Albuquerque Arcade

[Sh4dE]

((Gene Steward continued from Home))

Heh. A walk. Sure.

Gene stood in front of a basketball arcade machine, trying to score as many points as possible during the limited time the machine gave him.

He however realized he probably couldn't break his own personal record, as he missed every third or fourth throw.

Yes. I'm sucking compared to Genni or the other people in the Basketball club. But I guess that's okay. I'm doing better than in SOTF Champions.

Gene liked to go to the arcade, it was a place full of games and it was heated. It was definitely better than "taking a walk" somewhere in the streets and freezing his ass off.

The basketballs stopped rolling to Gene, as the time was over and the machine told him that he scored some points. Gene however did not see the score. He actually might did but he couldn't remember what score that was, as he did not care.

After that Gene was poked on the shoulder by a little boy, maybe 13, maybe younger.

"Can I play this?"

"Sure", Gene replied and tried to smile in a nice way and walked away from the basketball machine, so the little boy could play it. Then he turned back to the machine and could see that boy, throwing multiple basketballs in the basket with a high speed.

Damn, even a little kid can beat me in this.

Finally he ultimately turned away from that basketball machine and scouted for a next game he could play.

[Outfoxd]

((Jackson King:  Start))

Video games weren't Jackson's thing.  Once, his dad got him one of those handheld games for his birthday, thinking it would be a nice little side present to the cash (It was his parent's propensity to give him money; cut down on guesswork), but he had picked the thing up once or twice.

He had come up to the mall to see about getting a set of studio headphones to replace a pair that had broken two nights ago.  The ticket on a good pair, however, was more than he could stomach.  And he respected what Dr. Dre had accomplished like thirty years ago, but Jackson wasn't looking to pay for a brand.

He was heading toward the food court after that foray, when something near the front window of the arcade caught his eye, a few amidst all the flashing lights present.  Mounted on a cabinet was a controller that was shaped like a guitar.  He stopped, staring for a full minute, bemused set to his eyes.  He finally adjusted trajectory and headed in.

He had heard about Guitar Hero.  Somebody told him once the franchise had died.  Judging by how cheesy the shit looked, he could see why.  This particular cabinet was old but well-preserved, with nicks and cuts here and there where exuberant kids probably flailed the controllers around trying to fulfill rock fantasies.

Jackson touched the controller, staring at the buttons that served as strings.  It all looked so ridiculous that he laughed.

"Really?"

[Sh4dE]

Gene went to the direction of an Arcade shooter game. However, then his ears heard someone whose voice he recognized from somewhere. He looked around and his eyes caught somebody who he sometimes saw in school, but never in this arcade. But he was happy seeing someone in this arcade, who's not a complete stranger. Well he could recognize some cashiers and knew the names of some guys who often go here. But talking to a schoolmate would kill his boredom.

Uhm. Jackson. The cks-Jackson. King.

He approached Jackson and wanted to greet him, however Gene realized that Jackson was holding a Guitar Hero guitar. Gene decided to remain silent, because he didn't want to disturb him. He knew that Guitar Hero and similar games needed a lot of concentration. And he experienced that it could definitely be annoying and rude, talking to somebody who's playing a game.

I'll just wait 'till he's finished or notices me.

Then Gene's eyes stared at the screen in front of Jackson.

[Outfoxd]

He didn't have any quarters, or else he might have given the goofy looking thing a whirl.  As it stood, Jackson wasn't about to break one of the twenties in his pocket to drop a couple coins into it.  Jackson backed away from the game and turned on his heels, and noticed that someone else was watching the screen expectantly.

Jackson wasn't a theater guy by any means, but he helped the club out every once in awhile, played guitar for some musical they had put on.  He was sure he had seen this tired looking guy there at some point, although that was awhile ago.  Jackson guessed he was waiting for his turn, so he stepped aside, sweeping a hand toward it.

"Sorry, here."  He took another step back to clear the space in front of the cabinet.

[Sh4dE]

"You don't have to apologize", Gene said with a smile, "I don't wanna play Guitar Hero. I suck at playing it."

Gene was pretty bad at Guitar Hero, as he did not have the patient of repeatingly playing it until he made zero mistakes. It was all about remembering the grips and then it got boring.

I saw him playing the guitar somewhere. Cannot remember whether he played good or bad, but I'd have remembered if he was terrible at playing it. Well I've no fucking idea how to play the guitar so I cannot judge, can I?

"Unlike you, right? Cause you're a good guitarist."

[Outfoxd]

Jackson looked from Gene, then to the game, with its garish lights and amusing guitar controller.  A woman in a hair-metal reject of an outfit was rocking out, he guessed, to Kansas, which was pretty sweet but weird nonetheless.

"Don't think it translates so well."

Jackson grabbed gold of the neck of the player one guitar, and thumbed a couple of the buttons.

"My hands only work on strings, you know?"

Easy enough truth.  It was likely someone who was a crack shot with a gun wouldn't have much luck on one of those games where you blew away zombies with a plastic automatic rifle.

"Guess it could be fun."  He said, shrugging.

[Sh4dE]

A smile appeared on Gene's mouth after Jackson's shrugging.

"Oh, well. But I guess that pushing buttons is easier than plucking strings."

Gene heard from his father, that the fingers of guitarists, especially beginners, hurt and after that, the fingers hardened, so they can play on the strings without pain. The guitar player of the former band of his dad also showed him his hands and they were damn stretchable. That somehow made Gene flinch from learning how to play the guitar.

"How long do you already play the guitar, by the way?"

[Outfoxd]

"I dunno about that,"  Jackson said, eyeing the screen as the attract movie played.  "Looks like hand-eye stuff.  Not sure how I am at that.

He paused when Gene asked him about how much time he had got in on the guitar.  It had been so long, and he never thought about it.  Not to mention no one asked.  He actually had to work to remember.

"Shit..um..eight years.  Something like that.  It's been a minute, you know?"

[Sh4dE]

"Ah, that makes sense.", Gene said scratching behind his ear.

Some pianists play with sheets, others play without. And learning how to play the different sheets is probably difficult, too.

When Jackson answered his question, Gene said silently, but audible, "Wow, cool."

Eight years? That's a long time. Uhm, how old is that guy? He looks like 15 or 16. So he began playing at the age of seven or eight. He isn't a child progidy like Mozart and other musicians, but he sure has a lot of experience, then.

Gene, who barely knew Jackson, already was impressed by him and respected him more than he did, when he first heard him playing some years ago. The short chat also made him more interested in guitars and their sound.

Ah, guitars. Wasn't there a famous game some years ago that had this amazing acoustic guitar soundtrack? The name was what? Sebastien? Bastien?

And it also urged him to play Guitar Hero, even though Gene barely touched music games.

"Uhm. Would you mind if I use the player two guitar? I think, we're both even players. You seem to have no Guitar Hero experience and I'm a rhythmical mess. I can invite you, if you want. I'll use my money."

He then put his hand into his pocket to search it. Gene usually wouldn't give money to strangers. But the Guitar Hero was pretty cheap compared to other games. And Jackson wasn't a stranger compared to the other guys in the Arcade.

[Outfoxd]

Kid was offering to pay?

Jackson looked over at the game.  As much as it looked to be hilarious and stupid, that of course didn't preclude fun.  He reached out and grabbed the neck of the player one "guitar" and took hold of it.  The buttons were easy to reach; much easier than strings.  There was a bar in place of the lower half of the strings.  Weird, but he could dig it.

"Sure."

[The Honeless Beard]

"Well, fuck me sideways, King. You going to strum out a little ditty for us?"

((Matthew Weiss, continued from Let's Go Bowling))

The voice originated from a blonde young man, wearing sunglasses over his light brown eyes as he draped over a quarter machine, cell phone in hand. A thin, perfectly maintained eyebrow was raised in Gene and Jackson's direction, the face a picture of boredom.

Matt knew the two kids from around school, and had always harboured a healthy dislike for Jackson King, largely stemming from the image the guy seemed to create for himself. Matt had caught the talent show performance where Jackson had been pretty good for a string plucker - nowhere near the kind of feats that Matt performed on the field on a day to day basis, but it was pretty okay.

Apparently, people thought that music was sexier than outhinking, outplaying, and outrunning opponents.

Whatever.

He finished his text, snapped his phone shut, and smiled slightly at the two.

"I thought you only did the one hit wonder type deals."

[Sh4dE]

When Gene took the player two guitar and started the console, he heard a comment directed to Jackson. And the guy who spoke to Jackson, Matthew Weiss, also said a line about "one hit wonders". Gene didn't get it.

Maybe it's an inside joke?

Still Gene tried to have a smile on the face, when he looked at Matt, trying to act as if he'd have got the line. And Gene could remember Matthew.

Uhm, I've seen Brendan with this guy and he calls him Matt. Should I call him Matt or Matthew? I don't wanna sound be impolite. I barely know him...Use his surname? Cause he also called Jackson "King".

"Hey..."

What's even his surname? Walter? Probably not. I'll use his first name. Matthew or Matt? MatthewMattMatthewMatt-

"...Mattoo!"

I should've slept more. Or drank coffee. My brain's not running smooth enough for a greeting, how can it even handle Guitar Hero?

[Outfoxd]

The voice was familiar.  A regular around school.  Jackson thought he played football.  Whatever it was he did, he was probably good at it, from the way he was built.  

Jackson got the slightest feeling that Matt didn't care for him, but he wasn't entirely sure.  Until he was, he planned to remain polite.  Probably would have even if he was sure.

Or would have, if Gene didn't speak up first.  And slaughtered his name.  Jackson's eye twitched almost imperceptibly, but he kept a pleasant smile on his face.  

[The Honeless Beard]

Mattoo?

Matthew lifted his eyebrows behind the shades, letting the silence between Gene's words and his response tell the tale it needed to. At first he had figured that maybe Gene was a bit slower on the uptake, a bit lighter on the know-how.

Now, he wondered if he was straight dumb.

Rubbing at his chin, Matt straightened, strolling over to where the two were standing, one hand slid to his knuckles in his jean pocket. Idle fingers jingled the change inside as he peered at the videogame, half-chuckling to himself.

"Shit, they still have these around?" Matt said, tapping at the console. "I thought these died with Survivor."

[Sh4dE]

"Yup, this arcade has oldies around. I think I've seen some games from the 20th century here."

Oh man what to do now? Matt doesn't look like someone who you want to anger. But he didn't correct me. So I won't correct myself, either. They'd think I have some speaking disorder or something. Why did I even practise acting without using it? Mhh...I could pretend that I thought that he's called Mattoo as he was called "Matt" by Brendan. Is Mattoo even a real name? Ah, whatever I'll claim that I know a guy called Mattoo when they ask.

Gene who wasn't active enough for Guitar Hero and who did not want to look like an idiot, tried to solve both of his problems.

"If you want, you can play instead of me, Mattoo.", Gene said while he offered Matthew the player two guitar.

A Jackson vs. Matt match would be cool. Even if I wasted money.