Welcome to Game Junkies, where all your electronic dreams come true. For Colby and his friends, today is a game changer (no pun intended). They see things through a different light, and learn there is more to life than video games.
The line at Game Junkies extended out the door and down the mall corridor. Colby Thatcher stopped in his tracks, blue eyes wide behind round, wire-frame glasses. He'd never seen such a mass of humanity unless it was a new game release. He stared a full minute before he realized someone was waving at him. Three of his friends stood in the line. Two were grinning widely, smart phones clutched in their hands.
"Wait until you see!" Stan Fitz said, hopping excitedly in place.
Stan was nearly seven feet tall. His lean, gangling frame moved oddly, like he was a marionette guided by a puppet master on crack. He giggled, waving his phone under Colby's nose.
Gavin Carter eyed their friend with forbearance, but his dark brown eyes twinkled.
The only one who didn't show enthusiasm was Avery. Dressed in skinny jeans, sporting a lip ring, nose ring and multiple earrings, she hunched over with her hands in her pockets. Her blue streaked red hair escaped from under her Rasta striped beanie. She looked bored and somewhat disgusted.
"If I didn't have to be here, I wouldn't," she snarled before Colby could speak. "But I have to get game time. They're doing buy one get one because of the upcoming game launch." She elbowed Stan who had hopped on her foot. "These two are impossible."
"We saw her first," Stan said. "Then all these others showed up." He frowned, jerking a thumb at the line.
"Maybe if you hadn't sent a massive text to everyone on your phone, it wouldn't have happened," Avery growled. "It's your own damn fault. Get off me!"
She elbowed Stan again. Given the difference in their heights, the sharp jab got him in the nuts. Gasping from pain and surprise, he backed off. Avery smirked, satisfied that she had disciplined him appropriately.
"Nicely played," Gavin said with a smirk of his own. He and Avery exchanged a knuckle bump.
"What's going on?" Colby appealed to Avery.
Tossing her head, setting her hoops rattling, Avery glared up at him. She was tiny, maybe five feet tall if she stood up straight. Her slender frame and small breasts, in combination with her baggy shirts and bulky jackets, often got her mistaken for an adolescent boy.
"You really don't know?"
"You live in a cave?" Gavin asked him. "We sent you the text."
"Phone's dead," Colby said. "It got sent through the wash again. I'm waiting for a replacement."
Avery grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie, pulling him toward her. She opened a text message with her thumb, holding it in front of his face. The screen was inches from his nose, so he squinted at it, blinking rapidly. Eventually, a fuzzy image appeared. The first detail he took in was a mass of curly, blonde hair. Next, a tight yellow T-shirt spread lovingly over the most luscious breasts he'd ever imagined. That held his attention nearly 30 seconds.
Avery waved the phone in front of him and he took in the rest of the image. A beautiful young woman stood at the counter of the Game Junkies store, her blonde hair loose around her shoulders. Her T-shirt fit her curvaceous form like it had been painted on. Her chest swelled beneath it and her body tapered to a slender waist, flaring to voluptuous hips. Colby grabbed the phone from Avery, taking in further details as he stared. The phone left his eager fingers as Avery snatched it from him, tapping him on the forehead.
"Men! God, you're so disgusting!" She eyed Colby's zipper, sneering. "You too, I see."
"Me too, what?"
Avery pointed indelicately to the fact he had an erection. Apparently, so did his friends, though he hadn't noticed.
"Sorry, Ave. We're guys." Shrugging, Colby ran his fingers through his spiky, black hair. "So, who is she?"
"Who cares?" Gavin said. "She's hot!"
"She's average," Avery corrected. "Though the tits are impressive." Her eyes traveled to her own less than impressive chest and she sighed heavily.
Colby could see disappointment in every line of her tiny frame. Though she'd never admit it, she longed to be the hot girl that men lined up to see. An unexpected lump rose in his throat as his gaze shifted from the phone to her face. Swallowing hard, he forced a smile.
"It's cool, Ave. She's probably dumb as a brick."
Her smile faltered and her lips twitched downward. "I need game time," she whispered. "Or...."
Colby reached out to her, but she jerked away and ran down the corridor toward the women's restroom. Colby took a few faltering steps after her. Gavin grabbed his hood, tugging him back.
"Can't follow her in there," he reminded his friend. "She'd beat you blind."
"You had to make a big fuss," Colby reprimanded Stan.
"She's hot!" Stan exclaimed, gesturing toward the store. "I want to see her naked and have her babies." He continued extolling the mystery woman's virtues, loudly.
"Shut up!" Gavin tugged Stan's shirt front until the tall man was bent almost double to be at eye level with his shorter friend. "You upset Avery. When she gets back, you're going to apologize."
"What? Why?"
"Because you're an ignorant, ungrateful, inconsiderate prick," Gavin said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And because she's our friend, and you made her feel bad."
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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