Heyo! I'm back with another chapter to deliver! Special Thanks to NeoNimbus for the help!
It was another typical afternoon at Aberdale at Aberdale Elementary School, as the school bell rang for all the students to hear, signifying the end of their time at school; the front doors flew open as the kids rushed out of the building, eager to enjoy the rest of the day and among them were Clarence, Sumo, and Jeff exited the school, discussing today's unexpected math quiz.
"I can't believe Ms. Baker would give us a pop quiz that we weren't ready for!" Sumo complained, throwing his hands up in the air
"Sumo, Ms. Baker told us a week ago," Jeff pointed out. "It's your fault for not paying attention to class."
"Whatever," Sumo dismissed his friend's answer. "I'm just happy that the weekend is coming up."
"Out of the way losers!"
Belson shoved the trio as he barged through them, with Dustin and Nathan not far behind him.
"Hi Belson!" Clarence happily greeted the rude boy and began to follow the trio.
"Clarence, wait!" Jeff protested, but Clarence was too far to hear his pleas "Come on, Sumo. We got to follow Clarence."
"Better than being bored," Sumo shrugged, as he followed Jeff's lead to wherever they were heading to.
Today was Friday and the gang were at the Pizza Swamp and despite the overcast, the sun's rays pierced through the sky, allowing some brightness downwards. Being both an arcade and a pizza parlor, it was crowded with many people, most being kids, with a few playing the arcade cabins, a couple enjoying their food and two groups checking out the prize center.
Beslon, Nathan, and Dustin were playing laser tag, gleefully shooting anyone that crossed their path, while Clarence, Sumo and Jeff were busy playing a beat 'em-up RPG game called Dungeon Crawlers: Mystic Rain.
"Jeff, do you have any more spells on you?" Sumo asked.
"I only have a few left," Jeff replied. "Clarence, do you have any songs ready to use?"
"Yep." Clarence confidently nodded his head.
The trio gave everything they had to defeat the boss and for a while, the fight went in their favor. During the second phase, however, things began to escalate; the red dragon started spewing a barrage of fireballs at the boys' respective characters, causing significant damage, but nothing would compare to the attack that came afterward: a fiery breath cone attack that filled the entire screen, leading to an instant game over.
"Are you kidding me?!" Sumo shouted
"We really need to take cover next time," Jeff admitted in defeat.
"Have any more tokens on us?" Sumo asked Clarence.
"Sorry guys, that was my last one," Clarence sheepishly admitted.
"Dang it!"
"So…" Clarence began. "What do you want to do next?"
"I say let's go home. I'm getting a bit tired," Jeff replied, letting out a yawn.
"Same," Sumo agreed. "Plus, I'm hungry and I doubt we have money to buy pizza here."
With that in mind, the trio made their way to the main entrance, before they overheard Belson's anguish scream. Startled but curious, the trio rushed over to the prize center, just in time to witness him and his friends' interaction with the employee.
"Sorry kid, someone has beaten your high score in laser tag," the Pizza Swamp employee nonchalantly.
"By whom?!" Belson demanded.
"Let's see," The employee carefully looked at the scoreboard on the computer screen carefully, before a name popped up. "Okay, I got the name. It goes by….Boomboxmini."
"Boomboxmini? What kind of name is that?!" Beslon was hardly impressed by that response.
"Hey, that's what the scoreboard said," The employee simply shrugged.
"Don't worry, Belson, you can get the high score back. Easy as pie," Dustin offered his support to his friend..
"Well, you may want to do that ASAP because we are closing for this upcoming weekend."
The boys gasped in shock upon hearing this, while the remaining customers were similarly stunned. The Pizza Swamp was closing down forever and everything with it would be gone and there was nothing that they can do about it.
It took them at least several minutes, but Clarence Sumo and Jeff made it back to Clarence's house, as they made their way to the living room, where Mary was sitting on the couch and drinking water.
"Hello boys. I have some leftovers from last night if you guys are hungry," Mary happily greeted the trio.
"Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Wendle." Jeff accepted her offer. "We wouldn't mind it."
"I'll get right to it then," Mary smiled, as she got up and headed to the kitchen, while the trio sat on the floor, still recalling what they heard not so long ago.
"Can't believe the Pizza Swamp is closing," Clarence expressed his disbelief.
"I know, but there's nothing we can do," Jeff lamented.
"But that begs the question…" Sumo pondered. "Why does Belson care about his score being beaten? Everything's going to shut down, so why does it matter for him?"
"Knowing him, it's just to keep his ego," Jeff responded with a deadpan.
"I agree with you on that," Sumo laughed.
Clarence, meanwhile, began to speculate who was this mystery person that beat Belson's high score. Was it a child, teenager or even an adult? With only a username to go with, it would be impossible to find out who it is, especially on such short notice..
Just then, though, Mary return from the kitchen, carrying a case of warm food, before putting it down for the boys to see: It consisted of spaghetti mac, Hawaiian rolls with butter, brussels sprouts, and asparagus.
"Alright kids, you be careful and not make a mess around here."
"We won't Mom." Clarence promised, prompting his mother to kiss her son on the forehead and then left the boys to enjoy their meals.
Belson was in his room back home, playing the latest game on his PC; he wanted to get his mind off what happened earlier and it best to take his frustration out on any nearby enemy NPCs. Unfortunately for him, though, his avatar kept getting beaten down one by one and no matter how hard he tried, they just remained persistent in taking a shot at his character.
"Come on, now! This has never happened before!" Beslon groaned and decided to get off his computer, heading downstairs to grab a snack, just as his mother entered the house, carrying a few groceries bags.
"Hey sweetie," Cynthia greeted her son. "What do you want for dinner?"
Belson turned to face his answer, but instead of a response, he let out a sigh and walked past his mother and went back to his room.
"Whatever is bothering him, I'm sure he'll get over it," Cynthia shrugged and focused on unpacking the groceries.
Belson meanwhile, continued to head back upstairs and feeling rather fatigued, he went straight to his bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling. There was so much for him to process from the recent bombshell today.
'First, some chump took my high score away without warning and then Pizza Swamp is going to close down forever. This has to be the worst thing to ever happen. Who could have done it? What does that mean for me? Am I going to just remain second best forever?' Belson shook his head almost immediately. 'No, I can't let that happen! I'll get that high score back, even if it's in a short amount of time!
But first, Belson closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep. It had been a long day for him, after all.
"Clarence, did you bring the slingshot?"
"Yep! Here you go, Sumo."
"Aw, sweet!"
Sumo grabbed the slingshot from his friend's hand and started loading it with rocks. He took aim at the empty bottles he set up and fired them, hitting each target one by one, all the way to the last bottle, much to his satisfaction.
Clarence cheered at his friend's performance, while Jeff sat on the grass reading a book.
Today was Saturday afternoon and the boys were at the treehouse, eager to enjoy the weekend, as well as the clear, blue sky.
However, a disgruntled Belson appeared from the bushes and climbs straight up to the treehouse, ignoring the boys while doing so.
"Belson!" Clarence climbed up the treehouse and saw his friend gazing at his notebook. "Belson?"
"Quit it. I'm not in the mood," Belson muttered loudly, but didn't look at the optimistic boy.
"What's wrong?" Clarence asked, wanting to reach out to him.
Belson turned around, glaring at him, but instead took a deep breath and finally spoke up.
"I've been looking to see whose the identity of the laser king is."
"And how's that been going?" Jeff asked, who joined them along with Sumo.
"Terrible," Beslon bitterly answered. "I have written down countless names and so far, none of them stick. What kind of person named themselves Boomboxmini?"
"Maybe if we put our heads together, one of us might come up with something," Clarence happily suggested, certain that the answer will come to them right away.
Thirty seconds later…
"Ugh!" Clarence lay on the ground. "Too much thinking!"
"Well, that didn't go well," Jeff scratched his head with embarrassment.
"Dang it!" Belson slammed his fist on the wall. "I'm wasting my time here!"
"Look, if it makes you happy, why don't we ask the staff at Pizza Swamp?" Sumo suggested.
"Ain't no way that's going to work, especially since Pizza Swamp's going to close down this weekend!" Belson dismissed his suggestion.
"Sitting here and complaining won't do much to help." Sumo pointed out.
"...Okay, okay. Let's go then." Belson reluctantly agreed.
"To the Pizza Swamp!" Clarence declared.
You're asking me what BoomBoxMini looks like?" The employee asked incredulously.
"Please, I really need to figure out who it is," Belson went down onto his knees, practically begging for an answer.
"...Alright, I'll see what I can do."
The adult woman went to the back and observed the security cameras, while the boys waited and scanned the area: There were a lot more people than usual, but with the news of Pizza Swamp closing down for good, everyone in Aberdale is spending as much time as they can.
"So who do you think this person would look like?" Clarence asked, before gasping in surprise. "It will be shocking if it's a girl."
"Fat chance," Belson shook his head. "I will not allow a girl to beat me."
"At least we know why your girlfriend left you," Sumo snickered
"Shut it!" Belson gritted his teeth.
"Sumo, that was uncalled for." Jeff disapproved of his friend's remark, just as the adult woman showed up.
"Okay, I have a basic description of who you're looking for."
"What do you get?" Belson hopefully asked.
"The person wears a long red coat, a plain white mask, and a purple cowboy hat."
"...What else did the figure have?" Jeff asked as he and his friends were less than impressed by the description.
"She does have a mini radio sitting on her hat and based on their size, I can confidently say that the person is just a child," The female employee finished her explanation. "I hope that will be enough."
"Oh most definitely." Jeff expresses his gratitude. "Thank you."
"Thank goodness," Belson expressed his relief, having a good idea of who he's dealing with.
"Looks like Sumo's advice worked!" Clarence said.
"Never thought I would see the day," a shocked Jeff spoke up.
"Yeah, it really did," Belson agreed, similarly shocked, before facing Sumo. "...Thank you for the help, Sumo."
"... No problem," Sumo awkwardly accepted, not used to seeing Belson being so grateful.
"If you guys don't mind, I'll be heading home," Belson then rushed out, only to bump into someone in the process. After becoming dazed for a few seconds, he shook his head and stood face to face with the person that he collided with; it was the person that he and the boys were looking for, being quite small and dressed in the same outfit that the female employee described not so long ago.
"You!" Belson angrily pointed his finger at her.
The figure never responded back, however and quietly observed the boys.
"Okay, you cheater! I know you beat my high score using some cheap tactic!" Belson accused the masked child.
"Like my disco keychain!" Clarence pointed out.
"Clarence, leave the talking to me." Belson calmly told him off, before facing the masked figure. "Anyway, I'm here to challenge you to a duel."
The masked figure continued to look at Belson, tilting their head, before finally speaking up.
"Why do you want to beat me? This place is shutting down and everything with it will be gone."
"That's none of your business!" Beslon yelled, his anger building up.
"Tell me, Belson…" the masked figure began. "You have many things that most kids will ever dream of and yet, you cared about something as trivial as a high score."
"Don't bother arguing with him. He just wants to boost his ego," Sumo equipped.
"Back off!" Belson demanded.
"Or what?" Sumo smugly asked, crossing his arms.
"Wait, how do you know Belson's name?" Jeff interjected, interrupting the argument between the two.
"I'm much closer than you think," The masked figure replied. "In fact, you, Clarence, Sumo, Jeff and I go to the same school."
The four boys stood with surprised looks on their faces. They know almost everyone in Aberdale Elementary School and yet, they have no idea who she really was.
"Anyway, I have to get going now," The masked figure happily said.
"Oh, you're not going anywhere!" Belson grabbed their shoulder. "I'm challenging you to a showdown!"
"To quote a certain wrestler…", the masked figure turned and stared down at the bully. "Are you sure about that?"
"...Y-Yes, I'm serious," Belson sputtered out, even though he felt unnerved by how ominous she sounded just now.
"I'm not surprised by this. You are the type of person who won't let things go until otherwise," the masked figure merely sighed. "Challenge accepted. Sunday at eight nighttime. I look forward to wiping the floor on you."
They then took her leave and disappeared out of sight. Not long afterward, Belson left Pizza Swamp with the trio following him, looking pretty confident
"Alright! I'm gonna dethrone that loser!" Belson then turned to face the trio. "I gotta go! Thanks for the help!"
"Wait, where are you going?" Clarence asked.
"Home, of course," Belson stated the obvious.
"Can I come?" Clarence innocently asked.
"...Just this one time," Belson agreed, before the two headed off back to his place, leaving just Jeff and Sumo by themselves.
"That masked figure knows exactly who we are," Jeff pondered.
"He could be bluffing for all we know," Sumo added. "Although now I'm intrigued to know who he is."
"Don't you mean she?" Jeff corrected his friend. "My gut is telling me it's a girl."
"Yeah no. I'm pretty sure the champion is a guy," Sumo disagreed.
"Okay then, how about we make a bet shall we?" Jeff suggested.
"….I'm listening," Sumo suddenly became intrigued.
"Why don't we continue to figure out the identity and whoever is right gets twenty bucks," Jeff explained.
"Make it thirty and it's a deal," Sumo grinned.
"...Deal," Jeff reluctantly agreed.
"Great! So where do you want to go from here?" Sumo asked.
"How about we go back to Pizza Swamp for more answers?" Jeff suggested.
"Better than being bored."
The two boys then head back into the establishment, hoping to know more about who they're dealing with.
It was a typical lazy afternoon for the Noles' residence, at least for Cynthia. She had relaxing on the couch in the living room, eating a bowl of ice cream and watching TV. Her son, meanwhile, was in his room with his friend Clarence, who was watching his friend playing on his gaming console.
"So..." Clarence started. "Want to head back to Pizza Swamp?"
"Why?" Belson raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"Well, I just think we should go there to train," Clarence suggested.
"I don't do stuff like that. My skills alone will be enough," A confident Beslon said.
"Come on, a little practice wouldn't hurt," Clarence attempted to persuade him.
"No Clarence. I don't feel like heading back to Pizza Swamp again," Beslon declined, but with a much firm tone. "Besides, Mom doesn't feel like taking us there today and I don't want to walk all the way from here."
"...I understand," Clarence reluctantly agreed.
Suddenly, a loud knock on the door can be heard, prompting Belson to rush downstairs, hoping that his father finally came home to spend some time with him. But as soon as he opened the front door, he only saw Sumo and Jeff instead, much to his disappointment.
"Jeff! Sumo!" Clarence ran and embraced them.
"Hey Clarence," Sumo happily greeted him, before facing the bully with a neutral expression. "Belson."
"What are you guys doing here?" Belson asked, rolling his eyes at Sumo's remark.
"We came here to deliver some news," Jeff answered. "We have found a few interesting details about the laser champion."
"Wait, you guys have dirt on him?" a shocked Belson asked.
"Of course, that's why we're-" was all Jeff could say, before Belson dragged him and Sumo back upstairs, with Clarence quickly following them from behind.
"You boys have fun!" Cynthia happily shouted, before resuming with her own activities.
"Okay, lay everything on me," Belson ordered.
"Well, we went back to Pizza Swamp a while ago to get more answers."
"And? What did you find?" Belson eagerly asked.
"We've seen them practice in the laser tag area and man, he knows how to shoot!" Sumo remarked.
"Yeah, so? I bet the cheater was probably using underhand tactics or hacks," Belson spoke with certainty.
"Just like you?" Sumo quipped, earning him a glare from the bully.
"Anyway, do you know what he looks like?" Belson asked, changing the subject.
"We do," Jeff nodded." All that we know she has black eyes and fair skin."
"That rules out Chelsea," Belson remarked, "The last thing I need is to be humiliated by her again"
"Still rich as gold!" Sumo burst into laughter, to Belson's chagrin.
"Hey, boys, I'm going to run a few important errands" Cynthia announced. "Belson, you are coming with me."
"Can you just leave us home by ourselves?" Belson suggested.
"No way, mister, you are not responsible enough," Cynthia disagreed.
"What can be more important than what we're doing now?" Belson complained.
"Belson, we are not going to argue in front of your friends," Cynthia firmly spoke. "Now, we are going and that's final."
"...Alright fine." Belson relented.
"Great! I'll drop your friends off first." Cynthia happily said as she lead the boys to her car.
"Sorry, that we couldn't get more info," Jeff apologized.
"It's fine. Besides, I'll be ready for him tomorrow night." Belson assured him.
"Yeah, ready to get your butt owned," Sumo giggled.
"I heard that!" Belson glared at him.
t was quite the trip, but after a quick stop at Rough Riders Chicken to give Clarence and his friends some meal, Cynthia pulled up to Clarence's house, as she opened the door for the trio to exit.
"Thank you so much for keeping my sweet little Belson company." She then playfully pinched her son's cheek.
"Mom, stop it!" Belson pleaded, prompting Clarence, Sumo, and Jeff to giggle at the sight.
"Anytime ma'am," Clarence got out of the car and waved at them. "Bye Sumo, bye Jeff, bye Belson!"
"Bye Clarence!" Sumo and Jeff bid their friend farewell, while Cynthia and Belson looked on, before the former drove off into the evening sky, with Jeff's house being the next destination.
"Belson, we should go to Pizza Swamp early tomorrow to train," Jeff suggested.
"Not this again," Belson groaned in annoyance.
"I think this seems necessary…" Jeff explained. "This mystery figure, whoever he or she is, won't go down that easily."
At that moment, Belson got right up into the smart kid's face, started by his aggressiveness.
"I'm not going to waste my time doing something so lame as training and that's final!"
"Belson! What did I tell you about being aggressive towards your friends?" Cynthia sternly warned her son, as he looked back at his mom with annoyance, before he sighed and went back to his spot.
"I'm not going to Pizza Swamp early to train, so drop it."
"It's your funeral then," Jeff muttered, shaking his head in disappointment by his stubbornness.
As the car passed by Pizza Swamp, Belsion and the masked figure locked eyes and made a finger gun gesture in front of him, making it clear they wouldn't be holding back. Unnerved by this, Belson immediately turned his attention to his mom.
"Mom, what time does Pizza Swamp open tomorrow?"
"Let me see," Cynthia used her phone to research the place. "According to their schedule, it opens at eleven tomorrow."
"Good, because I'm changing plans tomorrow."
It was going to be a long day for Belson, but if it meant getting an advantage over his rival, it would be worth the trouble.
The next day…
Belson looked through the window from the front of the car, eager to start his whole day at Pizza Swamp, while his mother drove him to his destination. As far as Cynthia was concerned, making her son happy was her top priority.
"I can do this! I know I can!" Belson muttered, certain that today was going to be the day.
"Alright sweetie, I'll be gone for a few hours. Try to be on your best behavior."
"I got it, Mom."
"I know I tend to worry but I just want you to be safe, okay?"
"I get it, Mom."
"Well alright then, You have a good time. Love you!"
With that, Belson exited the car and watched his mother drive until she was out of sight, before he took a deep breath and headed inside, greeted by the fresh smell of pizza and the loud noises from the arcade cabinets. It was hard to believe that a few hours from now, the whole place would be shut down for good.
"As much as I want to look back, I have a high score to reclaim," Belson went straight to the laser tag area, as he arrived to see Dustin, Clarence, Sumo, and Nathan battling each other, with Jeff sitting on a bench nearby.
"Hey Belson, fancy you being here early."
"Whatever, I just want to train and enjoy my last day here," Belson nonchalantly spoke up, trying to keep his feelings to himself.
"Can't blame you for it. Clarence and Sumo want to do the same." Jeff nodded. "I'll admit, I want to enjoy my last day here as well. I mean, we have to make it count somehow."
"Yeah…" Belson simply said as he took a good look at the entire building. Several hours from now, Pizza Swamp was going to be gone forever and all he can do is just enjoy having fun around here while he still can.
Just then, Dustin resorted to using the tactic of clapping his hands point blank range of Belson's face, snapping him back to reality.
" What was that for, you idiot?!" Belson shouted.
"I called your name like five times dude, so I had to improvise," Dustin retorted. "You're welcome, by the way."
"Anyway, let's get this over with."
For the next several hours, Belson practiced non-stop as much as possible, with his friends helping along the way. First, they started off with improving his aiming, followed by his reflexes and finally, his physical attributes. Belson, despite doing some warmups, found himself overwhelmed by the physical activities, becoming exhausted within just a few minutes and hardly keeping up with everyone else.
Before long, the evening had just arrived and the gang were currently sitting at their table, enjoying some pizza and soda together.
"That went well," Clarence remarked, before letting out a big belch.
"I beg to differ, Beslon messed up several times," Sumo felt otherwise.
"Hey, I'm trying my best!" Belson defended himself, before taking a bite. "And who made you the leader of the training regiment anyway?!"
"I don't need anyone's approval." Sumo spoke dismissively.
"Sumo is pretty tough when it comes to pushing the limits," Dustin spoke up. "So we all voted for Sumo to be your trainer."
"Of course you would! No wonder you're going all out on me!" Belson complained.
"You need to be out of your comfort zone to improve." Dustin pointed out.
"Look how that turned out for me!" Belson fumed. "My body is all hot and sore. At this rate, I need a miracle."
"Or it could be from your determination," Jeff commented.
"Yeah, you shouldn't sell yourself short Beslon," Nathan added.
Belson wanted to say more, but he was too sore to do much at the moment. All he wanted was to get his high score back, but going through an intense training on short notice was more than he bargained for. Still, if it meant reclaiming what was his again, then all that hard work could pay off well for him once everything was done and over with. Plus, he wouldn't have to go through something like that again either. It simply wasn't worth the effort.
Before the boys knew it, several more people entered the place, among them being the mysterious masked figure, who quickly took notice of the boys' presence right away.
"I see you guys enjoying yourselves," The masked figure said, casually waving to the group.
For their part, none of them said a word and remained quiet, being rather weary of what they were up to.
"Hello, ma'am. Uh…are you going to head to your usual spot?" one of the employees asked.
"Not yet, I'm hungry and I want to eat. Don't want to have an empty stomach before our match." The masked figure spoke, before facing Belson, who couldn't help but notice a few strands of hair sticking out from the mask.
"Oh, are you sure you are not just scared to get knocked out of your precious throne?" Dustin mockingly asked.
"Not really, but I'll leave you guys to enjoy yourselves" was all the masked figure said, before leaving them alone at their table.
"Don't let her demeanor get to you. You got this!" Clarence cheered Belson on.
"Yeah, he wouldn't know what hit 'em!" Nathan commented.
While the boys continued to encourage Belson, Jeff turned his attention to the masked figure and saw them removing their hoods, and getting out their miniature radio. For a moment, he got a partial look at the individual's hairstyle: it was dark brown and had what looked to be a very tiny pigtail bun on each side. He then quickly looked away before the mystery person took notice.
"Okay, now the champion has dark brown hair with mini pigtails and carries a mini orchid color radio," Jeff noted, as he opened his notebook and jotted down his discovery. He began brainstorming all the info he has collected and soon enough, he crossed out more names that didn't fit the champion's description leaving only a handful of names left.
"What'cha doing?" Sumo asked, glancing at Jeff's notebook.
"Well, I just caught a glimpse of the champion's hair, and thank to that I can finally say that our masked friend is a-"
Just then, a loud crashing noise echoed throughout the building. Everyone turned their attention and saw the source of the commotion: A male staff worker was lying on the floor covered in pizza, salad, and soda, with a few broken dishes scattered. A few customers looked on in horror, some were giggling, while a handful in concern with some helping the worker on his feat. One customer, though, was hardly amused by this sight.
"Hey, you dropped our family's dinner!" the customer complained.
"I'm so sorry sir, I'll come back with a brand new batch."
"You better! No wonder this dang dump is closing for good. It has to hire incompetent people like you around!"
The male staff worker only gritted his teeth and walked away, with his head down in shame. The boys looked at the whole situation.
"Who the heck does that guy think he is?" Sumo was disgusted by the customer's entitled attitude.
"The staff worker did drop the food he paid for, but still, accidents happen and he's acting like he's never seen one before," Jeff remarked.
"What time is it?" Dustin asked.
Nathan looked at the clock that was sitting on top of the entrance door. "It's four."
"Okay, we have three hours left," Sumo got off his seat. "Let's get back to training!"
"Was training for hours on end wasn't enough torture already?!" Belson protested, clearly flabbergasted by his intentions.
"You had like an hour or two to rest," Sumo said, grabbing Belson's arm and dragging him. "Let's get back to it!"
Two hours later…
Despite being sore and covered in sweat from earlier, Belson managed to work through the pain and fare a bit better than he did previously. Still, he continued to stumble and fall behind in other areas. Sumo had Belson review what learned before and have him study the surroundings to his advantage among other things. When everything was said and done, it was six and the boys decided to rest until then, when the time came for the match. Sumo figured he did all he can to help the bully out, before joining up with Clarence and Jeff to Dungeon Crawlers: Mystic Rain again to see if they can beat the red dragon boss that obliterated them last time. Luckily for them, they were about to beat the red dragon, after dying more than a few times and having all their quarters exhausted. Against all odds, they manage to beat the game just in time, even adding their initials on the leaderboard as soon as they got the chance!
Meanwhile, Belson oversaw everything and hesitated for a moment, before he took a deep breath to calm his nerves down. "I can't get cold feet now. I will beat him right here."
After what felt like an eternity, it was now eight, prompting the boys to head back to the laser tag area, just in time to be greeted by the masked figure once more.
"Ah, you finally arrived," They calmly said. "I thought you chickened out."
"Ha! You wish!" Belson proclaimed. "Ready to get owned, loser?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," the masked figure simply replied.
Both Belson and the masked figure walked down the hallway, arming themselves with the usual gears and made their way into the arena; the place was pitch black with only a few lights illuminating the area. The boys, along with a few other children, watched in awe in what will be the final match of the pizzeria ever.
"The moment we've all been waiting for," Sumo eagerly said.
"Give that champion a beating of a lifetime!" Dustin cheered.
"You got this!" Clarence joined in Dustin's cheering.
Belson glanced at his friends and then at the champion. He tightens his grip on his laser gun. The champion in contrast, casually twilling their laser gun with strong confidence.
"Now before we begin, I want to do something real quick." The masked figure stated.
"Seriously?!" a chagrin Belson exclaimed.
"Boo! Stop stalling and fight already!" Sumo, along with every other kid jeered at
"Wow, we have a huge crowd here." They remarked. "In that case, I'll make it quick."
With a heavy sigh, the mystery individual took off their outfit, starting with the long red coat, and then their purple cowboy, revealing a long blue hoodie, as well as dark blue boots. Almost immediately, the group began to murmur to one another about this; Jeff, in particular, was hit with sudden realization of who they're looking at.
"Guys, I think I figured out who the champion is, and it's-"
His answer was suddenly cut off by loud gasps, as the mystery figure took off their mask, revealing dark brown hair that parted in the middle, along with a button nose and notable eyelashes.
"Much better," The not so mysterious individual. "So, ready to go, Belson?"
"Darlie?" Belson asked incredulously. He, along with the rest of the guys, couldn't believe that their mystery friend was their classmate from the very beginning, let alone the one who took Belson's spot on the leaderboard.
"Why do you act so surprised? Can't fathom the idea of a girl being better than you in games?" Darlie couldn't help but looked at the bully with a smug grin.
"No way," Belson muttered, still in disbelief, before shaking his head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. You're still going down."
"Let's do this already!" Nathan shouted.
Darlie nods her head. "Now show me what you got!"
The buzzer went off and the game began. Both contestants retreated to the opposite direction, taking cover and observing each other from a distance. Belson quickly analyzed his surroundings, began moving to another, but making a quick haste along the way He wanted to have the element of surprise, intending to flank Darlie as soon as possible; the opportunity showed itself in the form of a narrow path, perfect to perform a surprise.
As he set his laser gun and peeked through the scope, Darlie walked into his sight and shot her right away, striking her armor and earning Belson a point.
"Nice shot! Belson!" Clarence cheered, along with Nathan and Dustin.
"Pretty good, but don't try not to get too confident," Darlie remarked, despite being a bit taken aback by Belson's move.
She then sprinted toward the bully right away, as Belson tried to get a few shots in, but she was able to dodge them easily. Annoyed, Belson bega pulling out his sniper, but much to his horror, it got stuck, forcing him to try and unjam it.
"Come on, now! Work with me!" Belson grumbled and after a few seconds, he got it unstuck, just as Darlie swiftly made a few shots back at him with such grace.
"What the heck was that?" Nathan couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Dude, I never thought she was a ninja," Clarence commented.
"Looks like I was right, Sumo. So you owe me thirty bucks," Jeff smugly demanded, only for his friend to punch him hard in the gut, causing the smart kid to collapse down onto the ground, but not before throwing the thirty dollars down next to him.
"Don't let her get to you!" Dustin shouted. "You can still get her!"
"Lucky shot," Belson gritted through his teeth.
"We still have some time left. Now, let's get this show on the road," Darlie merely smiled.
"Don't have to tell me twice."
For the next several minutes, Belson and Darlie traded blow after blow, racking up points in the process and the crowd followed along, letting their cheers fill throughout the whole pizzeria, watching these two gunslingers duking it out to see who would come out on top. Even some of the remaining staff members took notice and found themselves watching the spectacle. After all, it was their last day at Pizza Swamp and they have no obligation to work at this point.
Belson and Darlie were now evenly tied score-wise and there were only thirty seconds on the clock. The air was filled with tension, combined with the crowd cheering on, just added more pressure than usual for the bully.
"Okay, just one more point and I'm good to go," Belson quietly said to himself, peeking out from the edge of the wall he was hiding. He didn't see Darile so he checked on the upper floor, only to see nothing as well. He checked the playground and was met with the same result.
"Oh, come on! Where the heck are you?!"
Unbeknownst to him, though, Darile was hiding in the shadow, waiting patiently for Belson to come, as she emerged from the shadow and began shooting at him. Fortunately for Belson, he managed to dodge her shots and retreated, but stumbled on the ground, giving Darlie an advantage, readying her weapon to make the shot. Belson, however, wasn't going to go down either, as he grabbed his gun and both contestants took aim and fired off their shots all at once.
For a few good seconds, silence filled the room and the audience remained quiet, until a beeping sound went off from Belson's armor plate, much to Darlie's pleasure.
"Checkmate."
With that, Darlie won the match.
Despite being near closing time, the pizzeria was still lively as ever, as many were still enjoying the festivities for as long as possible and with Darile's identity having been revealed to everyone, many went up to her to chat and enjoy her presence.
By contrast, however, Belson was currently outside sitting alone, far away from the excitement, looking down at the ground with a defeated expression, as Clarence walked up to him.
"Belson, are you ok?" the optimistic boy asked, but was met with silence. "Belson?"
Once more, Belson refuse to answer, prompting Clarence to touch his shoulder, only for the bully to pull away from him
"Leave me alone, Clarence," It was clear that Belson wasn't in the mood to talk.
"It's not that bad, Belson," Clarence tried to reassure him, only for the bully to glare daggers straight at him.
"Not that bad? Not that bad?! Clarence, I lost! Now that loser will be remembered, while I'll be forgotten! Do you know what it's like to be forgotten by others or be treated as the butt of a joke, Clarence?! Do you?!"
For once, Clarence didn't utter a single word and just stared at his friend. He thought it was silly for Belson to care about something trivial as a high score, but his demeanor over the last few days was starting to make some sort of sense to him. Belson wanted to feel special for a change, but that went down the drain tonight.
"Belson…" Clarence reached his hand out to him, only for his hand to be pulled away.
"Just stop…please," Belson firmly but politely as his mother pulled up. He wasted no time getting in the car.
"Belson, sweetie what's wro-?" Cynthia asked but was cut off.
"Just drive, mom. I… rather not talk about it."
Cynthia decided to retract from asking any questions she wanted to ask and drove off, to the next stress before disappearing in sight. As Clarence waved at the car, Sumo and Jeff came outside as well along with Nath and Dustin.
"Hey, where's Belson?" Nathan asked.
"He left." Clarence shrugged.
"Somehow, that didn't surprise me," Dustin shook his head. "Next time I see him, I'll try and cheer him up."
Just then A red car pulled up and the boys recognized who was driving it.
"Hi, Mom!" Clarence greeted his mother and ran up to the car.
"Hey there sweetheart! Did you have fun?" Her son nodded her head.
"We sure did!" Clarence happily replied as he, Jeff and Sumo went into her car.
"That's great to hear." Mary then focuses her attention on Dustin and Nathan. "Do you want to ride?"
Nathan and Dustin looked at each other and shrugged.
"Sure."
"Yeah, I can use a ride."
"Well, hop on in!"
With that in mind, everyone went into Mary's car, as she drove off into the night, being the last people left the pizzeria and the staff locked their doors permanently.
Pizza Swamp, a place where people can enjoy themselves, was no more, its fate ending up just like any other place that goes out of business: an abandoned and empty building of a bygone era.
And so ends another chapter. Thank you for the support! I'm happy to deliver a chapter in just 3 weeks after the last chapter was posted instead of months. Despite this happy achievement, I will do my best to stay vigilant and keep the momentum going. With that said, hope you have a good day, morning, afternoon, evening, and night where you all are!
See you next chapter! Ciao!