They are the only ones who can hear me. I am the only one with the Javelin missile launcher unlocked. Six intense gamers who want to win the game. Six of us who have nothing better to do on a Friday night. Six average Joes with Mountain Dews at our sides and our controllers in our hands. From my couch I see them, people who I could be seeing in person, but none of us has enough gas to go anywhere.

Our common boredom is what unites us. We use our mics to communicate and coordinate our attacks. TibblesTheWolf calls in the UAV and I use my harrier strike over the clump of enemies. This is how we play.

Should one of us go AFK and offer the enemy free kills, we’d lose our lead in points. We cannot afford to abandon the game or quit, lest we lose the match and not gain the extra EXP. Win, win, win, we will win. Our rep over Xbox live depends on it, or we will become “avoided players.”

When we have nothing to do and nowhere to go, then an intense battle is only a few phone calls away. When we wish for an outlet for our aggression. When we want to kill without taking a life. Six who run, shoot and die, just to respawn and end an enemy’s killstreak. Six who fight despite lag and hackers. Six who level up when others go out and party. Six who just do this because we can’t do it IRL.