A Voice Forgotten

Arcade

Chapter 2: Arcade

It bothered him throughout his morning classes in school. How could an entire classroom forget that Natalie Parker had transferred to school just yesterday? It didn't seem right at all... Was he just imagining it all? Perhaps it was a dream that he dreamt? It just didn't make any sense. It puzzled his mind more and more as he thought about it.

"Daniel, you've been dazing out since this morning! Is something wrong?"

He turned his head over to his friend that sometimes sat next to him during their lunch hour together. He was almost as tall as Daniel at a height of 5'11, and he had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. His friend was the most energetic of all of them. But he was always like that even in the most stressful situations. "Yeah I'm alright Jake," Daniel reassured him, popping in his bendy straw through the aluminum hole in his juice box. He held it in his hand gazing upon it still wandering aimlessly about the Natalie situation. It felt so real when Natalie transferred to their class just yesterday. Everything was real, he was sure of it. But then again, no one had recognized or even remembered Natalie until today. He closed his eyes tightly grunting over the bewildering thought.

"You have an older brother Natalie?" Audrey's face enlightened hearing this news. "What's his name? What's he like?"

"His name is Derrick Parker," Natalie held her own juice box in her lap, timid to say traits about her older brother to complete strangers like themselves. She always knew who he was as a person, a man with the face of success and always serious in matters of everything. Her older brother always worked in his office even after hours to get his papers done. He had to impress others in the sake of his new promotion he recently received. Despite working practically nonstop, he would always come home to Natalie. In his own way, he showed that he did care for Natalie. "He isn't the type of person to express his feelings, but he does take care of those who are important to him."

"Ah so he's that kind of person. So what about your parents Natalie?"

"Sorry, but I don't remember them," With a hurtful smile, she shrugged in hopes of all of them to change the topic during the lunch hour. Even if she didn't have any parents to remember, she had always considered Derrick as a parent to her. He was the closest thing to a father, but she preferred him being her brother instead.

Lunch hour had finished and time had flown by during the afternoon classes as well. Finished with school, Daniel and Natalie walked together, bidding their goodbyes to their friends. The two classmates walked side by side in the middle of the city with shops packed with customers every minute. Daniel averted his attention to Natalie. She had been gloomy the moment they dispersed away from their friends, so it made Daniel uncomfortable and a bit agitated that she was gloomy.

He looked for a place to cheer up the gloomy Natalie, but so far none of the shops he looked at were the right place to rid her of her gloomy state. Left to right, there wasn't a single busy shop to take Natalie in, yet when they were barely passing by a few shops, he spotted the one in the middle. It was perfect to cheer her up! He grabbed her thin arm, pulling her back in the direction of the shop.

"Daniel! What are you doing?!" Even if she didn't like being pulled against her own will, trying to pry his fingers off her arm had been impossible. And when they stopped in front of the shop, she was finally released from his firm grip.

"The Arcade," He looked up at the bright and fun sign hanging above their heads. "This is the place that my friend and I come to when we have a bad day."

"I didn't have a bad day today," Natalie crossed her arms across her chest, tapping her shoe on the pavement twice.

"You're a stubborn liar," he muttered loud enough for Natalie to hear, and before she could remark on his comment he went behind her and pushed her inside the arcade.