You promised George you'd finally go to game club

A text from George sat at the top of your notifications.

You ran off! I thought you were coming with me to game club? :'(

Ffuuuuuuck.

George had been inviting you to come to his after school gamer club all year. Recently his invitations had taken on a rather tone. Last week you broke down and solemnly swore that, this Friday, you would really, actually, finally go to his club with him.

You just really, really, really didn't want to.

It wasn't because you didn't like games. Far from it. Gaming was one of your favorite time-wasters, right up there with sex and trashy horror movies.

You just didn't like to hang with gamers.

Especially the gamers at your school.

Most of them were harmless, like George, but there were some real neckbeards in that club. Like, the kind that hung out on toxic internet forums. The kind that only left their bedroom to go to school. The kind that treated girls like they were a different species.

Plus, Lincoln was in the club.

Ugh.

A promise was a promise, though, and the thought of ghosting on poor George didn't sit well. He didn't have a lot of friends, and you know how much he'd been looking forward to this.

Mostly because he wouldn't stop yammering about it.

You meet up with him as he's en route to the club room. His face lights up when he sees you.

"RC! You're coming!"

You give him a cocky smile. "Of course. I gotta show those nerds how it's done, right?"

George chatters away as you walk, explaining the nuances of the gamer club. Fridays were special, because the only games allowed were head-to-head matches. Didn't matter which game or who was playing; Fridays were all about proving digital dominance. Marquee matches between top players would often involve the spectators placing oddball bets and creating a ruckus of trash talk.

Honestly, you had been hoping to just chill out and mess around with some of the retro consoles they had. The prospect of watching these guys face off in oh-so-serious competition was less than thrilling. Even worse was the idea of playing one of them yourself. Not that you doubted your abilities, you just knew guys like these could get weird about losing to a girl.

George leads you down a series of increasingly empty hallways. You thought you knew the layout of your school pretty well, but you can't remember ever being back in this particular corner. The two of you finally reach your destination, a door with an old piece of notepaper taped on it. "GAMER CLUB - NO CHADS" was scrawled on it in thick sharpie.

No Chads? What the fuck?

The hallway had an odd smell. Old water stains marked the linoleum and one of the florescent lights needed replacing. George looks up at you. "Here we are. You ready for this?"

"I'm always ready, GG." You try to sound confident, but this hallway was giving you a bad vibe. "So why are we just standing here?"

Without waiting for his response, you push the door open and enter the club room, George following close behind. The room is in only slightly better shape than the hallway. Old folding chairs and tables are scattered around, most of them containing at least one TV and game console. The light is dim, the floor looks like it hasn't been cleaned since before you were born, and somehow that odd smell is even worse.

There are about a dozen boys in the room, gathered around a single TV where two of them are playing a fighting game. Some of the spectators look up as you enter, their expressions making it clear they were not expecting a new person today. Especially one like you.

"Hey guys!" George waves. "This is my friend RC I was telling you about! She's super cool and plays games, but she's not like one of those fake gamer girls."

The boys look at you, clearly not believing George. You feel their gaze on you, judging you. A voice in your head tells you to turn around and walk out, that these guys aren't worth your time. You almost consider listening to it, George's hurt feelings be damned, when you hear the door open behind you.

"Oh great. What's she doing here?"

Lincoln's sardonic voice makes you grimace. You spin around to give him a piece of your mind. He sees the look on your face, and before you can say anything he raises his hands defensively. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I get your pronoun wrong?"

You hear the boys laughing behind you. Your cheeks get hot, and your temper gets the better of you. George starts to squeak out a protest, but you cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"I'm here to get my game on, Lincoln. There a problem with that?" You glare up at his pale freckled face. "Sign on the door says no Chads, not no chicks. So are you gonna let me play?" You turn to address the rest of the boys. "Or are y'all too scared to lose to a girl?"

You see the match everyone had been watching was over. The boys are all staring at you now, jaws hanging slack. The only exception was one of the players of the fighting game. He just stared at you passively, lips pressed thin. Something about him made you feel uneasy. Maybe it was the scantily-clad anime girl on his shirt. Maybe it was the way the sweat shone on his pimpled face. Maybe it was that flat, dead look in his eyes.

Lincoln's voice snaps you out of your trance. "Alright then, gamers. Looks like we have a new challenger." The boys grumble, but don't protest. "Newbies need to prove themselves before they can be part of the club, so who's gonna go first? Who wants a piece of the girl?"

George steps next to you and speaks low. "This is bullshit. There's no rule about newbies. You don't have to play if you don't want."

One of the gamers, a short blonde guy in a Pokemon hoodie, raises his hand. "I'll take her. I think George is full of shit. She definitely looks like a fake gamer girl to me."

Your temper flares even higher, George's words boiling away like steam. Nothing at all about this situation makes you comfortable, but you can't let these arrogant dorks talk shit about you and get away with it.

Can you?