Sitting on a bench, Jake quietly waited for Mina to show up. They had agreed to meet for one of their monthly, "friend dates" as Jake called it.
Their "friend dates" as he called them were something he began looking forward to every month, and he usually took the liberty of planning them all.
He wanted to make them special and fun, seeing as her home life wasn't always the best. And today he had planned for them to go to an arcade.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Mina finally arrived at their agreed meeting spot, breathless and slightly frantic looking.
"Hey sorry I'm late, my Dad stopped me before I left." She breathed out, just as Jake stood to better greet her.
"It's fine, You're here now and that's what matters." He answered. He then took her hand and moved it to better see her. "You look really pretty today, is there a special reason?" He asked her slightly smirking, causing the girl's face to grow red.
"Oh you know me, always just trying to look my best," She giggled nervously, "So what do you have planned for today?" she asked him as they started walking.
"We, my dear Mina, are going to an arcade today, and after playing for about an hour or two and then we'll get some pizza." He explained, intertwining their hands and slightly rocking their hands back and forth.
"Sounds good to me," Mina answered, smiling softly toward the ground.
+++++++
The moment they arrived at the arcade, Jake pulled Mina to play almost every game they had at that arcade.
Every game they played that involved one winning and the other losing, Mina was the victor for most of those games, causing Jake to sulk for about ten minutes each time.
The last game they played, a dancing game, ended with Mina being the winner once again, and once again causing Jake to sulk.
"Ok, can we take a break from the competition games?" Jake begged his friend who seemed nearly unbeatable.
"If that's what you want I guess we can stop those for a bit, then later I can go back to kicking your butt at these games." The girl bragged, causing the boy to grumble something quietly.
"How about we do a claw game, I can win you a stuffed animal." He proposed, pointing towards the section of claw games over to the side.
"Hmm, I don't know, those might be kind of hard for you to do...," Mina teased, slightly angering her best friend.
"Watch, I'll get you something within three tries!" Jake exclaimed confidently, marching over to the machine and inserting coins.
"Well since you're so confident... I want that dog." She pointed to a small stuffed dog almost completely hidden in the corner.
"Easy!" He exclaimed and began the game. Jake carefully manipulated the joystick to try and grab the dog but unfortunately missed it, but moved some other stuffed animals out of the way, making things easier for him the next time he tried.
He lost the second time too.
"Hmmm, only chance left."
"I can do it!"
He once again inserted some coins and manipulated the joystick around, but he finally found a spot that looked good enough he pressed the button let the claw drop, and came up with the dog, dropping in the area where you claim your prize.
"I told you I could do it!" He exclaimed handing Mina the dog.
"Alright, alright I apologize, you are amazing at claw games." She admitted clutching the dog closely.
"I'm sorry could you repeat that, just for the people in the back." He dramatically held his hand up to his ear.
"You are amazing at claw games." She giggled, "Just bad at every other game!"
"Hey!" He shouted.
"Come on, you said we'd go get pizza!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the arcade.
+++++++
Upon returning home, Jake saw his parents talking about something that sounded serious and he became worried.
"Mom? What are you guys talking about?" He asked curious as to why they were being so secretive.
"Have a seat sweetie, your dad and I have something we need to tell you." His mom gestured to a seat on the couch.
"Now we've already told your brother a while ago, so we figured we'd tell you." His dad said, taking a seat in front of Jake.
"We're going to be moving back to Australia in a few-,"
"Really? That's so exciting! When do we go back over the summer?" The boy said excitedly, cutting off his dad.
"You didn't let me finish, we're moving back to Australia in 2 weeks." His dad finished, waiting for Jake's reaction.
"What? Two weeks?" He asked, shocked.
"Yes, your dad got a job offer that is a good opportunity for us."
"But what about our life here? Or my friends? I'm in the middle of my senior year right now!" The boy exclaimed pacing back and forth.
"We know, but this is a really good opportunity, we'll even be closer to family." His mom mentioned trying to make things seem better.
"What about Mina?" He quietly said, with the saddest look his parents have ever seen him make.
"We're going to miss her too, but you're gonna have to say goodbye to her." His mom said as an ultimatum.
His parents then pulled him into a hug as tears started welling up in his eyes.
+++++++
Lying in her bed, Mina observed the stuffed dog Jake had won for her. Her reasoning for choosing the blonde dog, was mainly because it reminded her of him.
All the memories of the time they had spent together were running through her mind as her face grew redder and redder. Until she came to a decision.
"I'm gonna tell him."
**********
Hey 👋
Long time no see,
this chapter was meant to be short but it is pretty long, I'm kinda happy about it 😁
Mina has really unfortunate timing, doesn't she?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. (:
