MADE FOR ME-(The mystery of Maya's disappearance).

Chapter 4

Ava's pov(Maya's friend)

I stared at the empty seat at our usual table in the cafeteria, my heart sinking.

It had been weeks since I'd last seen Maya. Ever since she'd disappeared into that game, she'd completely disappeared from our lives.

I'd tried to reach out to her, to no avail. It was as if she'd vanished off the face of the earth.

"Where do you think she is?" I asked, glancing over at my friend olivia.

He shook his head, his expression grim. "I have no idea, Ava.

I chewed my lip, feeling frustrated. "But she said she wouldn't go back into the game! She promised!" I insisted. "I thought we were finally getting through to her, that she understood how worried we were."

Olivia sighed, pushing his food around on his plate. "Look, Ava, we both know that Maya can be headstrong when she wants to be. If she made up her mind to keep playing that game, there's not much we can do to stop her."

Olivia looked up at me, his face sober. "Listen, we need to keep an eye on her. Maya is smart, but she's also impulsive. I've got a bad feeling about all this, Ava. What if something's gone wrong? What if she's in trouble?"

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling tight. "Do you think we should talk to her parents?"

Olivia nodded, his expression grim. "I think that's our best bet. They've got to know something, or at least they can help us figure out where she is.

"I just hope they don't get mad at us for getting involved," I said nervously. "Maya's dad can be kind of intense."

"That's true," Olivia acknowledged. "But they need to know what's going on, Ava. And besides, if something has happened to Maya, we can't just sit around and do nothing."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "Let's do it. We'll talk to her parents after school."

After school, we made our way over to Maya's house, our stomachs twisting with nerves.

I rang the doorbell, my hand trembling slightly.

Mrs. Adams answered the door, her face lighting up when she saw us.

"Ava, Olivia! How lovely to see you both. Maya's not home yet, but please, come in," she said, ushering us inside.

Alex cleared his throat. "Actually, Mrs. Adams, we were hoping to talk to you about Maya. We're worried about her."

Mrs. Adams' face fell. "Oh dear. What's wrong? Is Maya in some kind of trouble?"

I exchanged a glance with Alex before speaking. "Well, it's just that she's been playing this game a lot lately, and we think it's starting to get out of hand. She's been really secretive about it, and we're worried that something bad might happen."

Mrs. Adams frowned. "What kind of game is it?"

I tried my best to explain, but I could tell from the look on her face that she didn't really understand what we were talking about.

Mrs. Adams nodded slowly, her brow furrowed. "Well, I appreciate you both being concerned, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Maya has always been a very independent girl. She knows what she's doing."

I could feel frustration welling up inside me. "But Mrs. Adams, she's not answering any of our calls or texts! That's not normal for Maya."

Mrs. Adams sighed. "You know, Maya's always had a bit of a rebellious streak. Maybe she's just testing boundaries. But I assure you, she's a smart girl.

"Still," Olivia pressed, "we just can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. We care about Maya. Can't you at least help us talk to her? Or give us some idea of where she might be?"

Mrs. Adams looked conflicted, her gaze flitting between the two of us. "I'm sorry, kids. I just don't think I can help you with this. I don't want to overstep my bounds with Maya.

"But if you really think something's wrong, you could try reaching out to her other friends. Maybe someone's heard from her recently."

Defeated, we left Maya's house without any new information.

As we walked back toward the bus stop, my mind was racing. What could we do to find Maya? Who else could we ask?

"Maybe we should contact the school," I suggested. "They might know something we don't."

Olivia shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot. But what are we supposed to say? That we think Maya's disappeared into a game? They'll think we're crazy."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But we can't just give up."

We decided to call the school's guidance counselor, Mrs. Torres. She had always been a friendly and supportive presence at our school, and we hoped she would be able to help us figure out what to do.

Mrs. Torres answered the phone on the second ring, her voice warm and welcoming.

"Hello, Ava and Olivia.How are you both doing today?"

I took a deep breath before launching into an explanation of our concerns about Maya.

"Mrs. Torres, we're really worried about our friend, Maya.

"She's been playing this game non-stop and won't answer our calls or texts. We're afraid something might have happened to her, but her parents don't seem to think it's a big deal. We don't know what to do."

Mrs. Torres listened patiently, her voice growing more serious as I spoke.

"Ava, I'm glad you called. It's important to take these kinds of concerns seriously, even if they seem a bit unusual. When was the last time you saw Maya in person?"

"It's been over two weeks," I said, my heart sinking at the realization. "She was acting really strange the last time we saw her. She kept talking about this game, and how it was the best thing that ever happened to her. It was like she was in a trance or something."

Mrs. Torres nodded, her voice taking on a sympathetic tone.

"Well, first things first, I think we should report Maya as missing to the local police. Even if she's just avoiding you and her family, it's better to be safe than sorry.

I hesitated for a moment, trying to remember.

"But what if she's not missing?" Alex asked, his voice tinged with worry. "What if she's just so deep into the game that she doesn't realize how much time has passed?"

Mrs. Torres thought for a moment before replying.

"Even if that's the case, we still need to be proactive. I'll go with you to the police station and help you report Maya's disappearance. And while we're doing that, we can ask them to check the game's servers for any signs of her activity."

A small glimmer of hope rose up in my chest.

Later that day, we found ourselves sitting across from a police detective, Mrs. Torres by our side.

The detective listened intently as we recounted our concerns about Maya.

"So let me get this straight," he said when we finished. "You think your friend is missing because she's become obsessed with this game?"

Mrs. Torres stepped in, her voice calm and professional.

"Yes, that's correct. She's been completely unreachable for over two weeks, which is highly unusual for her.

The detective considered our story for a moment before asking, "Is there any reason you think she might be in danger? Have you had any indication that she's in trouble?"

I glanced at Alex, unsure of how to answer. Finally, I spoke up.

"Well, she was acting really weird before she disappeared. She kept talking about this game, like it was the only thing that mattered to her. And she wouldn't tell us anything about it."

The detective made a few notes on his clipboard before looking up at us again.

"I see," the detective said, tapping his pen against the clipboard thoughtfully. "If this game is indeed the cause of Maya's disappearance, we may be able to find some leads by looking into the game's history. Do you know who created it? Is it a big gaming company, or was it developed independently?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea. Maya never told us anything about the game's origins. She just said it was better than anything she'd ever played before."

Mrs. Torres chimed in.

"If the game is indeed the cause of Maya's disappearance," Mrs. Torres said, "it could be a serious public safety concern. Who knows how many other people are playing it? If it's causing this kind of obsession in people, it could be extremely dangerous."

The detective nodded, his expression grave. "That's a valid concern. We'll look into the game as part of our investigation. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you both to think hard about any details Maya might have mentioned about the game. Even the smallest detail could be a potential lead."

Olivia and I exchanged a glance.

"I remember Maya saying something about the game being incredibly immersive," I said, trying to recall the exact words she'd used. "She said it was so real, it was like stepping into a whole new world."

The detective made a note of this, nodding thoughtfully. "And what about other players? Did Maya mention playing with anyone else? A username, maybe, or an online handle?"

"She didn't really say," Olivia chimed in.