Next Generation ~ a kotlc story

Part 3 - Girls ~ Chapter 24 - Willa

I ran towards the building, Kenric right behind me. Pushing just a little more energy into my legs, I slapped the door, turning around to taunt Kenric.

"I win!"

"You had a head start!" He complained.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." I rolled my eyes.

"I will!" Kenric told me, nose in the air. I laughed and elbowed him, making him smirk down at me. I had always been tiny, but now, right next to Kenric, I realized that I was over a foot shorter than him.

"Would you two stop flirting and go in?" Ellie asked, making me go bright red. Kenric just smirked and held the door open as we entered the building.

The outside of the building should have been sued for false advertising. It was bland, with brick walls and one sign written in boring lettering. The inside, however, was much more interesting. Fluorescent lights shone all around the room with colored laser style ones flashing in the air. On one side of the space was an oval shaped wood floor lined with walls about three feet high. Inside, humans wearing roller skates wheeled around. The other side held an arcade with flashy games and a snack bar selling junk food.

It was nothing like anything we had in the Lost Cities, and I loved it.

"Come on guys! We have to check in over there and get our skates," Ellie told us, gesturing toward a window where a teenage boy stood, unenthusiastically handing skates to a mom and her kids.

We all got skates and then picked out a bench to put them on.

~~~

"Come on! Let's go!" Ellie exclaimed, pulling me to my feet and dragging me towards the rink. I laughed and followed her. We stepped out onto the rink and I immediately fell.

"Ah! This is a lot harder than you made it sound!" I told her. Of course Tiergan and Kenric were doing just fine.

"Here, want some help?" Kenric offered, holding out his arm. I smiled and linked my arm with his, making it easier to balance. Slowly we rolled around the rink, Kenric occasionally helping me up after I fell again. Tiergan and Ellie were gliding around the rink in front of us, holding hands. They were the most adorable couple.

Then I realized they weren't the only ones being watched. It was no secret that elves were a lot more attractive than humans. Looking around the room, there were all sorts of people shamelessly staring at our group. It made me squirmish and uncomfortable, but I tried to block them out. I focused on roller skating, and after a few laps I found myself gaining confidence, until Kenirc was no longer helping me, but racing me. We zipped around the track, leaving Ellie and Tiergan in the dust, laughing the whole way.

Eventually we all tired ourselves out and decided to grab something to eat at the snack bar.

"Aw, what an adorable double date!" The waitress said as she came to take our order. I immediately turned red.

"No! I mean, we're not- well, they are, but,"

"Those two are dating. We're just third and fourth wheeling." Kenric said, also red.

"Oh. Well, you'd make a cute couple." She winked and then pulled out her pad and pen. "Anyways, what will you be having today?"

"We'll have four orders of fries, four slushies, and um..... Oh! Could we have a hundred tokens for the arcade?" Ellie ordered.

"Of course! We'll have that right out to you." The waitress said before walking off.

"Um, Ellie? What the heck is a slushie?" I asked.

"They're awesome!" Kenric jumped in. "You'll see. Ooooooo you'd also love milkshakes. I don't think they serve them here, but we'll have to get them sometime."

"Okay," I told him, trying to convince my crazy brain that he had not just asked me out. He had invited all of us! Plus, it wasn't like he actually liked me. Or that I liked him. That would be crazy.

"Here's your food!" The waitress said, coming back a few minutes later. Ellie paid her the money her mom had given us and then passed out the fries and slushies. I took one bite and then groaned.

"This is one of the best things I've ever eaten. Why have you never shown me these before, Ellie?!" I asked, wide eyed. The fry was greasy and salty, as well as crisp. I could tell it was super unhealthy, but I couldn't care less.

"Try the slushie next!" Kenric grinned. I took a tiny sip of the bright blue drink in front of me. It was like mushy, sweet ice. I loved it.

Tiergan took a big sip of his and started screaming. "Ah! What's happening?!"

"Oh, that's brainfreeze. You can't sip too much or you'll get it." Ellie explained through her laughs. "Now shut up, people are looking!"

We finished the fries and slushies and then Ellie took us over to the arcade section.

"Basically you pay some of these tokens to play, and then you can win tickets to exchange for prizes," she explained.

We all split up to play different games. Most of them were rigged or really hard to win, but we still had fun messing around. The only person who seemed to have any luck at the games was Tiergan. He had some sort of magic touch. Pretty soon, he had over a hundred tickets.

"You should try that one!" Ellie told him, gesturing towards a box filled with stuffed purple elephants, with a metal claw floating at the top. "They're super hard."

"Okay," He said, and put some tokens into the machine. It came to life and he was able to control the claw, grab an elephant, and plop it in the slot. It popped out of the side.

"How???" Ellie asked.

"Last time we were here we wasted all our tokens trying to get something out of that!" Kenric said, mouth hanging open.

"Guess I have the touch." Tiergan shrugged. Then he handed the elephant to Ellie. "Here,"

"Thanks," She smiled. Kenric and I made 'awwwww, look how cute they are' faces at each other.

"Try again! Let's see if your luck holds!" Kenric said, so Tiergan inserted more tokens and almost instantly won again. And again. And again. By the time we had to go home, Ellie's arms were filled with a small army of purple elephants. She had never looked happier.