Unplugged

Chapter Fourteen

"This is crazy," Felix mumbles to himself. The arcade is packed today, and the boy who started playing Fix-It Felix Jr not too long ago keeps inserting quarter after quarter after quarter. He is so determined to beat the high score. Felix can't stop smiling. This kid is giving them so much money.

Eventually, the boy does beat the high score after inserting numerous quarters, and he leaves the console to play Space Invaders. Felix hops up to Deana's windowsill and knocks on the glass. Deana slides open the window and smiles as Felix sits down on the windowsill in front of her.

"So as I was saying a while ago, I'm really glad you guys are okay. You had me worried sick," Felix exaggerates. "So, what exactly happened when the game got unplugged? I know it's none of my business, but--"

"No, you should know," Deana interrupts. She opens her mouth to speak again, but she's interrupted when the announcement goes off that a quarter is being inserted.

"Darn. I'll talk to ya later...again," Felix chuckles. Then he hops off the windowsills one by one until his feet hit the ground. Next he heads to his starting position as usual.

Why is his game all of a sudden getting quarters? It could be because the arcade is more crowded than usual plus it's summer vacation plus the game got moved to a different spot so people that didn't notice the console before might think it's new. So, they want to check it out.

Whatever the reason, Felix is mentally thanking Litwak thousands of times. If the quarters keep rolling in, his game might actually be saved. This time a girl is playing Fix-It Felix Jr. She gets pretty far into the game until a pile of bricks falls on top of Felix, killing him, so it's now game over. The girl huffs and pushes up her glasses on her face before inserting another twenty-five cents. Felix is trying so hard to keep from squealing in delight. He lost count of how many quarters he got today. This is great.

After several more quarters from several more players is inserted-after several more levels and several more game overs, Fix-It Felix Jr doesn't get played for a while. This gives Felix some time to chat.

"Hey, Felix," Ralph calls from a couple yards away. He and Felix walk closer to each other so they can talk.

"You don't know how much I wanna hug you right now, brother," Felix says, beaming up at the wrecker.

"How come?" Ralph asks.

"Well, I'm just so happy right now. I mean, you're fine-the Nicelanders are fine-the game's fine. And, we're getting some crazy amount of quarters today. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yep. I counted twenty-seven coins."

"That much??" Felix's jaw drops. "I-in just about ten minutes?!"

Ralph nods, "If this continues, Litwak might not pull our plug after all. I think we have a chance."

Felix rests his hands on his hips while his thumb strokes his golden hammer strapped to his side. "Ralph?" he says. "I have to know... what was it like when the plug got pulled? I mean, did it hurt...?"

"A lot," Ralph says flatly. Felix's eyes widen and they turn glassy in a split second.

"Oh, Ralph..." Felix whispers sympathetically. "That must've been awful. If I could've swapped places with you and the Nicelanders, I would in a heartbeat--"

"I'm just yanking your leg!" Ralph laughs. He slaps his knee and laughs even more. "We were fine!"

"That was so not funny!" Felix whines as he stomps a foot down one time.

"Ehh, it kinda was," Ralph grins while wiping a tear from his eye with a massive hand. "Especially with that look on your face-OW!" Felix kicks Ralph in the shin, then crosses his arms.

"Come on, Ralph. Yesterday was the worst day ever. I don't need this trash!" He complains.

"Right, right, sorry," Ralph clears his throat. "When the plug got pulled, it was a bit of a shock. Everything around us was dissolving, yet we had no pain. It was like passing out. That's about it."

"Oh thank golly goodness."

"We didn't wake up till Litwak plugged us back in," Ralph shrugs. "So, I guess we weren't dead, but weren't asleep either. We were like... what's the word?"

"On pause?" Felix suggests.

"Bingo," Ralph points at him. Felix lets out a sigh of relief. Ralph and the Nicelanders were just kind of sleeping the whole time. No pain. That's good to know.

"Hey, Ralph?" Felix says.

"What?"

"I-um... Are the Nicelanders mad at me?"

"Not one bit. Why would you think that?"

Felix takes a breath, "I never warned them that our game was-or still is-in jeopardy."

"They know now. I told them when we woke up, and they understand why you didn't want to tell them."

"That's great. So, everything's fine?" Felix tilts his head to the side.

"Everything's fine," Ralph answers. Just then a kid walks up to Fix-It Felix Jr and inserts a quarter.

Poor writing again~. (Shame on me.) But, you know, everyone needs to improve no matter how good or bad they are at something. Also, I wrote this a month or so ago, so that explains the poor job. I'll do better!