Nothing to lose

Chapter 29: Mia

"You're here!" Ella said, rushing to hug me as soon as I walked through the doors.

I laughed. "Hey, birthday girl," I told her, giving her a big squeeze.

When she pulled away, I admired her outfit. Ella was wearing light blue skinny jeans with slits at the knees, a loose-fitting sleeveless white blouse that fell to the waist, and it had two tied bows at the side. Then she was sporting all-white converses, and topping it off, she had her jet black hair in a high ponytail, but it was curled with a few locks falling down her back.

"You look beautiful," I told her with a soft smile.

"Thank you. I decided to put in a little more effort than usual, considering it's my day and all," Ella said with a bit of sass.

"Of course, I don't blame you." She giggled. "I have a gift for you, but I left it at my place when I was rushing to get over here." I looked at her apologetically.

Her eyes widened, and she shook rapidly shook her head. "You didn't have to get me anything!" she blurted.

I flitted my wrist. "I wanted to." I brought her into a side hug.

"Thank you," Ella said, peering up at me.

"Don't mention it. So what are we going to do first?" I asked, finally taking in the place.

Most of the arcades I've been to had a retro theme to them. This one had nicely polished dark wood floors and dark blue walls adorned with framed autographed movie posters. Televisions were plastered almost everywhere. Some grey couches were in the middle with a few coffee tables. Then there was a super sleek wood counter that took up this whole corner, and it looked like they had prizes, snacks, and beverages back there too.

Ella shrugged in response to my question. "Anything, really." She looked around with me. "When I visited Japan, I think I tried playing one of everything until I found something I liked. OH! I forgot. They also have a bowling alley. It only has three lanes, but it's still pretty cool."

I quirked. "You like to bowl?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Don't mean to brag or anything, but I'm kind of a pro." She grinned, dusting off her shoulder.

"Hmm. What do you know?" I got eye level with her, "So am I."

Ella clapped her hands together. "Okay, game plan. We make our way through the classic arcade games," she pointed to where the Pac-man and Tron machines are. "Then we travel to the pinball machine area." She gestured to the middle-ish area. "Followed by the air hockey, skee ball, and basketball." I nodded, my eyes following hers. "Lastly, bowling." She pointed to the furthest corner.

How big was this place?

I saw a food and drinks sign right next to it, and I think I spotted some dining tables and a kitchen in the far back. "Do you want to grab some lunch in between too?"

"YES! They have the best hot dogs and chicken nuggets."

I laughed. "Okay, let's grab some tokens and get started then."

Ella responded by grabbing my hand and pulling me behind her.

After about two hours later, we had a bucket filled with tickets, a half-eaten pack of those rainbow Twizzlers, and some Oreos. Plus multiple video clips and photos on our phones, and now grumbling tummies.

We made our way to the bowling alleys, and I ordered some food to be sent over.

"I'm going to the restroom before we get started. Can you put our names into the computer?" Ella asked, walking backward.