Uncharted Kingdom

• Michael Russo, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2020

James Kainen was one of the top gamers in the world and no one cared.
After seizing the number one spot six months ago, which he had worked for two years
to get, he was bitter.
Standing in the corner store’s front window, he flipped through the leader boards a
second time, before cussing under his breath and tossing the magazines back on the
rack. All three magazines failed to mention League of Fighters, let alone him, the “King
of Fighters.”
This made it four weeks in a row.
James exhaled hard, trying to clear his head, and walked to the back refrigerators,
staring at the myriad of neon energy drinks. His fingers traipsed across the glass as he
weighed his options. Every Friday he checked the leader boards, and every Friday he
allowed himself a single energy drink. They were cheap and sweet, but the best part
was they suppressed his appetite.
After choosing a bright blue can with a lightning bolt logo, he let the fridge door slam,
and tried not to look at the rows of candy on his way to the counter.
Otto heaved himself up from his stool, pudgy fingers pressed against the counter to
steady himself. He grinned, his bright white teeth a stark contrast to his skin. “My
favourite worst customer, what you choose this time?” He picked up the can and tilted
his head back, squinting to read the label. “Proven to increase gaming performance,” he
chuckled, shaking his head as the can beeped across the scanner and dropped into a
plastic bag.
James fished out eight quarters from his hoodie and thumbed each down in a tidy
stack. As Otto swept away the quarters, James felt a pang of regret.
“You, eh,” Otto shook his finger at James. “I’ve got something for you.” He leaned off
to the side and hefted up two bags from under the counter. Both plastic bags were
bulging, filled with sandwiches, fruit, and juice. “Growing boy needs more than noodle
cups.”
James wanted to refuse. Every week he wanted to say no, that he was fine, and that he
had a new sponsorship deal. His stomach’s growling cut off his thoughts. “I’ll get you
back when LoF gets popular again. I think-”
Otto dismissed him, shaking his hands and head, “No, you need to play Uncharted Kingdom,” he
thumbed back at the poster on the wall. “You could actually make some money that
way. Laura and me, we are going to start a store online. Everything is Uncharted Kingdom this and
Uncharted Kingdom that James, you know this. No one cares about League of Fighters, but no one
cares about the others either.”
It was the same story every week and Otto was right. James stared at the poster, idly
wondering how the female could pose like that as she fought the monster depicted. The
only silver lining to his situation was that all games were starting to wind down as well.
All gamers were preparing for the new frontier: Uncharted Kingdom.
“You know why I can’t.”
“James,” Otto leaned over the counter, shoving the bags into his hands, “that other boy
is gone. You’re still here. And he didn’t pay in quarters.”
He clenched his jaw and exhaled, there was nothing to say. “Thanks, Otto. I’ll see you
next week.”
Otto grinned and tottered back into his creaking stool. “Hope not.”