Alek is feeling rather miffed at the moment. On top of being decidedly less male than he thought his friend was, Deryn has also taken control of his driver.
Mr. Klopp seems to think this whole situation is amusing, and Alek makes a mental note to talk to him about listening to the blonde girl later.
The arena draws near, and Deryn hops out as soon as the brakes squeal. The other three aren't quite as enthusiastic.
Once in the building, Alek and Deryn are led away to retrieve their equipment, Mr. Volger respectfully declining their invitation to join them.
The laser tag vests are bigger than Alek thought they would be, and his knees nearly buckle at the unexpected weight on his shoulders. He catches Deryn stifling a smile behind her hand.
"I wasn't expecting it," he defends himself.
Deryn pokes his nose patronizingly. "Sure."
The operator pulls the final strings on their vests and hands them their lasers. "Do you both know the rules?"
Deryn shakes her head, and Alek does the same.
"Alright. No climbing on the structures inside the arena, no running, no foul play and keep both hands on the laser to fire. To get your opponent out of the game, it's easiest shoot straight at their chest, where their largest targets are located. There are also targets on their backs and shoulders. Ready?"
The arena is dark when they stumble in, except for all traces of white which glow luminescent in the black-light. Alek sees the white of Deryn's teeth as she smiles…
…and shoots him in the chest.
The target flashes red and beeps loudly. Alek's laser is temporarily deactivated.
"Hey!"
She laughs and bounds away, ducking around the corner. "Two lives left, use them wisely, Alek!"
Alek's determined to catch up with her now; and he's got a lot of positive things on his side.
He can be fast. He can be cunning. And most of all, he's lucky that Deryn's chosen to wear white.