The Eternal Sleep

Will you Shoot Beside Me?

Luca felt satisfaction well up inside him as their jaws seemed to drop, he needed to nudge them slightly to move out of the walkway. They swiveled their heads back and forth to take the entire place in. Jasper whistled lowly, clearly impressed.

The back room resembled a miniature indoor stadium, clearly much larger inside than the building implied from it’s view in the parking lot. It’s low handing lights on the high roof illuminated the countless games in the arcade below. From first glance, Luca could spot several new additions to the area, both new and updated equipment. It looked a lot like a haven for gamers and teenagers alike.

Turned out, Luca was right to state that Sean and Jasper would suck at playing video games. It’d hardly been a half hour and the pair were wiped out, leaning heavily on the bench next to his mother. He had to give credit to Jasper’s determined attempt, fighting like he would if the simulation was a real-life situation but even his conviction died after his numerous losses. Luca continued using the replica gun, taking out his targets as though he were a professional, a couple of the other teenagers milled about, watching him with hawk-like intensity.

He considered continuing his charade, but his bad mood had finally eased some and he was left with a somewhat guilty feeling of forcing his family to something he clearly knew they wouldn’t like. He lowered the gun and replaced it in his holding, glancing at the trio on the bench before walking over to them.

“You guys wanna learn how to beat these things?” he offered them an olive branch; watching his mother shake her head slightly. Luca shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave.

“Would I get to beat that shooting game?” Jasper watched his, nodding his head at the game Luca was just playing, his scores placing him easily in first place on the scoreboard.

“Yes, I guess…”

“Then I’m in.”

Luca showed them both the goal of the game, helping Jasper with his aim and what to hit to get the most points. He hadn’t even thought to check on Sean, just assuming that his experience would allow him to easily master the game. When the first round ended, he was slightly surprised to see Jasper’s score was much higher than his stepfather’s. “How do you keep missing?”

“I don’t know, I’m shooting like I know but it’s always a little off.” Sean looked frustrated, watching the gun with a small amount of irritation.

“Show me again?”

“Yea, sure, if you think it’ll help.” Sean didn’t even question it, shooting three targets, missing all three. He frowned at the gun, placing it back in the place holder and reaching his hand to press the ‘End’ button on the table.

Luca was suddenly flashed back to a moment in his training in the gyms, to something Jay told him, ‘Aiming in the game is not the same in real, same thing with arcades, a game this big would never show you the proper way to shoot for cautioning in case people use these skills in real life…’

“…In the game, the target is level with the gun. If it were real, the aim is always a little higher than the actual target.” He finished out loud, rubbing his chin. “Wait stop, lemme show you.”

Sean pulled his hand away from the table, watching Luca curiously. He pulled the shotgun back to his shoulder, waiting for any further instructions. Luca couldn’t help thinking of the irony that Sean, a former soldier, was being taught by a seventeen-year-old kid how to shoot a toy gun. “This good?”

“Yea, just aim a little lower,” Sean dropped his hand to far, Luca rushed to push his arms back up and a little to the left, “Now try it.”

The shot hit right on target, the light flashing green. “How?” Jasper leaned over to them and whistled, his own gun resting haphazardly on his shoulder.

“Something Jay showed me, think of it this way, the real world follows physics, the game world follows easy possibilities and a general range.” Luca noticed the questioning stares, realizing that they probably thought he learned to shoot real guns and rushed to add, “Referencing the game, of course.”

Things were much smoother after that, Luca showed them a couple games, both old and new. Displaying cheats and tricks he knew and the trio generally having a good time. The pair had earned a couple of observing teenagers and in turn, a few gaming rivals to play against. The highlight of the day, however, was when his mother walked up to him with a curious tilt of her head.

“Mind if you show me one of your tricks?” her smile was kind, not condescending or irritated. She looked like someone would had just seen something really amazing and wanted to learn about it.

“S-sure, I mean, if you’re not bored.” Luca tripped over his words, forgetting Sean and Jasper facing each other off in a battle. His mind tripped over the countless possibilities as to why his mother would what to try something she clearly didn’t like.

“I’m not bored, and I definitely wouldn’t mind leaning some new things.” She laughed gently, her voice like the rich hot chocolate he used to drink on days where the pair would just sit by the table and talk, “About time this old girl learnt some new things, don’t you think?”

Luca was almost certain he had fallen asleep on his bed after he’d logged out from the game. The entire evening was surreal, getting to teach his mother some of the things that she’d shown so much anger for in the last few months. They’d gotten a late lunch after, animatedly talking about their silly achievements and tiredly set off to Jasper’s school, the road mostly empty of the late evening traffic.

They were pleasantly surprised with a meeting from Jasper’s well-known but never actually seen girlfriend, Matizy. She was a joyful person, with shoulder length hair in a ponytail and a cartoon cosplay jacket. She greeted them nervously with handshakes and, in Luca’s case a fist-bump that ended in a mimed explosion.

It was easy to see why Jasper loved her, she was easy to get along with and didn’t act like a ‘popular girl’. The conversation flowed like water from an open tap, her easy-going personality was relaxing. The meeting was, unfortunately, far too short as the pair had to hurry back before the gates closed and their badges were ignored.

“Bye guys.” Jasper waved at them from outside the window, a backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Bye sweety, be careful.” Alyse smiled.

“Bye loser.” Luca grinned, dodging the swipe Jasper aimed at him through the window and chuckling. Sean pulled off moments later, heading back to their apartment in silence.