Chapter 202: A Blast From the Past

Ambryan hid his phone before Eve could attempt to snatch it again. He squeezed her hand and pointed towards the store. "Shall we?"

Colored lights greeted their eyes when they entered the establishment. Machines of various sizes and shapes lined up, creating a maze of some sorts. Incomprehensible music sounded from all the speakers of each machinery. People from all ages littered around to play with the old video games.

Eve scoffed out a laugh. "This is amazing. I haven't been to this in such a long time."

"It's an arcade."

"And it still has some vintage classics," she added, ignoring Ambryan's input. She proceeded to walk around the room and dragged him behind her. "These are retro games. I bet this place would go well with the skating rink. In fact, why not just dedicate an entire space full of retro classics? This, the skating rink, the diner at World of Adventure…"

Ambryan inspected the space. Most of the machines called for two players based on the set of joysticks and buttons. He peeked at one screen and saw old-fashioned pixelated graphics. The games looked simple enough. 

He didn't know what the fuss was about.

"OMG, is this Donkey Gong?" Eve exclaimed. She stood behind a kid as he played on the machine. It had a tan gorilla throwing barrels from the top to stop the player from reaching him and saving the kidnapped princess.

Sneaking a glance, Ambryan found a wide smile on her face. "Do you want to play?"

She shifted her attention towards him. "Do you even know how to play?"

"I think I can manage."

"Hm." Her eyebrows scowled. "How about we make a bet?"

Ambryan crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze squinted at the mischief in her eyes. He leaned down, showing he was ineffective by her intimidation. "What's the wager?"

"Loser buys dinner?" Eve suggested.

"I always buy dinner."

"And this is a chance for me to pay—okay, how about this," an idea popped up in her head halfway through her defense. She wagged a finger in the air while staring off into space. "The winner gets to pick where to have dinner."

"We're not eating at WcDonald's."

Eve gave him a deadpan look. "We haven't played yet. You don't get to decide."

Ambryan weighed his chances. Since the games were old—and seemed like they were made for children—he concluded that it wouldn't be hard to learn their mechanics. He had video games before even if he didn't use the console a lot. 

A smirk emerged on his lips. "You're on."

It didn't take long for his initial thoughts to be proven wrong.

Eve had chosen a run and gun video game. It was one of the few machines that allowed two players simultaneously. Her character wore blue pants while Ambryan's had red. They both have rifles with unlimited ammunition. Every jump was a somersault and every touch by the enemy meant death.

"Do try to keep up, Mr. Hathaway," Eve teased, her avatar running ahead. Except the screen won't move unless the second player also scoured ahead. "Are your hand joints already hurting?"

"I'm not that old," Ambryan grumbled under his breath. He had been trying to kill a character that was below the cliffside. Once he managed to drop down but his character was wounded right away. But he didn't know how to do that again. 

Eve watched him struggle. It was hard not to laugh. "You get down by pressing the jump button and down arrow at the same time."

In order to reach the boss at the end, she decided to demonstrate what she meant and killed the enemy soldier. "There. You know we could always work together with you as the decoy."

"..."

Ambryan's character eventually lost his third life. 

Only Eve was left to trudge on ahead.

"I guess this is my win?" She teased, on her way to defeating the final boss. Her fingers moved on the keys like it was second nature. She made it look as easy as typing on a computer keyboard. She didn't even need to glance at them. 

"It's only been one game. I could still catch up," Ambryan defended. He watched her finish the first stage of the game and glimpsed at her character's lives. She still had two left, making him flinch.

He needed to upgrade his skills.

And fast.

Eve clapped her hands when the boss died in puffs of smoke. She propped her elbow next to the buttons and rested her cheek against the palm of her hand. Her eyelashes fluttered in victory. "Why don't you pick the next one then?"

Ambryan searched for the nearest game. Two kids just left a few machines away. He got up to check out what the game was about. Eve swore his eyes sparkled the second he saw the screen. 

"How about a race? With motorbikes?" He asked, already studying the demo video that played.

"Ah," Eve gasped. She had a guess on what the game could be. "I remember this. They even released it on an old console. I had played it with other kids."

"Really?" Ambryan arched an eyebrow. Perhaps… "Was it yours?"

She shook her head and took a seat. "Nah, it was this annoying kid. I don't even know why but he would be in this other room while the rest of us attended dance class. We couldn't play unless we knew the password he came up with."

Eve inserted the needed coins for a two-player game. "How would we even know unless he told us what the password was? I couldn't understand his logic."

Ambryan sat beside her and let her set up the race. He cleared his throat. "Maybe he wanted to be alone."

"Or he was just a selfish kid who didn't want to share. It wasn't like he always used it either. His mother was there so she would have made sure we didn't break it." Eve tsked. "I got lucky though. He did tell me the password while at school."

'Then, you shared it with the other kids,' Ambryan thought to himself. He had created a fuss when everyone came to that room. He got scolded for his antics. The only good thing out of it was the pack of sour candy he received as an apology.

"Alright. Here we go."

The screen split into two crosswise. Both showed the same track but followed different players. The motocross game had a series of obstacles in its track. They became harder as they reached higher stages. 

Eve found herself in the same boat as when she first tried this game.

Her engine overheated a lot which needed time to cool down. Ambryan's motorbike maneuvered through the tracks without a break—neither did his avatar fall off it. The time flashed after he finished his first lap but he kept going at high speed.

Frowning, Eve wondered what his trick was.

"Having trouble, Ms. Reed?" It was Ambryan's turn to mock.

"Just a little…," she begrudgingly admitted. There was no room to escape. He could clearly see her side of the screen. "I will get the hang out of it soon. There are still 4 tracks left."

"I will be waiting at the finish line then."

As soon as he said, Ambryan's character crossed the finish line. Eve blew on her fringe and tried again. The good thing was this game had no lives. The motorcycle wouldn't suddenly blow up. Any dilemma would only delay her time. 

Of course, she'd be eliminated if she didn't make it before the timer ran out.

And so she rolled up her sleeves and drove down the track, climbing over the humps and flying from the small slopes. The motorbike crossed the checkpoint. There was still a bit of time left and she was halfway to the finish line. Her engine's heat stayed consistent. 

Then, she used the accelerator for the last lap.

The screen congratulated her for finishing the first course.

Eve flipped her hair and smirked. "I told you I only needed time. On to the next track?"

Ambryan cracked his knuckles. He was finally in his element. There was no way he'd let her get the best of him. "Bring it on then."

After five tracks, the game resulted in Ambryan's victory. Eve blamed her memory for her loss. She had forgotten about the other obstacles of the game. They always threw her off during the first half. She almost missed the timer for the last one.

It was sort of a miracle that she managed to stay in Top 3.

"Not to worry," Ambryan comforted her. He offered his hand and helped her up. "Since you have shown me courtesy, I now give you the privilege of choosing the next game."

"Har-har."

Eve walked around the arcade. She noticed a few newer games towards the center, thinking it was to attract more customers. She took them off her list and looked for another game she was familiar with. Actually, there should be one that both of them knew....

Eventually, she found the machine that she wanted.

"Are you sure you want this one?" Ambryan was skeptical about the game. The exterior design seemed new. The stickers hadn't lost their luster quite yet.

"Technically, it's an old game. Just upgraded," Eve explained, shrugging her shoulders. "Shouldn't we test it out? See the difference and find out if we could still keep up with the youngins?"

"But… PAQ-MAN?"

"What?" Her voice rising in tone. "You're not scared, are you?"