"So, uhm…" I said awkwardly as I followed behind Dipper and Mabel "What do you guys do for fun?" We had been walking for a few minutes, and we had just reached the town, where there were many things to do. I kept a wary eye on the two police officers, but they seemed harmless.
"Well, we can go to the mall and shop," Mabel said hopefully. Dipper and I both turned that idea down. "We can go back to the Shack and hang out,"
"Ehh, we just came all the way here," Dipper said. "Let's do something fun in town. Ooh! I know! Let's go to the arcade. There's something there for everybody!' Mabel and I both agreed, and soon we found ourselves in front of a busy building with flashing lights coming from the inside. I had never been to an arcade before, there weren't any where I grew up, but I could see why people liked them.
"I've never actually been to an arcade before," I confessed. "I know they have video games that you have to pay to play, but that's it,"
"Whaaaaat?" Mabel said, mouth falling open. "You'll love it, there's all types of games, from shooting games, sports games, racing games, and prize claw. Dipper and I both love arcades," She walked inside, allowing the cool air to wash over us.
We entered, and walked up to the main desk. "Hi, 3 all day passes, please," Dipper told the bored-looking teenager working the cash register
"That'll be 10 dollars apiece, so 30 dollars," The teen said.
"Oh, crap," I said, realizing I didn't have any money.
"What's up?" Dipper asked, pulling a 20 dollar bill out of his wallet to pay for his and Mabel's tickets.
"I don't have any money," I said, sorrowfully.
"Oh, I didn't even think about that," Mabel said. "We would normally pay for you to get in, but that was the last bill Dipper had, and I left my purse at home. We can go do something else if you want,"
"No, no, it's okay. I'll just sit here and wait for you guys," I said.
"Are you sure?" Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Seriously, it's fine. Go on without me," I said, shooing them away with my hands.
"Can you just pay already?" The cashier said grumpily. Dipper and Mabel payed the teenager, and looked back at me. I shooed them away with my hands again, and they shrugged, entering the arcade, looking forward to a day of games. The teenager glanced at me for a moment before returning to his phone, thumbs twiddling away. I waited for around 20 minutes, and finally what I was waiting for came through the door. A birthday party. There were about five parents, and 15-20 excited looking young kids. The adults paid for everybody, and I snuck in with the group.
"Hey, guys," I said, sneaking up behind Dipper and Mabel as they were playing some competitive dancing game involving brightly colored arrows.
"Augh!" Mabel cried, "Accidentally" punching Dipper off the mat, causing him to fall onto the ground, thus ending his dancing streak.
"Geez, Mabel. What the heck," He grumbled, rubbing his elbow.
"Sorry, but Bill surprised me. How did you even get in here?" Mabel asked me, raising an eyebrow.
"I snuck in with a birthday party," I said, pointing at the group of adults trying desperately to control the manic children. Mabel chuckled, while Dipper frowned.
"You didn't have to sneak in," He told me disapprovingly. "If you wanted to hang out with us that bad, we could've just gone somewhere else," He said, shaking his head.
"Well, too late now," I said. "So, what exactly do you do in arcades?" I asked Mabel, who immediately launched into an explanation of what arcades were and what to do, what games were good, what games were a waste of time, to never buy the food because it was overpriced. A good 10 minutes later I walked up to my first game, called Ski-Ball. It looked like some sort of bowling game. I pressed the button, and 5 small white balls rolled out of chute. I picked one up, and threw it down the short ramp, lading a score of 500. I grinned, grabbing another, and rolling it, to have this one land in the 1,000 point hole. In the end I managed to score the high score, and left my initials in the flashing area for high scores. I walked over to another game, this one a strange bow filled with stuffed animals and a claw on top. I watched the kid in front of me do it, successfully grabbing a stuffed bear from the box.
"Hmm," I said out loud. I grabbed the joystick, dragged it over to where a particularly yellow triangle pillow sat. After numerous attempts, I finally managed to grab the colorful triangle, and with it under my arm, I went to go find Dipper and Mabel. We met up, and left the arcade to go find some lunch.
