The Stranger on the Train

Chapter 97: Lost

I put Rose down for that and hand the woman some money in return for a cup with silver coins in them. I thank her and lead Rose to the lockers, so we can put our jackets and my backpack in there. The only thing I take with me, is my phone, so I can take pictures or message Scarlett.

We enter the room and Rose's eyes go wide, as do mine.
I've never been to an arcade but this literally looks like it's out of a child's dream.
The room is darker, neon and black light lightening it up and Rose excitedly points at her white shoe laces that seem to glow in this light.

There are quite a lot of people, mainly children, running around but it's not too full. Everywhere are games or other machines and some parts of the room I can't even see. There are signs, pointing out where the restaurant and the indoor playground is.

Rose's attention is pulled away by a bunch of old school arcade games like pac-man in the middle of the room. She takes my hand and pulls me with her, looking at everything. When we reach one, that she can play because there's a little platform for her to stand on, she looks at me.

"Can I play this, Mama?" She asks and I smile and nod.

"Of course, sweetie." I reply and she grins widely before stepping onto the platform and looking at the screen.
I put a coin into it and help Rose select the tutorial at first, so she knows how to play.

Once it's done, she starts a game and I watch her with a smile.
Her brows are a little furrowed in concentration and her tongue pokes out. I can't help it but to take a picture of it because it looks too cute. It also reminds me of another blonde, who does the exact same thing when she concentrates.

Rose makes it to level 3 before her character dies and she hums in disapproval.
The machine makes some noises and three tickets appear in the slot for tickets. Rose takes them and hands them to me, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Can I have one more try? Please?" She asks and I chuckle a little and hand her another coin.
I know, as a parent you should be able to say 'no' to your children but it's really hard when she looks at me like that.

This time, Rose doesn't need the tutorial and dives right in. She makes it past the third level and I feel weirdly proud of her for that achievement. I watch as she makes it to level five before her character dies. When Rose turns around to give me the five tickets, she has a proud smile on her face and jumps off the platform.

She looks around the room, trying to find something she wants to do. Since this is for the both of us, I look around as well and when I see a dance game, I point to it.

"How about we try that one?" I ask and Rose looks towards the game before her eyes grow and she nods excitedly.

It's one of those games where you have multiple squares and you have to step onto the one that's lighting up. Rose can reach all of the squares but of course, for her it's a little harder since her legs are shorter.
The screen in front of us also tells us which square to step on and Rose gets really excited.
I put my phone and our coins down and take two, since this game requires two coins if you want to play in multiplayer.

"Okay, so this is a little competition between us, okay?" I ask and Rose grins up at me.

"I am good at dancing, you can't win." She says and I playfully narrow my eyes at her.

"We will see." I reply and she grins. She definitely gets this from her mother because Scarlett can look at me the same way when there is something to be competitive about.

I put the coins into the machine and select the easy mode for now.
The music starts and so does the light. It starts off slow and at first Rose watches the lights under her feet but soon enough, she looks at the screen and giggles while jumping around and stepping onto the squares.
It's a lot of fun and I laugh when it gets faster.