The Year We Had (MCYT AU)

12: Change of Scenery

After a fairly lazy Saturday, everyone agreed to head into town together on Sunday.

Surprisingly, it was Techno's suggestion, which he made when everyone was crowded around on the floor of the common room, playing a particularly intense game of Uno. Tommy and Wilbur immediately quit their shouting match, and everyone agreed that it would be a nice change of pace.

George, Dream, Sapnap, Fundy, Tubbo and Niki told the new kids that the town was pretty standard, but had a couple of nice places to visit. Tommy was particularly excited when Dream mentioned that there was a camera shop. He used up almost all of his remaining film so that he could get it developed the next day.

The next morning they met out the front of the dorm building with Hbomb, the head teacher of Wilbur's floor, and Sam, as well as a handful of other kids who were interested in heading to the local town for some time away from campus. The students were piled into a minibus for the fifteen minute journey, which was much calmer than expected.

When the kids got off the bus, Hbomb pulled the Watson boys aside for a moment to explain the rules, as it was their first time off campus since arriving. They were pretty basic-- they had to save his and Sam's numbers into their phones, just in case, and meet back at the parking lot at 4:30 to head back. Other than that, the rules were pretty relaxed.

Their friends waited up for them, and the group began to walk down the street, chatting jovially about what was on offer in the small establishment. Dream was in the middle of talking about the library when Tommy let out a loud gasp, spotting the little camera shop across the street.

"There it is!" He all but screamed, his face lighting up with excitement. The group let out mixed laughter at his reaction.

"What did I tell you?" Dream asked, gesturing to the little shop.

Tommy glanced down at his camera for a moment, then up at his friends. "I've only got three film left. Quick, someone do something interesting."

Wilbur grabbed Techno and wrenched an arm around his shoulder tightly, the younger boy letting out an annoyed grunt and moving to shove his brother away. Fundy threw up a peace sign and crouched in front of them. Niki smiled brightly and waved at the camera. Tommy snapped a quick picture before Techno could wrestle his way out of Wilbur's hold.

Dream, George, Sapnap and Tubbo laughed as they watched the brothers. Wilbur finally let Techno go, and put a much gentler hand on his youngest brother's shoulder, guiding him to keep walking. "Come on Tommy, lets get some food and then you can develop your pictures."

The group made their way down a moderately busy street before coming to a stop at a cafe.

"This place is really good." George said as they stepped inside and into the light air conditioning. "Their chips are something else."

"I like their gingerbread men." Tubbo supplied helpfully.

"Well they have good chips and good gingerbread." Wilbur announced, scanning the menu. "Sounds like a done deal to me."

They ordered their food and moved towards the back of the cafe, pulling three tables together and stealing a couple of extra chairs so that everyone could fit. The group talked jovially as they waited for their food to arrive, with minimal arguments. True to George and Tubbo's word, both the chips and the gingerbread men were excellent.

After lunch, the group split up to explore the town.

Tommy and Tubbo went directly to the camera shop, the blonde boy buzzing with excitement as they stepped inside. His eyes widened at the cameras on display, and his face lit up with a grin. It was exactly his kind of shop.

There were huge prints of stunning photos on the walls, and countless cameras in display cases. He could see several different varieties of film that he couldn't wait to try, but he pushed through his ambition and made his way to the customer service desk. Tubbo went to examine the little boxes of film.

The man behind the counter was loading blank polaroids into an old camera that looked like it was from at least the 1960's. He looked up as Tommy neared, smiling and adjusting his glasses. "Hello! Can I help you?"

"Hi." Tommy said, smiling politely. "I was looking to get some film developed. Do you guys do that here?"

The guy put the camera down and gave Tommy his full attention. "We sure do. What kind of film have you got?"

Tommy took his own camera from where it rested on his side. "35 mil colour."

The guy nodded and grabbed a pad of paper, ticking a couple of boxes. "Alright, that's easy. Just the one roll?" When Tommy nodded he checked another box and then slid the form across the counter. "Just put your name and contact details here, and then we should be good to go."

Tommy jotted down his number and his name, and then pulled the roll of film from his camera and handed it over to the man, who took it and the pad of paper into the back room and returned a moment later, leading the boy to the register.

"That's ten dollars for that one, and it should be ready in the next one to two hours." He said brightly, punching in Tommy's purchase. "Are you interested in anything else?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping to get some more film."

The guy made his way around the counter, grabbing a lanyard of keys on his way, and led Tommy over to the display case where Tubbo was waiting, looking down at all the different varieties and brands. "What kind were you after?"

Tommy looked through the glass, examining his options thoughtfully. He was already set on getting another roll of coloured film. He made a split second decision, and pointed out three different rolls of film before moving back to the counter and retrieving his wallet from his back pocket to pay.

"Do you want to sign up for a membership?" The guys asked, glancing down at the register. "You get 20% off. And one of these stickers." He held up a sticker of a camera with the stores logo on it.

It wasn't exactly a difficult decision to make. As they left the store, Tommy gave Tubbo the sticker, and he gasped with excitement and carefully placed it in his pocket, promising that he would put it on his laptop when they got back to the dorms.

---

Across town, Dream, Sapnap and Niki had introduced Techno to the arcade.

He seemed oddly at peace surrounded by the bright lights and the loud music, unbothered by the shouts of children and sticky patches on the ground. His friends hovered over his shoulder as he focused on a claw machine.

"Surely not." Dream shook his head as the claw perfectly scooped up an orca plushie from the sea of stuffed animals. "Thats literally the third in a row!" Niki laughed and applauded Techno's efforts.

"What can I say," Techno said, a slight smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "I'm just that good." The black and yellow toy dropped into the collection bin, and he crouched to scoop it up. He stepped back from the machine with a content nod, cradling a stuffed polar bear, an orca and an animal crossing plush in his arms. "You want a go?"

Sapnap stepped up next and dropped a couple of coins into the slot. The machine burst to life, playing upbeat music and lighting up dramatically. The boy's eyebrows narrowed in concentration as he focused on a dog plushie towards the back of the machine. When he was certain that he was correctly positioned, he pushed the button and the claw dropped.

It scooped slowly, just grazing the side of the toy before lifting again. Sapnap let out an exaggerated groan, thumping his head against the glass. "This thing is rigged!"

Dream and Techno laughed at this, the former patting his friends shoulder. "Come on, there's no way he's the best at all these games."

The four teenagers turned away and made their way through the arcade in search of a game that Techno wasn't impossibly good at.

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tysm for 1k reads! your comments and votes truly make my day. thank you so much for sticking with this book. i promise you, it doesn't end the way you think ;)