“You’ve had a long day, silly,” interjected the blonde. “Just in case you forgot, I’m Charlotte Cassidy.” She reached out a confident hand, and I shook it slowly, trying not to stare at her chest.
“And I’m Suki.” A quiet voice rang out from behind Charlotte, and I turned to the cute, stylish girl standing there. She offered a slight bow, which I returned.
“So nice to meet you again.” Finally, I turned to the redhead girl.
“Jennifer Locksley,” she said, tossing her wavy, red hair. “But you can call me Jenny.”
“Thank you, Jenny.” Jennifer Locksley? With the long red locks? That name sounded like it came straight out of a book.
I put my hands in my pockets to give them something to do. “And thank you all for inviting me out tonight. It’s really nice to have some friends here already.”
“Anytime,” boomed Malik. If Alpha had a football team, he would’ve been on it.
“Well, let’s get going!” chirped Charlotte.
“Sure,” I said. “Lead the way!”
∆∆∆
I trailed behind Malik and the girls, listening to them talk, as they led me down the halls of Alpha to an unknown destination.
"So, can you believe Maribeth?" Charlotte’s curled blonde hair bobbed with every step, barely distracting me from her low-cut grey tank top and very short white shorts.
"Ugh, yes. Tell me about it. What a dork," replied Jenny. Her grey miniskirt swished back and forth along with her hips as she walked, and Malik watched her backside intently.
"I know, all she ever does is lock herself in her dorm. When is she going to get a life?" Suki’s quiet tone and more conservative style didn’t really match her words.
"That's a nice one coming from you, Suki,” grinned Malik.
"Well I have a life now, obviously."
"Relax," cooed Charlotte. "What Malik means is, we're glad you're finally socializing."
"And Rowan here is already on the right track, isn't he?" Jenny turned to face me for a minute, then looked ahead again with a flip of her hair.
"Yeah, man,” explained Malik, shoving me in the ribs with his giant elbow. “Most of the new kids here don't start socializing at least until the semester starts."
"Wow," I replied. "I can't imagine coming here and not wanting to meet everyone."
"So, who else do you know here, then?" asked Charlotte.
"Not a lot of people yet. I met Ralph and a few of the reporters. And Jada Breaker."
As soon as I said Jada's name, I felt tension start to rise from everyone. They all glanced at each other before Suki spoke up.
"How'd you like her?"
"She seemed nice,” I said cautiously, taking in their varied facial expressions. Malik seemed edgy, Jenny looked bored, and Suki and Charlotte had this really cold look in their eyes. “I only got to talk to her for, like, a minute."
I looked at each of them, confused, hoping for some sort of explanation. They all seemed reluctant to give me one, but Malik finally spoke up.
"There’s some bad history there," he said vaguely. "We disagree with her on a lot of things. But enough about Jada, here comes the checkpoint."
His answer didn't satisfy my curiosity, but I had to let it go as we approached a threshold that looked a lot like the metal detectors in front of Manhattan Advanced.
The checkpoint was a new experience for me. I had seen Ralph go through a few earlier that day, but I was too overwhelmed by the rest of the tour to notice how he did it. Unlike a metal detector, it had two transparent sheets of something that looked like glass inside of it. This particular checkpoint had the number 12 and the words Recreation Area stamped into thick metallic walls just above the glass.
Everyone pulled out a palm-sized plastic card. I noticed a red, blinking light on the wall to the right of the checkpoint that looked like some sort of scanner. Sure enough, each teen took their card, placed it over the light for a moment, and then stood back as the transparent sheets lifted, granting them entry.
I hung back awkwardly as everyone except Charlotte swiped their cards across the scanner and walked through.
"Rowan, you coming, man?" That was Malik, calling through the glass.
"I don't have one of those cards," I called back.
Charlotte laughed confidently, finally swiping her card. "No problem." As soon as the glass retracted into the ceiling, I felt a strong shove from behind, then her back on mine as she threw her full weight against me. Suddenly I was through the checkpoint, having barely managed not to fall over in the process. "That'll have to work until you get your own access card," she grinned.
My face must have looked startled or something, because as soon as Malik, Suki, and Jenny saw me they all burst out laughing.
"Yeah, that'll do," I replied to Charlotte with a smile, rubbing my neck sheepishly.
∆∆∆
I'd seen arcades on Earth, but none like this one. It had every kind of game or simulator I could think of, all in one giant complex! There were multiplayer virtual reality rooms and flashlight tag arenas, and floors upon floors of touch screen consoles and gesture-controlled monitors as far as the eye could see. Thousands of lights and colors bounced off the polished white walls, ceiling, and floor. Sound effects from hundreds of different games clashed in the air.
I was pumped.
"Whaddaya think, dude?"
"This is awesome!" I exclaimed to Malik as the girls raced towards a virtual reality room with dancers projected on its doors. "Coolest arcade ever!"
"Come on," he said, motioning for me to follow. "My favorite game is--"
Malik started towards one of the flashlight tag arenas, but he stopped midstep.
"What's up?" I asked quietly.
"Over there," said Malik, tilting his head to the right. I looked in the direction he was indicating, and I could immediately tell what-- or, rather, who he was looking at. "That's Zhang."
Zhang was our age, medium height, and dressed all in black, right down to his sneakers. Minus the monotone clothes, or maybe despite them, he didn't look any different from your average teen.
But there was something intimidating about the way he held himself. His face was gravely serious, his legs were a perfect shoulder-width apart, and he exuded an air of superiority. His whole body looked tense, rigid, as he surveyed the area with a critical eye.
What was a kid like him doing in an arcade?
Suddenly, he stopped scanning the room. Making direct eye contact with Malik, Zhang started in our direction.
"Good evening, Malik." Zhang's voice was as deep as I had expected, but it had a smooth quality to it. He sounded like he belonged in a royal court somewhere.
"Hey, man! What's up? Haven't seen you in a while." Malik tried to seem casual, but I could tell he was freaked out by the fact that Zhang was talking to him. His tone was higher-pitched than before and sounded forced.
"My absence has been required to complete my ritual period of meditation in honor of those who have descended."
"That's, er, great," Malik replied. I don't think he understood what Zhang was talking about.