Devon was sitting on his bed with his suitcase next to him, and he was looking outside the window.
It was sunny skies. Blue clouds were floating lazily by. The cars were honking outside, and people were walking by on the bustling sidewalk.
"Mm~!"
Someone hummed a tune in the kitchen.
At the kitchen, Adele was peeking outside of the window because it showed perfectly the parking lot.
So she could immediately see whether her son’s pick-up had arrived!
In that moment, a black car rolled into the parking lot and parked in one of the guest slots of the apartment.
The door opened—a man and woman stepped out—they looked like they were working for the government.
The man was reading a slip of paper and looked around, and at that moment, the woman pointed to the second floor.
Towards their apartment.
"They have come!"
Adele said excitedly.
She could immediately tell that they worked for the federation based on the way they were acting at the parking lot.
"Okay."
Devon said from his bedroom, and for some reason, he was getting quite nervous, and he looked at the posters on the wall.
He had been living in this small apartment all of his life—he had never stayed a night anywhere else—it felt weird to leave this place.
It honestly was quite scary.
Knock! Knock!
"I will open the door!"
Adele, with a smile, approached the door—she was even dressed for the occasion—donning a beautiful white dress.
It made her look really beautiful. She even added a little bit of make-up. To make her sickly white skin look a bit more lively.
She opened the door.
"Hello, my name is Collin. I am part of the America’s Esports Federation."
Collin took out his card from his wallet, and showed it to Adele, with a warm smile.
"And I am Emily. We’re here to pick up Devon Levi. Is this his residence, per chance?"
The woman he was with asked.
"Yes, I am his mother. I am Adele."
She said with a smile and shook their hands, and the two of them quickly warmed up to Adele—as it was quite easy.
It was like her sunshine personality was very infectious, and they immediately thought that Adele was the friendliest person they had ever met.
"Please, come in!"
Adele let them in and then closed the door behind them, and they looked around the small apartment.
It was small, yes, but it felt cozy and welcoming.
"My son is in his bedroom."
Adele said and looked towards the bedroom, and Collin and Emily slowly approached the bedroom.
The door was open, so they could see a young man sitting on the bed, and he already had a suitcase with him.
"Hello, young man. My name is Collin."
"And I am Emily."
They said.
"...Devon."
The young man turned his head to look at them and said his name briefly, and he didn’t come across as the most friendliest person from the first glance.
"You’ve already packed your suitcase. That is good. We have a jet waiting over at the airport if you’re ready to leave."
Collin said with a smile.
"A jet? Where is he exactly going?"
Adele asked curiously.
"We’re taking the jet to the Holy York, and from there, we will take a ferry that will take us to the island where the draft is taking place."
Emily said.
"It’s a special location. A secret location. So we sadly cannot disclose its exact location, because we don’t want any prying eyes to come snooping around there.
"That place was re-purposed to use for the draft. It’s where the participants will sleep, go to classes, and play together."
Collin said.
"...How long does the whole thing last?"
Adele asked.
"We are not sure about that yet. This whole thing is new to us, so we are figuring it out as we go, but we will also allow the students to come visit their families."
Emily said.
"Okay."
Adele said with a smile, and she then looked towards the bedroom and saw that Devon hadn’t moved.
"A moment."
She said with a smile, and then she walked to her son and gently touched his shoulder, whispering, "It’s time to go."
"It’ll be fun, young man. They all are good kids, so there are plenty of friends to make as well."
Collin said.
"...Yeah."
Devon took the suitcase from the bed and then stood up and felt his mother’s hand caressing his back.
It was like she could tell that he was already starting to feel homesick.
Devon put his shoes on and stepped out of the apartment, and Colin and Emily said the final goodbyes to Adele.
"Son, do your best."
Adele put her thumbs up, and Devon forced a smile and nodded, and at that moment, the door closed in front of her.
She heard the footsteps receding down the hallway.
At that moment, she fell on her knees, and she covered her mouth, and tears started falling from her eyes.
She couldn’t help it.
...
"Here you go."
Collin opened the trunk for Devon, and after he put his suitcase in there, he closed it and got into the back seat of the car.
Collin climbed to the driver’s seat, and Emily got into the passenger’s seat.
"I remembered when I left my home to chase after my dream. I moved all the way from Thug America to here.
"It’s not easy. I know it very well. It will get better."
Collin said, and then he twisted the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life, and they put on their seatbelt.
With that, he stepped on the gas and drove out of the parking lot and then down the long street—bringing the car further and further away from the apartment.
"..."
Devon watched as the apartment disappeared around the corner, and he felt like his heart lost a piece.
The car then drove past the Game Center.
’Everyone must already be hard at work. I did not see Kylie’s or James’ name on the participation list.
’They must be like—what the hell, Devon was chosen?—or something like that... yeah, it must come as a surprise.’
Devon leaned against the window and watched as the streets of New Angeles moved by in a blur.