Fiction: 'High School Hustle' the video game
Choices, wins, and losses — getting through high school is kind of like playing a video game.
In this sound-rich, fictional audio story, RadioActive’s Alayna Ly explores the transition from high school to whatever comes next.
Can you level up without breaking down?
[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]
Transcript:
[Video game chime]
Narrator: Welcome back to “High School Hustle,” Andie!
Congrats on completing junior year with a 4.0 GPA.
[Celebratory sound]
Ready to start your senior year?
[“Yes” chime]
Level One: Tough Conversations
[Sizzling stove and dishware clinking]
Dad: Andie, have you decided what you want to study in college?
[Andie groans]
Narrator: Level One — Tough Conversations. Can you make it through this family dinner without disappointing your parents?
[Fast-paced video game music]
Mom: Your father and I always wanted you to be a doctor.
Narrator: You have three options:
One, lie and say you’ll enter the medical field. It would make your parents happy.
Two, reveal your interest in… ugh, journalism.
Or three…
[“Yes” chime]
Andie: I don’t know yet. I’m still exploring my options.
Narrator: You chose number three.
Andie: I have time.
Mom: We understand that. But you’ll be the first person in our family to go to college. You need a plan.
Dad: You should talk to your cousin, he makes amazing money as a pharmacist.
Narrator: Uh oh, your parents are disappointed. Minus five mental health points.
[Point deduction sound]
[A chair scrapes against the floor, running footsteps, and a door slams]
Dad: Andie!
Level Two: The College List
Narrator: Level Two — The College List. Scroll through each college and listen to the representative.
Swipe right if you wish to apply.
[“Yes” chime]
Swipe left if you don’t.
[“No” error sound]
Ready? Start!
[Upbeat music]
College representative one: Anchor University is your trusty state school. Who can say no to in-state tuition? It’s only 25 minutes away from home.
[“Yes” chime]
[Dreamy, inspirational music]
College representative two: Chapter University transforms students into great truth-seekers and storytellers. We have one of the best journalism programs in the country.
[“Yes” chime]
[Baseball fanfare]
College representative three: At Homerun University, we love sports—
[“No” error sound]
[Robot sound]
College representative four: Proton University is the place for all things STEM—
[“No” error sound]
[Orchestral music]
College representative five: Most would describe Posh University as pretentious, but—
[“No” error sound]
[Back and forth “yes” chime and “no” error sounds]
Andie: Ugh, my brain hurts.
Narrator: You completed your college list. Great choices, Andie!
[Celebratory sound]
Level Three: Sudden Death (The Personal Statement)
Narrator: Level Three — Sudden Death. Win over colleges with your personal statement.
[Stressful music]
You have 30 seconds. Ready? Start!
Andie: What?!
[Computer keyboard typing]
Uhh… public speaking empowers me—
Narrator: Too boring. Choose something else.
Andie (panicked): When my best friend moved away, I was heartbroken. She was—
Narrator: This essay needs to be about you!
Andie: Ugh, I have no ideas.
Narrator: There must be something. Dig deeper, Andie.
Andie: Well… I’ve always felt disconnected from my family’s culture...
Narrator: Now we’re getting somewhere. Keep writing!
[Typing gets louder]
Use more emotion!
Too sad. Be uplifting!
Is that the best you can do?
Andie (tired): And... done.
[Typing ends abruptly]
Narrator: You finished your personal statement! The admissions officers will love it!
Are you ready to submit your college applications?
[“Yes” chime]
Nice work, Andie!
[Celebratory sound]
Uh oh! Looks like you had to unpack a lot of emotional baggage in your personal statement.
Minus ten mental health points.
[Point deduction sound]
[Bomb ticking]
Be careful! You’re approaching burnout status!
[Warning sound, then explosion]
Level Four: The Final Choice
Narrator: Level Four — The Final Choice.
[Happy, inspirational music]
Narrator: You ended senior year with a bang.
You committed to the local state school.
You passed all your AP exams.
You danced the night away at prom.
And you graduated!
You received your diploma surrounded by friends and family.
You did it, Andie!
[Music swells, then fades out.]
Andie: That's... it?
[Silence for a few seconds, then upbeat music starts]
Narrator (upbeat): Hey, Andie! Did you enjoy "High School Hustle"? The fun doesn’t stop there!
Your subconscious is proud to present our newest game coming this fall: “College Craze!"
Get ready to room with complete strangers, collect student debt, and cry a lot!
Do you want to play?
[Upbeat music fades out, stressful music starts]
Andie (disbelief): Huh. The game doesn’t stop after high school. Do I actually want to go to college?
[Stressful music fades out, upbeat music fades in]
Narrator (impatient): Andie! Are you there?
Click "yes" if you want to go to college.
[“Yes” chime]
Click "no" if you don’t.
[“No” error sound]
[Upbeat music fades out, stressful music fades in]
Andie: Four years of this game… and for what? I don’t even know who I am. I don’t want to live like this for the rest of my life.
[A few seconds of silence, then a click]
[“Yes” chime]
Narrator (angry, glitchy): You clicked the quit button. You meant to click the pause button, right?
[“No” error sound]
Andie: No. I’m done with this game.
Narrator (angry): Done?! You only got this far because of me. You’re nothing without me!
Andie (angry): I don’t need you.
I tried to win this game. I tried to win your approval. But where did that get me?
I want to be happy. And that means ending this.
Narrator (angry): You can’t quit. No one quits!
Andie: (determined): I can, and I will.
[“Yes” chime]
Andie: Game over.
Producer's note: Inside the Making of “High School Hustle"
More information about the making of this story from writer and producer Alayna Ly.
This story was produced in a RadioActive Youth Media Advanced Producers creative audio workshop for high school and college-age youth. Production assistance by Esmy Jimenez and Lucas Galarneau. Prepared for the web by Kelsey Kupferer. Edited by Mary Heisey.
This story was inspired by “Call of Dating,” written and produced by Mira Burt-Wintonick and Cristal Duhaime for the CBC Radio One show "WireTap."
Thanks to Adar Abdi, Antonio Nevarez, Colin Yuen, Emily Chua, Lucas Galarneau, Lyn Strober-Cohen and Najuma Abadir for their voice acting.
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Support for KUOW's RadioActive comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center and BECU.
If you have any feedback on this story, you can email RadioActive at radioactive@kuow.org, or click the teal feedback tab on the edge of this page. Reach out, we're listening.
