Luigi is not in this game.

Chapter Two

     Andres shifted his knees up to his chest uncomfortably in his chair. His eyes were glued to the TV, but he wasn't actually paying attention. Lacey, Kaleb, and his dad sat on the couch, sharing a popcorn bowl. Lacey glanced over to him.

"Do you want some, Andy- um Andres?" She asked. Andres felt embers burn in his stomach.

"No," He turned away. "Thanks."

A heavy silence settled over the room. The only thing brave enough to speak was the man on TV. "Ruby Roundhouse, killer of men, welcome to..." He stopped listening.

The same night, Andres lay awake into the late hours, the only light in the room emitting from his DS. He had dug through his games to find another to complete. Hotel Transylvania. It was no Mario, but it was good enough. So far, he was having trouble staying alive. He thought about the conversation he had with Lacey before bed.

"Hey, sorry about what happened before, I shouldn't have grabbed you. I mean, you shouldn't have hit my kid but, anyways." Andres stared at her, waiting for her to say anything else. He almost turned away but she started speaking again. "Um, so, you seem really interested in that Mario game."

"Yes? I am."

"Do you think that, maybe, one day we could play together?"

Alarm shot through Andres. "No! My mom and I would play that together and only us." He noticed Lacey flinch at his remark.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." She said. "I just thought-"

"No. I don't care what you thought, that's off-limits." He started to walk away, then added, "That goes for your kid too, by the way. Tell him to keep his hands off."

Guilt flooded through him. Andres knew that she was trying to connect, but he shut her down so harshly. But that is only me and my mom's game. I don't have to play with her if I don't want to. He tried his best to justify everything, but it all circled back to knowing that, he was mean. Despite hating her for many reasons, he knew very well that there was at least an attempt made, and he had to make up for it.

Andres closed the lid of his DS and sat up. He crept out of his room, past Kaleb's room, and partially down the stairs. Lacey was still on the couch reading a book. He maneuvered his way around the creaks in the steps, but the thud of his foot on the tile floor made her turn around.

"Oh, hello." She said. Andres couldn't read her. He stood there, still, mustering up the words to say.

"Um, do you want to..." No, I can't give up Mom. That's our game. "Watch me play Mario?"

"Hmm?" Her face tightened, then she quickly understood and shook her head. "Uh, yeah, that sounds fun."

Andres awkwardly stayed in place, as if his feet were glued to the floor. Abruptly, he quickly paced over to the TV and plugged in the console. He pulled his chair closer to the TV so the controller would reach and flicked the on button. Super Mario 64 bounced on the screen after a few moments. He clicked on file A, falling into the game. He was aware of Lacey's gaze on him, but he continued to focus on the game.

Once again, Andres played Mario as Lacey watched, but this time she pulled a chair next to him. It became the usual to play after dinner every day. After some time, she started to ask questions about the game, how he knew exactly where to go and what to do. Andres was originally annoyed at the disruption, but being able to explain it to someone else began to feel comforting after a while.

He was stuck trying to defeat Bowser the second time. Dying, grabbing the extra life, dying, grabbing the extra life, over and over again. His grip tightened on the controller until it burned hot from his skin. If he was this stuck, he would have handed it over to his mom, but she wasn't there. I can do this alone.  But before he tried again, he paused the game and stood up.

"I need a break before I break," Andres said, walking into the kitchen for a snack.

"Could I try?" Lacey asked.

The annoyance flooded back over him all over again. "No."

A few moments later, he reappeared in the living room and sat down. Attempt number, god who knows what. "Dammit!" I can't do this right now I'll just move on.

"Here," Lacey reached out her hand. "Let me try, I think I know a trick."

"You've never played before, you'll die in three seconds."

"It's worth a try." She pushed.

"Whatever, enlighten me." He handed Lacey the controller and watched her jump into the green pipe. She was able to avoid some damage, but ultimately she died pretty quickly. "Told you." He said, reaching his hand out for the controller.

"Hold on," She grabbed an extra life and jumped back in the pipe. "I'm just a little rusty..." She began to concentrate harder.

Andres glanced at her. What did she mean by "rusty"? Has she played this? He didn't voice his concerns but instead watched closely. She eventually got a hold of Bowser's tail and started swinging him around. She missed the landmine that he had to land on in order for her to win, but she didn't die. She tried a few more times until she finally swung and threw him squarely on the bomb. He flung backward and landed on his back. She ran to talk to him and gathered the star.

Andres sat in awe. He hated to admit it, but he was impressed. There's no way she hasn't played this before. "Are you enlightened?" She asked, handing over the controller.

"Thanks." Lacey didn't play again for the rest of the night. Their habit continued.