Alleyway Hills: The Moving Circus

Chapter 3

As they made their way through the hallway, Joel and Rachel found themselves in the Arcade Room where Latzius and Elly were standing near one of the games.

"Screwdiver," Latzius put out his hand and Elly took out the screwdriver from the tool bag. "Wire cutters."

"Oh wow, our dear Latzius is finally putting in some work, eh?" Joel leaned against the console, crossing his arms as a smirk creeped on his face.

The other fox looked up, his eyes now half-lidded, "Whaddya want? Can't ya see I'm busy?"

"Yeah, yeah. I forgot that you're our high-tech guy."

"You mean...mechanic, right?"

"Precisely! I don't even know how you work with those...numbers of yours while checking and upgrading the security systems."

"They're simple 1s and 0s though?"

"Whatever," Joel waved his hand in the air. "Anyways, what are you fixing?"

Latzius let out a sigh and stood up, "Just one of the arcade games Elly really wanted to play." He gave the machine a kick and the screen lit up with its pixelated title.

"Yay! Thank you so much, Latzy!:D" she stood in front of it and grabbed hold of the joystick, giggling and moving it around.

Latzius gave a nod and turned towards the duo, "Say, when do you guys have your next shows?"

"Oh goodie!" Joel clasped his hands, "I have one spectacular show coming up tomorrow night, and I recommend you to be there so that you know who the better fox is."

"Of course you'd say that..." Latzius huffed, turning towards Rachel, "and what about you?"

"Me? Uh..." she looked a way for a moment before meeting his eyes, "I believe Wednesday night. It's just some simple singing thankfully. Although, I'm not sure if I'll do a good j-"

"Pssh, don't say that, honey!" Joel exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest in disbelief, "gosh, I really have to school you guys a ton, don't I?" he finished with a melodramatic tone.

Latzius and Rachel stared at him with half-lidded eyes, their lips stretched into a thin line.

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding! No need to get so pissy."

He made his way out of the Arcade Room and oddly enough, Rachel felt a strong urge to follow him (which she did.) She stood by his side and stayed quiet for a while, thinking of a way to start the conversation.

"So uh...Joel," she fidgeted with her hoodie string, "what's...your workout routine like? I'm kinda curious to know."

"I'm glad you asked!"

Joel took a left turn and had now entered what was the gym of the place. It was a spacious room with various workout equipment, from treadmills to balance beams.

Rachel observed the room, taking in the sight before her. Her hand clasped onto the coffee cup in her hand. Was this...always here?

"How come I never knew about having a gym in this place?" Rachel raised a brow, darting her eyes at the weights placed in the far corner.

"Oh, it's no trouble, honey. Even I didn't know about this place when I first got here and when I did, Enziel and I used to run away from practice. Good old days."

The dragon cracked a light smile at the lighthearted memory. Finishing her coffee, she tossed the cup into the bin and popped a breath mint in her mouth. Good thing I won't reek of flavoured smoke anymore.