Dancing in the Rain (The TUSH Duology-Book 2)

Week 16

Sunday, December 6

Things certainly had gotten quieter since Saide left. She must have been the one who got all the energy while Cetera got all the calm-the-fuck-down. At least she wasn't exposing George to questionable media with toxic fandoms anymore.

I was studying in my room while the music from George's video game wafted in from the game room. After tearing through Pokémon Ruby in a week, he decided to return to Billy Hatcher. I set up the GameCube for him again this morning so he could keep playing. Right now, he was playing one of the Circus Park stages. I could tell because I could hear this really loud, really dumb carnival music playing, reminding me why this is my least favorite world in the game. The worst part is that it's the same parts over and over again because he keeps dying. I hate Circus Park.

And then it stopped. Did...did George just pause the game? All on his own? I almost wanted to hug him like a proud mom, but he'd probably think I'm weird. It was Anne's job to hug him like a proud mom. I should ask her to hug him for me.

Not soon after I heard the game stop, I heard his footsteps approach the door. "Aunt Willow?"

I looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Is there a spell that'll get the egg down the track?" he asked.

He's talking about the game. "Are you on Circus Park?"

George nodded.

I placed my book on the bed and got up. "I'll see what I can do."

I led him back to the game room. On the TV screen was a sight that was all too familiar: Billy Hatcher standing with a golden egg. Ahead of him are a wall with a small door and a track looping around it. I had the worst time with this level as a kid, and according to the Internet, I wasn't the only one.

"Step aside, scrub." I sat down in the gaming chair and grabbed the controller. "There's a trick to this part that doesn't require magic, and it's..." I haven't played this game in 10 years. "I've forgotten what it is."

"Can you use magic?" George leaned so that his head was practically resting on his shoulder.

I stroked my chin in thought. "I'm not sure. Magic's meant to be used on physical objects. This video game is just an image on a screen. I could use magic to handle the controller and maneuver Billy past the wall, but that just sounds like playing the game with extra steps." I got up to get my phone. Maybe Kora had an answer. "Hold on right there. I'll see if there's someone who can--"

Anne was standing in the doorway. Like she does.

"Hey, Anne," I smiled, hoping she was here for something other than chewing us out. "What brings you to our humble game room?"

"When I said you could teach him magic," Anne began, "this isn't what I had in mind."

She is chewing us out. Why am I not surprised? "I'm not teaching anything. I don't know what I'm supposed to teach. I'm not sure if there even is a spell that'll help George get past this obstacle."

Anne crossed her arms. "You're using magic to cheat at a video game?"

"It shouldn't be wrong to ask for help at a video game," I reasoned. "There are walkthroughs all over the Internet."

"Then why not point him to one of those? We're not teaching George magic so he can cheat at life."

"Well, why learn magic if you're not going to use it to cheat at life?"

Anne sighed. "If you're going to use magic to play video games, at least do this." She extended her hand towards the controller. I could see the joystick moving, the buttons being pressed by themselves. Billy grabbed the egg and bounce-jumped onto the track, rolling it around the door without falling off.