The Off Day
Title:【 The Off Day 】
Author: NIL » allseeingusagi
Story: Project Airhead
Flavor(s): Chocolate 4 » frustration | Banana Cream 24 » ride | Pistachio 5 » punishment
Toppings/Extras: N/A
Rating: E for Everyone
Word Count: 1'724
Notes: You won't even believe the mess I unfortunately call my life, but! I'll be moving soon, and I've got a lot of new projects coming up. So I'm gonna try and commit to this and more original work for the future. Feels good to be back.
The steering wheel was warm under his hand. He suspected that, if he kept this up, he could wear down the synthetic leather. He smirked as he jerked his hands to the left, turning the wheel hand over hand. A worn wheel was just a testament of his skill- Oh! A blue and red car swerved in front of him. He had to react quickly! Bracing his right shoulder against his seat, he overtook two cars in the oncoming traffic. The passing horns blared in his ears. The noise was deafening, but he wasn't going to let that distract him! He came neck and neck with the blue and red car. He twisted the wheel to ram into it; at the last second, the opposing car hit the gas and zoomed in front of him. He held his breath; his foot jerked over the brake. With a great sense of self control, he resisted the urge to slam down on it.
Instead, he moved his foot over the gas and floored it. The steering wheel turned again, jerking left and right. Sparks flew; his seat jostled as the two cars rammed into each other. The finish line was just ahead! He glanced over towards the opposing car, and his lips curled in a cheek-dimpling grin. Using his reflexes, he swerved away from and then back into his opponent. The red and white car hit the brake to try and fake him out, but it was just what he wanted. He hit his brake to send himself into a spin and laughed himself all the way across the finish line.
He leaned back in his seat and ran his fingers through his choppy brown hair. It was starting to get humid again. He should probably get a trim soon. The final scores were scrolling on the screen; he read the rankings with a smug smile on his face. Satisfied. He had been playing the same track over and over again for the past ten minutes. He wanted to be number one, of course, but the same car kept cutting him off. In the end, he finally figured out a winning strategy and…
He looked over to his left and stared at the empty seat beside him. The brunet let out a heavy sigh and lowered his hands down into his lap. That action movie victory would have been so much better if his friend was there to join him. Disappointed, he turned his head as the replay started. His car sailed around corners. Computer generated rain splashed off the car frame; puddles splashed under the chassis. The camera angles were dramatic, though not always the best, and he laughed silently as his car twisted around and finally hit the checkered line.
After the replay, the rankings scrolled up the screen and the first place flashed at him with a yellow glow. He groaned before sitting up again and pulling the play card from under his thigh. Fine, one more go. This time, he supposed he could rip and ride through the Italian streets. What were they going to do about it? He push-pulled the card into the feed and navigated through the vehicle selection screen with a twist of his steering wheel.
Hurried footsteps thundered just above the seat stereos, but he didn't take his eyes off the rainy Italian alley road. Panting, “Holy shit…”, and then a slap against his right shoulder. He grunted in acknowledgement.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Sorry! I forgot! I took a nap and then I half-way through.”
He scoffed and turned the corner on screen before looking up to her. He trained his gaze of disbelief and exasperation on her for a few seconds. A loud screech won his attention, and he looked back on screen again.
“You forgot?”
“I know. I suck.”
“I sent you - I dunno - eight text messages.”
The blonde paused, staring at him with wide eyes. “You didn't.”
“Sure did.” He nodded his head. “And I called you on top of that.”
“Shut up.” She hit him in the shoulder with the back of her hand. “You did not.”
“I guess you didn't check your phone.”
“No… Well, yeah, but I kinda just… ignored the… Hold on!”
She pulled away from him and rifled through her bag for her cell phone. After unlocking the phone, she covered her mouth and then slid her hand up to cover her eyes. “Oh my god, I'm an idiot,” she grumbled. She had a calendar notification, ten new messages, a missed phone call, and a voicemail warning.
“Well, I wouldn't put it so harshly,” he said, jerking his hands to the right and hydroplaning his car around a corner, “but you said it. Not me.”
She lowered her phone and hand to her chest and pursed her lips at him. “I'll let that slide because totally my bad, I guess. Where's my card?”
The brunet pointed his elbow at it; it was sitting on top of the card reader. She grabbed it and walked over to the empty race seat beside her friend. She twisted it around her fingers before feeding the card into the receptacle. A warning popped up on the screen: INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. She quickly turned her head towards the brunet and flatly stared at him as he overtook a car onscreen.
“Really?” she asked, a bit exasperated.
“Your fault for leaving me here,” he replied in a low, almost melodic tone.
“Whatever,” she huffed, reaching over and gripping his steering wheel.
She tugged it to the side. He squawked in surprise, trying to correct his spinning car. “Bit- mm….” He swallowed the insult, gripping the steering wheel tighter. His foot slammed down on the pedal and bit down on his tongue to keep him from acting out. The blonde smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder victoriously. She left for the front area to refill her card at the machine. She saw a small boy dejectedly walking away from the tills. His eyes were low; his head hung forward sadly. The blonde glanced down towards him, and in passing, she recognised him.
“Hey, kid!” She greeted, placing her hands on her hips. “What's wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he lied. He pouted and ran his fingernails over the back of his card.
“Oh c'mon. Why the long face?”
“Stupid thing ate my money again - or my card's messed up, I dunno.”
She nodded her head and waved her hand under his face, trying to grab his attention.
“Come on. I'll buy you a new card, okay?”
He brought his head up quickly. “Y- you don't have to!”
“Sure. At least we'll know this one works, alright?”
The boy nodded. They headed to the front counter together; meanwhile, the brunet sat in his chair, feeling a bit irritated from his flimsy loss. He drummed his hands on his steering wheel, not wanting to start another game until his friend returned. Speaking of, where was she? He looked around the arcade and soon found her standing at the counter with someone he didn't recognise. His face surely had deep set wrinkles from the numerous incredulous looks he made towards and because of her.
She bought a new card for the child and handed it off to him. After what the brunet could assume were “Thank you” and “You're welcome”, the kid took off in some other direction! He held up the card the blonde had given him as well as another one, mouthing “Hell yeah!” as he ran off. The brunet pressed his lips together and nodded his head slowly. Interesting… With a sigh, he stood up from his chair and headed towards his friend.
The blonde refilled her card with fifty dollars and exchanged pleasant banter with the front desk attendant. She turned around and sorted her wallet back into her bag. When she looked up, she almost ran into the tall brunet at the bottom of the stairs.
“Jeez, you almost scared the crap out of me.”
He raised his hands and wiggled his fingers. “Boo.”
She rolled her eyes. “C'mon. Let's go see if the dance platform is open.”
“Sure, sure.”
He slid his hands into his pockets and headed over towards the Jive N' Groove dance machine. She set down her bag underneath the card reader. He leaned back against the protective rail and watched her set them up. After a near minute of silence, he spoke.
“Was that the kid you told me about last time?”
“Huh?”
“The one I saw you with at the counter.”
“Oh! Yeah, yeah. Cute kid. Bad luck again with his play cards.”
The brunet smiled. “You know he's playing you, right?”
“What?” She placed her hand on the control panel and looked back towards him. “What're you talking about?”
“After you gave him his card, he ran down the stairs, held up both his cards, and went-” He imitated the excited expression the young boy had and mouthed 'Hell yeah!' to go on with the demonstration.
The blond watched with confusion and shook her head. She tried a couple of times to dismiss what he was saying, but each time, she came up empty. She looked to the floor then to the game. A hand curled up into a loose fist at her side.
“I don't think so,” she said after a long moment of thought. She waved her friend over. “Come on. Get ready.”
“Alright,” he replied, pushing away from the rail. “I'm just saying, but you've always got money to spend, so whatever.”
“Yeah, whatever,” she emphasised and assumed the position on the dance pad.
The music began, and the two of them moved in unison to the coloured arrows. Loud laughter sounded over the music, and three kids ran past the Jive N' Groove machines, pretending to shoot guns at each other. They had an array of prizes on their bodies - a hat, a feather boa, and large hoops of tickets. The blonde watched them run by, her brows furrowed. 'MISS' flashed on her screen several times before the brunet reached over and shoved her.
“Pay attention,” he said with a laugh.
“R-right! Sorry!”
She took another miss before falling back into step with him again. Her score wouldn't be perfect, but hey. Today just wasn't her day.