Clara

13- Call Me Frenchy

After a ride on our rental bikes, we made it to Mandy's Kitchen. The daily specials were written on a chalkboard outside and people were happily eating at tables that were covered with umbrellas to protect them from the noon sun. I could tell people were eating inside but the windows were too tinted to tell how full it was.

The overall aesthetic of the place was bright warm colors. It reminded me of how the arcade was but just lighter and without all the games. There was a bubble gum machine though. We sat down at a table with four seats with a blue and white umbrella and I slumped down in my seat.

"Are you tired or hungry?" Maya said sitting down properly.

"No you don't have to worry about me. Didn't you see me having a five course breakfast and having over 15 hours of sleep?" I grumbled, starving.

"The waiter is coming to our table guys." Andrew warned us.

Lea put away her phone and put her sunglasses on. I sat up a bit straighter in my chair and Maya drummed her fingers on the table in anticipation. The waiter with curly red hair and dark brown eyes, after what it seemed like forever, came to our table.

"Here are your menus and today's special is Mandy's homemade pumpkin soup recipe. Fun fact: she created it after a bad experience with a pumpkin carriage!" She said non-enthusiastically.

"Oh that's fun!" Lea said, mocking the waitresses tone.

"Don't be like that Lea, you don't know how many times I've said that in the last three hours." She said resting herself on top of Lea. "Wait, you know her or is she just a random person you're all too shy to tell to get away?" She looked into my eyes.

"No, no, don't worry. She's a new student and she goes to school with us now." Maya said, hugging me.

"Hi, I'm Clara, nice to meet you." I said, giving my hand out to shake. She looked like she could be in college.

She got off Lea's head and took my hand. "I'm Franchesca, or Frenchy. It doesn't matter what you call me by."

"Okay thanks Francesca." I said letting go of her hand.

"Thank you too Clara. Now you have to order because there are many more customers now."

"We'll have a medium pepperoni pizza with four medium lemonades. Is that okay with you Clara?" Andrew ordered for us. I nodded my head with confirmation and Franchesca wrote down the order then left our table.

"So how did you meet?" I asked my friends

"We met when she helped us find our way through heavy traffic two years ago." Maya answered for them.

"That's nice of her." I replied smiling. Just as I said that she came back with our food. She placed the pizza in the center of the table and put out four plates for each of us and our drinks on the right side of each of us. She left with a wave and we waved back. The pizza had eight slices which is a perfect match for us since the group became four (do the math). Everyone got their slices and we ate and talked about ourselves more.

Soon, our plates were empty and we were stuffed with pizza and a bit more awake. Maya paid for our food and we said goodbye to Franchesca and left Mandy's Kitchen to go to play laser tag. We took new bikes from one of the many rental areas across the city and rode off in the early afternoon sun. I followed them from the back as I rode, feeling the sun on my back and feeling the cool late August air on me and whipping through my hair.

Soon, we made it to the laser tag arena and there was a bit of a line leading outside which made me frown a bit. We put our bicycles in another rental area then walked back to the front door. The line moved up a bit from when we rode past, but not enough for us to be inside of the building. I tried to look through the tinted windows by leaning against it and cupping my hands around my eyes to remove the access light but it was no use. The only thing I could see was black and my eyes looking back at me.

"So how are we going to play inside there? Are we going two against two or are we playing with others?" Maya asked. I moved away from the glass and thought of how we should play. Lea gasped and I knew she had an idea.

"How about we do it like we did last year? We should play with random people while we are on the same team. What do you think?"

"That sounds great. I don't want a boring 2v2 game and I don't want to be separated either so that seems perfect." Andrew replied back to her. They looked at us for our input and we just shrugged in unpracticed sync which caused a smirk from Lea at Maya.

By the time that happened we were already inside and inline for check ins and safety check ups, We each, one at a time, went through the metal detector to confirm that we didn't have any real weapons on us (The sign for the laser tag said "playing for over 20 years" but they said that this safety measures had been in place for just nine months. We all know what happened.). I bought the two hour game card passes for us with the money I had left.

We walked through the main lobby as the big game with over 40 players on each team started. 'Where on earth are those people coming from?' I asked, in my head.

We went to an entrance with a digital sign that read "4/8 players". We knew we hit our jackpot. There was a teenage looking boy standing infront of the door licking a cherry lollipop. I assumed he couldn't hear us because from what it sounded like, his earbuds were exploding with death metal.

We flashed him our cards when he looked up and he waved us in. We put on the laser vests and geared up our laser guns in preparation for the game. My only experience with laser tag was shen Maya told me how we were supposed to play in the arcade and her demonstrating in a video game. But, I wasn't going to let my team down.

Hopefully...