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 Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:22 pm
Jared was going to have to pay.
Seriously, what kind of jerk insists you have to go to a midnight release for a video game at least one time in a lifetime, then doesn't show?! That was the exact situation that Ellie Spectre was in right now. Her friend, Jared, had insisted for months on end that one time, she should join him for a midnight release for a game. Jared was the sort who loved video games. In the aspect of video games, he was honestly a nerd. Ellie had always been a casual gamer, where Jared was hardcore. Yet, with the upcoming release of Super Steal Car 3, she found herself a little more willing to wait in a line at ridiculous hours of the night.
And then what did Jared do? He went and got himself a head cold! That b*****d had ditched her. He should have manned up and gone anyways, but no. He decided to stay home and let his mommy spoil him with chicken noodle soup.
"He's such a god damned p***y!" she grumbled out in her spot in this line. She had showed up, and she was doing this just so he couldn't harass her again in the future to do this again. Sucks for him if he didn't show up when she finally did. The tomboy had shown up decently early, but she definitely wasn't the first in the line. In fact, she was maybe at about the 25% mark of the current line. In all of her wisdom, she had decided that she should wear a jacket. It might not have been the most practical looking jacket, with all the pins and chains she had hanging from it, but it was a jacket nonetheless.
The one thing that sucked about doing this by yourself was you had nobody to talk to. Well, at least nobody she knew specifically. She could have struck up a conversation if she wanted to, but a lot of the people in the line near her had come with a group rather than solo. She heaved out a sigh just as she managed to catch sight of a mess of pale green hair nearby.
Wait.
She knew this guy!
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 2:34 pm
Sheldon wasn't the biggest fan of the Super Steal Car series, he owned all the previous games sure and even the horrible dlc that had come out for the XBox 360 for the second game (what a waste of money that had been). The third game would be purchased but only because Shawn (Sheldon's portly neighbor) insisted, for he was the true reason Sheldon was standing in line by himself half asleep. Shawn had gone off in fanboy glee to get himself thrown into a tournament being held inside the store while everyone else waited outside. There was a promise of splitting whatever prize that could be won, so that was at least an incentive.... if Shawn even won.
His place in line was a little behind Ellie, behind a massive group of high school kids who were questionable in the appropriate age to be even able to purchase the game. He was leaning against one of the stone walls with his hands firmly shoved in his pockets, next to the large window that displayed a life sized cardboard cutout of Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII (not like he noticed anywho), eyes partly closed even more than his usually lazy expression. Sheldon looked like he was asleep on his feet, drowning out the loud noise the small crowd was managing to produce.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:48 pm
It took her a moment or two to figure out who the green haired guy's name was again, but eventually she managed to pull out a name.
Sheldon Hobbes.
The tomboy was about to make a bunch of nerds (as she saw them) really happy, for without a thought about it, she forfeited her spot in line, weaving through the others in the line behind her until she was standing right in front of Hobbes. This strategy made it so nobody could accuse her of cutting in line or getting out of line. Even though he looked damned sleepy, stoned, or completely out of it, the blonde practically pushed a big grin into his line of sight.
"Sh*t Hobbes, we totally need to stop meetin' like this!" She laughed, then glanced about him. It didn't look like he was here with someone.
"Ya get conned inta this too?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 5:22 pm
Complete anonymity wasn't something Sheldon expected when coming to these things, usually old acquaintances from Meadowview or classmates from Sovereign Heights would find him and attempt to chat him up ... and eventually get bored and go away. This was a surprise though (he had only met her once after all, in a non-school related location) and Sheldon jerked awake and blinked dumbly as Ellie addressed him in her much-to-chipper-for-this-late-of-night tone.
"Oh," He replied, pulling out a hand to rub at his tired eyes. "Yeah." That was really an answer to both her statement and her question all rolled into one. Sheldon expanded on her inquiry though, following a big yawn, "My neighbor really wanted to come to this one. You?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:24 pm
Apparently Hobbes' yawning and overall tired state was pretty amusing, for a smirk managed to creep onto her lips as he gave his minimal answers.
"Are ya th'sort who lives off'a coffee or caffeine? Ya never came across as th'sort who needed caffeine t'survive!" She laughed as she dared to clap her hand along his shoulder in a hearty gesture.
"Naw, I'm totally kiddin'! I'm 'ere fer th'game, but I could'a waited until t'morrow t'get it! However, my friend has always been buggin' me t'go to one of these things... and then just ditched me." Her lips pressed out straight into a line for a moment before she shook it away. This obviously creased her just a tad.
"...I figure, get it over with, and then he can never bug me 'bout it again. I did it once, and suck t'be him if he wasn't around when I was."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:47 pm
It was really a good thing that Sheldon had the support of a building behind him, given how lethargic he was he was bound to have swayed or fallen over from Ellie's clap on his upper arm. He bobbled slightly though which gave him a reason to reposition himself a little better - and maybe even less of a slouch - where he stood. "You know, caffeine is a gateway drug." He managed to smirk, taking his statement as a bit of a joke (probably more a personal one at best given his history). Sheldon thought it was amusing at least, even if stupid. Oh, tiredness.
"Ditched, huh?" That had to suck, even though he personally wouldn't have minded it ever. Being reminded of company made Sheldon glance lazily through the window in an attempt to find Shawn; who in turn noticed the glance and gave Sheldon a cheesy wide grin and a thumb's up. Apparently he was doing well and would be detained until the game would finally be released to them all.
Turning back to Ellie, "doesn't seem that much of a lose ditching out on the release of this game though." Sheldon earned a few stares for that, apparently not one to share in the enthusiasm of Super Steal Car. "This should at least be a nice quiet release, quick and painless and fast... compared to some of the other games that came out recently." The green haired boy lost another battle with a yawn.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:21 pm
Hobbes might not have been expecting it, but the girl began to laugh at his comment about caffeine. It had been funny to her at least. "Yeah, I remember freshman year health class, they talked 'bout that! I honestly don't get how people can rely on that stuff t'get by everyday!"
It probably had something to do with the fact she had more than enough energy for two people without the help of any outside sources.
Even though her green haired acquaintance had just insulted one of the few game series she followed, she didn't seem bothered by it. In fact, the thing she seemed more bothered with was more his analysis of Jared.
"You don't know Jared like I do!" She crossed her arms, but it was merely because she was bored of keeping her arms dangling to her sides. "He just likes collectin' games, playin' anythin' and everythin'... he's just a big nerd."
She rather suddenly grinned, thinking of at least one positive of not having her friend around.
"Jus' means I can talk to ya without him glarin' daggers at ya!"
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:33 pm
So, he had made a funny and she had laughed, Sheldon's own goofy grin spread across his face. But it quickly fell with her defensive stance.
"I wasn't trying to insult him," Sheldon explained digging his hands deeper in his pockets to take on a more innocent look, though his voice didn't really convey too much emotion on the subject. He just didn't feel the game warranted much, Halo 3 this game was not. "I probably wouldn't have been easily swayed to be here myself if I wasn't a collector of games." He explained with a shrug.
Well, at least she was smiling again. His own lips twitching to a more subdued version of hers. "Well, as long as he doesn't hit me. I can stand the glares."
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:08 pm
"So, yer a nerd too then?" Yeah, she said it. And she sounded like it wasn't a big deal either. She shrugged a bit, then offered her own personal stance on video games.
"Me, personally, I only follow a few series of games. Usually racin' games or games with cars or games with motorcycles, and FPS games. I remember when I was in middle school, Jared tried t'get me t'get inta some of those RPG games, but none of them could ever stick." For a moment, she paused to look at cardboard cutout. "Like that... I could never get inta' that sh*t!" Her eyes lingered over the fancy outfit and she shook her head.
"You wouldn't ever have t'worry 'bout Jared takin' swings. He's th'p***y of th'group. If ya ever pissed me off... then ya'd have t'worry 'bout gettin' hit." She grinned at this declaration, then unfolded her arms so she could put one hand in the other, cracking her knuckles slightly in a proud fashion.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:52 pm
Sheldon wasn't very fond of being labeled a nerd, the term now had grown to include many aspects of life besides a bookworm super geek with a pencil protector in their front pocket sure ... but it still wasn't something he liked. The corner of his mouth ticked a little when she made the remark but he made no reply.
"Never could get into racing games myself," He explained instead with a roll of his shoulders, "too much eye-hand coordination needed." The cars he would drive always ended up in walls or on fire and he was too lazy to upgrade them or pay much attention. Mario Kart wasn't too bad though. Ellie liking those games made sense though, given his recollection of her mentions of working at a garage. And given that and her style of dress, yeah... her hitting people when angered made sense too. (this came in as a major 'note to self')
There was a sudden buzzing sound coming from his back pocket followed by the infamous 'Item Catch' song from Zelda, making Sheldon flinch from surprise. Who the hell... He questioned himself, pulling phone from the pocket. Shawn. That made sense, he realized, glancing back through the window to see the scrupulous look on his 'friend's' face. Shawn was also pointing out... at Ellie? Yellow eyes turned back to his phone as he made a mumbled apology to his blonde companion for the interruption.
'whos the grl? is she even legal, u *****' Was the message scrolled on his screen. Sheldon sighed and tapped at the touch screen to reply and paused wondering how to explain Ellie: 'Go back to your game, a**. She's' .... huh, 'someone I've run into a few times.' Not like that was going to save him from endless questions later but ... maybe. He stared at the phone after sending the message back, almost daring a response.
"Sorry," He apologized again, placing the phone this time in the pocket of his sweatshirt.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 3:09 pm
Apparently he had said something funny again, for the girl leaned forward, planting her hands upon her thighs and laughing out loudly. "Oh god, that's a good one! Ain't th'whole point of video games 'bout hand-eye coordination?" That was her view on the subject, since she was not a fan of the games that didn't require such (well, in comparison at least).
She slapped her leg and stood herself back upright just in time to catch her companion dealing with his phone. She noticed Hobbes turning towards the window, only to find a less than discreet fuss being made over her.
"Yer neighbor I take it?" She hadn't even bothered to look at the message (since heck, it wasn't her phone), but in a less than discreet fashion of her own, she literally flipped up her middle finger at the guy. She also added a rather large grin in the guy's direction.
"Eh, don't worry 'bout it, doesn't affect me at all!" She kept her finger up and grin on her lips for a few more seconds before returning her fingers back to a less offensive position and looking back at Hobbes.
"So, racing games ain't yer thing, but ya didn't mention FPS games. What's yer take on those?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:28 pm
Okay, he had to give her that one, "Most of them do but driving vehicles in games is a totally different matter, like the lack of friction between a tire and a road." Too many variables made it annoying to play racing games among other things; bottom line, he sucked at them and never wanted to play them even though he still owned a bunch of them.
Sheldon didn't even need to look to verify identification of the pointer to the pointee, "Yeah, that's him." And probably didn't need to turn around for the reaction - he could figure it out really given how his neighbor reacted to all flipped birds gone to his direction - of Shawn's own grin reflected back to Ellie and a point to his phone mouthing 'call me.' Leave it to Shawn to interpret a middle finger as an open invitation.
Making this all another 'note to self,' (one of which was beginning to deem Ellie someone who could be kept around and not just a name and a face of people he's ever talked to), Sheldon sighed. "Go in, shoot things, figure s**t out... simple. My kind of games next to puzzles and rpgs." He smiled.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:57 pm
Oh god, the neighbor's reaction was HILARIOUS!! Once more, the girl leaned forward, laughing really loudly.
"God, he's a riot! Probably a big douche too!!!" That was totally her sort of humor, even if she wasn't about to take him seriously on his offer. It was still her sort of humor.
She stifled back a snort or two before finally recovering from the sudden burst of amusement. "Sorry 'bout that!" She listened to what the green haired boy had to say, nodding at the remainder before uttering "Eh... so yer deep inta' yer games I take it? I really don't own many games. Jus' th' games that are good fer havin' company over fer th'most part."
There was a slight pause before she added "...don't tell me yer dream job is t'become a game tester too? That's somethin' that Jared won't shut up 'bout when we're at school. 'I don't need to learn this crap, it won't help me test video games!'"
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:25 am
At least someone found Shawn overly entertaining, Sheldon did on occasion but usually with the help of pot and long nights of banter and funny movies. "He can be," he replied, unsure of that statement really. Shawn was at least a decent person, and someone he could actually count on, not a friend per say.. Sheldon never claimed to have any.
"Aa, no don't worry about it." Sheldon shook his head, this was at least letting the night roll on by without being boring (even though he could totally deal with boring). "But uh, yeah. I tend to collect games even if I don't play them, board games too."
At the thought of testing, he scrunched his nose and his placid smile turned briefly into a frown, "Being a tester is too much work," well so was everything, but he'd heard stories.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:33 am
The mention of board games seemed to cause a similar reaction in Ellie that video game testing seemed to cause in Hobbes. Her nose crinkled slightly and her lips momentarily arced in the opposite direction they had been all evening.
"Ungh, I've given up on board games!" For a moment, she wiped her bangs out of her eyes, then continued on. "I was always th'brat that threw temper tantrums when th'game didn't go my way!" Too many times had she played a nice round of Shoots and Ladders with her parents when she was younger, she'd get a shoot, and then she'd kick the board game across the room, all the pieces flying everywhere. Unofficially, her parents had banned her from board games.
Her nose twitched slightly at the less than fond memory, but eventually her nose straightened out and her lips went to a more neutral expression. Obviously Hobbes did not seem to care about being a game tester. She offered a shrug at his statement, since she really had no experience in the area. "Eh... guess it depends what y'like doin'... like, if ya were t'ask me if workin' with cars was hard work, I probably wouldn't give an accurate answer." Her lips decided the neutral expression wasn't cutting it and broke out into another smile. "I enjoy doin' work with cars, so fer me, it ain't hard work."
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