Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
It was too much. The silence had become almost agonizing.
“Well.” Standing, I cleared my throat then held up my phone. “Thanks again.” Averting each gaze I felt on me, I smiled thinly. “Goodnight.”
Oh, dear.
Look at me exposing myself.
Feeling emotionally stripped, I climbed into my cubby, shut the privacy curtain and lay down, throwing a pillow on top of my head for good measure.
Perhaps that would help me shut my big, dumb mouth.
Chapter Six
Me and My Friends.
Emily
It was day two on the bus and for the most part, it was fairly uneventful. It was also the first time I’d heard a loud clapping fart followed by four grown men laughing raucously.
Definitely something new.
The guys all did their own thing—sleeping, listening to music, reading, playing their instruments—and I was kind of bored. I wish I had prepared better. I only brought three books with me, thinking I wouldn’t have time to do much reading.
Travelling was tedious.
Lee came down the aisle, playing on his Nintendo Switch, and when he fell into the seat next to me, he held out the console. “Wanna battle?”
I pushed my glasses up my nose and had a look at the red and blue machine. “Battle?”
“Yeah.” He removed a controller and threw it over.
I caught it before it landed and smiled cautiously. “Okay, but I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Lee grinned at me. “I’ll show you.” Placing the screen onto the table in front of us, he propped it up on its teensy kickstand and started the game. “Watch a pro at work, kid.”
I watched, giving the game my full attention, catching on fairly quickly as to what the objective of the game was. It was a process of elimination, last guy standing type thing. Lee collected weapons and a shield of sorts then shot at anyone who came into view. It seemed easy enough.
After the match had finished, Lee prompted me, “Ready?”
“I think so.” I sat up taller and gripped the controller the same way I’d seen Lee hold it.
The second I touched land, I was shot and killed.
“What?” I was bummed. “How?”
But Lee just muttered, “That’s the name of the game, Emmy. Try again.”
I did. I landed, ran a short distance, and was brutally eliminated.
“Oh, God, I’m terrible.” I handed Lee the controller. “I don’t want to do this anymore. This game is hard.”
Lee clicked his tongue and placed the controller back in my hand. “Practice, Emmy san. It gets easier, I promise.”
With a sigh, I readied myself. I wasn’t a quitter. This game was not going to beat me. I’d play till my fingers bled.
“Ready?”
Focused, I nodded. “Do it.”
Lee started the game and when I landed, I managed to run to a small shed where I found a weapon and shield. I made a happy noise in my throat. But when I exited the shed, a guy was there.
He shot me.
My guy was on his knees and I let out a shrill, “No!” The other guy shot me again and I died. “This is a nightmare!” I wanted to throw the damn controller and huffed out a breath. “Why is everyone picking on me? I—”
Lee’s shoulders shook.
“What?” I asked guardedly.
Lee held his controller, moved the toggle, and it hit me. My eyes widened. I shot up out of my chair, pointed at him, and hollered, “You!”
He couldn’t control himself. Lee burst out into loud, boisterous laughter.
I should’ve known.
Lee was controlling the guy who kept shooting me.
His laughter was contagious. I tried to keep a straight face but failed. “That was not very nice.”
Lee wiped away tears of mirth. “Oh, Jesus. That was golden.” He finally got himself under control. “You’re a lot of fun, kid.”
I sat back down with a pout. “I didn’t want to play your dumb game anyway,” I murmured to myself.
This made Lee start all over again.
My smile transformed into a chuckle. My chuckle grew into laughter. My laughter morphed into a snort and Lee just about pissed his pants. The more he laughed, the more I snorted. It became a never-ending cycle until finally, Lee rolled off his chair and into the aisle, howling.
This was the most fun I’d ever had in my life.
My cheeks were flushed and, smiling like an idiot, I wiped away tears of merriment. Lee wiped his face on his tee when Noah snooped, “What the hell are you guys doing over there?”
We spoke at the same time. “Nothing.”
“Don’t make me come over there.” I heard Noah’s smile.
Lee handed me a controller and we battled again. This time, we worked as a tag team and when I finally got my first kill under my belt, I sprung up, yelling at the god-awful tiny screen. “Yes! Take that PoBoi365!”
Of course, that was the moment I was killed. I spun to Lee and he put his hands up in a placating gesture. “It wasn’t me, I swear!”