Page 23 of The Summer of Us

“I have plenty of change if we need more. I got my starfish, so you’re getting your dinosaur.”

Paige’s stomach fluttered at Olivia’s enthusiasm, and she nodded. “Alright then.”

The dinosaur proved trickier to shift than the keyring, but after exchanging another couple of pounds, the plushie finally dropped down.

“Yes, we got him!” Olivia beamed as Paige fished him out, smoothing her fingers over the soft material. “Aw, he’s cute.”

“We spent way too much money trying to win him,” Paige said, shaking her head.

“What are you going to call him?” Olivia asked, resting her chin on Paige’s shoulder and looking down at the toy in her hands.

Her heart thumping, Paige tried not to focus on the smell of Olivia’s shampoo, or the way her breath tickled her cheek. “Uhh… Timothy.”

Olivia laughed. “Timothy the Triceratops. It has a ring to it.”

Tucking Timothy into her bag, Paige suggested having a go on some of the other arcade games. She ended up winning in air hockey, even after sending the puck flying off the table, but Olivia scored a win in skee-ball. Then they spent the rest of their twenties on the claw-machine trying to win plushies with little luck, to nobody’s surprise.

“I swear, these things are rigged,” Olivia groaned as she watched the claw release the pink octopus with barely any effort.

“Yup,” Paige said, raking her hair back from her face. They’d already spent a couple of hours in the amusements, and she was starting to get hungry. She hadn’t checked the time in a while, but it must have been midday already, and the arcades were starting to get busier. And louder.

“Oh, my god,” Olivia blurted, making Paige jump. “They have a Dance Dance Revolution machine here. Do you remember these things?”

Paige audibly groaned as Olivia headed towards the arcade dance machine, the pink and blue panels glowing with neon lights. “Yes, I remember. And I used to hate them,” she muttered, cringing in horror at the memories of her seven-year-old self having a go at them. “I have a rubbish sense of beat.”

Olivia laughed. “Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. Please will you go on one with me?”

Paige took one look at Olivia's doe eyes and knew she didn’t have it in her to refuse, as much as she wanted to. “People will see us,” she said, trying to discreetly work her way out of agreeing.

Olivia shrugged. “So? They’re not gonna care.”

“But I will,” Paige said, twisting her hands together. “Fine, fine. I’ll do one round with you.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Olivia said, slotting a couple of pound coins into the machine and starting it up.

“Are you ready for Dance Dance Revolution?” a masculine voice said as an early-2000s pop song blasted through the speakers, making Paige cringe even harder than before. “Get into place and choose your jam.”

“What shall we go for?” Olivia said as they climbed up onto the stage, positioning themselves in the middle of the panels. Paige gripped the bar behind her while Olivia stood freestyle, knowing that she would probably lose her balance as soon as she started to dance. Olivia browsed through the music choices and then selected one, a wicked grin on her face. “You can’t say no to a bit of Steps.”

Paige groaned as “5, 6, 7, 8” started to spill out of the speakers. “You really do owe me,” she said, stomping her foot down on the left arrow as the first note hit, and “Perfect” flashed up on the split screen.

Olivia merely laughed, swinging her hips as she stood to the right, then went backwards, following the steps on screen.

Paige’s movements were stiff and awkward at first, hyper focused on the other amusement-goers watching them from the rest of the room. But after a while of watching Olivia sway to the music and stomp around, Paige gave in and allowed herself to have some fun without worrying about anyone else, and soon enough they were both giggling, trying to sabotage each other’s dance steps.

“Player 2 is the winner!” the machine announced as the song finished, and Paige half-collapsed against the bar behind her, breathless but grinning. Olivia was the kind of friend who always brought Paige out of her comfort zone, but in a good way, making her try things she normally wouldn’t on her own.

Panting from the exertion, they both stepped down from the dance stage and took a swig of the lukewarm water in Paige’s bag.

“Admit it, you had fun,” Olivia teased.

Paige looked away. “Fun is exaggerating it.”

Olivia poked her arm. “Don’t lie. I saw you laughing.”

“Only because I felt so ridiculous.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “I swear, you looked perfectly fine,” she said sincerely. “And it really doesn’t matter what other people think, as long as you enjoyed it.”

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