text: Hello everyone, just recently got recommended about this forum, and I really like it. This is my first ever attempt to write something, a 1900 word urban story, need all the feedback I can get about writing. Also English is not my first language so sorry about the poor choose of word and grammar. &#x200B; **UNINSTALL** January 5th 2005, finally my package has arrived. The pirated copy of The Sims 2, bought from some forum I found online. I rushed to my room to open the package, inside there was 3 plain DVD disc. “The Sims 2 1/3” written with marker pen is the first DVD, I inserted to the DVD-ROM of the pride of my life that time, an all-black intel Pentium 4 CPU with 512 MB of RAM. I open the DVD folder, and then double click at the installation apps. The installation started, and while waiting a text arrived from Lisa my computer science lab partner asking about our MS Excel project. “I’ll get to it tonight” I text her, can’t risk my computer to crash if I open MS Excel now. “Ding” suddenly my speaker rang, “Please insert The Sims disc 2/3, then click continue” the notification in the screen said. I guess I’m stuck here, can’t risk missing the notification for the third disc. This piracy activity was a high-tension event for me. After inserting the third disc, the installation was successful, the manual text in the DVD said to copy the file in the crack folder in disc 1 to the installation folder. “I’m such a great hacker-man” I told myself proudly after copying the cracked folder. “It’s 7 o’clock, have you done it?” Lisa text me, so I replied “I’m doing it now”. Guess the game have to wait a bit, I then open the excel file of our project “The Body Mass Index Calculator” where you just put your weight and height then the file will count your body mass if it is: underweight, normal, overweight or obese. The formulas are very basic, but we have some trouble to automatically change the result cell colour according to the BMI category. It was Lisa idea, so people can have more awareness if their bodyweight is overweight or obese by changing the cell colour to red. Took me an hour to finally figure out the excel formula, but then the moment of truth. Time to open the game I just installed. I really loved The Sims, and they said this sequel is far much better. I clicked the icon, then the loading screen appear. The green crystal graphic, the loading music it was so amazing for me. I ended up playing it until way past midnight that day. Playing the best game of my high school days. “You look so pale dude” Lisa said to me in computer class the next day. “Yeah, work all night to complete our project.” And of course, playing The Sims 2 after that. “Aaaw, my hero. OK you can just sit down while I’ll do our project presentation.” “Fine by me, I’ll cover you if you can’t answer anything” I said to her. “Again, my knight in shining armour always ready to save the day.” She laughs, while walking to her laptop getting ready to do our project presentation. Her smile while saying that really brighten up my day, feels like I'm wide awake again. Lisa is a cheerful girl; we’ve known each other since primary school. We hang out in a same “gang” but actually I never really talk to her privately like in this project. We usually just hang out together with all our other friends. This project really makes me adore her, a fun girl, know exactly what she wants, and she always makes me feel that I’m a cool guy, which I know I wasn’t. I watch her doing our presentation with such confidence, I swear I can see her shine, or maybe it’s just the effect of sleep deprivation. After class, Lisa talks to me “Thanks man, you’re awesome. Sorry I can’t help to much in the formulas.” Again, with her cheerful personality. Her way of talking and the way she looks at my eyes while I’m speaking to her really makes me feel noticed. Is this my first high school crush I asked myself, but I immediately think “how can a beautiful girl, that everyone likes in school will like me.” Maybe this is the effect of listening to much Emo songs and their sad, rejected, melancholy song theme. “So, what are you doing after school?” She asks me, waking me from my thought. “Probably having a nap, I really need it. Why?” I asked her back “Yeah, you look pale. Actually, I was going to ask you out.” she said, blowing my mind off because I just been asked out by the coolest girl I know. “Maybe you can share some of the formulas in Excel so I can be more of a help next time” She continued. Of course this was about the project, what else would she ask me out for. “I think I’ll pass today, maybe some other time. I’ll share my formulas collection next time” I said to her, then we said goodbye. After school, I turn on my computer then start playing The Sims 2 again, I remember that year I can spend 4-5 hour a day playing. The game got so much freedom, you can create characters, design your dream house, and be everything. Playing this game is one of my happy moments growing up. A week after the project, Lisa texted me. “Hey, your kind of missing after school are you OK?” Wow, she noticed I’m not hanging out anymore after school, I texted back, “been busy doing some little project so stuck in my room.” Then I received another task from her “I bet your project is going to be awesome, can I look?” “Maybe when it’s ready” I replied, knowing I would never tell her that my project is playing a video game. Sometimes later at school, Lisa comes to my table. “Hey, you want to watch Lord of the ring together”. Wow, this girl is asking me to go out to watch my favourite movies. I really wanted to say yes but that time I was really addicted to the Sims 2, and going home to play was all I can think off. “Sorry, still got this project I’m doing” I answer, and yes this was going to be one of the epic bad decisions I make my whole life. Choosing to play a game over going out with this awesome girl. She looks disappointed, but then smile and said “OK, good luck with the project.” “Hey maybe you should get more sleep, that pale look doesn’t look good on you.” She said to me while walking away. Again, this girl just hit the spot, I can’t believe she notice me not getting enough sleep because of my gaming habit. After that we started to grew apart, she started to get busy with other friend and me with my The Sims 2 addiction. Sometimes we pass by and said hi, but no more real conversation. Until we finally graduated. We went to different college; I took the math major and she was studying public health. It was always her passion; she cares so much about people that she wants to prevent them from getting sick rather the become a doctor to heal the sick. That's why we have the BMI project. When she tells me about this, I was so amaze that this word was coming from a high school student the same age as me. While all I can think off is playing video game all the time. I never heard from her again after graduation. October of 2008, I was busy at campus when suddenly I received a phone call from my high school classmate. It was a very shocking news, that Lisa was involved in a car accident. She was going home with her boyfriend, the police suspected that her boyfriend was DUI and crashed a road separator at high speed. They both didn’t survive the crash. The funeral is going to be held this week. It’s been a few years, and I have a few dates in college but Lisa is still my dream girl, I still think that she was the perfect girl, and I remember crying that night after receiving the news. At the funeral, everyone I knew in high school was there. Everyone was talking about how she brightens up their life, and how she was the best friend they ever had. It was such a beautiful funeral for a beautiful soul. I wanted to cry, but I made a promise that in the funeral of the happiest person I ever know, I will say goodbye to her the way she always speaks to me, with happiness. And so, I said goodbye to my friend. “She really likes you, you know” Jamie said to me after the funeral. Jamie was Lisa best friend. “She tries to get closer to you, but you kind of shut her down.” She continues. This really shock me; I was too childish to realize it that time. To addicted to my video game, that I could not get the hint from Lisa. I just found out that I was the one rejecting the girl of my dream at her funeral. After the funeral I went home, it’s been 2 years or more since I come home. I know I need to fix this antisocial way of life. After catching up with my parents I went up stair. My room was just the way I left it; I sit down on the side of my bed trying to process everything that happens today. When then in my sight, there it was: my high school best friend, the black computer I'm so very proud off covered in plastic case to prevent dust. I plug all the cable in then turn it on, and The Sims 2 logo - the green crystal is still on the desktop. Then I remember the project I was telling Lisa I was doing. The project that makes me ignore her. So, I open the game, again that loading screen brings back all of high school memory. I open a save file and there she was. Lisa was there as beautiful as ever; I remember spending a whole weekend making her Sims to look as similar as her in real life. Even the way she smiles in the game really reminds me of her smile, every time I told her what I think we should do in our school project. She was there, and I was there in Pleasentview, the neighbourhood’s name of The Sims2. We are a married couple with 2 children. Our house was so big and white, with white fences. I work as an astronaut, and she was a painter. This is the project I could never told her; she will think I’m a psycho in high school if I told her I’m making her as a character in The Sims 2 and marry her. And so there it was, Lisa and I as a married couple in the game, I decided to play the game all night that day. She was really happy in the game - I was really happy in the game. Suddenly it was morning, and I decided to stop. I said goodbye to her. Kiss her one last time in the game and I close the game. I look at the mirror and my face look so pale because of no sleep from playing the game all night and remember what she said that day. “Hey maybe you should get more sleep, that pale look doesn’t look good on you.” I smiled and talk to my reflection, “Maybe you’re right”, and then uninstalled the game. After that I said goodbye for the last time, “Good bye forever my friend, my Lisa.