Waiting the last 23 minutes felt like a eternity for Ryan. If there was any solace in this wait it was that he wasnt alone. Everyone, both in front and behind him were on their heals and looked impatient.
Ryan decided to text Kana, his sister as he waited. She was also in the line but decided to wait for her friends so she was a little farther back in the line than him.
Ryan [Kana, are you busy?] 7:40am
It wasnt like Ryan wanted to bother her but he also wanted to do anything to make time flow even just a little faster.
Luckily he didnt have to wait long for a reply.
Kana [I wish. The wait is killing meeeee...]
Kana's reply put a smile to Ryan's face as he could only agree.
Ryan [I thought you would chat with your friends?]
Kana [Their all talking about how when they start playing they will rush so they can look for good clothing to wear. lol]
Ryan [What about you? You love to shop with mom whenever you get the chance. Shouldnt you join them?]
Kana [What are you talking about silly. I already promised to play with you since all your 'so called friends' showed their true colores.]
After reading that Ryan didnt immediately reply. His thoughts trailed off to the "So called friends." That she was refering too and doing so only left a bitter taste in his mouth.
That must of worried Kana as she sent another message after waiting a minute.
Kana [Sorry, I probably shouldnt of brought them up.]
Ryan [It's ok.]
Ryan [If you want to hang out with your friends when you start playing. I wont mind.]
Not receiving a reply for a couple of minutes Ryan was just about to put his phone away when he got another message.
Kana [Please dont try to shut me out because it won't work. Im going to be playing with you and thats final! got it!]
Thinking his sister might be being a little dramatic, he looked at the time, it was 7:52am. After deciding he would chat with her a little longer he started typing.
Ryan [So do you plan on playing right away or are you going to sleep when you get home.]
Kana [I think I'll play for a few hours then get some sleep. I didn't stay up all night in this cold with only your sweatshirt to keep me warm just to go home and sleep.]
After reading that Ryan had to read it a second time to make sure he wasnt mistaken of what he read.
Ryan [You have my sweatshirt?]
Kana [Yup!!! and it's so cozy. I had seen it lying on the couch when we where about to leave and snatched it up.]
Ryan [And you didn't think I might want it. It is mine after all.]
Kana [but you wouldn't want me to get cold now would you. I am your little sister!]
Ryan was about to reply but only sighed. Although he was a little annoyed, he knew she was right. If she asked, he would of willingly gave it to her.
Ryan. [Fine you can use it for now. Although me giving permission now is kinda pointless.]
Kana [Thanks big bro! I'll make sure to take good care of it.]
About to reply back to her Ryan noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye.
When he looked up he noticed the people in front of him were moveing slowly forwards.
Looking back at his phone quickly to send a quick message to tell Kana about the line starting to move. He then put his phone away and started to move with everyone elts.
The line was slow but in less than 45 min he could finally see the store. Estimating that it would take another 45 min to make it there. The thought that at least he was moveing and making progress of getting closer to the store kept repeating in his mind.
After waiting for 50 minutes he was finally able to enter the store and buy the game. It was a little longer but it was probably just a customer haveing difficultys.
Walking up to the counter Ryan was about to speak but when looking at how many copies were left of Abandoned Kingdom's Online behind the counter he was a little surprised. From what he could tell there was less than half of what should of been there.
The cashier must of noticed the look on Ryan's face as she politely asked if something was wrong. After a second Ryan noticed she was talking to him so he asked.
"Why is there so little copies left. I thought the store said online they would have over 700."
Understanding now the look on his face, she politely informed him about the situation with a bitter smile.
"We are allowed to sell 2 copies per person to help with decreasing how long the line should of been."
When looking back at the line Ryan felt worry that both his sister and her friends wouldnt be able to get the game at this rate. After a second of pondering he looked back to her to see the look on her face said she also realized that there wouldnt be enough for everyone if this keeps up. People must be abusing the fact that they can buy more than 1 copy to be able to resell later at a higher price.
However what Ryan said next made her look at him whith a apsent mind as if looking at something she couldnt comprehend.
"if i bought 2 copies could I also buy 2 of the special VR headsets that also come with the game?"
"Umm... could you repeat that for me please? I don't think I heard you right."
Ryan repeated what he said and only then did she say that she would have to get a manager. Thankfully the managers were also up at the registers helping out as this was a huge day for the store and all hands where on deck.
Ryan already thought of buying the all in one VR headset that came with Abandoned Kingdom's Online after seeing it on the store home page. However he didn't want to spend to much money from his savings if he could help it.
Lookng at the direction the lady went he could clearly see her explain the situation to a man that looked to be ruffly in his 40s and was bald. He looked to have a few tattoos that he was trying to hide with long sleeves but the tattoos went all the way to his wrists so it was hard to hide.
Ryan guessed it was by choice that he was bald since he didnt want to think of the alternative and decided to help the man save face if that was the case.
Noticing the man look at him, Ryan could only show a smile. It wasnt till they exchanged a few more words did the lady return and start talking with him again.
"My manager said that would be fine but you would have to pay first and then I will get you all the products. He even said if you buy 1 extra special VR headset with the game we can throw in one of the limited edition bags to carry them all in."
Thinking that that wouldnt be a problem since he had saved up all his money since getting a part time job and after working alot to have some money to play with he had roughly 5k sitting in his bank account.
Alothough the VR editions costed 3k all together Ryan was more than happy to buy them as he knew how much his sister and her 3 friends wanted this game. He was even about to give up his copy if they didnt manage to at least get one but this solves the whole problem altogether.
Handing over his card he watched as the transaction went smoothly and even had a inword chuckle after watching the look of the cashier's face change to one of shock. Ryan understood as the game alone was only about $100 and the alternative was 1k. He figured the woman infront of him was skeptical about the whole thing but when everything went smoothly, she must of realized he was serious.
After she got everything and even packed it nicely for him, Ryan thanked her for everything and left. Although he didnt need to thank her it only felt right since she talked to a manager and helped him get enough copies to give to his sister and her friends and still have one for himself.