The Arcade

From the concert grounds, Achilles drove them to a late night arcade at the far end of town. The parking lot was almost empty, which only meant the arcade was almost closing down. "I think we might be late," Celia cried as they alighted.

"It's eleven fifty, they close at midnight." Achilles responded after confirming the time on his phone.

"Do you think they will let us in?" She asked as they walked towards the main entrance.

"Only one way to find out." Achilles took her hand and the two started a light jog towards the building. 

They found the main doors closed, Achilles peeped in through the glass and saw the janitor cleaning. He tried the door a couple of times and managed to pull it open. 

The janitor hear the noises at the door and turned to see two teens walking towards him. "Excuse me," he greeted. "We're closed for the night. Why don't you come back during normal working hours tomorrow." His heavy voice echoed through the empty space.

"I got this." Achilles whispered to Celia, letting go of her hand. 

She stood back and watched him walk to the old man. She watched Achilles plead his case, he then reached into his pocket and got some cash and handed it to the janitor. He came back with a smile.

"We have an hour." He announced.

"You didn't have to do that you know." She told him as they walked towards the bowling platform.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He teased as he took her hand and helped her up the step leading to the bowling platform. "Nothing is going to stop us from having the best night of our lives Celia."

She smiled, but more to herself than him. She was moved, moved that this stranger she had met a few hours ago was going to great lengths just to make sure she had a fun night. She was impressed by the effort he was putting in.

He walked to the far end of the platform behind a computer, on the scoreboard above her head, Celia saw their names pop up.

"I have to admit something." She told him softly when he came back.

"Don't tell me you don't know how to bowl." He cried with a genuinely surprised look on his face.

She shook her head. 

"Don't worry, we have an hour for you to learn." He sounded confident. 

With a gentle touch, he placed his palm on her lower back and led her to the lane, showing her the proper stance. He showed her how to choose the perfect ball and hold it properly, how to swing her arm and aim for the pins. His slightly larger hands covered hers as they practiced the swings over and over. They broke into laughter whenever she lost her footing and stumbled or whenever she sent the ball into the gutter. Despite the arcade being empty, their laughter turned the space into a beautiful heaven of thrilling excitement.Celia's face lit up with pure bliss when she hit her first strike, knocking down all the pins. She jumped up, throwing her hands in the air in elation.

"Woah! That was fantastic!" Achilles cheered, giving her a high five with a grin. "Hey, I'll be right back." He excused himself and rushed out. After three minutes, he came back with a vintage polaroid camera. 

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed on see the camera hang from his neck. "Do you always have that with you?" 

"Yes. You never know when you might need to capture a beautiful moment." He replied raising the camera to his eye.

"Noo," she protested with a laugh as she raised her hand to block him. 

A few seconds later, the camera printed out the polaroid photo. He looked at it and was silent for a second.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" She asked, walking to him to see the photograph.

"No, it's actually better than I expected." he admitted but refused to show it to her. "Don't worry, you'll see this and many other later on." 

After more than thirty minutes of fun and laughter, taking turns in rolling the ball, they were out of breath. "One hundred and ten points." Achilles read from the scoreboard as he handed her a soda he got from the vending machine. "Not bad for your first try." 

"Really?" Her face lit up.

"Yeah. I got a seventy in my first try at bowling," he confessed. 

She faced him with wide eyes, followed by a cheeky smile. "You realize this means that I'm better than you." 

"Okay, okay, calm down tiger. You had a great teacher." He pointed out.

"Yes, yes I did." She agreed, giving him a smile then reading his score on the board. "One ninety." She then turned to him. "Is that good or bad?"

"I could do better, but considering the max score is three hundred, I'd say I did pretty well." 

"Well in that case, congratulations." She raised her soda in a toasting gesture. 

They sat at the bowling platform for a while, reflecting on the game they had just played. She was happy, and alive. More than she had been in a long while. 

After finishing their sodas, Achilles led them to the first floor of the arcade building, ready for their next adventure. They walked past rows of buzzing arcade games decorated by neon lights. He pointed out some of the games that stood out to him, explaining what they were and how they were played. 

They finally came to another section of the first floor whose entrance was marked by a miniature golf course. He was first to walk in and she followed. Inside was significantly darker that the rest of the arcade, lit by dark neon lights and paintings around the wall that glowed under the lights. It was an open space, with a fairly-sized mini-golf course. 

"Mini-golf?" She asked, looking around.

"Bingo!" He responded walking to the reception where he got two small golf balls and two putters. He handed one to Celia and they walked to the start of the putting green. "Please tell me you've at least played this before." 

"Yes Achilles, I have. And I can wait to kick your ass and have my revenge for the loss at bowling." She informed him, seeming very enthusiastic.

"Ladies first."

She set the ball down, positioned herself confidently, eyeing the obstacles keenly. She took a deep breath in and made her swing and watched anxiously as the ball rolled smoothly through the path of obstacles, hitting one of the artificial rocks and deflecting into the hole. 

"Wow! That was an amazing shot!" Achilles exclaimed. Genuinely impressed. 

The game went on for almost twenty minutes, with Celia displaying her skill in the game, making impossible shots seem easy. Celebrating each score as loudly as possible, trying to intimidate him. They laughed at silly mistakes and missed shots, promising to do better in the next shot, only to miss the shot again. They both played with passion, and determination, each wanting to prove they were better. But deep down, neither of them really cared about the scores, it was all about the thrill of it, the fun they had in each other's company, the amazing experience it was. 

"That is probably the best mini-golf game I've played in my life," Celia admitted as they walked out of the course. "Thank you Achilles-" 

He interrupted before she could finish. "Enough with the thank yous." They both chuckled. 

"Fine, no more thank yous. But seriously, this has been amazing." She admitted.

"And we're just getting started." He responded, offering him her hand.

She took it and they walked out of the arcade, broad smiles across their faces.

At the parking lot, he got the door for her once again. He got into the driver's side and stretched to the backseat where he gently placed him camera.

"Aren't you going to let me see them?" She pleaded with puppy eyes.

"Not a chance," he teased, his voice playful but firm. 

She sighed dramatically, pouting her lips playfully. "You're so mean." 

Achilles chuckled with a mischievous grin pulling out of the parking lot and into the quiet streets.