For a moment, Amy and I were the only people on the planet. As the
effect of Amy’s revelation wore off, the world started to fade back into
existence. People started to fade back in to view and the sound of all the
ride’s music went from being mute to max volume in a second. As the world came
back into existence, it felt brand new.
For four years, I
have been trying to start a simple conversation with Amy, about anything, but
haven’t been able to, and now here Amy is, admitting that she has been
attempting the same thing for the same period of time. I thought, with Amy
being more outgoing than I with hanging around with friends inside and out of
school, going places that I wouldn’t have dreamed myself entering, that she
would have thought she was way too out of my league to be her boyfriend, but in
actuality she has been trying to do the same as I have. My whole world has been
turned upside down in a single instance, and my brain is struggling to
comprehend that sudden transformation. It was as if the world’s physics
suddenly changed and everyone else was able to adapt instantly and I was the
only one that was left to figure out how to adjust properly. I wanted to say
something, but I couldn’t form any words that I thought were necessary to say.
What do we do
from now on? Where do we go from here? Maybe we could get some more coffee? No,
I don’t think that would be a good idea considering that it has only been a
couple of minutes since we just had a cup. What about we go on a ride? That
might be good.
‘So…’ I said, ‘do
you want to go on a ride of some sort,’ I said slowly for I didn’t want to
mispronounce anything.
‘Yeah, sure,’ she
said excitedly.
‘Awesome. I’ll
let you pick.’
‘Well, since we’ve
just had coffee, let’s do something that’s not too over the top, then
afterwards we can move onto the rollercoasters. I love riding rollercoasters.
The adrenaline rush that you get from them is something else entirely. There’re
not many things out there that you can get that level of adrenaline rush from,’
she explained.
‘Sure,’ I said
agreeing on doing something a little bit softer.
‘How about,’ she
turned on the balls of her heels and pointed over to the stand held the game
where you were tasked to try and knock over six metal cups with a ball. ‘Do you
think you’re skilled enough to beat the metal cups?’ she asked me.
‘Do you?’ I
smiled signalling that I wanted to have a game.
‘I do,’ she said
toughly,’ and we headed over.
‘How many shots
would you like to have?’ the man behind the counter asked. It was £1.50 for
three and £3.00 for six. Obviously, I went for six balls and so did Amy. We
stood side by side and readied our ammo. The problem with this game is it’s not
as good as it says on the tin. I know that this game is famous for being
rigged: The metal cups are magnetised to the stand, in some cases there nailed
to the plate beneath, preventing them from being knocked over completely,
allowing the person running the game to collect all your money and you to walk
away without any prizes. It’s win-win situation for the person running the game,
but I was going to change that. I didn’t know whether the bottom cups were
nailed or magnetised, but that didn’t matter for the plan that I had meant that
the cups were going to hit the floor before the person even knows it. I was
going to win a prize and then I will let Amy choose whatever she wants and then
I’ll be in her good books for the rest of the day.
But do I really want to
manipulate the situation for my benefit for that can lead to some complicated
situations further on down the line. Does Amy know that the game is rigged? I
don’t want to assume anything, so I won’t. It would be interesting, if not
funny to see the look of shock and wonder on the man’s face once I’ve beaten a
game that he knows no one can win. Amy asked if I have the skills to win, and
I’m going to show her that I can do. Yeah, and then I find out the game isn’t
actually rigged. That would be fun.
‘Before I play,’
I said to Amy, ‘I’m just going to nip to the toilet. That coffee has gone
straight through me.’
‘OK,’ she said,
‘I’ll hold your balls for you,’ she immediately knew what she had just said.
‘Tell me I didn’t just say that,’ she added.
‘I’m afraid so,’
I smiled, struggling to keep in my laughter.
‘You can put that
in the book of most embarrassing things to say,’ she said, also acknowledging
that we’ve just had a cheesy conversation.
Once at the
portable loo, I nipped behind so people couldn’t see me so that I was able to
have a private conversation with Interface as I figured out what would be the
best way to knock over those cups without drawing too much attention to myself.
Then I realised
that do I really have to do this to impress Amy? I don’t think it matters if
Amy cares about whether the game is rigged or not. She’s just out here to have
a good time at the fair. I think I should just forget my plan and have fun,
too. I checked that the area was clear before moving from behind the toilet
just so that I wouldn’t be seen as doing something suspicious, and reunited
with Amy.
‘Blimey,’ Amy
said, ‘there must have been a long queue.’
‘There really
was,’ I said. It didn’t feel right to have to lie to Amy, but I can’t tell her
the truth. Can I see a possible future where I do tell her about my watch and
what I have done with it? I don’t know.
Amy handed me back my six tennis
balls and we readied ourselves for throwing.
‘Ready?’ Amy asked.
‘Ready,’ I
confirmed and we started throwing our balls at the cups.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)
My book, Sector 22: Zoey, is now available on Amazon, eBay, and SkyCat Publications' website:
Amazon:
eBay:
SkyCat Publications:
Ask me anything at:
ahudsonpresents@live.co.uk
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