Page 2 of Finding Ash
“Towels, I brought towels.”Brilliant, Ash. Like he didn’t see them in your hands.
“I’m Remy. Want something to drink? Soda?” He took the towels but kept that smile poised on me as he waited for my answer.
Remy.
“No, no thanks.” Stepping inside wasn’t what I expected, and that’s totally on me. Given the last three, I envisioned random pizza boxes, empty cans, and trash all over. But Remy’s space was clean and organized.
“Wanna play a game?”
“I-I, I’ve never played before.”
“Wait, what?”My face heated and the overwhelming urge to bolt had me turning for the door. But his hand on my arm halted the forward motion. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that. It’s just a surprise, that’s all.”
“I wasn’t raised in the city. We didn’t have games. Or computers. Or any electronics.” Even to my own ears that made me sound like a loser as my truths barreled forward.
Remy blinked twice, swallowed hard, then that brilliant smile returned. “No worries, I can teach you. If you want me to?”
Did I? Yeah, I kinda did. “Um, okay.”
“Great, let me put these away and I’ll be right back.”
The discomfort of standing in another’s personal space was real. Do I sit or stand? Wait for a command? No, that’s for a dog.Ugh, I fidgeted and waited, realizing just how awkward I really was. Where do I put my hands? On my hips felt aggressive and off putting, but hanging to my sides appeared too aloof.
A better question would be why was I acting this way? Awkward was one thing, but this was insane.Get a grip, Ash.
“Are you sure you don’t want a soda?”
I jumped.
“Sorry, thought you heard me come back in. I set the dirty towels by the door.”
I’d heard nothing, too lost inside my own head. “Oh, um, no thanks on the soda.” Remy crossed the room and took a seat in one of the oddly shaped chairs in front of a huge split-screen TV. Or maybe they were monitors? Electronics as a whole were still an anomaly to me. There were so many pictures across the massive screens I wasn’t sure where to focus. How did they get them to curve like that?
“Mario Kart?” I shrugged. “You were serious. Huh. Okay, this is the perfect game to break the seal and initiate you into the world of gaming. Take a seat.” He patted the banana-shaped chair beside his and handed me a controller that matched the one he held. “This button accelerates, this one launches bombs at the other drivers on the track, and this,” he jiggled the little handle on top, “steers your car. We’ll play a couple of practice rounds until you get the feel of it.”
He flipped through the screens so fast I had no clue what was going on, and the motion nearly caused me to vomit. Though I didn’t share that given I was already riding theI’ve never played video gamesloser bus, that would’ve just made me an even bigger dork.
“Which character do you want to be?” Remy asked as though I had a clue who they were.
“Um, how about the green guy?”
“Yoshi, good choice. I’ll be Princess Peach.” He showed me how to choose mine after he selected his. “I’ll put it in Time Trial, which is the training mode, while you get a feel for it.”
And right off the starting line, into the wall I went.
Next start, into his cart.
Was driving in the grass good or bad? If it was good, I was doing great.
Shoot, now I was going the wrong way.
“I really suck at this.”
Remy laughed. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’ll get it. It just takes time and practice. You can come over anytime and hang. I have a bunch of other games we can play.”
“Don’t you have to work and stuff?”What exactly is and stuff, Ash? You’ve really got to work on your people skillsand grasp of Gen Z English.So much for finishing home schooled high school at the age of sixteen.
He shrugged. “Sometimes. I’m at a standstill right now until the rest of the team gets their parts done. Then it comes to me to check for glitches and issues.”
