Newsies belongs to Disney and "Pinball Wizard" belongs to The Who.
The Riverside Arcade was always crowded on Friday nights and tonight was no exception. At only 7:00pm the booths and tables were filled with kids celebrating another two days of freedom, shoving all school assignments to the side in favor of greasy food, loud music, and games. Lots and lots of games.
In the back of the building was booth #20, the most coveted booth in the joint. Not only was it large enough to fit ten people, but it also provided those who sat at it with a perfect view of the pinball machines. Every Friday night the booth was occupied by Jack Kelly, the big man on campus at the local high school. Jack, the reigning pinball champion, guarded the machines and, if he didn't think you were worthy of playing them or if he simply didn't like you, he and his group would chase you off. Most of the student body would have given their right arm to be able to sit with Jack, but his was a very tough clique to get in to. Aside from the members of his group (who went by the nicknames Racetrack, Blink, Mush, Boots, Crutchy, Skittery, Dutchy, and Pie Eater) he generally only invited one other person to join him at the table, and said person was, more often than not, of the female gender.
That night, however, the spot had gone to David Jacobs who had just moved to town. Why Jack had given the spot to him no one understood. As far as anyone could tell, David was just some bookworm. But, like it or not, that bookworm had been given an easy in and was the envy of most of the student body.
As a waitress came by and laid down a pizza in front of them, Jack took it upon himself to give David the "grand tour" of the place. "You got your kiddie machines there," he explained, motioning to the far end of the arcade. "Then next to that you have some ski ball and air hockey. From there until here it's mostly video games." Grabbing a slice of pizza he motioned to the area right across from them. "Over there, though, is my kingdom."
"Kingdom?" David asked has he reached in to grab the last slice.
"Yeah, the pinball area. I have the three highest scores on all of them."
"Oh, wow," David said, mildly impressed. He wasn't much into pinball, but he could tell by the way the other students talked about Jack that pinball must have been a pretty big deal, at least around this arcade.
Jack pointed to the largest of the machines "See that big fiery red one? That's The Skeleton King, my favorite of all the games. I've played it over 700 times by now and no one has ever come close to beating me.
"Jack's probably the best pinball player in the state," Mush told David proudly. "It's too bad it ain't an actual sport or anything."
David just nodded, but he was a bit focused on someone else who had just walked on. Actually, it was a group of people, but one person was at the center of the group, the others around him supporting him. The boy was short and a bit too skinny. His dirty blond hair hung around his face and his light blue eyes didn't seem to really focus anywhere. He's blind, David thought to himself. The people around him must be guiding him.
The group reached the pinball section and they led the boy over to The Skeleton King. A few other patrons, intrigued, had followed the group over there. David glanced over at Jack and saw he didn't look pleased. Racetrack, Skittery, Blink, and Mush all got up allowing Jack to exit the booth and approach the group.
He cleared his throat and everyone in the group looked up. Everyone, that is, except for the blind boy. "What are you guys doing?" Jack asked curtly.
"What does it look like?" replied a girl on the outskirts of the group. "We're bringing him to play pinball."
"No one here plays pinball without my consent," Jack informed the group.
"What the fuck are you talking about, kid?" asked one of the guys who was standing to the right blind boy. "Do you own this joint? Because if not, I don't think you're in any position to tell anyone anything."
David noticed that during the heated exchange, the small blonde boy never once looked over. He kept his focus on the pinball machine, his hands on the bumpers, just waiting for the machine to start up. "Hey, kid," David called to him softly. He received not response. The kid's body didn't even move in recognition that someone had just spoken to him. "Hey, what's your name?"
"He can't hear you," the girl standing to the left said. "He's deaf."
"Well why the fuck won't he even look at us?" Jack asked.
"Cause he's blind, dumbass!"
At this Jack began laughing incredulously. "Wait, let me get this straight. This freak is deaf and blind, but you guys want him to play pinball? Is this how you get your kicks or something?"
"Spot is fucking amazing!" one of the boys near the back said.
"Spot! The freak is named Spot? Did his parents want a fucking dog instead or something?" Jack asked.
Unfazed by the interruption, the boy continued. "I've seen him play almost ten times now and he's...I mean, I can't even explain it!"
"He's a prodigy," said another girl in the crowd. "I remember the first time I saw him play. I went up to him and told how awesome he was. Then someone told me he was deaf, blind, and mute."
Jack continued to laugh, while the other students nervously joined him. Murmurs of "freak" and "fucking weirdo" floated through the crowd.
"Okay," Jack said gasping for air, "okay. He can play! I haven't had a good laugh in a while."
"Don't be such a fucktard!" the girl to the Spot's left said. "This kid is phenomenal!"
"Yeah, well Jack here is the best player in these parts," Mush asserted. "No way this kid can beat him."
"Oh, wanna bet?" asked the boy to Spot's right. "I used to be the best player in my part of town too. Spot knocked out my top score in a matter of minutes."
"Fine," Jack said with a sneer. "My top score on this machine is 1, 800, 598. If he doesn't beat that you all have to leave now and you can't ever return."
"And if he beats it, you have to surrender your crown as the best player here," the girl to Spot's left said.
Jack snorted. "If he beats my score, I'll give you guys booth #20."
At that, a gasp rang out among the crowd. Though all of the students believed that this Spot guy didn't have a chance at beating the score, the idea that Jack could even wager the coveted booth was surprising.
Jack fished coins out of his pocket and handed them to the girl. "Here, I'll pay for his first and last game."
The girl snatched the money from his hands. The group around Spot began prepping him, making sure he could feel the flippers. The girl waited with the coins until the boy on Spot's left nodded to her. She inserted the coins and the machine came alive. Lights flashed and bells began to ring. The machine spoke in an ominous voice, saying "Player beware! You are about to battle the Skeleton King!" Spot didn't even blink, but stayed just as he had been, almost as though he were a statue. He slowly pulled the plunger back, the crowd watching with anticipation. As soon as he let it go, the ball whizzed through and Spot's hands came to life. Though he never so much as glanced down at the playfield, he hit the ball with the flippers every time. The bells rang as he hit target after target and red and white lights blinked brightly. Spot, however, wasn't distracted. He continued to look straight ahead.
"Pretty impressive," Jack muttered, "but he's only just started." The hint of fear in Jack's voice did not go unnoticed.
In the surrounding crowd, teens chattered excitedly:
"How do you think he does it?"
"Don't know,"
"I don't get it! The kid's deaf and blind, right?"
"Do you think they're hustling Jack and them?"
"I heard that when you don't have one of your senses, your other ones become more intuitive. So if he can't hear and he can't see, maybe his sense of smell is really good."
"What the fuck are you saying? He smells the ball or something?"
Near the center of the crowd, David could see that Jack's group was getting a bit nervous. Spot was already half-way to beating Jack's score and he was still on his first ball. I have to admit, the kid is good, David thought to himself. And not just for being deaf, dumb, and blind.
Spot was at 1, 500, 000 points when Racetrack approached Jack. "You know, it's never too late to call off the bet. Maybe if we just sit down, they'll forget about it."
"It's too late. I call it off now I'll look like loser."
Racetrack sighed. "Your call."
By the time Spot had hit 1,800,000 the crowd had surged forward so much that Spot was practically smashed against the machine. He didn't let it faze him, though, and he continued hitting target after target.
"What do you think he is, some sort of pinball wizard or something?" David heard Mush asking Blink. In response, Blink shook his head, unsure of what to make of the situation.
By 1,800, 590 the crowd was counting down the points. Spot reached 1, 800, 598 and everyone in the crowd held their breath. The ball was falling down toward the flippers and Spot was still. Just as it looked like the ball would slip through, his fingers flicked down, snapping the flippers up. The ball soared up to the back target and smacked it harshly.
"New High Score! New High Score!" the ominous voice proclaimed. The group surrounding the machine was quiet for the first time. All eyes darted to Jack, the only sound being Spot's fingers flicking the flippers up as he continued to play.
"Well?" the girl to Spot's left asked Jack smugly.
Jack glared in Spot's direction, wishing the boy could feel his loathing. "Fine, take the booth. I don't want to be in any arcade that's turning into a freak show anyway." Then, without another word, he stormed toward to front door. His group stood by, unsure whether or not to follow him. Finally, they simply wove through the crowd and settled at a different booth. David followed them. As he sat down, he could see Spot still by the machine, completely oblivious as to what had just happened and that it had all been because of him.
"Well, you have to admit," Blink said to no one in particular, "that deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.
AN: Written for FriskyWallabee who challenged me to write a fic literally based on the song "Pinball Wizard." Oh, and I have no idea if 1, 800, 598 is a really high or really low score for a pinball machine, so don't make fun.