As Usual
"Oh, c'mon, Donnie —back me up here!"
"Did someone not upgrade their defensive artillery before we started campaign mode?"
"Alright smart guy, be smug all ya want, but if I go down, I'm takin' you with me."
"No need, for my fortuitous planning will render all enemy warfare null and void —also, it's gunna look really cool, check it out —BOOM!"
The screen flickered brilliantly against her walls before settling back to its usual muted blue, shadows dancing about as the screen matched the movements of her joystick, "Aw, what? How'd you do that?"
"Laser Blazer and Grenade Gaunt combo."
"Laser—…that's like impossible to buy, you need like a million credits to even think about it."
"Million and a half, actually."
Her nose wrinkled as she mashed her thumb along the controller,
"How'd you get that?"
"Side quests. Lots and lots of side quests."
"Hey! No fair! I haven't done half of those. We're supposed to be a team. You've been playin' without me!"
"I cannot confirm nor deny said accusation."
She settled back into her bean bag, a grumpy pout lingering,
"If I knew you were just gunna game cheat on me, I would'a just powered through last weekend—"
"Bold of you to assume such. I wanted to. But…I figured you'd get mad —and I was right. So, I repeated a good chunk of the quests for side credits. A lot." he grumbled, "They still pay out, just not as much as the first time. It was…tedious."
She blasted an oncoming opponent, a small smile curled,
"Aw. That's gotta be the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me…I should up my standards."
"I was simply being considerate. Besides, you…can't continue in co-op mode without your partner so…"
She squinted at the screen,
"I take that back. And I will up my standards."
"Watch your back!"
Her fingers swiped about,
"Sorry, can't hear you over your clunking ego."
"Ouch. Come on, Alias, I can't do this without you! I need my partner. For as vast as the galaxies may be—"
"—my home is only where my partner steps—yeah, yeah…you didn't have to drop the fanboy ball on me."
"I knew it'd get through. You understand."
The screen lit up in a blitz as the countdown alerted her to one team left,
"Donnie! If we get these guys—"
"When! When!"
"When we get these guys—!"
"Behind the wall! Shields up! Cover me!"
"Thirty seconds! If we don't get 'em now, it'll be a draw!"
"I refuse. That spot's ours!"
"Fifteen seconds!"
"Dodge! Dodge!"
"Ten seconds!"
"Behind that building! No, wait! To the rooftop! Scale it, I've got a plan!"
"You better! Five seconds!"
Three…two…
"KA—BOOM! Goodbye and goodnight!"
April stared at the screen as it exploded once again in an array of colors. The leaderboard had taken over, their tag team title glittering gold and hoisting to the top.
And for the briefest of moments, neither of them breathed, simply basking in the glow of triumph before the adrenaline kicked in, and her headset nearly flew off,
"W-WE DID IT! WE DID IT!"
"Top tier, top class, Javelin semi-finalist QUALIFIERS!"
"AWOOOO!"
"April O'Neil!"
The lights flicked on as her door yanked open, and frozen in her cheer, the teen awkwardly cringed at the stony gaze of the woman who paid the bills…her mother. The woman's solid glower could melt wax and then some, her robe and matching bonnet alerting April to the hour of the night.
"…Busted…" she uttered as her headset went silent, and flinched when her mother snapped at the tv,
"Shut that thing off —It's a school night! Do you have any idea how late it is? And who are you talking to?"
Lifting herself from her seat, April set the controller down carefully behind her, "Oh, y'know, just Donnie…"
Her mother's stoic gaze remained unchanged.
The girl clutched her arm innocently, "Donnie —Donnie Hamato? H-He tutors me for my programming class sometimes?"
"Hello, Mrs. O'Neil!"
Her mother's arms crossed, and April clamped her mouth shut, eyes darting down.
"Does Donnie Hamato know the time?"
April's eyes widened as her headset blared, "You are absolutely right, I better get to bed —good-luck-on-your-exam-tomorrow-April, goodnight!"
The screen flickered as BTSKR9000 disconnected, and her headset went silent.
"And you have an exam tomorrow?"
"Way to go, Donnie," April muttered under her breath, turning off the game system and screen. Tucking her hands into her lounge hoodie's pockets, the girl dared to share in her mother's stern gaze, and immediately regretted it.
"…Do we need to talk about this again?"
Poking her foot behind her, April nudged her chin into her shoulder, "No…"
"I warned you, April. School nights are nonnegotiable. Don't make me throw that thing out, 'cause I will. Do not test me."
The fear that haunted the girl's eyes was enough to pop her jaw with the intent to reply, but tucked in her lips, thinking better on it. Thin ice wouldn't even begin to cover it.
"Bed…got it." she murmured, shuffling over toward the barely touched article before the woman wrapped her robe even tighter,
"And another thing —do I need to be concerned about this Donnie Hamato? That name keeps popping up left and right lately."
Pausing her collection of blankets, April's brows knit, "What? Donnie? Pff, no! Tech geek is squeaky clean. His dad's…pretty strict."
Her mother's eyes held a deep scrutiny, pursing her lips,
"Mhm…and yet, somehow that name keeps turning up when you break curfew."
Clearing off her sleeping area, the teen sat cross legged just before her pillow, gently clapping her hands together,
"He's a good guy, Mom, I promise —and like, one of my best friends."
"Well, he's about to be a stranger if it happens again. I don't know that boy from a hole in the wall. And you don't need him distracting you this late, especially on a school night. I expect an A on that exam tomorrow or that game is trashed, you got me?"
Her mother's fingers swiped between their eyes before the door snapped shut, dousing the room in total darkness. Blinking to adjust her eyes, April exhaled slowly, setting her glasses on her night table as a swirl of energy pulsed before her. In a flash, a familiar creature of orange and blue dropped onto the pile of blankets, curling itself in comfortably.
"And where were you two seconds ago?" the teen muttered, giving the adopted creature a scratch along his ears, "I could've used a heads up…"
With a feral yawn, the bizarre beast known as Mayhem lazily cleaned his face, uninterested in the girl's qualms. Falling back into her pillow, her eyes glanced toward her door, and quietly grabbed at her phone. She set the device to silent, and lowered the light to zero.
'alias to boy genius…just got chewed out. send reinforcements'
The response was immediate.
'PLEASE tell me you're not grounded or otherwise incapable of pulling off the tournament'
She held her nose to prevent the snort. He had added a GIF of kitten with the largest watery eyes.
Her eyes skimmed the ceiling for a moment with a smirk, and the messages came flooding.
'April?'
'APRIL?'
'you can't be serious?!'
'feedback April! what's happening? are we good to go for the tournament?'
'ughhhhhhyoucantbeserious…'
'wait, you did you fall asleep?'
'you fell asleep'
Wriggling her nose to hold in her laugh, the girl tapped the screen silently,
'nope. still awake (✿◠‿◠) '
She imagined the different expressions that had crossed his face before he responded back, sour and unenthusiastic most like,
'…..and the tournament?'
'as long as i ace that test tomorrow. which you totally ratted me out on —no offense to your pops'
'then it's in the bag. we spent more than enough time going over the periodic table. just remember the tune and hum it if you have to. we CAN'T miss that tournament. cash prize, sweet merch, and our gamertag immortalized in every future level. we've been training for this since day one. its our destiny.'
A hamster GIF shining in the sun.
She chuckled, resting on her gut as she propped her pillow under her chin,
'you got my mom thinkin you're a bad influence on me. maybes shes right'
'i resent that —buuut to that point you should probably get some sleep so you can actually pass that exam. i've got full confidence in you. you got this (ง'-'︠)ง'
She smiled warmly at the screen, tapping her thumbs along,
'thanks partner. april o'neil, signing off'
'sleep well, sweet alias.'
Her thumb clicked her phone on standby, immediately shoving it under her pillow as her door opened once more, and with expert agility, she shoved her head into her pillow, facing the wall. She could feel the eyes scanning the room, and nearly held her breath until she realized sleeping people still breathed, tugging her blanket over her shoulder. It took a minute before the door shut once more, and with a sly grin, April O'Neil adjusted her cheek, took a deep breath, and nestled in for real.
