Page 66 of Pick Me Up On Tuesdays

The group moved as one, and despite my best efforts, I ended up closer to Ethan again. Every time he moved, I subtly moved in the opposite direction. A slow, careful game of ‘How Far Can I Get Without Looking Obvious.’

Mia, of course, recorded everything.

Ethan finally caught on. His eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Hey, Ghost Boy," he said smoothly, "why are you running from me?"

"I’m not."

"You are."

Joy gasped. "Oh my God, are you guys in your awkward slow-burn phase?"

Ethan grinned. “If we are, Ghost Boy here is the one burning.”

I clenched my fists. "I swear to the moon and stars, I will walk back to that motel alone."

"Aw, but you love us," Joy cooed.

Max patted my back. "Yeah, buddy. You’re stuck with us."

I groaned. This was going to be a long night.

And the worst part?

This wasn't even the “fun” part yet.

We hit the road, our little group of delinquents moving like a herd of lost sheep. The night air was crisp, the streets dimly lit, and the only real threats were the two gremlins leading the way—Joy and Max.

Joy, of course, started singing.

"WE'RE ON THE ROOOAD TO NOWHERE—"

Max, never one to miss an opportunity for chaos, joined in with all the elegance of a dying walrus. " AAAAND WE DON'T CAAAARE! "

I groaned. “For the love of everything sacred, stop—”

Joy nudged Max’s arm. “DUET TIME!”

Max belted out a note so off-key that somewhere in the universe, a siren probably lost its voice.

Shun, unimpressed, scrolled through her phone. “They sound like two drunk ogres arguing over a goat.”

Ethan snorted. “I’ve actually seen drunk ogres argue over a goat. They had more harmony.”

Mia, recording everything, giggled.

After an ungodly amount of noise pollution, we finally stumbled upon a neon-lit arcade squeezed between two rundown buildings. The blinking lights and glowing magic runes above the entrance screamed bad financial decisions ahead.

The last thing on my to-do list was to waste more money, considering that we were already on a tight budget, but of course, that’s exactly what they decided to do.

“We’ll just put our pocket money together!” Joy declared, as if that somehow made it a better idea.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “So let me get this straight… instead of saving our money for food, you guys want to blow it on rigged arcade games?”

Max clapped a hand on my back. “Exactly.”

"Brilliant budgeting," I muttered.

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