Excerpt: Winning

He was 10 years old then, using his last two quarters on the ancient Galaga machine hidden away in the corner. No one ever played that one, but it was Joshua’s favorite. In his mind, it evolved into something almost poetic. The formations of the enemy ships, the music, the insect-like aliens that would occasionally go kamikaze. This was art that could stand on its own against Citizen Kane and Picasso. And Josh was good at it. Absorbed in the game, he didn’t see the girl standing behind him, patiently waiting for her turn.
Joshua’s ship was blocked into a corner. He didn’t notice the enemy on his left until it was too late. Game Over.
“S***” He angrily kicked the cabinet and spun around, not expecting to see the nervous and quiet girl behind him. She had short, black hair and wore dark clothes. Probably to blend in, Joshua thought. After all, that was his reason for wearing what he did.
“Shi… I mean… I didn’t… f***… I’m sorry, I…” Joshua attempted to compose himself, and the girl was clearly as embarrassed as he was.
“I’m fine… I mean… We all get a little frustrated, right? I do, anyway. Like, there was this one time I almost beat up my brother with a baseball bat.” She quickly stopped herself, realizing that she didn’t need to divulge every piece of information about her past.
“Are you done with this machine?” she said.
“Why did you almost beat up your brother with a baseball bat?”
She looked puzzled. Why was this guy interested? It was something that happened years ago. She almost forgot about it.
“Well… I don’t really remember. Apparently I was angry at him,” she said, hoping that was all of the information he needed. “Are you done with this machine?” she repeated.
“Oh, yeah. Hey. Mind if I watch?” said Josh.
The girl was immediately suspicious. “Why?” she said.
“I’m out of quarters, and I don’t feel like going home yet.”
“Oh. Okay, that’s fine. What’s your name?”
“I’m Josh,” he said.
“I’m Sharon.”