Chapter 240: Game Boss
** Harper **
"Welcome to The Den, aka. the best hidden gem around town I’ve ever had the fortune to discover." Harper introduced proudly, pleased to confirm that this odd place she had accidentally come across in college was indeed off of Eli’s radar. "Let’s start with the first floor first — it should be less of a cultural shock for you that way."
She winked mysteriously as they passed the vending machines and coin exchanges by the door. The first floor was mostly a standard arcade, and the telltale sounds of 8-bit music were already ringing through the hallway, mixed with scoring chimes and cartoon-style cheers from various game characters. Then a kaleidoscope of colorful lights opened up to them when they entered the proper interior of the room.
"Oh, pinball!" Eli’s exclamation was both surprised and relieved. "I haven’t played these in years!"
Two long rows of pinball machines lined the space in front of them, flashing a full spectrum of bright neon rainbows. A good number of the spots were already taken, and as the players slammed on their flippers, dramatic jingles and clatters bursted clamorously, turning the whole room into a riot of colors and sounds.
"Up for a challenge?" Harper grinned. "Think you’re still good enough to beat me?"
"Hell yeah. Did you seriously think you could get an embarrassing photo of me playing such a simple game?" Eli gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. "Pick a machine. I’ll go first."
Harper immediately got into her gaming boss mode, rubbing her palms together in readiness. This actually wasn’t her ultimate destination of the day to get that picture taken ... but she could never resist the temptation to take up Eli in a duel and crush him.
"Let’s go with the dragon one over there," she announced after a quick scan of the room. "See who makes it roar first with a bullseye shot!"