~~~~
Ol’ Game Shop was a moderately popular sight in town, at least with kids. It was a small building that sat on a sleepy corner in the quietest part of town. There was only a single member of staff, Ms. Alice, the owner. The town’s handful of game-loving kids flocked to the place to play uninterrupted. It wasn’t much, it wasn’t fancy, but it was enough for the kids to enjoy themselves, and that’s what mattered to Ms. Alice.
It was an average afternoon in the humble little shop. Alice watched a handful of kids play a popular trading card game on the big table upfront. The middle-aged woman sat behind the counter with a cheery smile. The shop had done well today, and the kids were having fun. Everything was as it should be in her eyes.
The front door to the shop opened, with the usual jingle of a bell, in stepped a kid a few years older than the ones playing at the table. He sported a ripped black shirt, worn jeans, and a large bag over his shoulder. The four kids froze when they saw the boy enter.
Alice watched the scene with curiosity. She hadn’t seen this boy come in often, but something about his description felt familiar. The woman had vague memories of him casing some kind of trouble before, but nothing specific came to mind. She swiped a lock of blonde hair out her eyes as she eyed the boy while he approached the table. The other four kids gave him a wide berth, even as he sat down.
“You playing? I’m game for a couple rounds,” the boy smiled. The others laughed nervously, but one brave soul among them accepted his challenge.
‘Seem fine,’ Alice shrugged. ‘I guess they were just afraid of an older kid.’ The blonde turned away from the game to tidy up the shelves behind her. After tens of minutes ticked by, she turned back to observe the game in progress. The older boy was winning, quite handily in fact. Not a surprising outcome, he likely had a more solid grasp of the game.
As Alice observed the game more closely, she felt her body tense while the back of her spine tingled. The younger boy looked distraught over losing, but not in the usual way Alice saw. Usually, the kids would get sad, angry, or generally upset. Yet, this one looked so panicked he was trembling.
‘Did I miss something?’ Alice wondered before briefly looking away to finish dusting a corner. The next time she looked back, the game had ended, and the younger boy looked crushed. He stood up from the table and walked away, while the older boy slouched back in his chair with a wide grin. ‘Did he just come here for easy wins against little kids?’ The blonde sighed. She hoped the boy would leave so the others could resume having fun.
Hours passed, as afternoon turned to evening, which meant closing time approached. The older boy had stayed and defeated the other three kids in turn. A few more younger kids and even one the older boy’s age had stopped by. Few of them lingered after they saw the older boy. Most just bought something and left. A couple were roped into a game with him, and each of them left with the same forlorn look.
With closing time only ten minutes away, Alice prepared to lock up the shop. The older boy sat at the table, giddy over something as he packed up his bag. The younger kids trickled out, except for the young boy who was the first to lose. He waddled up to the counter, scrounging through his pocket for loose change.
“Ms. Alice, do you have any more of those cheap card packs from earlier,” the boy asked nervously.
“Of course I do,” Alice pulled out a wrapped pack of cards from behind the counter. She had packed them herself by hand. The blonde had sneaked a few rare cards in them for some of the younger kids as a treat. Alice remembered giving one such pack to the boy earlier. He was so excited with his find that he put it in a unique sleeve Alice gave him. “Not happy with what you got earlier?” Alice asked.
“No, I liked it, it’s just... It’s nothing,” the boy bit his tongue while glancing at the older boy in the corner.
“What happened?” Alice leaned down, her tone shifting from warm and motherly to deadly serious.
“Nothing,” the boy shivered.
“You can tell me. I promise you won’t get in trouble,” the blonde assured.
“He...he,” the young boy began, “he took my card. Halfway through our game, he made me bet the card you gave me earlier, and I lost. He did that with everyone today. He told us only babies complain about it.”
“Did he really?” Alice nodded. No wonder the boy seemed familiar. She had heard a few parents complain about a boy matching his description doing the same. “Don’t you worry, take this one on the house,” she whispered. “I’ll have a talk with him.”
“Okay,” the young boy eagerly accepted the pack and quickly left the shop. All that remained now was the older boy, who was taking his time packing his bag. Alice assumed he was still counting his “winnings.”
“It’s closing time,” Alice announced.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going, give me a minute,” the boy did not hurry his pace one bit.
“Hmm,” Alice glared at the boy. She thought for a moment, and as an idea popped in her head, a smile spread along her face. “Hey, do you want to know a little secret?”
“What’re you going on about, lady?” The torn-shirt boy grumbled.
“It’s nothing, I heard you liked rare cards, and I just happened to have a few spare in back,” Alice claimed.
“No foolin’? Then show me,” the boy’s interest was piqued.
“Follow me,” Alice opened the door to the backroom and welcomed the boy, and more importantly, his bag, inside.
“You weren’t kidding,” the boy’s eyes lit up as he saw Alice’s display of valuable cards in the back. The middle-aged woman was quite the collector herself and huffed her chest with pride. “I haven’t even heard of some of these cards,” the torn-shirt boy examined the collection as he dropped his bag.
“I’ve run this shop for a long time,” Alice explained as she picked up the bag and set it aside on a table. “I’d be willing to part with some of them for a good trade.”
“I got plenty to trade,” the boy ran up to his bag and pulled out a decent collection of cards, each contained in miss-matched sleeves. Some of which were very familiar to Alice.
“Oh no, I don’t accept stolen cards, boy,” Alice’s smile faded.
“What’re you talkin’ about?” The boy snapped.
“I know what you’ve been doing. I don’t take kindly to thieves in my shop,” Alice stated as she picked a specific card off the table. “I know you took this one from one of the younger boys earlier. I gave it to him, I’d recognize this special sleeve it’s in anywhere.”
“I won it fair and square,” the boy declared.
“Oh, is that how you want to play it? How about this then?” Alice’s smiled returned, but it lacked all the warmth and affection it had before. “We’ll play a round. If I win, you give me those cards. If you win, I give you anything out of this collection you want.”
“Deal,” the boy agreed. The two sat down at a table in the back and shuffled up their decks to play a round of the trading card game. There was little to say on the game’s contents, as Alice defeated the boy in a single turn. “You cheated,” the boy accused.
“I did no such thing,” Alice took the boy’s bag and emptied all the cards it contained into a box for safekeeping. “You can try again if you like, but only if you have something else to bet. I’m feeling generous, though. If you can win this time, I’ll give you my collection and all the stuff you stole. If I win, you’ll pay the price for theft, understood?”
“Sure whatever,” the boy’s eyes lit up with energy. They sat down for another game, which lasted much longer than the first. Alice took an early lead, but the boy managed to hold on. Turn by turn passed as the two chipped away at each other. Whenever Alice seemed to have the game in hand, the boy came back with the perfect counter. On the fifth time this occurred, Alice grew suspicious and watched the boy much more closely.
“How about this then?” Alice played a fairly straightforward turn. She was in a position to win, but as she prepared to play her winning card, she spotted the torn-shirt boy shuffle his cards suspiciously. “Don’t cheat again, or face the consequences.”
“You’re full of it, lady,” the boy stuck his tongue out and slammed down another perfect response.
“No wonder you beat those boys so easily if you’re cheating so often,” Alice laughed as she countered with her own perfect response.
“What, no?” The boy was taken aback. “Wait, I got something for that,” he reshuffled his cards before pulling out an ideal counter yet again.
“I warned you not to cheat again,” the blonde woman glared.
“I don’t know what you’re -,” the boy started before his cards slipped from his hands, along with a few others. Spilling from the torn holes in his shirt were a selection of useful, if situational cards. Much like the ones he’d been playing all game. “How’d that happen?” The boy froze.
“I warned you there’d be consequences,” Alice tapped the table with her nail. The torn-shirt boy felt a shiver go up his spine.
“This is stupid, I’m out of here,” the boy jumped up from the table and ran for the door. His escape failed when he realized it was locked. “Hey, what’s the big idea? When did you lock this?”
“I warned you there’d be a penalty for cheating,” Alice didn’t even look up from the game. “But the price for losing is far worse, so you’d better sit back down.” The middle-aged woman placed down one last card, one that would secure her win despite the boy’s cheating.
“I don’t get you, lady,” the boy ran for another exit. Yet, each one he tried was a dud. The other doors were tightly locked. The pitch-black windows were sealed shut. Even when the boy picked up a nearby phone in desperation, the line was dead.
“I win, boy, it’s time to face your penalty,” Alice stood up from the table.
“What’s wrong with you?” The boy cowered in the corner.
“I can’t tolerate thieves and cheaters in my store,” Alice replied. “Lessons must be learned,” the blonde’s smile made the boy’s heart stop, “penalties must be paid.” The torn-shirt boy wanted to scream and cry for help, but he felt so short of breath; he couldn’t even gather the air in his lungs. He stared on in silence as Alice approached him with unknown intent.
~--~
The next day, the young boys returned for another few rounds of the trading card game. They tensed up every time the door opened and sighed with relief when they didn’t see the torn-shirt boy. As the afternoon marched on, Alice decided to surprise the kids with a little surprise.
“I believe these belong to you,” Alice returned the stolen cards to the kids.
“How’d you get these?” The young boy from yesterday asked, his eyes alight with pure joy.
“I gave that older boy a stern talking to, he’s learned his lesson,” Alice’s smile was filled with warmth again. “He won’t be back anytime soon.”
“Thank you,” the kids said in unison before returning to their game with glee. Her job done, Alice returned to the backroom to tidy up while the kids played.
“Oops, I forgot to put this away,” Alice spotted a familiar bag on the table. She grabbed it by the strap and carried it to the far side of the back. The blonde popped open a cabinet. Inside was a collection of discard bags, backpacks, and packs, some far older than others. She deposited the new bag inside. “There, now to see what else I can surprise the kids with today.” Alice left the room. The boy’s whimper from last night still rang clearly in her mind.
~~~~
In games, theft and cheating are the highest crimes. Expect to pay dearly for it, especially if you're bad at hiding it.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
~~~~
Support me on Patreon: [link]
No comments:
Post a Comment