April 21, 2019

I was playing a 3D platformer on the Switch with my brother but he had fallen asleep on the couch. I started watching videos that revealed character-specific secret levels on the stages. There was one that involved juggling bombs as Link while sliding down a hill to open the way to a secret temple.

At this point, my brother woke up and said he wanted to play. I booted up the game and at the character select screen, I picked the “scientist” role.

The game started with the two of us as waitresses in a diner. The beginning sequence of orders was already muscle memory at this point as I knew exactly where to go. My in-game birthday was tomorrow (June 22), my brother reminded me - and invited me to a trip to the beach. He asked why I worked Saturdays when I had Sundays off. I said I had nothing better to do.

I picked up my phone as I received Snapchats from a friend enjoying their time at the beach. Another friend sent me a picture of them at a theme park. “I never knew the pyramids were real!” the caption read.