Page 12 of Players Love Hard
“Give me a second, Cam.”
My brother grunts but does as I ask and pauses the game. “Hurry. We have mages to beat.”
Jamie: I got everything on your list. What are you cooking for us?
Earlier, I sent Jamie the list of foods he needed to buy for tomorrow night’s dinner. What was I thinking? A meal of this magnitude will take a while to cook. At least Jamie will help me. A few hours alone with him, even if his teammates are there too, makes it worthwhile.
Shannon: Italian food, obviously
Jamie: Duh. That’s about as far as I got.
Shannon: You said you don’t mind surprises
Jamie: I lied. Tell me.
Jamie: J/k you don’t have to. How was work?
Shannon: It was work
Jamie: LOL What are you doing now?
Shannon: About to play Mage Wars with my brother
Jamie: Want the cheat codes?
Shannon: What are those?
Jamie: A way for you to beat the game faster
Shannon: How did you get them?
Jamie: I know a guy who knows a guy
Shannon: Can you help us get the Sword of Balthazar back? My dad played with my brother earlier and lost it. Now we can’t get past level fifteen.
Jamie: Easy. But don’t tell Preston or any of the guys I gave them to you.
Jamie texts me a series of button commands we have to hit in the exact order. I’m clueless, but when I mention cheat codes to Cameron, he slams his hand on the bed and screams. Cameron follows Jamie’s prompts. Within seconds, the Sword of Balthazar falls from the sky. It flashes at the center of the screen, spinning in a circle as its magic grants us an additional power.
“Sweet,” Cameron says, gripping the controller in his hands. “How did you get the code?”
“I know a guy who knows a guy,” I joke.
“Can he get us a code to beat the Grand Mage?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I can ask.”
He looks at me with wonder in his eyes, and I glance down at my cell phone.
Shannon: Thanks for the code. You’re officially my brother’s hero. Any chance you have the code to defeat the Grand Mage?
Jamie: Now I’m feeling used.
Shannon: Shit, I’m sorry.
Jamie: I was kidding… Here it is.
I screen capture the code Jamie sends me, knowing we’ll need it later. Even with an advantage, this game is hard to beat.
