Page 54 of Releasing 10
“Yep.”
“Okay then.” I shrugged. “Scoot over.”
She obliged and I climbed into the back seat beside her, parcel in hand.
“You really didn’t have to,” I paused to say, midway through unwrapping her gift. “Just so you know.”
“Just open it already.” Pulling up onto her knees, she watched me with excitement dancing in her eyes. “Go on.”
Doing as she asked, I ripped off the rest of the wrapping paper, only to gape in wonder at the computer game in my hands. “Mortal Kombat II.” I shook my head in disbelief and clutched the box. “This gamejustcame out.”
“Yeah, well, Claire told me that you have a Sneeze,” she hurried to explain, sounding unsure. “She said you play it all the time. I wasn’t sure if you had this game.”
“SNES.”
“Hm?”
“It’s called a SNES,” I explained, retraining my attention on the girl sitting beside me. “Super Nes.” When she continued to stare blankly at me, I clarified. “Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s a game console, and I do play it all the time.”
“So that game will work on your Sneeze?” she asked, pointing to the game in my hands.
“My SNES,” I corrected gently, still in shock. “And it definitely will.”
“So you like it?”
“I more than like it.” In fact, I’d been hoping to use my birthday money to get it. “Thank you.” I shook my head, feeling a mixture of confusion and gratitude. “Seriously, thank you so much.”
Relief flashed in her eyes, and she beamed back at me. “You’re welcome.”
“This is a really big gift,” I said slowly, keeping my eyes on hers. “You know that, right? It costs alotof money.”
“It’s just a game, Hugh,” she replied. “My mam said it was fine.”
Jesus, her family must be loaded.
“Here.” Reaching behind her back, she retrieved a green envelope and thrust it onto my lap. “I made this one.”
Setting the game aside so I wouldn’t be distracted, I focused all my attention on the envelope with my name on it.
Careful not to tear the homemade card inside, I removed it slowly, dutifully ignoring the cloud of glitter that sprinkled all over my lap in the process.
I lived with Claire, after all. Glitter was a given.
“This is great,” I told her, inspecting every inch of her work. It must have taken her hours. Every spare inch of card was filled with color and paint. “You have lovely handwriting.” I smiled at the scragglygin my name, where she had attempted cursive. “You’re neat.”
“Not as neat as you.”
“Well, I practice a lot.”
“I bet I practice more.”
“And I read.”
“I bet I read more.”
“Oh yeah?” My lips twitched and I tried not to smile, but she was cute when she challenged me. “I doubt that.”
“Oh yeah?” Her eyes narrowed once again in challenge. “Try me.”
