re: INITIATIVE [Detective Fiction]

[#12.5]

Axel's feet slid right into his black shoes. A grey sweater covered his torso while black pants ran down his legs.

Sam cooks food for L, and so groceries were needed to be bought every now and then. L don't usually accompany Sam in her errands, though perhaps that time he thought it would be a good way to clear his mind. He just really had a lot going on, and going out for a walk seemed like a good way to have a change of pace.

They walked side by side, Sam clinging onto L's arm, like they were a couple. Not to say L was fond of it, but Sam would only try harder if L showed any resistance. Levitating vehicles passed by them every now and then, following the ever-so-organized network of concrete roads.

"There's a convenience store right around that corner. We should have everything we need in there." Sam pointed at a corner relatively distant from where they stood. Squinting his eyes looking towards the corner Sam had pointed out, one would think L had regrets in going out with Sam, now knowing the distance they were about to walk, but L thought of the contrary.

It was around afternoon that they went out of the house for groceries, but groceries weren't the only ones getting Sam's attention. Halfway through, Sam excitedly pointed at a certain direction. "Oh! Why don't we go there first? We have all day, right?" She said. Her smile looked like she was just begging Axel to come with.

It was the nearest arcade, and while L had originally focused on the task at hand, decided to go along with Sam anyway. Consoles filled the melancholic room. Virtual reality gadgets and simulators were what dominated the gaming technology of their generation, and Sam just looked like she couldn't wait to try out some, if not all of it.

"Do you come here often?" L asked. They were in front of the entrance to the local arcade, and the bright neon holographic lights that constituted the signboard was eye candy.

"No, it is my first time here today." Sam answered.

"You go get groceries every now and then, and you seem to take this route, but the arcades caught your attention just now?"

"Well, I did want to come here with you."

Most of the time (especially when Sam liked the concept of the game), she kept on beating the high scores. It was unfair, because she was an android, and of course androids performed at peak performance. As an android that played in the arcade, it was hard not to catch the attention of a crowd - especially when the android was destroying best records.

"So, tell me about your friends, Axie," Sam said intently. They were both riding a racing simulator, both wearing visors to be wholly immersed in the game. High-speed levitating vehicles ran on floating platforms in the skies, like some sort of sci-fi speed racer that looked very farfetched, even for their generation. L was driving a black sleek-looking car while Sam was driving a colorful one. L was in a state of vertigo the whole time, due to the high-altitude race track, especially when jumps and loops were rampant. It was probably why he was last place. Sam, as expected, was first place.

"In our club, there's Joshua, Ardee, and Yana."

"You mean that drunkard of a girl?" Sam interjected.

"It's unfair when you call her that. She was heartbroken, you know?" L said, passing one of the cars. He wasn't last place anymore at that lap.

"Oh, is that so? What about Joshua?" Sam asked. Come to think of it, L hadn't told Sam about what happened that night with Yana.

"A skilled hacker, and a womanizer." The latter didn't seem to be true, though that might only be because of the fact that Yana - a very voluptuous woman, chased him all the time. All the time until that eventful evening, at least.