A Day at the Arcade

"Where are you going?" I sighed in response. I had repeatedly told her where I was headed!

"For the last time Mom, I'm going to the arcade to meet up with Alex and the rest of them," I huffed, struggling with my sneakers in a race with time. I was going to be late! Alex was probably already there, since he left about ten minutes ago, along with Ross.

"Alright, what time will you be home?"

"Five thirty to six, I promise. Can I go now, please?" I begged. I was ten minutes late now. She put her hand to her chin to think, just to annoy me. "Mom." She chuckled.

"Okay, I'll see you later," but I was already out the door running to the elevators.

***

I ran up the escalator, two steps at a time. The arcade was just down this walkway. I slowed down and fixed up my hair. Man, I was a mess. Straightening my yellow sports shirt, I kept a good pace and walked calmly into the arcade to see, as expected, both Alex and Ross playing air hockey.

"Hey, Vic!" Alex chirped, still concentrating on the match. He wore a blue polo and his regular faded jeans.

"Oh, hi Victoria." Ross, quickly grabbed the puck and strategically placed it to the side. This game had three-puck play, after all. The other two pucks raced back and forth. I cheered them on.

"Go Alex!" I shouted, smiling so much my cheeks hurt. They were probably red too, for all I knew. The word, "last" flashed repeatedly on the screen. Ross took his puck and whipped it at the slot, an easy shot. Yet, the machine kept repeating, "last". We all looked at each other in confusion.

"Is another puck going to come out?" Alex asked to no one in particular. After a few seconds, the machine stopped, and shut down. Ross looked sheepishly towards me.

"Well, we didn't do that," he said. We laughed and went to play some other games in the arcade.

"Where's Angela?" I asked. "And Rye?" They both shrugged.

"Rye is coming, I know that. He's probably just late, is all," Alex said. "I don't know if Angela is coming though. She hasn't replied... has she contacted you?" I shook my head. "Huh, well I guess no Angela today..." He paused, the suddenly grinned. "Guess you're the only girl here Vic," he laughed. I smiled and shrugged.

"Guess so."

"Hey guys!" We looked to our left and saw Rye brushing himself off. "Hope I'm not too late?" We all grinned.

"Nope, just in time to get smashed at Tekken 6!" I challenged, playfully punching him in the shoulder. "Or... are you too scared?" He rolled his eyes and sat himself down.

"You're on."