Chapter 387 - New Party Member

And so the rowdy, crowdy party of three became a rowdier, crowdier party of four. Between Sammy and Amanda, I wasn't sure who among the two was the more twitchy of the bunch.

On one hand, Sammy was coming down with a very serious, chronic cause of the fangirl shivers. Seriously, I have never seen her this gobsmacked other than that one time Mom fixed her hair for her after she arbitrarily decided that hair as long as hers was no longer in vogue - I used to think Mom just had a special innate talent for hairstyling, but now I know that her talents actually lied elsewhere after all.

Meanwhile, Amanda on the other hand, though not as obvious as Sammy, was doing her best by swallowing all her reserves and projecting that famous streamer personality that everyone all knows and loves. 

Apparently she dropped by for some window shopping after having realized she was low on painting supplies, hence - whatever the hell this is now. 

"Seriously, what a lucky coincidence this turned out to be!" Amanda gushed, shining a bright pearly white smile over at Sammy. "I've been wanting to meet for so, so long!" Then in a flash, spinning my way, she turned that smile to a disapproving frown. "Oh, you… don't you know I've been waiting for that call to finally meet your adorable little sister? Seriously, really, why didn't you?" 

Because you specifically told me not to.

"I, I, I knew that you were dating my brother, but I never imagined - it just never dawned on me until," Sammy continued to gape starstruck, unable to fathom the sight before her of a lovey-dovey Amanda clinging tightly onto my arm. "I can't believe it, you really are his girlfriend!"

At this point, I suspect our original goal for coming here has all but been forgotten what with the aimless stroll we've been on for the past five minutes.

Amanda whimsically chuckled, holding on even tighter. "Oh, so you approve then?" 

Trust me, it might look all romantic and lovely on the surface, but this was just her way of subtly coping - like she's actually cutting off my blood supply right now, send help.

Sammy sidestepped the question, asked her own with a finger point, "How did this even happen? And not just you either - the both of you!" She said, pointing another finger at Ash too. "It's hard to see him with one girlfriend, let alone two! Or three! Or however many he's actually got!" 

I'm offended… but I also agree.

"I was in the midst of a heroic ploy to rid this city of a garbage truck," Ash nonchalantly explained.

"I got kidnapped by vampires," Amanda cheerfully added. 

"Nevermind, forget I asked!" Sammy said, raising her hands on reflex to shield herself from the bizarreness of it all. Probably the wisest choice she's ever made so far too. 

Now, there wasn't any solid reason for Amanda to tag along. She found her supplies, paid it, and had it slinging around in a paper bag, and yet tag along she did regardless - and unlike with Ash, Sammy was far too busy being bedazzled to be uttering devious whispers into her ears. 

Also Amanda was pretty much spoiling her rotten. When Amanda was made aware of Sammy's financial woes, and how cruel and heartless a cheapskate I really was, she took a peek at her list, and went out of her way to find and buy every single one of the items requested. 

When faced with Sammy's protest, Amanda simply waved it all off as she happily handed her card over to the cashier. "No, no, no, just think of me as your big sister too, Samantha! And a big sister's job after all is to make her darling little sister the happiest she can be, right?" 

All from out of the goodness of her heart, I'm sure… and it wasn't just a devious scheme to bribe her way into Sammy's good graces. For better or for worse though, it was working.

Another thing of note was that Amanda pretty much ticked all the boxes for what Sammy sees in a girlfriend. From hand-holding to wallpaper mementos, there was really no room for complaints. 

But of course, this was Sammy we were talking about. Some way or another, she'll find a sharper stick to poke deeper into the hornet's nest, and find one she did, with an innocent question thrown my way.

"I have to ask, it's been bugging me for a while, but you love Amanda and Ash both right?" 

Treading with great caution, I carefully worded my answer. "Yes, I love them both." 

"Okay, I won't question the logistics of such a relationship," Slowly, she looked left, impishly, she veered right, then facing me again, formed a smile. "But surely you must have a favorite between them, right? I mean you can't equally love them both… that's such a non-answer!"

"Oh, but what exactly would you know about it, Ms. Single Seventeen?" I fired back at her. "If you think I'm gonna deliberately walk into that landmine of a question, you've got another thing coming." 

She didn't try any more funny business with me after that. I'm guessing she realized it just wasn't worth the snark. 

"How about we do something fun, hmm?" Amanda suggested from out of the blue. "Something memorable, something exciting? Samantha's only here for a few days, after all. Better to make each moment count." 

There was still an entire midday's daylight to burn before I'm off for work, so I guess… why not?

"Anything in mind?" I asked.

As it turns out, asking Amanda, the streamer/gamer hybrid for her idea of a good time, wound up having us strolling beneath the large neon flashing sign board of the sprawling arcade complex.

Amanda walked in first all eager-like, and we followed along after her delving in deeper, the ear splitting sound of drifting race cars immediately battering at our eardrums followed closely by the crackle of gunfire relentlessly churning out from loudspeakers across the place. Music boomed from every corner, and so did the shouts of joy from the people inside, slotting in tokens for another session of adrenaline-filled gaming. The gracious melodic fervor of digital entertainment.

And of course, let's not also forget its fellow neighbor across the hall, the bumper cars arena only a meager distance away. All those flashy cars in a blur of high-octane momentum was a nostalgic sight, although there was one car in a secluded corner there that had a cardboard sign draped over it with 'out of commission' written in a bold, black marker… gee, I wonder how that happened.

"You've ever been to someplace like this before, Samantha?" Amanda asked, practically shouting to make herself heard amidst all the hustle and bustle. 

"Not to this extent…" She replied. Now, Sammy wasn't much of a gamer, her thing was more movies and magazines in general, but not even she could resist the allure of what the arcade had to offer. "I didn't know such a place like this was even a thing!" 

Ash was also just as equally mesmerized by all the flashing lights reflecting back in her sparkling emerald eyes. 

The roar of squealing wheels blasted out loud again, piercing through the pandemonium, perking her ears, and snapping her gaze towards a row of cabinets - y'know probably know which ones they are already. If not, here's a hint - they're the ones that go vroom vroom and skrrt. 

As if placed into a trance, Ash closely followed the sounds of squealing tires and rumbling engines, and ended up unable to tear herself away from watching a group of racers in an intense battle for first beyond the borders of the cabinet display.

So immersed was her focus, that she didn't even notice me creeping up from behind.

"How about giving it a go?" I asked, and she immediately flinched. 

Before, I'm sure she'd deny her enthusiasm right away, keep to her reserves and state firmly that it wasn't at all necessary. But not this time.

This time, she stared back at me, her eagerness without hesitation, asking almost at once in a breath almost suffocated by her excitement, "May I?" 

Unbeknownst to her, I already had a jumble of tokens on hand I bought at the counter while she was off in racing dreamland, and promptly inserted the correct amount to get one of the racing cabinets raring and roaring to go. 

"Ooo, that's a good one!" exclaimed a wide-eyed Amanda, emerging from out of the crowd with Sammy in tow. "Can never go wrong with a good race! I used to play that all the time!" 

Then, entirely unprompted, she took a vacant seat right beside Ash's, quickly inserting tokens of her own, and stamping onto the pedal blaring the sound of challenge through the loudspeakers.

"How about a friendly race, Ash? Me and you?" She asked.

Ash was taken aback, but before she could even answer - Sammy suddenly interjected, eyes glimmering brightly with devious intent.

"Winner gets a reward from my brother!" She shouted before I could stop her. "Anything the winner desires!" 

In unison, they both turned to look at me, a newfound resolve rippling across both of their faces.

I swallowed. "Wait, no - "

"He'll do it!" Sammy shouted, obstructing me from view. "As his sister, I'll make him do it!"

That did it… She did it.... She finally did it.

What was before a friendly match between acquaintances, had evolved, or devolved, depending on how you look at it, into something a whole lot less amicable.

Ash pressed down onto her own pedal, and from the loudspeakers screeched the heavy rumble of determination.

"Very well, as you wish, Lady Amanda," Ash said, gripping tight onto her steering wheel.. "I accept your challenge."