Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
__________ c h a p t e r f i f t y - t h r e e
"Okay, that is a lot to process," Suzie fiddles with her hands as she attempts to digest what Mike has just explained to her. "I mean, that might be seriously the craziest thing I've ever heard."
"I know, it's-it's hard to believe," Mike admits.
"But it's true. All true."
"Right," she nods, skeptically. "So, I dial into this computer and find a location, and at this location is the Nina Project?"
"Exactly."
"And the Nina Project is the code name for a video game?"
"No, it's not just a video game, it's a video game console."
"Big difference," Bianca adds.
"It's basically America's answer to Nintendo," Will explains.
"Americantendo!" Argyle interjects.
"That's a stupid name."
"Yeah, a really stupid name," Bianca gives a pointed look to him. "But it's 16-bit."
"Sixteen-bit?" she gasps.
"Sixteen-bit," Mike nods.
"Why have I never heard of it?"
"Because it's top secret."
"That's why we're doing this."
"Yeah, right, it's for the promotion. The first people to find the secret location receive a..."
"Americantendo?"
"Uh, an Americantendo," Mike begrudgingly agrees.
"So, you drove 3,000 miles over your Spring Break so I can help you get a new video game console no one has ever heard of?"
"Yes," they say in unison, blank stares on their faces.
"But it's not for us. It's for Dustin."
"Right, exactly, for Dustin," Bianca nods with a grin.
"Yep, it's for Dustin. It's for Dustin's birthday actually, which is uh..."
"In two months, three days, five hours," she responds, extremely quickly.
"I was gonna say that," Bianca jokes.
"Suzie," Eden barges into the room, annoyance in her tone. "I don't know what you're doing, but I am not spending the entire day babysitting. Pull your damn weight!"
