Your Opinion is Invalid ((Prinxiety))

Chapter Eleven

Virgil's POV

The bowling alley was located a block down from the library where Patton worked, so they decided to walk there. It was strangely awkward, with Patton and Roman walking ahead while chatting and laughing, and Logan and Virgil a few feet back staying silent. The darkly dressed teen stared at his feet as he walked, not paying much attention to where he was walking.

"-maybe we can see you perform! I'm sure I could convince my parents to drive me and Virgil down and watch! And we could all hang out afterward!" Virgil could practically hear him grinning as he talked. Patton was like that, a plague of joy that no one was immune to. Virgil glanced to the side to see Logan staring ahead, intent on hearing every word that escaped the bubbly boy's mouth. 

"I'd love that, Padre. There's a cast party after the last show, so maybe you could come to that? I could introduce you to some of my friends in the cast; they'd absolutely adore you!" 

"Coolio! Would they like Virgil?"

"Um," 

Virgil gulped and forced himself to stare at his shoes instead of at the boy ahead of him. Suddenly he heard a car honking, and a hand grab him by the hoodie sleeve and yank him aside. Virgil watched in horror as the car swerved away.

"Watch where you're walking, Virgil! You nearly walked right into that car." Roman released his grip on his hoodie and stepped back. 

"Sorry."

Roman looked him up and down and visibly shook himself before walking alongside Patton and continuing their conversation. Virgil waited for them to get a few feet ahead of him before he started walking again.

"Hey," beside him, Logan had caught up and was staring at him worriedly. "What's wrong? You don't seem fully focused on your footing. Are you well?" 

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Before Logan objected, he added "Just thinking".

Logan was silent, which he took as him believing him.

A quick look at Roman told him that he'd forgotten Virgil's mistake. Thank God. It would be fucking embarrassing if I accidentally killed myself in front of him. He stopped when he bumped into Patton, who had stopped walking. The boy gave him an excited smile. In front of them, the bowling alley stood proud. He'd pictured a rundown building with neon lights and spray paint cascading down the sides, so this clean establishment was a nice surprise. Guess this town is nicer than I thought. The three friends passed Virgil to go inside, Logan staring at him as he passed while mouthing "are you sure". Virgil nodded, so Logan followed the other two. 

He shifted from foot to foot, staring at the bright sign over the door. "DPs Bowling Alley and Arcade" was written in bright blue letters. It looked like it was in the font for a boxing ring in a DC film. He decided not to question the strange choice of font and color and followed his friends inside.

The interior of the place did not help to defeat the superhero movie vibes. In one corner there was a bar, selling everything from beer to orange juice. To the left, there was a door leading to what Virgil supposed was the bowling alley, and to the right an arcade stood like a maze. There were so many tall boxes with the game logos on the side obscuring his view that he nearly missed Patton waving him over. 

"Virge, look! They have Pong!" Patton gushed. 

"And that is...?" Virgil stepped up next to Roman, who glanced down at him and smiled. He knew what Pong was, but he didn't want to seem too excited over it. He'd look nerdy if he knew what the old game wa- 

"Pong is one of the earliest released arcade video games, having been released in 1972. It's a two player game where you-" Patton cut Logan off.

"Wanna play, Logan?"