Burns

34.

The loud beeping of machines and adrenaline-filled hollers of excitement, nearly had me backing away slowly. There was loud music, people scattered around—some chattering and some sitting and standing in front of machines.

My eyes flickered around, raking over my surroundings, trying to convince my anxiety to not take over. Something powerful engulfed me the moment my being stepped into this building and as I stood flickering my gaze to scan the area, I felt something biting at me.

I looked down at Brecley whose excitement matched that of a toddler's. She squealed, "I've so missed this place. The guys, Tyler and I used to visit here a lot whenever we came around over the years. It's really been a while." She faced me, wiggling her brows at me, "which one do you want to try first?" 

If clueless was a human, it would have been me at the very moment. The way I blinked at her with no idea what to say or how to react. There were so many machines, along with people. The last time I visited an arcade was when I was eight years old. My mother had brought me to one a few streets away from ours, a day after my birthday. Apparently there was a new game in town and I desperately wanted to try it.

Memories of my mother and I playing various games in the arcade, some of which she won and a lot she lost, came replaying in my head.

The crinkles in her eyes as she laughed at my competitive little self, her challenging face as she wiggled her brows at me and nudged me with her elbows. My eyes looked around as more memories came tumbling in. I could see the ghosts of our past selves reliving the memories in the arcade as I stood, roving my eyes over each machine within proximity. 

She had worn a ripped faded jean and an ash t-shirt to match my own outfit. My messy hair sprawled all over my face as I played against her. Her mini screams anytime I won and her loud laughs anytime I did my victory dance. She'd pretend to sulk but join in either way. I took her to almost every gaming machine and she happily tagged along, cheering me on whenever I played against a kid within my age grade.

Grey Knox was a woman of many talents and her soft nature was what made her decide on teaching. Her soft gray eyes were extremely unique because they were the lightest shade of gray. She was a grade three teacher in our community school. Her shoulder length dark chocolate waves were always tucked behind her ears. She wasn't a woman with weight on her side, she was anorexic but her cheerful and goofy personality made up for it. Always in her loose-fitting blouses and sometimes fitted denims, she was a very beautiful and youthful woman. 

A lot of people said I looked just like her, having inherited my father's hazel eyes and chocolatey hair. But rather than sparkling glossy eyes, mine were a dull hazel. She was a woman of height and it was no wonder where I got mine from. Both my parents were tall.

My mother held many qualities and one of them was her ability to adapt to any situation, though sometimes people took advantage of her tough nature and sometimes overworked her, she never held a grudge. And when it came to motherhood, she was a textbook example of a perfect mother.

She read my moods and understood me, never relenting to chastise me but she always stood for me. And as I grew older, she was both my best friend and mother. She used to take me on video games, both of us staking odds, which she mostly won and did a victory dance whenever I had to come through on my stake.

I blinked as a ghost of our past playing a particular game had me walking closer towards it. She was crouched to my small height, her arms wrapped around me, cheering me on as I attempted to beat the high score. Her fingers brushed my lengthy waves aside as she planted a kiss to side of my head, 

"They're going to kill you, Rhys. You're going to lose. No, no, no, no… ditch the loot and run Rhys." She yelled with wide eyes.

"Mum I'm trying but it's nearly impossible because you're screaming in my ear. You're not even the one playing, yet you're more anxious and hyped than I am. Geez." I yelled back, biting onto my lips.