amuse

we were early for the movie and thought the amusement centre was a good place to while away a few minutes.

i followed you through the door...

... and a wall of whooping, beeping, wailing music came charging at us. *deafened*

... ... ... flashing lights, bright animation. so many things to see that we were *blinded*.

... ... ... ... ... and it smelled like someone had been smoking in there. non-stop. for 3 days. *yetch*

to my right was a fat guy throwing basketballs into a hoop. the counter read 268 and jumped by 2 every time he scored. the stop clock was running, counting down the time. his girlfriend looked on, hunched over with boredom and indifference. fat guy looked indifferent too, his arms moving mechanically.

*pick ball, throw ball, pick ball, throw ball*

why would anybody pay to do that was far beyond my comprehension. a basketball player wannabe, perhaps? certainly he was too short and fat to make it into the school team.

we surveyed the room. joy machines offering all permutations and combinations of violence, speed and adrenaline. bigger than life. better than life.

there was a crowd around the mortal combat machine. we took a curious look. like the rest, i was captivated by the fluidity of the on-screen fighters. they danced around the screen to their own tune of e-violence.

*front, kick, jump-turn-flying-kick, uppercut, sweep, punch*

the two players were about 14 years old, wearing specs and looked nerdy as can be. a far cry from their on-screen persona. their fingers flew across the controls with practiced ease.

*side-kick, dodge, punch, punch, retreat, flying-kick*

exchanged glances, we did. i frowned. you shook your head slightly. let's go!

we passed the fat guy on our way out. the stop clock had ran down. he score was 300something. i noticed that the top score record read 600something. commendable, especially when it was so mind-numbingly innane. he turned to leave. his girlfriend was still staring at the counter. i couldn't tell if she was impressed by his score or that she was too zoned out to notice. notice what?

game over.