Oops, My Boyfriend

第17章

Over the Spring Break, Caleb was only free for the first three days, shattering my dreams of a long vacation adventure. I told Caleb, "Since we can't go far, you must explore every local spot with me."On the first day of Spring Break, I dragged Caleb to the top floor of the department store—right into the arcade. With bravado, I exchanged money for 100 arcade tokens and pointed confidently at the microwave oven on the highest shelf, saying, "That's our target!"As soon as we entered the arcade, I excitedly ran to the Whac-A-Mole machine and beckoned Caleb over. He approached and joked, "Aren't you a little too old for this?""You don't get it," I said. "This was my childhood nightmare. There used to be an arcade near my house with a similar game called 'Whack the Crocodile.' I could barely hit any crocodiles back then. Once, frustrated, I just hammered repeatedly at one spot until I actually broke the machine. The manager scolded me, and my dad had to pay for the damages. Since then, I've been too scared to touch one of these games."Looking up at Caleb, I added, "Feels pitiful, right?"Caleb looked at me, his expression as if he'd just seen me eat an entire building.I hurriedly explained, "It was a flimsy machine, and I was just a kid. How strong could I have been?"Caleb decisively inserted a token and said, "Go ahead and play."I grabbed a mallet, "I'll take this side, and you handle the other."The moles didn't stand a chance.Counting the tickets that the machine dispensed, I felt a piece of my childhood regret dissipate. I then pulled Caleb to the 'Rescue the Hostage' shooting game.As I inserted the tokens, I said, "This game is based on a love story. The heroine is held by nefarious terrorists, and her beloved, along with a friend, courageously infiltrates the perilous hideout. Despite the gunfire and carnage, they are propelled by their love and friendship, striving to endure to the end."Caleb asked, "What are you doing?""I'm setting up the narrative to get you emotionally invested; you'll perform better," I replied, handing him a light gun.Caleb glanced at the screen, ignoring my spiel.I picked up a gun and continued, "The hero is also gay. He loves the heroine but also has feelings for his friend. So, you'd better fight hard to protect me."As the game started, Caleb's sharp shooting skills became apparent. As the scenes changed, more and more villains fell to his precise shots.I cheered from the sidelines, "Over there! Top right! Another bad guy there! Oh, and another!"Caleb slightly tilted his head to avoid my shouting, remarking, "Miss, please let your bullets do the talking."I realized I hadn't fired a single shot. I started spraying bullets across the screen, unsure if any of my shots were hitting the targets.As the scene switched to a warehouse filled with enemies, Caleb advised, "Stop shooting wildly."Just as I was about to follow his command, fate intervened, and one of my stray bullets apparently hit an explosive. A massive explosion erupted, and the screen flashed: TO BE CONTINUED?I shook my hands, "That was exhausting, what a pity."Caleb put down the gun, calmly saying, "It turns out the friend he loved was an enemy spy, saving his last bullet to end it together with him."I felt deflated. We moved on to a coin pusher machine, checking each slot for leftover tokens.Caleb, seeing my antics, teased, "Looking for 'God's gifts,' are you?"With a saintly smile, I responded, "If there are any, they indeed are 'gifts from above.'"Laughing, Caleb retorted, "That's not a gift; that's just greed."Passing a basketball game, I nudged Caleb, "Here's something for a primate like you."He casually scored and joked, "That's me," then caught me in a quick embrace and lightly chastised, "That's for calling me an ape."We spent all 100 tokens, collecting a pile of pink tickets which we exchanged for two keychains at the prize counter. Holding them up, I wondered aloud, "Which one's the male and which the female?"Caleb took one and declared, "This one is the female."Curious, I asked, "Why?"He replied while squeezing the toy, "Look at its face."Leaning in for a closer look, I waited.He concluded, "It's as silly as you are."Startled, I laughed, "Yeah, and whoever wants to be paired with it