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Player 2
SAPPHIRE WINTERS
ChapterOne
Adriana stood right in the middle of the gaming alley, hands folded under her armpit as she stared at the place that had been more like home to her than the apartment she shared with her father and brother in the space above. She had eaten more lunches here than anywhere in the world, had her first date here, the chalk lines on the walls of the storage room showed the changes in her height, and when Quentin Miller turned out to be just another douche like all the other boys in her class, the alley was where she came to rather than go to her bedroom to bawl the way other girls did. Two hours in front of her favorite arcade game, and Quentin had been less than a memory to her. In some ways, this alley was her best friend, their relationship so tight she felt like weeping just thinking about leaving her.
“You know it’s not like we’re going to blow the place up with dynamite as soon as you leave, right?”
Adriana chuckled as she turned around to see her brother join her.
“I know.” She shrugged as she walked to the walls and began to run her hand around the gleaming polish of the consoles, her eyes taking in the posters on the walls, stopping when she came to a vintage poster of theBack to the Futuremovie. “Remember how pissed off dad was when he heard how much you paid for that?”
“If I recall correctly, he was more pissed off by the fact that I got the money from the cash register instead of my paycheck.”
“Then two days later, twenty guys show up to see the poster and hang around the arcade. In two weeks, you made twice the amount you took, and way more than we used to make.” She smiled as she leaned into him. “I’m really going to miss this place.”
“You’re going on an adventure of a lifetime. You get to leave this god-awful planet and go to Aglaia! You are actually going to the planet Aglaia, it's what we all wish for. If only I was chosen…”
“I know…”
“As a matter of fact, I think you going to Aglaia is really great for you right now.”
Adriana looked at him. “Why? Because you didn’t go and now see how terrible your life has turned out to be?”
He socked her playfully on her side. “Of course not. I love this place, love this job. No, I was talking about living your life, experiencing new things, and meeting new people. Maybe you’ll even get to realize that not all boys are like your ex. Some of us are actually kind of decent.”
Adriana scoffed. “Yeah, I don’t want any of that.”
“Yeah, say that now. But trust me, Aglaia is a really great place, and I bet you’ll enjoy it if you give it a chance. Besides, who is to say that you won’t find a place like this over there?”
Hugging her brother even harder before letting him go, she conceded, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
Mark chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know why you’re really twisted up about leaving tomorrow. You’re scared someone is going to beat your high score on Gracie. And by someone, of course, I mean me.”
Gracie was an oldSpace Invadersgame her father and brother had bought at a garage auction a few years back. The reality was that Gracie was her real and first love. To this day, the sight of that shiny console, polished wood, and gleaming joystick still made her heart beat twice as fast. And she wasn’t really worried about someone beating her high score. Everyone who had tried in the last two years had failed, some more miserably than others.
“But I’m going to do you one last favor before you head to land unknown and give you one more chance to make it as hard for me as you possibly can.” He reached into his pocket and jiggled a very large amount of coins, then brought out what was a small fortune in quarters. “What do you say, Ari? One last hurrah before you leave? One last shot at glory before the trophy is snatched from your hand?”
“I won’t say no to that,” Adriana replied, smiling as they both headed to the corner where Gracie reigned supreme over the other consoles.
ChapterTwo
Odysseuslovedparties. And by loved, he meant absolutely hated them, so much he was wondering how he had been able to convince that blonde he loved them. Then he remembered the impressive pair of boobs she had been pushing in his face as sighed. He had been willing to do anything for those breasts then, including saying yes to the invite she had given to him. Of course, he had been here almost an hour and still hadn’t seen her. Five more minutes, and he was heading back to his place. No pair of knockers were impressive enough to make him stay away from his Xbox for this long. He took a sip of his drink, lifted his head, and saw her.
At first, there was nothing really mind-grabbing about her. Just another pretty girl at a party. She was human and apart from the fact that she didn’t seem as thrilled to be here as most of the other pretty girls. Like him, she sat in a corner and had a cup in her hand. Then she turned, allowing the light to shine on her, and he saw the T-shirt she was wearing. Odysseus shook his head. There was no way she knew the meaning of the picture on her shirt. No way someone as pretty as her could be into something as cool and exciting as what that shirt depicted. But he was curious now, and his eyes traveled over her body, stopping at the inky-black hair that framed her face before falling in waves over her shoulders. Her head barely moved as she stared at the room full of dancing people. He saw her flex her hand, her thumb pressing into her palm, the same way he did after a whole night of holding a joystick in his hand. Odysseus shook his head and admitted he was projecting his fantasies onto her. Then she looked straight at him, her eyes zoning in on him like the scope of a sniper’s rifle.
Rather than look away, Odysseus got to his feet and walked to her. Her eyes never left his, and the closer he came, the deeper her frown got. He saw her glance to her side, perhaps checking for escape routes, and forced a gentle smile on his face.
“Hi,” he said when he got to her.
She looked around as if she wanted to make sure she was the one he was talking to. “Um, hi.”
“Sorry for staring. It’s just that I have that same exact T-shirt in my laundry basket and was wondering if there was any chance you sleepwalked into my room and grabbed mine.”
Adriana smiled a little, still not sure this wasn’t creepy. The only thing making this conversation even the least bit normal was the fact that he had a cute smile and didn’t have horns. He was purple though, as to be expected on an alien planet and she felt herself blush thinking about grabbing his long dark hair.
“Only if your laundry basket was capable of time travel and traveled back in time to the gaming convention my brother attended last year.”
