It was early nightfall by the time she got home. The girl swung the door open, said a brisk hello to her mother whilst trying her hardest to conceal her emotions, and raced upstairs to her room. She landed unceremoniously on her bed. Burying her face into a pillow, HC hair spreading out in a disorderly mess on the pillow, YN screamed. YN screamed so hard. Stupid boys. Stupid kids from school. Stupid school!! Her throat now sufficiently parched, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The arcade was her only safe haven away from school, away from home where her parents were always pushing her to get straight As. Now that those new games were in, it felt like EVERYONE was there. It was no longer a safe place. Stupid Poly-whatever...

YN trailed slowly over to her window and looked out at the stars, which were remarkably clear for the sky over Portland. Just what WAS it about that damn game? It was a simple point-and-shoot, like Galaga, only with different controls, weird shapes, strange, tantalizing sounds...YN looked down and realized she'd been idly mimicking the motions required to press the fire button and steer the ship. She quickly put her hands in her pockets. Even playing her favorite games, YN hadn't ever felt that kind of adrenaline from an arcade game. The kind that made her blood feel like an electric current, making her heart skip a beat. YN sat on her bed and pulled the covers over herself. For whatever reason, Polybius...whatever that meant...was her new favorite game. And she couldn't wait to play it again.