[Shenandoah]

Rick settled down in the chair at his school's library at the computer. He was going to graduate fairly soon, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed that fact. He knew there'd be little to keep him from flipping burgers at some fast food joint. Perhaps he could get a job as a mechanic, but he knew virtually nothing of engines and stuff... nor had an inclination to know.

However, he knew there was one thing he was good at doing... and that was gaming. He would go to the Game Station later on and use their uplink to the most popular RPG ever: the virtual reality game simply called 'The Game' by most people. He knew he'd play until they closed and he was glad he was good friends with the owner of the place or else he'd have to pay out the ass for all the uplink time.

Soon, school would be out and he would be going down the road to the VR lounge.

----

Time did move quickly enough. He left his high school, his bag on his shoulder, and went south from his school on foot. Rick didn't get the privileges of going on a bus or driving a car. He lived too close to his current foster home for one and his foster parents didn't have the money to afford even a clunker for another. Which was fine with him. They didn't seem to care one way or the other when it came to his late appearances at home so long as he got there for dinner with the other foster kids.

Rick knew they were simply in it for the money. Most were, unfortunately, in his experience. Quite frankly, he didn't care. His time was almost up anyway and he should have left by now except for the fact that the one saving grace from having his roof yanked from him was that he was still in school despite being a legal adult.