Girl Park Adventure
by Melanie Brown
Copyright  © 2016 Melanie Brown

Kevin wasn't sure what he was getting into when he volunteered to help his school with a cross-town challenge.

 

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“Are you girls excited about the competition tomorrow?” asked Coach Clarkson. “I think I have everyone’s travel permission form.” A group of girls who had been selected to represent our school in an unusual contest were holding a quick meeting in the girls’ gym after school. I pretended to not listen as I put away the mats from the girls’ gymnastics practice that had just ended.

Grinning, Jessica said, “Oh, I sure am! I just can’t wait to go there!”

Candy, a cheerleader, said, “Me too! I’ve been dying to go since it opened.

The other two girls, Tasheka and Diane just smiled and nodded.

No one knew what exactly the contest would consist of. We just knew that Girl Park would randomly select an adventure challenge suitable for high school students and wouldn’t normally contain any life-threatening events. So the Zombie Apocalypse, Mad Max, Louisiana Brothel, Lollipop Chainsaw and Call of Duty for Girls simulators were out. The challenge was started by the cheerleaders at Ehrich Weiss High. They challenged the other two high schools in town to a contest at Girl Park; something that didn’t require physical skills or strength. And apparently, Girl Park, as part of its “good corporate citizen” policy will set a three, real-time hour simulation at no charge for school challenges, although sponsor ads will appear during the simulation. Of course Howard O’Brian High and our school, Chaim Witz High readily accepted. Our school was the only one that didn’t pick the team from a pool of cheerleaders. Everyone on our team was a gamer.

The winning team just gets a trophy. But they hope to make this an annual event so it will be a traveling trophy. Individual members of the winning team get trophies along with a dinner for two pass at Vanderbeek’s, the fancy hoity-toity restaurant in town all donated by the EWHS cheerleader booster club.

And of course, everyone knows about Girl Park; the latest and most sophisticated virtual reality theme park in the world. It mostly caters to the tastes and interests of girls and women and is accessible within hours via maglev from almost every corner of the country.

Coach glanced around the gym and frowned. She said, “Where’s Fiona? I really wanted to talk to you all before we leave in the morning.”

I looked around as I heard one of the gym’s doors slam open and the assistant coach, Coach Murray, hurried into the room with a worried expression. Out of breath, she said after reaching the small group, “Coach. I’m glad I caught you before you left for the day. I’m afraid I have some bad news.” She looked at the four girls assembled and said, as if she only just then noticed them, “Oh. Hello girls.”

Appearing concerned, Coach said, “Bad news? What kind of bad news?”

Pushing her glasses back up her nose, Coach Murray said, “It’s Fiona. She’s out of the competition tomorrow. Apparently she fell from a ladder while at her part-time job and broke her leg.”

Coach said, “The challenge isn’t physical.”

Coach Murray looked confused for a moment and then said, “ You know the school rules. That takes her out of the competition.”

Frowning, Coach Clarkson said, “Sorry girls. Unless we come up with another girl for our team, we’re all out of the competition. The rules state that each team must have five members. We leave at seven a.m. tomorrow. That doesn’t give us enough time to recruit.”

“Well crap!” said Jessica loudly as she plopped down on the gym’s floor. “What a crock! I was so looking forward to this!”

Tasheka said, “I don’t think Fiona broke her leg on purpose.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Diane said, “What her purpose was doesn’t matter. The results are the same. We’re not going.”

I walked over to the group, unconsciously keeping my eye on Candy who I’ve been crushing on since middle school. I folded my arms and said, “Man. That sucks.”

Coach looked annoyed and said, “Thank you Kevin.” I just smiled back.

Candy looked at me for a moment and then to Coach. She said, “Do the rules specifically say only girls can be on the team?”

Wrinkling her forehead, Coach said, “I don’t know if it says so specifically, but it is a challenge to the girls at all three schools and it’s at Girl Park. What are you getting at?”

Candy pointed at me and said, “What about him? Kevin and I play World of Warcraft together pretty often and the character he plays the most is a female elf. He’s actually a pretty good player.”

Diane said, “But he’s a boy. Duh.”

Coach unfolded a piece of paper she’d been holding. She said, “Let me take a look at the rules again.”

I said, “Hey. Forget this noise. While I’d love to go to a virtual reality park, Girl Park isn’t on my list. And as Diane has so keenly observed, I’m not a girl.” Diane stuck her tongue out at me.

The coach studied the rules for a minute. Raising her eyebrows she said, “The rules do not specifically exclude boys.” She looked over at me and said, “How about it, Kevin? Want to join the team?”

Appalled, I said, “I don’t want to be a girl, even for three hours!”

Tasheka said, “First time I saw you, I thought you were a girl. I mean, just look at your hair. While it isn’t long compared to Diane or Jessica, the way it’s constantly messed up, you resemble one of those anime girls.” Candy and Jessica laughed.

Through a giggle, Candy said, “She’s right. And it’s not like you don’t do girly stuff. You help out the cheerleaders with their choreography, right?”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” I protested.

Coach said, “Girls, if he doesn’t want to, I’m not going to force him. He’s had some boys bully him over being with the cheerleading squad.”

Folding my arms tight against my chest, I said, “I’m not with the cheerleaders. I just help out. And the bullying stopped after I told them that I got to get up close and personal with the cheerleaders in their short gym shorts and sports bras. Then they started asking if I needed any help!” I laughed.

Jessica said, “So you’ll do it then?”

I said, “I didn’t say that.”

Candy said, “Where’s your school spirit?”

Diane said, “You don’t want our school to forfeit do you?”

I said, “I’m not a girl. I’ll feel silly.”

Jessica said, “How many boys would use the word ‘silly’?”

I frowned and said, “It’s an everyday word! Give me a break.”

Tasheka said, “It’ll be fun. I don’t know what the challenge will be, but you’ll get to spend the day with us, your favorite gaming girls as well as those ten other girls.” She had a point.

Coach looked at me squarely in the eye and said, “Kevin, I can’t make you do this and I fully understand why you wouldn’t. And if we weren’t in a bind, I’d never think to ask you. But we really could use your help. And in a way, you do fit in. You know all these girls. You’re all gamers. I think Tasheka even participated at Quakecon last year.”

Tasheka mumbled, “Yeah, for about ten minutes.”

Candy said, “Sorry if I’m jumping on your masculinity, Kevin, but you do look kinda girly and the rules don’t forbid boys and dammit, we’re desperate! Please join the team. Please?”

Having Candy actually begging me for help was very hard to resist. I suddenly felt like Stimpy trying to resist pressing the red candy-like button that would eliminate my very existence.

Candy suddenly resembled in my mind that starving kitten pleading for something to eat. How could I say no to the girl I’ve had such a crush on? I looked at the other three girls. All were staring at me earnestly. I’ve never had one girl look so intensely at me before, much less four. My own ego, what there was of it, was about to get the best of me.

I sighed heavily and said, “Okay. I’ll do it.” All the girls squealed at once and gave me a group hug. I just soaked it all in.

Coach said, “Thank you so much, Kevin. You need to have your parents sign this travel permission form today. Right now, actually. I’ll be in my office until six thirty tonight. Get it signed and bring it back up to the school. And we’ll see everyone at the maglev station at six a.m.”

Feeling suddenly deflated, I said, “What if my parents refuse to let me go?”

A concerned look flashed across the coach’s face. She said, “If they won’t sign, have them call me. “ She wrote her cell number on the form.

I took the form and slowly walked from the gym. What the hell did I just get myself into?

*          *          *

“So what do you think the challenge will be?” Diane asked Coach.

Coach looked up from the book she was reading, shrugged and said, “I have no idea. It will be selected randomly from their adventure challenge series when we all get there.”

Jessica stood up slightly so she could talk to Coach over the back of her seat. She said, “Have you looked at the other teams? They’re all like cheerleaders and girly girls. I don’t think they have a chance!”

Candy stayed in her seat but folded her arms. She said, “Gee thanks. You know cheerleaders have to maintain a passing grade, right? And the most girly girl I know is a math whiz. You can’t tell anything by just looking at someone.”

Jessica waved her hand and said, “Yeah, yeah. But what I mean is, none of them are gamers. Everyone of us have played MMO’s together. And what is Girl Park? Essentially one huge MMO.”

I got up to get close to the conversation. Once the maglev was in motion, there was no sense of movement. If you didn’t look out the window, you’d never know we were flying down the track at four hundred miles per hour.

Pointing a few rows back, I said, “The team from Howard O’Brian has a boy on it. I don’t feel quite so weird now.”

Jessica glanced over her shoulder and said, “Yeah. I noticed that. And he’s an obvious boy too. He’s not at all feminine like you, Kevin.”

A little pissed, I said, “Gee thanks. I volunteer to help and I get insulted.”

Jessica said as she pointed to the rest of our team, “I wasn’t trying to insult you. Are you suggesting being female is inferior?”

Feeling suddenly trapped, I said, “No, of course not! But there aren’t many guys who want to be considered feminine.”

Jessica narrowed her brows and said with an edge to her voice, “Because that would be inferior?”

Before I could answer, Coach said, “That’s enough. We’re all on the same team.”

Candy giggled and said, “You guys should have heard what Coach said one day after cheerleader practice after Kevin had left the gym!” Her eyes went wide and she clasped her hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that.”

Coach said, “Candy, why did you mention that?”

I said, “Yeah, Coach. What did you say?”

Coach said with a sigh, “All I said was that I wished you could be our sixth cheerleader. With your thin arms and legs and your gymnastic agility, you’d be a natural.”

Shocked, I said, “Serious? You think I should be a cheerleader? A girl cheerleader? Now I’m pissed.” How could Coach even consider such a thing?

Candy smiled nervously and said, “I think you’d be an asset to the squad. I’m serious.”

Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been slammed so hard before. Wake me up when we get there. I’m done with this conversation.” I went back to my seat and closed my eyes. I wanted to cry because of what they said about me, but that would only make things worse.

*          *          *

Fifteen of us stood in a small room. A long table with what looked to be clothing in plastic bags lying on top. A woman dressed in a Girl Park uniform, stood behind the table. None of the coaches were allowed in the room.

“Welcome, girls!” said the woman. “Welcome to the Girl Park Adventure Challenges. I’m going to quickly run through the basic rules and instructions on the wearable Girl Park interface.” She paused to look at each of us to make sure we were paying attention.

Holding up a finger, she said, “First. Per school system rules, each participant will appear in the sim as a seventeen year old, straight girl. I see that there is at least one boy here.” She didn’t look in my direction. Continuing she said, “Nothing wrong with a boy being on the teams. Just be aware that if you display boyish behavior, you lose points, which are also deducted from your team’s over-all points. And be advised that you will be one hundred percent immersed in the sim as female. Any male physical strengths and prowess you may possess will be of no use here.

“Most challenges are timed to run three real time hours. Your perception of time while in the sim can actually seem up to a week in length. Once the challenge begins, it will inform you on win conditions.

“Secondly, we do not tolerate cheating. If you lock up your opponent’s team so they can’t participate, for example will cause forfeiture of all points and expulsion from the game.”

Smiling, the woman picked up one of the plastic bags. She said, “Third thing is, you must wear these items at all times in the sim. This bag contains a skull cap, a bra and panties. These are all wired and will read and provide sensations as you interact with the sim’s environment. The sim will not work without them. If you remove any of the garments, you are automatically removed from the game. Please place your clothes and personal items in the lockers provided.”

Smiling more broadly, the woman said, “And finally, have fun! Don’t take the sim too seriously. Win or lose, be sure to have some fun with this unique experience that only Girl Park can provide.

“Each team has a room to change in. You will be given a perceived fifteen minutes to strategize and discuss your options for the challenge. All the teams will be in the same sim. May the best team win.”

A door opened in the wall and we all filed out, carrying our plastic bags, to go to three separate rooms. The room was empty except for five small chairs. Nobody spoke as we entered the room.

A pleasant female voice seemed to come through the walls. The voice said, “Please hurry and change into you Girl Park bra and panty set. Please say ‘Ready’ when you are ready to enter the sim.

“After you say you’re ready, you will be inserted into the game immediately. Not only do you need to complete the goal, you all will get extra points along the way. There will be plenty of opportunities for extra points. Enjoy and again, welcome to Girl Park.”

“Don’t look,” I said as I turned around to drop my pants and slide into the panties. Candy and Jessica laughed.

After getting into Girl Park outfits and stowing our gear, we all lined up in front of the chairs and down the line we each said, “Ready.”

My vision blurred for a moment and I felt disoriented. We were in a gray swirl. A counter suddenly appeared before each of us, frozen at the number fifteen.

The pleasant female voice from the other room said, “Contestants, stand by for your adventure challenge. Your challenge will be…Girl Park Prom Adventure. The goal is to become the Prom Queen. The simulated school you’ll be in will not be like a real school. There won’t be classes, although there will be a lunch period. NPC’s will have a small color bar over their heads. Green means they are neutral towards you. They may or may not vote for you. Gold means they are solid on your side. Orange means they are in danger of not liking you. Red means they don’t like you. Half of the sim time will be trying to promote yourselves to be Prom Queen.

“Sorry we can’t give you a month and treat it more like a real world school. Time and resource constraints prevent it. And then the final half of sim time will be the actual prom. That way, more detail and depth can be added to the simulation. Good luck.” The counter started running down.

With disgust, I said, “Prom? What the hell kind of adventure is prom? This sucks!”

Tasheka said, “Oh my God. We are so screwed. We’re all geeks! What do we know about being popular?”

We were standing in a solid gray room. I guess this is where we plan our game play. I looked at Candy and said, “How ironic…the sim made you a cheerleader!”

Grinning, Candy said, “Don’t laugh, Kevin. You’re a cheerleader too!”

Diane said, “Don’t use Kevin’s boy name. Remember we decided his…um, her name would be Amanda.”

Candy shrugged and said, “Sorry.”

Jessica said, “Who cares about cheerleaders? At least cheerleaders are popular, right. But the rest of us don’t hang out in cliques and make fun of other people clothes and crap.”

Frowning, I said, “You guys are girls, right? You spend your whole year living for prom night. It shouldn’t be hard for you.”

Jessica said, “Becoming Prom Queen is essentially a popularity contest. We’ll all have to make posters and chat with people and try to convince everyone to vote for us! Tasheka’s right. We’re totally screwed.”

Candy said, “I have an idea. Let’s just pick one or two of us to run for Prom Queen. That way, the rest of us can pool our resources to get one of them elected.”

Diane said, “That would work. That way we all don’t have to make fools of ourselves.”

Jessica said, “Way to be positive there, Diane. Anyway, how do we pick? Draw straws? What?”

Candy said, “Let’s just choose the best looking of us. I say one choice should be Amanda. I mean look at her! She’s totally gorgeous!”

I waved my hand and said, “Oh no. Not me.”

Jessica said, “You’re right, Candy. She’s beautiful. Amanda, you should wear make-up more often!” Everyone laughed.

Candy said, “We need one more.”

Diane pointed at Tasheka and said, “Tasheka is stunning. And she’s the most outgoing of any of us.”

Candy grinned. She said, “Alright team. We have our candidates. Now we have to figure out how to run a Prom Queen campaign.”

I raised my hands and said, “I never said I’d run for Prom Queen! I think the whole thing is stupid! I was expecting, oh I don’t know. Maybe an *adventure*?”

Candy said, “Be a team player, Amanda. You have two things going for you. You’re a cheerleader, which automatically makes you if not popular, then at least known. And you’re the most beautiful girl on the team.”

I folded my arms. It felt weird to have to fold them below my breasts. Oh my God, I have breasts! I poked one and actually felt my finger pushing on my breast. The sensation I felt was wonderful. I poked myself again.

Jessica slapped my hand and said, “Will you stop playing with yourself!”

I folded my arms again and said, “Candy, you’re a cheerleader. Why not you?” If I have breasts, that means I also have…oh my God.

Candy said, “But you’re far more beautiful than I am.”

Smirking, Diane said, “She’s right. Candy is downright pathetic.”

Pushing Diane’s shoulder, Candy said, “Hey now!”

Jessica said, “Girls, knock it off. It’s settled. Now we just have to figure out what to do.”

Candy said, “I know we need to make some posters. And Amanda and Tasheka will need to start going out and talking to the other kids. Remember the other two teams will be doing this. And I’d bet they have the advantage over us in the popularity department.”

As the counter approached zero, Diane said, “Hey guys, don’t forget to get a date for prom. We can use those extra points.”

“Screw that!” I said, folding my arms again.

Candy pointed at me and said, “You’re getting a date and that’s fi…”

My vision blurred again and I again felt disoriented. Suddenly we were all standing in a crowded hallway of a fictitious high school with simulated kids walking around.

*          *          *

Jessica said, “Alright ladies. We all have a job to do. If we can figure it out.”

The other girls all went in different directions, leaving me alone in the crowded hallway. I leaned up against a row of lockers and looked around to get my bearings. Most of the kids walking the halls had green bars over their heads. One or two had red.

And that’s when I noticed the campaign signs stuck to the walls. Holy crap, the other teams are already putting up posters. How are they getting the materials?

One of the posters was pretty bland though. It just read, “Vote for Barbie for Prom Queen” and stuck on the wall right next to it was one done with large, garish letters that read, “No. Vote for Lynn!” I watched as the NPC kids walked past them and a few had their colors change from green to orange. I sighed and decided I need to start with my campaign.

Just as I was about to walk away, a boy came up to me, and leaned on one hand against the locker and got into my personal space. He said, “Hey Amanda! I heard you’re running for Prom Queen.”

I smiled sweetly at him and said, “That’s right. Can I count on your vote?”

The boy smiled at me and said, “Yep. You’re not only the prettiest girl running, but you took the time to tutor me on English class. This way I can pay you back.” The line over his head turned gold.

I said happily, “Thank you! I appreciate it. Let your friends know who you’re voting for!”

The boy waved and walked away. This is going to be easy, I thought. All I have to do is smile at boys. I giggled to myself.

I spotted a group of girls hanging out near a hallway intersection. I headed towards them. As I got closer, I saw one girl had a red line, two girls orange and two green.

As I approached, the girl who was red turned and said to the other girls with obvious contempt in her voice, “Well, if it isn’t the little goody two-shoes, snobby cheerleader. Save your breath, snob. Nobody here is interested in anything you have to say.” One of the girls who was orange turned red.

More amused than anything, I said, “I’m not a snob! I like everyone!” I smiled to the other girls. “And what’s wrong with being a cheerleader? We boost school spirit at games and events.”

The girl said, “Cheerleaders are stuck up bitches who won’t give the time of day to girls like me! There’s no way someone like me would allowed to be a cheerleader!”

Now I was getting annoyed. I said, “Did you try out?”

The girl frowned at me and said, “Why bother? It’s an elitist club.”

I just smiled and said, “I can personally guarantee that every girl is given a fair shake at the tryouts. Besides the obvious physical stuff, you just need to have a positive attitude and lots of spirit.” Looking at the other girls before I walked away, I said, “Please think of me when you go to vote for Prom Queen!”

One of the orange girls went green, a green girl went gold and the other green girl went red. As I walked away, I thought that was way too much effort to expend to just get one confirmed vote. Two boys approached me and I smiled brightly at them. Their green lines turned gold as they smiled back. Okay. Boys are going to be easy. Girls not so much.

As I rounded the corner, I saw Jessica taping a poster above a water fountain. When I got closer, I saw that it said, “Free water! Vote Amanda for Prom Queen”.

Jessica turned when she saw me and said, “Hey Amanda. What do you think?” She pointed at the poster.

Smiling, I said, “It’s funny. Think it’ll get any attention?”

Jessica just shrugged. She said, “I hope so. Have you checked the stats? We’re running behind on team points. Of the girls running for Prom Queen, you’re in fourth place. Not too bad. EWH did what we did, sorta. Instead of splitting the vote, only one of them is going for Prom Queen. HOH has every girl running. That’s just going to dilute the vote in my opinion. But, right now they’re leading in points.”

I said, “HOH is the team with the other boy in it, right?”

Jessica nodded and said, “Yep. Funny. The sim made him a cheerleader too.”

“So. Where did you get the materials to make the poster?” I asked genuinely curious.

Jessica pulled her hair back and slid on a band to make a pony tail. She said, “Right down that hall and to the left are classrooms with the names of our schools over them. You can only enter our school’s room. Inside are paints, poster boards, markers, you name it.”

“Cool,” I said. “Maybe I’ll go make a poster or two.”

Jessica shook her head and said, “No. You need to go scare up some votes. Oh yeah. You don’t have to say yes to the first boy who asks you, but you do need a date for the prom. Diane just accepted an invitation and she got five hundred bonus points.”

I waved a good-bye and started haunting the hallways again. It was very strange in this school building. There were outside windows letting light in, but everything outside looked, well, fake. None of the doors going outside would open. And of course, a real school wouldn’t have a constant stream of kids walking around.

As I was standing in the middle of the hall, trying to decide which direction to go next, a somewhat dweebish looking boy, pasty skin, glasses, unkempt hair and most likely a gamer, approached me. He acted very nervous and kept looking down at the floor. He said, “I just want to say, Amanda, that you’re the most beautiful girl in the world. Y…you…you’re a goddess. You’re the closest thing to perfection. I…I…I…I j…just wanted to ask…um, ask if…you know…if you’d go to prom with me? If you don’t, I understand.”

Oh my God. I’m being asked out by a nerd. By me! Is this what I look and sound like to girls? No wonder I’m deathmatching on Saturday nights instead of taking a girl to a movie or something. Looking at his earnest expression, it was obvious that he worshipped me. I’m not sure if I can deal with that.

I smiled broadly at him and said, “Thank you so much for asking me to the prom! I haven’t decided who to go with yet, but I’ll keep you on my short list, okay?”

He grinned a toothy grin and the bar over his head went instantly to gold. Just the fact that I spoke to him and didn’t tell him to get lost obviously gave him a boost. No way was I going to tell him he was the first to ask me.

He said, “Whether you go with me or not, Amanda, you have my vote for Prom Queen. In fact, you have the votes of everyone in my clan. We all have your picture on our PC’s as the wallpaper and we jer…um…and uh it’s a very nice picture.” His face suddenly turned beet red and he turned and ran away. Oh my God. He and his nerd friends jerk off to my picture. I suddenly wanted to throw up.

“Yo, Amanda!” said a deep male voice from behind. I turned and saw a guy with longish hair, black jeans, clunky boots and a biker jacket. The bad boy. Wow. The sim is tossing all the stereotypes at me. Intellectually I knew the sim was doing a great job forcing me to be girly. So I didn’t let it bother me that I thought this guy was totally hot.

Slightly breathless I said, “Hi. I hope I can count on your vote for Prom Queen?”

He got right up into my personal space and said, “Did that dweeb just ask you to the prom? Want me to beat him up for you?”

Alarmed, I said, “Of course not! He has a right to ask.”

Nodding the biker dude said, “I’ll grant you that. But I think I have a better offer. I wasn’t going to go to prom, but if you’d go with me, I’d definitely go. I’d even wash my bike.”

As much as I liked bikes and I do have a dirt bike, this just didn’t seem like a good idea. I said, “I don’t think I could straddle your bike with a gown on. Thanks for asking me though. I’ll let you know.”

“Sure thing, babe,” he said. “You can’t go wrong with me. Hey, I’ll even clean the grease out from under my finger nails.”

I smiled at him and said, “Be still my heart!” The biker dude’s bar turned to gold. I thought again how easy boys were. Can all girls manipulate boys this easily?

A bell rang. A bell? It was the first school bell I’d heard since entering the sim. It dawned on me that it must be lunch period. I followed the crowd to the cafeteria. Posters were all over the walls. Jessica and crew have been really busy making posters and signs, and making cards to hand out.

I stopped for a moment and said aloud, “Status”

Words appeared in front of my eyes. I had somehow managed to move to third place overall as well as third in the running for Prom Queen. All around me, I saw a lot of gold, but also a lot of red as well. Winning back a red would be almost impossible. I was happy to see my team was solidly in second place, trailing the leading team pretty closely.

As I walked through the doors of the cafeteria, I found myself suddenly holding a tray with a plate of salad and juice. A quick look around and I saw where my teammates where all sitting. Diane looked up and needlessly waved me over. The lunch room was practically wallpapered with Tasheka posters.

At one end of the cafeteria sat the HOH team and about in the middle sat the EWH team. They all looked like they were staring off into space, but they were actually looking at the score boards in front of their eyes. The HOH team seemed to be in a panic. I noticed there were only four girls at the table.

As I sat down at our table, the CWH team, I said, “What’s up with Howard O’Brian High? There’re only four members at their table.” As I said that, I thought that maybe one just hadn’t come to lunch.

Candy laughed and said, “Check out the scores. Tasheka is in second place and you’re a close third. HOH was leading, but they screwed up big time!”

“What happened?” I asked.

Grinning, Candy said, “The boy on their team? I think her name is Lynn. Anyway apparently Lynn’s not as girly as you. Their team score was high. They were in first place. But since they all ran for Prom Queen, I don’t think any of them will win. Lynn was getting the most votes, but she started destroying the team score by hitting on girls. That violates the sim’s rules, right? So she kept getting docked points. Then just before lunch, a boy asks Lynn to be his prom date. I was right there. I saw it happen. Lynn gets pissed that a boy wants to date him. He says ‘I’m not a faggot!’ and actually punches the poor boy in the nose! Obviously he’s missing the whole point. The HOH team immediately lost ten thousand points and he’s ejected from the game.”

Diane shook her head and said, “I don’t think they can recover from that.”

While we were discussing the game and actually trying to eat our virtual lunch, someone walked up next to me and said, “Amanda?”

I looked up and actually did a double-take. I’ll swear it’s the simulation that’s messing with my mind, but when I looked up at the person who spoke to me, I actually gasped. No kidding. He was the most gorgeous boy I’ve ever seen. Seriously.

I looked up at him and said, “Can I help you with something?”

He started to move away and said, “Can you come over here? I want a private conversation.”

I shrugged and said, “Okay.”

I got up and followed him over a few feet away from the table.

Looking a bit embarrassed and nervous, the boy said, “I really hope you haven’t said yes to anyone for Prom yet.” He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He continued, “Amanda, I’d be honored to take you to the Prom Saturday night.”

I just stared at him for a moment. I didn’t know what to say. I was stunned that the cutest boy in school would ask me to the Prom! I thought to myself, sorry nerd-boy and biker-dude. You’ve just been outclassed.

Feeling my cheeks blush, I looked up into his eyes and a little breathless said, “I’d love to go to Prom with you!” He smiled at me and I just melted. What’s wrong with me?

He said, “Great, Amanda. I’ll pick you up at around seven. I need to go, but hey, I’ll call you later.”

I walked back to our table with stars in my eyes and a dopey grin on my face.

As I sat down, Jessica asked, “Who was that? And what was that about?”

I said, “He just asked to take me to Prom.”

Jessica said, “Wow. Congrats. I think you scored the most handsome guy here.”

Candy said, “Holy crap! Speaking of scores. Check out the stats now. Amanda just got fifteen thousand points for accepting an invitation from the schools most eligible bachelor and has moved our team to first place! Woo hoo! His name is Renny, but the way. He’s the school’s star football player. For the vote, Renny just brought the whole varsity team to vote for Amanda. You go girl.”

Diane said, “I think we have this in the bag!”

Jessica looked over at me. I was still staring blankly into space with a grin. She said, “Snap out of it, girl. Don’t forget, he’s not real. You won’t be able to take him home with you.”

I blinked and shook my head. I said, “Well duh. And why would I want to?”

Jessica just grinned and said, “It couldn’t be because you’ve fallen for him?”

I stood up and said, “Don’t be silly. I’m a guy and he doesn’t exist anyway. I mean, exist, exist, if you know what I mean.”

Jessica started to chant and the other girls joined in, “Amanda’s got a boyfriend!”

“Ack!” I said in frustration and hurried from the cafeteria.

*          *          *

We had gathered into our team classroom. I just plopped down into the nearest chair. I was exhausted. Everyone else looked haggard as well. We’d done everything we could to influence the voting of the simulated student body. Walking down the halls, there was still a lot of green and red bars. Some of the kids just wouldn’t commit their vote no matter how hard we tried to convince them.

One group of boys, I got so frustrated that I promised them all blowjobs if they voted for me. That only moved a couple of them to gold. I’m so glad the sim will end before I have to fulfill that promise.

We all suddenly heard a woman’s voice. It said, “In five minutes, Round One of the Prom Queen Adventure Challenge will end. At that time, each of you will be placed alone in a very pleasant sim selected just for you, for fifteen minutes to give you a chance to recharge before Round Two starts. During that fifteen minutes, all the NPCs will cast their votes and the result will be announced during Prom. The Prom portion is an open world. You can make of Prom night anything you wish. It’s your Prom. Enjoy!”

Candy said, “Looking at the standings so far, we’re virtually in a dead heat with EWH for total points. Ha. HOH further hurt themselves by two of them fighting over a boy for their Prom date! They each lost five thousand points.”

Diane wrinkled her brow and said, “That’s stupid, but why would it take away points for that?”

Candy said, “This is supposed to be non-violent. These girls were pulling hair and kicking pretty hard.”

Tasheka said, “Well, anyway. It’s all out of our hands now.”

My vision blurred and I felt disoriented.

*          *          *

I suddenly found myself standing in very green meadow grass. The sky was a rich blue broken by big puffy white clouds. Surrounding the meadow were tall pine trees. I could hear the breeze rustling through their branches. Snow capped mountains were beyond the trees. The air was cool, clean and fresh. I was wearing a white, soft linen dress. I was barefoot and my hair was long and flowing down my back and tossed about by the gentle breeze.

I thought this was surely the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. It was so quiet; so serene. There was a small stream tumbling down through the middle of the meadow. I knelt down on the soft, green grass at the edge of the stream and dangled my feet into the ice cold water.

Butterflies flitted around. I plucked a dandelion from a group of them near the edge of the stream and tickled my nose and chin with it before blowing the white fuzzy part away.

I closed my eyes and lay back on the grass, the sun warming my face. I had no idea if this was based on a real place or if it was completely computer generated. If real, I’d love to come here and spend a week. Or a year. I loved being here. And oddly, I loved being a girl here.

My vision blurred and again I felt disoriented.

*          *          *

I was in what appeared to be a girl’s bedroom. A strange woman stood in front of me, with her hands clasped together and she was grinning broadly. The woman said, “I can’t believe my little girl is finally going to prom!”

I looked down and saw I was wearing a pink, strapless, floor length gown with white accents. The skirt flared but it wasn’t all poofy. I felt dangly earrings rocking back and forth from my earlobes. My hair wasn’t put up, but flowed like mane about my shoulders and down my back. On my feet were silver, strappy sandals with three inch heels. On one wrist was what appeared to be a diamond bracelet. I hoped those weren’t real diamonds. And then I thought, wait, this is a sim. Those better be real diamonds! I also had a matching necklace. Without being able to see them, I knew I was wearing a strapless bra, satin panties and a slip. It all felt amazing.

I’ve never been so decked out in my life. I looked at the NPC that I assumed was my sim mother and said, “How do I look?”

Mom’s smile got wider if that was at all possible. She said, “You’re gorgeous, sweetie! Just beautiful. Your make-up is perfect. Your dress is fitting perfectly. I need to take a picture.”

As Mom looked for her phone to take a picture, I turned towards the floor length mirror next to what I took to be my dresser. What I saw took my breath away. I stepped closer to the mirror with my mouth hanging stupidly open. Is that really me? The face was definitely mine, but oh my God! If I’d been physically able to, my refection would be giving me a hardon. Make-up is nothing short of magic. The dangly diamond earrings flashed sparkles through my hair. How is it possible that I made such a beautiful girl? I smiled at myself. Computer graphics, of course.

Mom said, “Okay. I’m ready. Turn around so I can get this picture.”

I struck several different poses as she snapped a few pictures.

Slightly muffled through the door, I heard who had to be my dad shout, “Amanda! Renny is here!”

My heart jumped to my throat. I was suddenly so nervous. This was insane! I was beside myself in excitement about being taken to prom by a very cute boy.

I turned to face Mom and before I could say anything, she grinned and said, “You’re gorgeous. Don’t worry.”

I nodded. I picked up the matching clutch purse and started to open the door. Mom touched my arm and with a serious expression she said, “Remember what I’ve told you about boys, Amanda. Boys just have one thing on their tiny little perverted minds. Have a great time, but don’t let him talk you into doing something you know is wrong, okay? Be careful.”

I smiled and said, “I’ll be careful, Mom.”

As Mom and I exited the hall from my room to the living room, I saw Renny standing by the door, dressed in his tux; a corsage in his hand. Holy crap was he gorgeous! I tried to fight the thoughts, but couldn’t. This would be a stupid thing to say if I was a real girl in real life, but I was completely in love with Renny. Or maybe lust. I was so happy I didn’t say yes to the first guy to ask me out.

Renny smiled at me and said, “You’re very beautiful, Amanda. Here. This is for you.” He slipped a pretty wrist corsage onto my wrist.

“Thank you,” I said. “It’s beautiful. And you’re so handsome tonight!” Oh my God! I felt myself getting wet.

Dad said, “Let me get some pictures.” I posed with Renny while Dad took more pictures of us. I not only felt embarrassed in front of Renny, but couldn’t figure out why the sim would bother with this.

“Dad, we need to go!” I said, trying to hurry things along.

Dad said, “Okay, pumpkin. You two have a good time. And I want her home by eleven.”

Just to see how well the sim’s software would respond, I was sorely tempted to say, “Yeah, I’m beat. I think I’ll turn in early.” Instead, I played along and said, “Dad! It’s prom!”

Dad frowned and said, “Eleven-thirty and not a minute later, got it?”

Renny smiled at my dad and said, “Yes sir. I’ll get her back on time.” To me, he said, “Let’s go, babe.” He took my hand and tugged me towards the door.

As we stepped out the door, I sighed, “Finally!” Renny pulled me close to him as we walked to his car.

*          *          *

Renny and I walked into the ballroom of the Elliot Hotel and our senses were immediately accosted by music, laughter, talking, and people dancing. I quickly scanned the room to see if I could spot anyone I knew. I saw three girls from the HOH team sitting at a table by themselves with no apparent date with them. That will cost them points.

“Let’s dance!” I said to Renny. I have no idea how to dance, but most of the people filling the ballroom couldn’t care less about my bad dancing. As we got onto the dance floor, I spotted Candy dancing with her date. I laughed when I saw she got stuck with the dweeb.

I rested my head on Renny’s shoulder as we slow danced. While this whole contest was hardly an adventure as far as I was concerned, I have to admit that it’s been a somewhat guilty pleasure. I should be rejecting everything I’m doing; wearing a prom dress, heels and make-up. Not to mention dancing with my boyfriend. I should hate every second. But I didn’t.

Truth be told, I was having a blast living a life so far outside my normal boundaries. Call me crazy, but I really loved it

After a few dances, the DJ started playing faster music. My feet were already starting to hurt, so I said, “Let’s go find my friends and sit down. And that buffet smells wonderful.”

Renny smiled and said, “Sure, no problem. After we find your friends, I’ll get you a plate.”

It didn’t take much searching to find the table where my teammates and their dates were sitting. Renny pulled an empty chair out for me so I could sit. He then left to get us food. Everyone except Candy was at the table. She was still out dancing with her nerd date.

Jessica said, “You hit the jackpot with Renny, Amanda. We raised our total score too by getting dates as well. Except for Candy, we all got five thousand points. Candy got ten thousand points for accepting the nerd’s invitation. And you’re gorgeous by the way. You seem to have really embraced being a girl.”

Diane said, “It’s all pretty much over now. We just eat, dance and enjoy our dates until they announce the prom queen and king. From what I understand, there’s a brief after party for the winning team that’s set about six months from today.”

I watched my friends dance and Renny and I sat and ate. It was a really nice evening of conversation and friends.

I could barely hear him over the general ruckus in the ballroom when Renny leaned towards me and said into my ear, “Come with me for a minute. I want to show you something.”

I looked at him curiously and said, “Okay.”

Taking my hand, Renny led me to the elevators and we rode one floor up. He led me to a room, pulled out the keycard and opened the door.

I said, “Renny. What are we doing?”

Not containing a grin, Renny said, “Making this evening memorable.” He took off his jacket and started to loosen his tie.

I said, “Renny, let’s go back. I’m not comfortable with this.”

Renny pulled off his shirt revealing the trim, well muscled chest of an athlete. He said, “Hey. It’s my first time too. I want do it with you.” Shirtless, he sat next to me. He leaned in and nuzzled my neck. Part of me wanted to run. And part of me, and I felt no shame in it, part of me really wanted to be with him. I felt a tingle run through me as he nuzzled my neck.

He smiled at me as he placed his hand behind my head and drew me slowly to him. He kissed me. A short kiss at first, then he pressed in for a long, smoldering kiss. I put my arms around his shoulders and just melted in his embrace. A little voice in the back of my mind jumped up and down and shouted, “You’re a boy! You’re a boy!” The voice faded away as we continued to kiss and Renny slid his hand along my waist and ass.

He reached behind me and unzipped my dress. I helped to wriggle from the dress as my passion for Renny grew to a crescendo. I was down to my bra, slip and panties in only a moment. He started to fumble with his pants and I helped pull them down. We lay on the bed in only our underwear as we writhed passionately with him squeezing and fondling my breasts. He lay on his back and I across him. Short of breath, I kissed him on the lips, his chin, his neck, his chest. I couldn’t get enough of him.

Breathless, Renny said, “Oh, Amanda! I want you so bad!” I slid my hand down his muscled chest as I kissed him. My hand fell across the bulge in his underwear. My passion turned to raging lust as I found my hand sliding inside his underwear to fondle his ever hardening member. Any other time that my hand would have come in contact with a penis that wasn’t mine, I would have yelped in disgust and quickly jerk my hand away. Instead, I was overcome with an intense desire to have him inside me.

I pulled his underwear down and then pulled my panties down. Just as his raging cock touched my pussy, the sim faded to black. This was a sim for teens and sex was not allowed.

I found myself laying naked on a bed with a sheet placed over me. A stupid grin was plastered on my face. The sim wouldn’t let me experience directly having sex with Renny, but it allowed me the memory of it! My vagina felt sore, but I didn’t care. I just lay there engulfed in a warm glow.

The door suddenly burst open and a frantic Jessica and Candy rushed into the room. Jessica shouted, “Oh my God! Here she is! Amanda! What the hell? Did you have sex with Renny?”

I looked over at Jessica and said in a dreamy voice, “Yes. And it was *wonderful!*”

Frowning, Candy said, “I can’t even get to first base with my date.”

Jessica pulled on my arm and got me to sit up. She said, “We need to get you dressed and downstairs. They’re about to announce the winners for prom king and queen. There’s a good chance you might win.”

I sat up holding my dress. Candy said, “Repeat after me, Amanda. Say this. Fix hair. Fix dress. Fix make-up. Say ‘command’ before you say ‘fix’.”

I repeated what Candy told me to say. I was back in my gown and my make-up was no longer smeared.

Jessica laughed and said, “Not fair we can’t do this in real life!”

Candy said, “Come on you guys. Let’s go.”

We entered the ballroom just as the MC took the stage. Everyone was gathered around. The DJ had stopped the music.

The MC cleared his throat and said, “Welcome everyone! I know everyone is waiting with bated breath to find out who tonight’s big winners are, so let’s get right to it, shall we?”

Candy had a blank look on her face for a moment and then she gasped. She said, “Holy crap! Amanda’s score has increased by twenty thousand ‘got lucky’ points!” A NPC standing next to us told Candy to be quiet.

The MC held up a card and said, “There were a lot of votes to tally, but we have a winner. Our new Prom Queen is Tasheka and our new Prom King is Renny! Congrats to both of you! Come and get your crowns and scepter!”

Tasheka squealed and the rest of us from our team screamed in delight. Before she could make it to the stage, we all kissed her on her cheeks leaving lip prints on both sides of her face. As she finally started to get up on the stage, Renny bounded up. He pointed at me, grinned and gave a thumbs up sign.

While I felt happy for Tasheka and for our team, I also felt deflated. Why had Renny left me alone on the bed? Where was he just before the winners were announced?

Tasheka took the stage with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her and she was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a tiara was placed on her head. Renny was given a crown and a scepter.

The final score rolled before our eyes. We completely trounced our competition. It wasn’t even close.

My vision blurred…

*          *          *

It was a beautiful mid-September morning. All of us were seated at a nice little outdoor bistro for lunch. It was the winner’s after party.

Jessica said as she raised her tea glass, “Congratulations, girls! We dominated! Woo! Woo! Woo!”

Tasheka said, “I couldn’t believe it when they announced me as the winner. I thought for sure it’d be Amanda. She was so popular.”

Diane laughed and said, “Looks like you weren’t the only one with a souvenir of the prom, Tasheka. You got a tiara, but Amanda got…well, take a look!”

“Hey, be nice!” I said as I gently rubbed the large bump on my belly. “I guess I should have listened to my mom. Renny and I are getting married before the baby’s born.”

Candy’s eyes were huge as she looked at me. She shouted, “Oh my God, girl! You’re pregnant!?” I nodded.

Furrowing my brow, I said, “When the sim ends, what happens to my baby?”

Diane said, “Amanda, you’re not really pregnant. You’re not even a girl. Remember we’re in a simulator?”

I laughed with a grin as I placed my palm over my belly. I said, “It kicked!”

Candy reached out towards me. She said, “Can I feel?” I nodded and she put her palm on my belly. The baby kicked again. Candy grinned and said, “That’s so cool! I think you have a dancer there.”

Everyone laughed. The words “Simulation terminated” appeared before us.

*          *          *

“How did you like your first time down here on the field?” asked Candy as the football players ran off the field at the end of the game.

“I loved it!” I said with a big smile. “I wish I’d become a cheerleader sooner.”

Candy grinned and said, “I knew you’d like it. You’re a natural. You look great. Who did your make-up?”

I said, “I did. I’ve been practicing. I just wish I could spend the whole day as a cheerleader with you guys and not just at the pep rally or the game.”

Candy frowned and said, “Yeah. Well, it took a lot of convincing for Coach to get the principal to approve of you being on the girls cheerleading squad. So spending the whole day of the pep rally might be tough to get. You could just switch teams.”

I laughed and said, “No thanks. Being a girl is fun in small doses. But thanks for getting the other girls to accept me.”

Candy waved dismissively and said, “With all the help you’ve given the cheerleaders, that wasn’t going to be a problem.”

There was a sudden sound of running coming up from behind. Candy and I both turned to see one of the football players running up to us. As he got close, he said, “Hey, Amanda! Wait up.”

We stopped walking and I looked curiously at the football player since he called me by my girl name. I just smiled and said, “Hey, great game tonight!” I couldn’t help but notice he was cute. An aftermath of an intense Girl Park session.

He grinned and said, “Yep. Hey. A bunch of us are going to Taco Bueno for our after game get-together. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me?”

Candy held up her hand to cover a giggle. I felt my face flush. I said, “I’m sorry but I already have plans this evening. But thank you so much for asking. Sorry.” I hoped this didn’t become a problem.

Looking disappointed, the football player said, “No problem. I should have asked sooner. See ya.”

Candy gave me a look as we walked on towards the stadium exit. She said, “Who do you have plans with?”

I smiled at her and said, “You.”

Candy laughed and said, “Did I say I’d go with you anywhere?”

“Hey, you don’t want to make me a liar, do you?” I asked.

Candy smiled at me. As we started to pass the women’s restroom, she said, “I need to step in here for a second.”

I said, “I’ll wait here.”

Candy laughed and said, “Come on. No one is going to notice and anyone in there that knows you won’t mind.”

Hesitantly I followed her into the restroom. There were two cheerleaders and one other girl inside. One of the cheerleaders smiled at me and said, “Hey, Amanda! Great job tonight! We’re all happy you’re on the squad.” They both left the restroom.

I started to go into a stall, but saw the seat spattered with pee, so I decided to just wait.

About the time Candy had finished her business, the one other girl left the restroom. Candy washed her hands and we were about to exit the restroom when I touched her shoulder. I said, “I never really got to thank you properly for your help.”

Candy looked at me quizzically and was about to ask a question when I leaned in and kissed her. It felt weird kissing someone who, like you was also wearing lipstick. When I pulled away, she smiled at me.

She looked at me and said, “Now we both have to fix our make-up.” She laughed.

*          *          *

“Push!...Push!”

“Gaahhh!” I snarled through gritted teeth. Tell me why I’m doing this?

“Don’t forget to breathe, honey!” said Renny earnestly. I glared at him.

Still gritting my teeth and straining, I said, “You did this to me!”

“Keep pushing,” said the nurse.

Renny said, “I think you’re about to draw blood from my hand, sweetheart!” I was holding his hand and without thinking I was digging my nails into his palm.

Looking between my raised legs, I could see the doctor staring into my crotch. He said, “Alright. Here he comes. Almost got the shoulders clear.”

The nurse said, “Keep pushing.” I wanted to hit her with a brick.

The doctor said, “Almost…almost. Shoulders clear. Here he comes.”

To my utter amazement and relief, I saw the doctor pull the baby from inside me. It was totally amazing to watch. The doctor handed my newborn son to a nurse who wiped him down and checked him over.

The nurse brought my baby over to me. I said, “Let me see him!” The nurse carefully handed the baby to me and I held him close. “He’s beautiful!”

Renny said, “He sure is. Just like his mother.” It took a second for that to completely sink in. I was this little guy’s mother.

The doctor said, “Congratulations. You have a healthy baby boy.”

I kissed his head through the little cloth cap the nurse had put on his head. I cried. I looked up at Renny who was next to me grinning. I said, “I love you, honey.”

“I know,” said Renny with a laugh.

The world suddenly faded to black and I felt a very slight disorientation. When it faded back, I was in a regular hospital bed, my baby nestled in my arms. I just kept staring at him. I couldn’t believe I had just given birth.

“He’s beautiful!” said a familiar voice from the foot of the bed.

I looked up and gasped. “Mom?!” It was my real mother. She moved over to me as Renny stepped aside. “How?”

Mom smiled at me and held out her arms in an obvious gesture of wanting to hold her grandson. She said, “Your friends brought me here. We were going to pay, but Girl Park said they’d just send me in.” She gently held my baby boy and made cooing noises at him. “No way could I miss this moment. No way I couldn’t be with my ‘daughter’ as she had her baby.”

I smiled up at her. I said, “Thanks, Mom. Thanks for being here. And thanks for understanding. After feeling myself pregnant with him when the sim ended, I just had to let him be born, even though he really doesn’t exist.” My former teammates and the cheerleaders managed to pool enough money to purchase a special one hour session at Girl Park since I’d been obsessing about being pregnant. I never felt anything like it and outside of Girl Park, I never will again.

Mom kissed his head and handed my baby back to me. She said, “He’s very real to me.”

“Us too!” said Jessica as she, Diane, Candy and Tasheka all came into focus.

Grinning at them, I said, “Where did you guys come from? Candy came with me, but how did you get here?”

“We rode on the same maglev as you, just in a different car so you wouldn’t see us,” said Jessica.

Diane said, “Yeah, we wouldn’t want to miss our BFF having a baby! Looks like being a mom suits you.”

Candy said, “When’s the shower?” They all laughed.

I knew the timer was running out. I know he isn’t real and doesn’t feel. I kissed him one last time. I’ll never get to do this in real life and I was so happy to take this one great adventure.

“Simulation Terminated”

*          *          *

The End