Level One: Breakfast (Alice)

“I…..I’m sorry,” Allegra said. She was stunned. She really hadn’t thought of it that way. She just assumed people that played D&D and that kind of thing were a bunch of losers with no lives. Allegra hated it when people stereotyped her. They just assumed she was some stuck up slutty dumb blonde. It really hurt. She hadn’t stopped to consider that she might be doing the same thing.

“I guess I just don’t understand why anyone would want to pretend to be someone else when they could get out and enjoy the sunshine and be themselves,” Allegra said. “Just like I don’t understand all the Star Wars fans that dress up like Klingons. That’s what they’re called. Klingons, right? Maybe you could help me understand why Vin Diesel or anyone else would want to play a game about dungeons. Then maybe I can understand them as well. I really didn’t want to seem mean. I’m not like that. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I’m not a bully.”

“There’s a teacher here who actually made fun of me for being a cheerleader when I asked him a question about something I didn’t understand in class,” Allegra said. “People don’t understand cheerleading the same way I don’t understand D&D, I guess. I love it because it’s a great workout and a chance to be with my friends. It’s something positive. I feel like I’m really encouraging our team and spreading school spirit. But people just assume I’m some slut or a stuck up bitch just because I do something I love. It’s not fair.”

“I was really popular back home but I feel like I’m the freak here,” she said. “There was a girl in class that tried to frighten me and she talked about eating people. There’s other stuff like that too. I don’t fit in here and every night I cry myself to sleep. I don’t want to be a mutant. And it’s not because I hate mutants or anything. I try to stick up for everyone and I hate bullying. I just want people to like me and it’s not happening like I’d like it to. It’s making me feel like something’s wrong with me.”

Allegra sat for a second thinking about where a lot of that attitude came from. It was hard to be confident when her mother kept telling her she wasn’t worth it and would never measure up to her older sister.

“So did I hear you right that you thought your mom would be better off apart from you?"Allegra finally asked. “That's so sad. Having kids is a huge responsibility and it sounds like your mom is really successful but I just can’t see anything more important than family. I really want to have kids and they’ll be more important to me than anything. I guess I want to show them the love I never got. I’m guessing your mom didn’t get much of that either with your grandmother being such a witch.”

“I think you’re right though. I’m better without my mom or my dad,” Allegra said. “It’s funny that I’ve always known it but I never really realized it until I heard you say it out loud. I really miss my friends and my old life but I feel free now being away from them. I think they both really screwed me up. Thanks for being my friend. I could really use some friends right now.”

“Okay maybe I should try the English accent then,” Allegra said in a horrible attempt. “Um, or maybe not.”

“Yeah, your shoes are pretty beat up but I still feel bad. You know you’re not supposed to do that, Sparkle.” The dog just looked up innocently at Allegra then rolled into Alice’s lap. “I’m just glad she didn’t get to your good shoes. Back home I had a closet just for my shoes that was bigger than the room I have here. I don’t know how I’m going to keep them safe. I’ve been trying really hard to make them give me a bigger room.”

“Okay, so I press this button here?” Allegra asked. She saw six choices. “Ok, asking him if he has a  handsome brother is out. I don’t want to hurt the poor guy’s feelings. Let’s see what the other choices are. I have no idea what a Dothraki even is so I’m not about to insult him by accident. Oh, I can compliment him on his Serenity T-shirt even though I don’t get his shirt or even know what’s so serene about it. I’ll choose that one. If you make someone feel good about what they’re wearing then they feel good about themselves.”

Allegra smiled and turned to Alice. “Do you think I made the right choice?”