Chapter 79: Private Arcade

For a few seconds after I asked, none of them answered.

Sara looked out the window while Emily seemed to be thinking about what else they could do without walking too much.

Gwen was watching both of them from the back seat, but she didn’t suggest anything either.

Sara finally leaned forward slightly.

“Maybe an arcade?” Emily looked toward her before reminding her, “You just said you didn’t want to walk around.” Sara looked down at her heels and replied, “A normal arcade, no. But if we’re already talking about gaming, an arcade sounds more fun than sitting at home. As long as I don’t have to walk around a giant place for two hours.”

Gwen smiled almost immediately.

“I’m okay with that.

I haven’t really spent time with you two for the last few days anyway.” Sara looked at her and asked, “Whose fault is that?” Gwen gave her a look.

“I said I’m going to explain.” Sara immediately replied, “You’ve been saying that all day.” Gwen didn’t seem bothered.

“And I still mean it.”

Emily laughed quietly before looking toward me.

“Can you actually find an arcade where we won’t have to deal with everyone staring at us?” I picked up my phone and answered, “Probably.” Sara immediately leaned back in her seat.

“Why did I even ask?”

I made another call while continuing to drive.

It didn’t take long to arrange something.

There was a large arcade not too far away with private sections usually used for parties and events.

I asked them to keep one section private for us and make sure there were enough different games nearby so the girls wouldn’t have to walk around much.

When I ended the call, Sara was looking at me through the mirror.

“Let me guess. You rented another building.” I shook my head.

“No.” She looked surprised.

“Really?” I nodded.

“Just part of one.” Sara stared at me for another second before saying, “That’s somehow better.” Emily smiled.

“At least he’s improving.”

The arcade was only around twenty minutes away.

By the time we arrived, the light outside had already started changing, but there was still plenty of time before dinner.

I parked near a side entrance, and an employee was already waiting for us.

Sara looked through the window before asking, “Is there going to be anyone else inside?” I told her, “In the building, yes. In our section, no.” Gwen smiled immediately.

“Good.” We got out of the car, and this time none of them grabbed my jacket.

Apparently normal lighting had already made them forget most of what happened in the parking garage.

The employee led us through a short hallway before opening a set of doors.

The private section was bigger than I’d expected.

There were several racing machines, basketball games, air hockey, two shooting games, fighting-game cabinets, claw machines, and several other games along the walls.

There were also couches and tables in the middle, which meant they could sit whenever their feet started hurting.

Sara stopped after entering and looked around.

“Okay. This is better than going home.” Emily nodded while looking toward the different machines.

“Definitely.” Gwen was already looking at the racing games before asking, “Can we start with that?”

Sara followed her gaze and smiled.

“You’re going to lose.” Gwen looked back at her.

“You sound very confident.” Sara immediately answered, “I am.” Emily moved toward another machine and said, “Then I’m playing too.” I looked at the fourth racing seat before asking, “Apparently I’m included?” Sara nodded.

“Obviously.”

The four of us sat down, and the game started a few seconds later.

I chose a normal car without paying much attention, while Sara spent far too long choosing hers.

Emily picked quickly, and Gwen seemed more interested in understanding the controls than choosing the best car.

For the first few seconds after the race started, Sara was ahead.

Then Gwen passed her.

Sara stared at the screen and asked, “What?” Gwen didn’t answer.

Her attention had completely shifted to the game, and every movement she made was much smoother than it should have been for someone who supposedly hadn’t played much.

I noticed the reason almost immediately.

Her reflexes were doing most of the work.

Gwen probably wasn’t even thinking about using them anymore.

After the last few days of getting used to her changed body, reacting much faster than normal was already starting to become natural for her.

Sara tried to pass her again, but Gwen moved at exactly the right moment and blocked her.

Sara stared at her before asking, “Since when are you this good?” Gwen kept looking at the screen.

“I’m not.” Sara pointed toward the race.

“You’re winning.” Gwen smiled slightly.

“Maybe you’re just bad.”

That immediately changed Sara’s expression.

“Okay. Now I’m winning.” She didn’t.

By the end of the race, Gwen finished first by a large margin.

Sara came second, Emily third, and I finished last because I’d spent more time watching Gwen than actually paying attention to the game.

Sara looked at the results before immediately saying, “Again.” Gwen smiled.

“Sure.” They raced again, and Gwen won again.

Sara stared at her before saying, “You did not play like this before.” Gwen hesitated for the smallest moment before shrugging.

“Maybe I got better.” Sara looked at her.

“In three days?” Gwen smiled.

“Apparently.”

Emily turned toward me instead.

“You’re surprisingly bad.” I looked at her and replied, “I wasn’t really trying.” Sara immediately pointed toward the machine.

“Then try.” Gwen looked toward me as well, and the challenge in her expression was obvious.

“Yeah. Try.”

I sat down properly this time.

“Fine.” Sara and Emily moved aside so Gwen and I could race directly.

The game started, and Gwen immediately took the lead.

Her reactions were much faster than a normal person’s now, and if I had still been normal, she probably would’ve destroyed me without much effort.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t normal either.

I still didn’t use anywhere near my actual speed.

That would’ve been ridiculous against an arcade machine.

I simply focused enough to react properly without making it look impossible.

Gwen passed me on the first turn, but I passed her on the second.

She tried again on the straight section, and I blocked her.

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

Sara noticed and started laughing.

“Oh, she’s serious now.” Emily smiled.

“Very serious.” Gwen ignored both of them and kept trying to pass me.

For the rest of the race, Gwen tried everything she could.

She took every turn perfectly, reacted almost instantly whenever I moved, and came close to passing me more than once.

When the finish line appeared, however, I crossed it first.

Gwen stared at the screen while I looked toward her.

“Good race.” She slowly turned toward me and said, “Again.” Sara immediately started laughing.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Again?” Gwen nodded.

“You won once.” I pointed out, “That is usually enough.” She shook her head.

“No.” Emily looked between us before saying, “I think you hurt her pride.” Gwen immediately denied it.

“He didn’t.” Sara smiled.

“Definitely did.” Gwen raced me twice more, and I won both times.

After the third loss, she finally leaned back in her seat.

“I don’t like this game anymore.” I smiled.

“You liked it five minutes ago.” Gwen looked away.

“Things change.” Sara immediately moved toward her seat.

“Move. My turn.”

We spent some time rotating between the racing machines before moving on.

Once I actually paid attention, none of them managed to beat me, although Gwen came much closer than Sara or Emily.

Eventually Sara stood up and pointed toward the other games.

“Something you’re not good at.” I looked toward her.

“That’s going to be difficult.” She stared at me.

“I already regret inviting you.”

We moved to the basketball games next.

Sara immediately wanted another competition, but I stepped aside and let the three of them play first.

Emily turned out to be surprisingly good.

She missed several shots at the start, adjusted how she was throwing, and then started landing most of them.

Sara looked toward her.

“Why are you good at this too?” Emily continued throwing and replied, “Maybe you’re the problem.” Sara stared at both her friends.

“I don’t like today anymore.” Gwen laughed before taking her own turn.

Gwen’s reflexes helped, but basketball needed more than fast reactions.

Emily managed to beat her by a few points.

She looked at the score and smiled.

“I won.” Gwen nodded.

“You did.” Sara pointed toward Emily and said, “Don’t get comfortable.” A few minutes later Sara lost to her too.

After that, we moved toward the shooting games.

Sara picked up one of the plastic guns and immediately started firing without paying much attention to how the game worked.

Emily was more careful, while Gwen naturally reacted faster than both of them.

Gwen won the first round easily.

Sara put the gun down and stared at her.

“No.” Gwen smiled.

“What?” Sara pointed toward her.

“Something is wrong with you today.” Gwen’s smile disappeared for the smallest moment.

I stepped forward before Sara could think about it too much.

“She’s just reacting faster than you.” Sara looked toward me.

“Clearly.” I asked, “You want to beat her?” That immediately got her attention.

“Yes.”

Emily looked toward me too.

“How?” I picked up one of the guns and said, “You’re both trying to shoot everything the moment it appears. Don’t.” Sara frowned.

“Isn’t that the point?” I shook my head.

“The game repeats patterns. Watch where the enemies appear. If you already know where to look, reaction speed matters less.”

Gwen looked toward me.

“You’re helping them beat me?” I nodded.

“They asked.” Gwen crossed her arms.

“I didn’t agree to this.” Sara smiled.

“You don’t need to.”

I showed Sara and Emily some of the patterns.

Sara still tried to rush everything at first, but Emily understood almost immediately.

On the next round, she kept her aim closer to where the enemies usually appeared instead of constantly moving across the screen.

Her score improved quickly, and Sara finally started listening as well.

I told her, “Don’t follow the target. Move ahead of it.” She tried again and hit it.

Sara looked toward me.

“Okay. That actually works.” I smiled.

“You sound surprised.” She answered, “I am.”