as she carried her laptop out of the room.