chapter2213

Inside, the air rang with electronic jingles and triumphant shouts. Everyone scattered to chase their own brand of fun. Madeline spotted an impossibly cute plush toy trapped inside a claw-crane machine and vowed to win it for Amelia. Vivian stationed herself beside her, cheering every drop of the claw, while Lucille wandered off to the fishing game, eyes gleaming with competitive fire.

Calvin and Cecilia drifted through the place, their shoulders almost touching. "So, what do you feel like playing?" Calvin asked, tilting his head toward the riot of blinking machines.

Cecilia scanned the options, then pointed at a row of coin-pusher machines. "That one," she decided, the lights reflecting in her eyes.

Luck granted them two open seats. Calvin slid onto the stool beside her and fed the slot with their first shining token.

The coin-pusher was simple. One token nudges the stacked tokens inside; whatever tumbles over the edge becomes the player's.

Of course, the house usually kept most of its treasure; arcades were built never to bleed.

Cecilia leaned forward, wholly absorbed, talking strategy with Calvin between presses of the button.

Calvin answered absently. Games bored him tonight; conversation with Cecilia did not.

After so long apart, he realized she had not changed at all.

Time slipped by in bright, rhythmic pulses of music and clattering metal.

An entire shelf of tokens broke loose and cascaded like silver rain.

Startled, Cecilia whipped toward Calvin, eyes wide. "Did you just drop the whole pile?" she gasped.

She could hardly believe it; she had never witnessed such a jackpot.

"Uh-huh," Calvin said with a modest nod. "Guess the owner forgot to tighten the settings."

Cecilia stared at him with open admiration. "I remember when we were kids-you were already a wizard at this game."

Back then, Calvin had been an orphan, no one to lean on.

Cecilia once slipped him a single coin. He bought tokens and camped at the pusher.

When he amassed a mountain, he sold the extra tokens to other kids for pocket change.

With the earnings, he treated Cecilia to candy and steaming meat pies.

"I can't believe you still remember that," Calvin murmured, a hint of nostalgia softening his voice.

Cecilia laughed, light and clear. "Of course I do how could I possibly forget something like that?"

While she spoke, her own tray had emptied; every last game token was gone.

"Lend me a few?" she asked, lifting the plastic chute in apology.

Smiling, Calvin poured a glittering heap of winnings into her hands.

Onlookers around them murmured, envy flickering across their faces.

And so the rhythm continued-Cecilia spending, Calvin earning it all back.

Every so often, Vivian swooped by, filched a handful of tokens, and dashed back to the claw machines.

"Still no luck with that plush Madeline wants?" Cecilia called after her.

Vivian blew a strand of hair from her face. "Nope. I have no clue why it's so stubborn."

"You can do it" Cecilia shouted, her voice barely audible over the swirl of arcade melodies and electronic pings. She jabbed her thumb toward her chest, then punched the air in a spirited fist-pump a bright gain spotting her face beneath the

pulsing neon lights.

Vivian answered with a brisk nod,

ponytail swishing against her

hoodie You two hustle too," she called back. "Rake in more

tokens-I've got a whole army of plushies still waiting for me."

Madeline's coveted doll still dangled behind the claw's plexiglass barrier, a silent prize she just couldn't pry lease. Vivian's story was the opposite; she had already stuffed two giant bags with pastel bears, kittens, and cartoon astronauts.

Owners and staff across the arcade quit pretending to tidy counters. Their eyes ballooned every time Vivian swaggered past, tokens clinking in her pockets like pirate treasure.

Her secret wasn't flawless aim. It was sheer volume.

The tokens hadn't cost her a cent. Calvin, stationed at the coin-pusher, had mined them for her-silver disks avalanching over the edge each time his timing hit that sweet spot.

Eventually, even his luck stalled; once the tray was thin, he had to wait for fresh sacrifices from other players before striking again.

Calvin pushed his hands into his pockets and said, "I'm going to try another game. Once I've stacked up more tokens, come grab them."

"Sure," Cecilia replied.

Cecilia dipped her head in a quiet nod, the faint swing of her ponytail catching the neon light.

There were girls scattered among the cabinets who had been watching; now every one of them shot Cecilia a look so envy-green it nearly glowed under the fluorescents.

The feeling wasn't only because Calvin handled the games like a pro. It was also because the man was flat-out gorgeous, and talent wrapped in good looks is irresistible bait.

A bolder girl marched up to Cecilia, chin high. "Hey, beautiful, is that handsome guy your husband?"