After unlocking a glass case, the store associate reaches inside then hands the most sought-after video game to my dad.
βIβll be at the counter if thereβs anything else you need.β The associate says. He locks the case as another customer approaches him for help.
Dad is quiet. He raises a suspicious-looking eyebrow, staring at the gameβs cover art.
I look around us. Stupid Tom Myers from class keeps poking his head down our aisle. His desperation is potent. Thereβs blood in the air. He wants this game too, and only this store sells it.
God⦠Hurry Dad!
βHoneybun, whatβs this black box mean in the corner, this M-A?β Dad asks. βDoes that mean ma? Do you need to discuss this game with mom?β
βNo. ItβItβs a difficulty level for the game. It just means itβs a hard game to play.β
βHmm. This store is crazy to charge this much, and it doesnβt seem like kids can play itβespecially not girls. Youβre thirteenβ¦β He uses his eyeglasses like a magnifying glass to see the cover better. βWhy is there blood splatter everywhere? And whereβs this womanβs clothes? Sheβs almost buck-naked sitting onβ¦ whatβs that, an octopus?β
Great. Same old dad overthinking everything.
Heβs bumming me out so much, itβs making my belly hurtβ¦
βI think you need to keep up with your babysitting.β He continues. βSave, save, save! If you do, youβll have lots of money when you grow up. Then you can buy hundreds of these video games.β He sighs. βExcept, by then, youβll likely be waist deep in the game of life and no longer interested in them. And let me tell you something, you think these little video games are hard? Life is the hardest game. But you can win, even when tasting defeat. Remember that.β
He sets the game on a shelf beside other unrelated items.
Tom pops out of nowhere. βHeyoo!β he yells and runs off with it.
Son of a bitch! Thereβs one game left!
βGreat!β My hands fly in the air.
I look around. Someone needs to open this case to get the last game, but the associates are busy helping other people.
βI donβt wanna grow up.β I huff. βI just wanna buy this. Can you help me or something? Iβm twenty dollars short. Iβll pay you back after I babysit on Saturday.β
βTwenty dollars short? Whatβd you spend your money on?β
βMakeup.β
βChoices.β He gives me the βyou should know better than that,β smirk. βYouβll have to wait until your payday.β
Ugh! I walk away.
Iβm so mad I canβt look at him anymore. My belly is in knotsβ¦
I look myself over.
Why do I feel wet?
Oh noβ¦
Now? SERIOUSLY?!
βHey, wait! Thereβs red on you!β Dadβs big mouth yells across the store like thereβs an emergency.
Iβm frozen.
A million quiet eyes are on me. Lips move, whispering. Everyone in the store must know.
βHoney, itβs on your shorts!β
I power walk through the store, trying my best to ignore the mini blood pool that soaked through my white shorts.
βDo you need to talk to mom!?β Dad yells trying to keep up behind me.
I pick up speed as the automatic doors separate, then run for my life back to our car.
Life is the hardest game.
Note Drop