Showdown at the Arcade Corral
Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:47 pm
Nina loved the arcade. She loved the flashing lights and cacophony of digital sounds. She loved the snack bar and even the bowling alley. Most of all she loved the social atmosphere. At Westbrook it was hard to forget that you were a metahuman, but at the arcade it was easy to just be a teen, to just be like everyone else. She could gossip and talk about clothes and boys with the other girls. She could keep in touch with what was cool and what wasn’t. At the moment, the Dance Dance Mania game was very cool. It was a large game platform that had two players step on the correct square below them in time with the music. It was a lot like that popular guitar hero game, but with dancing.
Nina was good at it too. Her and a couple of others had even worked up some synchronized moves to throw in during the game. They didn’t just step side to side awkwardly, they flowed and had rhythm; they were flashy but fun. She hoped that some of the older girls would notice her, specifically girls on the cheer squad. She desperately wished to join them, but hadn’t gotten up the courage to ask yet. Maybe if one of them saw her, they might approach her, or at least remember her when she did finally ask to join.
She was in the zone during her current game, every step was right on, and her score matched her performance. Perfect. The round ended and she looked over at her dance partner, Lisa, and they shared an enthusiastic grin as a few of the other kids watching cheered them on. As they waited for the next round to begin, Nina felt a presence looming over her from behind and then a gruff sounding voice spoke.
“Step off, my turn.”
Nina looked over her shoulder and found herself looking at what seemed like a wall. It was actually the middle of some guy’s chest. Some large guy’s chest. She had to crane her neck backwards until she was looking almost straight up in order to look at his face. She recognized him from back at Westbrook. There were some big kids there, but not as many were quite his size in either height or muscle. This guy looked like a pro wrestler or body builder with the height of an NBA center.
“Uhm… it’s still our turn… okay?” Nina said tentatively. She hadn’t heard anyone say too many bad things about this guy, but he did look kind of angry at the moment.
“No, it ain’t. Get lost.” He replied and leveled a very serious gaze at her and her friend.
“He can have my spot.” Lisa offered and quickly stepped away from the machine. She hid behind a few of the kids that had gathered. Nina didn’t blame her, she felt like running too. This guy was a monster and she had little doubt he could crush her with out even breaking a sweat.
Nina didn’t run though, she stood her ground. He may be big, and strong, but what he was doing was bullying. She’d always been taught to stand up to bullies; she just somehow doubted her mother had envisioned this guy when she spoke of bullies.
“You too. Beat it.” The guy said and began to step onto the platform.
“But… Lisa… she moved…” Nina stammered out.
“You think I wanna play with you? Last chance… Beat it”
“I…” Nina began and shrank back a bit. The way he was looking at her left little doubt that he was very serious. She wondered what she could do? It was easy to say ‘Stand up to bullies’ but actually doing it was another thing all together.
Suddenly someone approached from the ring of kids that had formed to watch the developing conflict. He walked right up behind the huge guy and poked him in the back.
“Leave her alone!” He spoke sternly. Nina recognized him. He was in a few of her classes back at Westbrook. His name was Jason. She’d spoken with him a few times in the past, but other than that, nothing about him had ever really stuck in her mind. But there he was, coming to her aid against this giant bully.
The big guy turned his head to look at Jason with the same serious look that he’d been giving her. He rotated a bit and jabbed his finger into Jason’s chest hard enough to make him fall backwards a step.
“Ain’t nothing you can do about it.” The big guy threatened as he squared his body to face Jason fully.
“I’m not leaving!” Jason declared defiantly. “Leave her alone or else!”
The big guy just laughed and shook his head. “Warned you… now we do it the fun way.”
Taking a step towards Jason the bully cocked back his fist and swung it. It was a slow powerful swing no doubt intended to knock Jason out in one hit. Nina had no illusions that anything else would be the result of such a blow… had it landed.
Jason danced backwards and side stepped the big guy as his follow-through carried him forward a short ways. Jason lashed out with his leg and struck the bully in the stomach. A grunt of pain escaped the big guy’s lips and he roared in anger as he spun around. Clasping his hands together he raised them over his head and brought them down attempting to crush Jason.
Again, Jason deftly avoided the attack as he spun out of the way to wind up behind his opponent. Jumping onto the big guy’s back, Jason wrapped an arm around his throat and landed a few blows with his fist against the side of the bully’s head.
The big guy tried to reach behind his head and rip Jason off his back, but Jason clamped his legs around his torso and held on for dear life. The bully’s reach didn’t seem long enough to get a proper grip on Jason and all he could do was flail around as his face turned red with lack of oxygen. Soon his motions slowed and he sank to one knee before finally collapsing.
Nina gaped in disbelief. Jason had just defeated this hulking brute who had been trying to bully her away from the arcade game. She didn’t know what to do next and felt a bit of shock now that the situation had apparently ended; and not the way she had thought it would. Jason untangled himself from the bully and stood up. He immediately came over to her and looked in her eyes. He seemed so caring, but at the same time Nina thought he seemed so strong. Suddenly Jason was cast in a whole new light in her eyes.
“Are you ok?” He asked tenderly.
“Uh… yeah.” She replied softly. “That was amazing.”
“Oh… I uh, couldn’t let him hurt you or anything.” He said as a bloom of color started to rise in his cheeks. “But, uhm… maybe we should get out of here. Before he wakes up.”
Nina nodded and let Jason take her by the hand to lead her out of the arcade.
Back on the floor near the Dance Dance Mania game, the big guy stirred then rolled over and sat up. He didn’t seem phased at all by the circle of other kids all looking down at him. He simply stood up, headed for the snack bar, and ordered three slices of pizza.
Wade scanned the library; the guy he was looking for was supposed to be there. After looking around a bit he finally found him in one of the upstairs rooms.
“Hey, are you the guy that does everything at exactly the right time?”
The guy looked up from the book he was reading and took a moment to give Wade an appraising look before nodding a few times. “Uh… I guess.”
“Awsome. I need your help.” Wade said as he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the kid. He looked a lot younger than Wade, so he couldn’t be more than a freshman. “I need you to help me get on the radio so I can win a contest. Can you do that?”
“I guess.” The kid shrugged and looked back at the page in his book.
Wade studied him for a bit and came to the conclusion that he seemed kind of down. It wasn’t obvious what the exact cause of his mood was and Wade couldn’t begin to guess. With the kid agreeing to help, Wade thought that maybe he should offer the kid something in return.
“So… I can give you like, twenty bucks…” Wade began and the kid just shrugged nonchalantly and remained silent. Clearly the offer of cash didn’t readily appeal to him. Wade decided to try again. “Uhm, unless there was something else you needed?”
“Not really. Unless you know a way I can impress a girl?”
“Impress a girl?” Wade asked then thought for a moment as the kid nodded. A smile came to his lips. “Easy, just show her you can take care of her.”
“Right. How do I do that?”
Wade’s smile grew a bit wider. “I’ve got a plan…”
Nina was good at it too. Her and a couple of others had even worked up some synchronized moves to throw in during the game. They didn’t just step side to side awkwardly, they flowed and had rhythm; they were flashy but fun. She hoped that some of the older girls would notice her, specifically girls on the cheer squad. She desperately wished to join them, but hadn’t gotten up the courage to ask yet. Maybe if one of them saw her, they might approach her, or at least remember her when she did finally ask to join.
She was in the zone during her current game, every step was right on, and her score matched her performance. Perfect. The round ended and she looked over at her dance partner, Lisa, and they shared an enthusiastic grin as a few of the other kids watching cheered them on. As they waited for the next round to begin, Nina felt a presence looming over her from behind and then a gruff sounding voice spoke.
“Step off, my turn.”
Nina looked over her shoulder and found herself looking at what seemed like a wall. It was actually the middle of some guy’s chest. Some large guy’s chest. She had to crane her neck backwards until she was looking almost straight up in order to look at his face. She recognized him from back at Westbrook. There were some big kids there, but not as many were quite his size in either height or muscle. This guy looked like a pro wrestler or body builder with the height of an NBA center.
“Uhm… it’s still our turn… okay?” Nina said tentatively. She hadn’t heard anyone say too many bad things about this guy, but he did look kind of angry at the moment.
“No, it ain’t. Get lost.” He replied and leveled a very serious gaze at her and her friend.
“He can have my spot.” Lisa offered and quickly stepped away from the machine. She hid behind a few of the kids that had gathered. Nina didn’t blame her, she felt like running too. This guy was a monster and she had little doubt he could crush her with out even breaking a sweat.
Nina didn’t run though, she stood her ground. He may be big, and strong, but what he was doing was bullying. She’d always been taught to stand up to bullies; she just somehow doubted her mother had envisioned this guy when she spoke of bullies.
“You too. Beat it.” The guy said and began to step onto the platform.
“But… Lisa… she moved…” Nina stammered out.
“You think I wanna play with you? Last chance… Beat it”
“I…” Nina began and shrank back a bit. The way he was looking at her left little doubt that he was very serious. She wondered what she could do? It was easy to say ‘Stand up to bullies’ but actually doing it was another thing all together.
Suddenly someone approached from the ring of kids that had formed to watch the developing conflict. He walked right up behind the huge guy and poked him in the back.
“Leave her alone!” He spoke sternly. Nina recognized him. He was in a few of her classes back at Westbrook. His name was Jason. She’d spoken with him a few times in the past, but other than that, nothing about him had ever really stuck in her mind. But there he was, coming to her aid against this giant bully.
The big guy turned his head to look at Jason with the same serious look that he’d been giving her. He rotated a bit and jabbed his finger into Jason’s chest hard enough to make him fall backwards a step.
“Ain’t nothing you can do about it.” The big guy threatened as he squared his body to face Jason fully.
“I’m not leaving!” Jason declared defiantly. “Leave her alone or else!”
The big guy just laughed and shook his head. “Warned you… now we do it the fun way.”
Taking a step towards Jason the bully cocked back his fist and swung it. It was a slow powerful swing no doubt intended to knock Jason out in one hit. Nina had no illusions that anything else would be the result of such a blow… had it landed.
Jason danced backwards and side stepped the big guy as his follow-through carried him forward a short ways. Jason lashed out with his leg and struck the bully in the stomach. A grunt of pain escaped the big guy’s lips and he roared in anger as he spun around. Clasping his hands together he raised them over his head and brought them down attempting to crush Jason.
Again, Jason deftly avoided the attack as he spun out of the way to wind up behind his opponent. Jumping onto the big guy’s back, Jason wrapped an arm around his throat and landed a few blows with his fist against the side of the bully’s head.
The big guy tried to reach behind his head and rip Jason off his back, but Jason clamped his legs around his torso and held on for dear life. The bully’s reach didn’t seem long enough to get a proper grip on Jason and all he could do was flail around as his face turned red with lack of oxygen. Soon his motions slowed and he sank to one knee before finally collapsing.
Nina gaped in disbelief. Jason had just defeated this hulking brute who had been trying to bully her away from the arcade game. She didn’t know what to do next and felt a bit of shock now that the situation had apparently ended; and not the way she had thought it would. Jason untangled himself from the bully and stood up. He immediately came over to her and looked in her eyes. He seemed so caring, but at the same time Nina thought he seemed so strong. Suddenly Jason was cast in a whole new light in her eyes.
“Are you ok?” He asked tenderly.
“Uh… yeah.” She replied softly. “That was amazing.”
“Oh… I uh, couldn’t let him hurt you or anything.” He said as a bloom of color started to rise in his cheeks. “But, uhm… maybe we should get out of here. Before he wakes up.”
Nina nodded and let Jason take her by the hand to lead her out of the arcade.
Back on the floor near the Dance Dance Mania game, the big guy stirred then rolled over and sat up. He didn’t seem phased at all by the circle of other kids all looking down at him. He simply stood up, headed for the snack bar, and ordered three slices of pizza.
Three hours earlier
Wade scanned the library; the guy he was looking for was supposed to be there. After looking around a bit he finally found him in one of the upstairs rooms.
“Hey, are you the guy that does everything at exactly the right time?”
The guy looked up from the book he was reading and took a moment to give Wade an appraising look before nodding a few times. “Uh… I guess.”
“Awsome. I need your help.” Wade said as he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the kid. He looked a lot younger than Wade, so he couldn’t be more than a freshman. “I need you to help me get on the radio so I can win a contest. Can you do that?”
“I guess.” The kid shrugged and looked back at the page in his book.
Wade studied him for a bit and came to the conclusion that he seemed kind of down. It wasn’t obvious what the exact cause of his mood was and Wade couldn’t begin to guess. With the kid agreeing to help, Wade thought that maybe he should offer the kid something in return.
“So… I can give you like, twenty bucks…” Wade began and the kid just shrugged nonchalantly and remained silent. Clearly the offer of cash didn’t readily appeal to him. Wade decided to try again. “Uhm, unless there was something else you needed?”
“Not really. Unless you know a way I can impress a girl?”
“Impress a girl?” Wade asked then thought for a moment as the kid nodded. A smile came to his lips. “Easy, just show her you can take care of her.”
“Right. How do I do that?”
Wade’s smile grew a bit wider. “I’ve got a plan…”