Page 9 of Fresh Ice
Alonso forced himself to relax. “Oh. Right.”
“So you guys are close?”
Alonso shrugged. “I mean…he makes me a better player.” Alonso didn’t know how to explain his relationship with his parents, but ‘close’ wouldn’t be the first word he’d use to describe it.
Levy nodded slowly. “That’s cool, I guess.”
Alonso just shrugged again.
“What about your mom?”
Alonso frowned. “What’s with all the questions about my family?”
Levy threw his hands up in the air. “Just making conversation, man. You know, trying to get to know you better or whatever.”
“I don’t really like talking about my parents. We’re just not that close.”
“Okay, fair enough. What do you like talking about?” Levy poked.
“I don’t know. Hockey?” Alonso replied truthfully.
Levy rolled his eyes. “Surprise, surprise,” he said, but he had a smile on his face.
“In my defence, I do it for a living.”
“Oh, do you? I never would have guessed.”
“I try to be subtle about it,” Alonso joked.
“And you’re doing a wonderful job at it,” Levy teased sarcastically. “Oh, wait, we’re here.”
Alonso stopped walking abruptly as Levy took hold of his sleeve. “Here, where?”
“It’s like a cross between an arcade and a bar. Been meaning to go, thought it’d be good to chill you out a little.”
“I don’t know why you keep saying I need to chill. I’m like the chillest person ever.”
Levy laughed obnoxiously as they made their way inside the dim space. It looked pretty typical at the front, with drinks being served on the right. Deeper into the room, however, there were a bunch of old-school games set up, people crowding around some of them.
They both ordered something non-alcoholic and then braved further.
Levy elbowed Alonso in the ribs. “You ready to get your ass beat?”
Alonso huffed, but he could feel the competitiveness in him rising. “You wish.”
They started with some of the classics, springboarding on Pac-Man and going to Donkey Kong next.
Alonso groaned in frustration when he lost again. “Let’s switch places, this controller is rigged.”
Levy snorted loudly. “I should have known you would be a terrible loser. Do you even play video games?”
“I’m not a terrible loser! Switch with me.”
Levy held his hands up, following Alonso’s lead and trading spots, but it didn’t bring Alonso any additional luck, his character dying way before Levy’s.
Alonso grumbled under his breath. He focused so much of his life on winning that it, admittedly, seeped into other areas of his life.
Hehatedlosing.
