Stinky eyed the arcade from the opposite side of the street, and smirked to herself. She remembered that she had some unfinished business to attend to.
Like any kid her age, Stinky loved going to the local arcade, which was called "Marscade," a cheesy combination of the word "arcade" and the planet Mars. This name lent to its sci-fi theme, which Stinky was all about. Marscade had a small, but healthy variety of games, from space-shooters to fighting games to racing games, and even had a pinball machine tucked in the corner (not every game was space-themed). It wasn't uncommon for Stinky or her friends to head to Marscade after school to spend time playing games, instead of going home and doing their schoolwork.
Stinky had played just about every game that the arcade had to offer, and she was the best out of all of her friends... just not the best in town. For every high-score Stinky achieved on all the arcade cabinets Marscade had to offer, she was only ever second place. Across the top of all the scoreboards read the same name: MARS
And this included Stinky's favorite game of the bunch. A personal injustice that she wasn't gonna take lying down. If anyone was gonna get the highest score on that particular game, it was going to be her no matter what.
As Stinky still stood across the street from Marscade, she put her hand in her jacket pocket, and fiddled around for any quarters she may have had. Good news, she had three, which would be just enough for a try at her favorite game. She smiled to herself is confident glee. One shot's all I need! She told herself to amp herself up. Watch your butt, MARS, I'm coming for that top spot!
Stinky then swiftly put the quarters back in her pocket to make sure she wouldn't drop them, as she looked both ways to see if any cars were coming down the road. Once she saw that there were none, she dashed for the arcade's entrance. Lucky for her, Marscade's unconventional hours meant that it was going to be open any minute now. For whatever reason, the owner decided that the hours the Marscade was be open would be from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM. As far as Stinky knew, there wasn't any specific reason why it would open and close so early, but she never paid it too much mind.
Stinky heard the owner unlock the entry door from the inside, and as the door slowly creaked open, she saw said owner step out from behind it and greet her with a smile. The owner was a middle-aged man all the kids just called "Mr. Mars," since he was the one who owned the Marscade. Made sense, but none of the kids ever bothered to ask what his real name was. Not that he seemed to mind either way. Mr. Mars was a man of average build and height for his age, but what made him stick out was his all-black ensemble - from his black hair and sideburns, black shirt and pants, down to his black shoes. Stinky didn't know why he wore all black, but she always thought it made him look cool.
"Yo, Lu," Mr. Mars greeted Stinky. "I see you're up real early. Itchin' to play?" Mr. Mars knew just about all the kids who came to his arcade by name, since they were his most regular visitors. Made the Marscade feel like a very welcoming place to have fun and hang out in.
Stinky answered, "You bet I am! I'm gonna get to the top of the scoreboard today, just you wait and see!" She then pointed at herself with a confident smile across her face.
Mr. Mars just let out a gentle chuckle. "Oh yeah? Which game?"
"My favorite game, obviously!"
"Which one was that again?"
"Y'know, it's--"
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author