Lovers: Boarding School

_arcade

Rolling her eyes, Violet assured him that that wasn't the case. Not entirely. "I'm just saying it wouldn't be bad to ask for some help from up there."

"So you believe in some higher power and not me?"

"I believe in you, who believes in me, who believes in you."

Jack erupted into laughter and shook his head. "You're amazing."

"Like I haven't heard that before."

The claw within the glass box descended into the pile of plush, but it was not able to hold onto anything.

XOXO

When Violet first entered the arcade, she was in love. 

The place was submerged in a hazy glow of neon back lights radiating from behind gaming boxes that lined the walls of the dimly lit vicinity. Flashing bulbs coming from boxy gaming cabinets scintillated along to the buzzing noises of programmed voices that invited players to drop a few coins into them to enjoy them for a brief, entertaining while. 

The arcade was nearly empty, save for a few NPCs that barely did much but blend into the mesmerizing ultraviolet haze. Being the only two active players venturing into the neon dreamscape, Jack and Violet played as if they were two shooting stars in the night sky; they danced over flashing guide arrows, showered zombies with a baptism of bullets, and attempted (and failed) to extract stuffed animals with a flimsy excuse for a metal claw. They shot basketballs through moving hoops, raced against each other in blazing sports cars, and slammed pucks into each other's slots with radioactive-green strikers.

Even though very little was said between them as they played to their hearts content, they enjoyed their moments together amongst the lights and the games and the artificial wonder. 

"You're really good at these games," Jack sighed as he leaned back onto his seat and looked dismally into his screen. His hand rested upon his steering wheel, while his long legs hung over his seat.

Violet leaned over her steering wheel and blew a kiss to the sorry loser. "Hey, you're not that bad at other games."

Games that required good hand-eye coordination were mostly won by Jack, whereas the opposite held true for Violet. Given that the two had strengths in different fields, Violet and Jack had an equal share of victories and loses--not that it mattered much to them. Pleasure and joy overridden any sense of pride that would've been wounded by defeat. 

"You wanna head to the ball pit?" Jack said. His smile was effortless and easy and Violet couldn't say no to it. 

XOXO

A Polybius gaming machine made Violet smile as she walked hand-in-hand with Jack to the small ball pit hidden away in a shadowy corner of the arcade. Considering the size of the pit, the pool of plastic wasn't meant to hold two grown teens of their size. But they crouched inside its entrance and made a mess of it anyway. 

After splashing around aimlessly in the pool of candy-coloured plastic balls, the two attempted to bury the other with large sweeps of their feet and arms. Violet was nearly submerged by all the balls Jack had pushed towards her like a tsunami, but she managed to generate a good sized wave towards Jack with a good strong kick. The wave did little to topple the tall giant, but when he took a step back to balance himself he lost his footing and fell down laughing.

Violet laughed too, the sides of her face aching from how much unadulterated joy she was experiencing since stepping inside the arcade.

"Can we take a break?" Jack said as he "floated" on his back. Violet had climbed up the metal fencing of the pit and was balancing herself over the foam bearings of the cage.