The Desire Variable - Vol. I

【70】Back to Reality

"It's great that it was moved to Friday instead of Monday because we're bringing the house down this year," Brian was saying.

"What are we talking about?" I asked, taking my seat.

"Kelex's anniversary."

Oh, right. With everything, I had completely forgotten about it. On September 23rd, Kelex was celebrating its eight years of existence. From what I remembered, Kevin and Lex were having a hard time pinpointing when exactly they had started working on Kelex, so they picked a date that came close and held significance. September 23rd was the day the audiophone had been invented by Richard Rhodes. The very first hearing aid.

"What costume do you have planned?"

"Um, costume?" I asked, confused.

"No one told you?" Mason intervened. "September 23rd is also Nintendo's anniversary, so we made it a themed party. Every year, we dress up as Nintendo characters."

Oh, interesting. I was nerdy enough to be into cosplaying, and I never turned down an occasion to dress up. The fact that it had to be a Nintendo character was making this even more appealing. A couple of years ago, I had planned to celebrate Halloween as a realistic Mario, but because of a last-minute change, meaning Kate had broken up with her then-boyfriend, we had gone as Cher and Dionne, from Clueless.

It seemed complicated to come up with an entire outfit for Friday, but I still had the overalls I'd bought in a thrift shop, the fake mustache, and everything else. I could do Mario.

"Could I come as Mario?" I asked.

"Wow, slow down, Dora," Oliver answered. "I won the right to be Mario months ago. I think Peach is free, though."

"Smooth, man," Mason let out ironically as Brian snorted. It was quite smooth indeed. Peach was, after all, Mario's love interest. The princess he kept saving. Oli coming as Mario and me as Peach would mean something.

"You can be Peach," I countered. "I want to be Mario."

Oliver squinted his eyes, thinking about it. "What are you willing to do to be Mario?"

"I'll challenge you for it. Whatever you pick, I'm game." The others stopped eating, suddenly interested, and Oliver sent me a puzzled look. "What, are you scared you'll lose?" I insisted.

"Of course I am. You're a badass, and I'm sure you can kick my ass at anything."

It flattered my ego, but I didn't let it soften me. I really wanted to be Mario. "That's why you can choose the game," I offered.

Oli thought about it for a moment, while the guys were trying to convince him to accept. I waited patiently, trying to hold back my smile. He seemed to finally make up his mind. "If I agree to this, you'll be Peach if I win."

"And if I win, you'll be Birdo."

"Ouch! You have no mercy!" Oli protested, pretending to be hurt.

"That, I do not."

Oli chuckled and looked around in search of inspiration. His eyes lingered on the table soccer, and I prayed he would pick this one. I used to beat the shit out of Tyler at this game when we were young, and I hoped I still had some skills. When Oliver turned back to me, I put on my best poker face.

"How do you feel about table soccer?" he inquisitively asked.

"It's your choice, really," I answered, distilling the faintest touch of panic in my expression. Thinking he'd found my weakness, Oli smiled widely.

We agreed that the first one with five goals won, and we got to it right away. The guys followed us, and my initial confidence soon wavered. Oliver wasn't bad at this. At all. It took me a moment to get back into it, and he scored two goals before I could have a single point. Thankfully, my quick reflexes and tenacity saved me. It was a very close call, five to four, but goal, after goal, after goal, I beat him.