Escape ~ S.Harrington

21} Let's Play Some Games

JENNA!

What?

JENNA!

My alarm doesn't sound like that, right?

JENNA!

"I'M UP!"

Jenna looked up to find her little brother screaming in her face, trying to wake her up from her nap.
"Good," Dustin moved from above her, "You promised to go to the arcade with me and the boys tonight."
"Yeah, yeah," Jenna sat up and yawned, "I just took a nap. You got any money?"
"Ah, shit. MOM!"
Jenna chuckled to herself while her stupid little brother ran into the living room, digging through cushions and forcing their mom to stand up just so he could raid her seat.
He yelled to his sister from the living room, "GOT SOME!"
"COOL!" She yelled back at him and gathered some of her own quarters—she had more than Dustin ever dreamed of having—and got ready to head out for the night. Dustin was talking with his friends on his walkie-talkie, preparing for their meetup.
"DUSTIN, COME ON! IF YOU WANT ME TO DRIVE YOU, HURRY UP!"
"COMING!"
Dustin ran out of his room and sprinted to Jenna's car. She was already there waiting while playing Superstition by Stevie Wonder from her mixtape.

"I can't believe that Lucas actually has money," Dustin complained to Jenna from the passenger's seat, "He is the last person who deserves it. I mean, he doesn't do, like, anything useful. All he ever does is hit on you and it's really gross."
"Dust," Jenna took a deep breath in, "I'll agree, it is gross. But, Lucas does some other stuff. Like... play DND with you. And hang out with you."
"That is the bare minimum, Jenna. It's stupid. Now I look dumb for not having as much money to play with as them."
"Here, I'll make you a deal: I give you $3 if you try to put in more effort to like Steve."
"Fine," He caved, "Only because I want to rub it in Lucas's face that I have you and he doesn't."
"You are so fucking petty. But I am too, so it makes sense."

The two pulled into the arcade parking lot where they saw Mike and Lucas pulling in on their bikes as well as Joyce dropping Will off.
"Hey, Joyce!" Jenna waved at her, "How's it goin'?"
"It is just lovely," Joyce responded, "So, you're going to be here with the boys, right?"
"Yup. I know you don't want Will here alone. Plus, I love me some Pac-Man."
"Thank you so much, Jenna. I feel better knowing Will has you here if he needs it."
"I'll keep an eye on him. Now, you go on home and have a nice night. I'll handle it from here."
"Thanks, Jenna. Hope you have a good night with the boys."

Jenna followed the kids inside where they had already began playing their favorite games. She stopped by the front counter to quickly say hi to her dear friend, Alice Green.
"Hey, bitch," She leaned an elbow on the counter.
"Sup," Alice leaned right back, "I see your kids are already up to no good."
"Yup, that's them. How's Will been doing?"
Alice is Lonnie, Joyce's ex's, niece. She had to move in with the Byers only 2 months prior due to family issues back home and Lonnie not wanting to take her in. Jenna had loved hanging out with Alice when they were younger and Alice would come up to visit. They'd become pretty good friends over the years.
"Will's been fine? Why do you ask?"
"Well..." Quick, Jenna, think of something, "I've just been making sure he's readjusting fine after the incident. I've talked with Joyce, but I don't know how much is the truth and how much she's saying just because she's his mom."
"Yeah, he's fine. Oh, shit!" Alice looked down at her watch, "I have to go on break now. I'll talk to you later, Jelly Belly. Keith is coming on shift now, so I'd leave if I were you."
"Thanks for the heads up."

Alice went to the break room while Jenna went and found the boys. Lucas and Dustin were playing Dragon's Lair while Mike and Will watched them go at it.
"To slay the dragon," The girl from their game told them in a sultry voice, "Use the magic sword."
"Oh, Jesus!" Dustin announced, focusing in on the game, "I'm in uncharted territory here, guys."
"This game is stupid," Jenna muttered and went to play Pac-Man two machines down. She'd had the high score for 4 years and there was no way she'd let anyone take it from her. When she checked the leaderboard, she still had the top 3 scores, but the 4th place person was new. The screen read: MADMAX.
Hmmmm. Interesting.