Naomi Stories

Riley was a joyful kid who absolutely loved gaming. School? Not so much. The only thing he liked about school was his backpack—it was bright red and had big bold letters that said:
“BORN TO BE GAMER.”

One day at school, a brand-new computer program arrived. It needed a volunteer to test it, and of course, Riley’s hand shot up before the teacher even finished speaking.

The moment he sat down and clicked “Start,” Riley felt a strange tickle in his tummy—like butterflies doing loop-the-loops. Then suddenly—WHOOSH!—he was sucked right into the screen!

He was inside the game.

The program was a battle simulator, where players had to fight their way through different bosses. But first, Riley had to choose his avatar.

He scrolled through the options.

“How about an underwear that shoots lasers?” he thought. Then, “No—a super strong worm with rocket boots?” Hmm. Still not right.

Then it hit him:
“I want a full upgrade. A total reboot. I want to be… a robot!”

And just like that, metal plates clicked into place all over his body. His arms transformed into powerful extendo-blasters, and his eyes glowed electric blue.

Game on.

The first boss appeared. It was the terrifying Boggoth—a huge, smelly creature made entirely of mud. It dripped slime and oozed across the arena, chanting:
“Riiiileeeey… Riiiiiileeeey…”

Riley didn’t wait. He launched his extendo arms and grabbed Boggoth in a giant robot squeeze! But to his surprise, all the mud squelched off… and underneath it was just an old man with a soggy beard and a grumpy face.

“Bog off!” the man snapped. “Go away!”

Riley stumbled back in shock and fell straight into a pond with a big SPLASH!

“Wh-who are you?” Riley asked, blinking water out of his robot eyes.

“I’m the guardian of the game,” the old man said. “And if you don’t get out of here, I’ll zap you with my super lasers!”

“But I don’t know how to get home!” Riley cried.

The old man sighed. “Fine. Go left pass the Minotaur, then right through the deadly vines, and then—BOOM—you’ll see a giant portal. That’s your way out.”

So Riley followed the directions… mostly. He stumbled pass the Minotaur, got tangled in the deadly vines (which weren’t that deadly—more like itchy), and finally found the giant, glowing portal.

He took a deep breath and leapt through.

ZAP!

The next thing he knew, he was standing in the school hallway—muddy, wet, and slightly sparking from all the electricity still buzzing through his metal boots.

His headteacher spotted him immediately.

“Hey Riley,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “You look a little… beaten up.”

Riley grinned.
“You should see the other guy.”