Maria T. Henriksen

Bright lights and boisterous sounds smacked us in the face as we entered the lively arcade. Laughter, beeping game noises, and blinking lights of every color in the rainbow became our welcoming committee. The merriment surrounding us shifted my mood to a more festive one. The exuberant greeting worked.

I need this.

Assessing the playful ambiance, my date asked asked, "What do you want to play first?"

Drawn to the brightly colored twin motorcycles a few feet away, one in a shiny red and one yellow, I pointed to them and replied, "Let's do that!"

"All right. Which one do you want? he asked.

"The red one!"

My date made sure I was secure on the bike before moving my crutches out of the way.

He straddled his yellow bike and put the chips that he redeemed from the exchange booth in the appropriate slot.

"Ready?!" he asked.

Gripping the handlebars, I yelled back, "Let's race!"

And we were off! The screen displayed a dirt track. The motorcycle vibrated and sounded like its real counterpart. I leaned to the left to turn left and felt like I was going to fall off the seat despite being buckled in. I bounced back for a hot second and leaned right to make another sharp turn. I think we were playing the advanced mode.

Watching the screen, I spotted my date’s yellow motorcycle ahead of me. There were other motorcycles on the roadway, but I wasn’t concerned about them. My sites were on the yellow motorcycle. Trailing behind him, I cranked up the speed with the flick of my wrist and held on for dear life. Baffled by my inability to catch up to him, I yelled, "What the heck?!"

All my focus was on the yellow motorcycle. I passed other motorcycles in various hues on the way to my target. The colors blue, green, orange, and purple became a blur, leaving them in the dust. I could practically smell the dirt in the air. My butt pulsated as I wove in and out of motorcycles in my path. I rolled my hand hard again to increase the speed. The motor revved. Trees and waterways on the fringes zoomed out of sight. I was gaining on him!

A giant boulder appeared before me. I had to react fast.

Should I jump it or go around it?

I leaned back and pulled my handlebars toward me. I went sailing through the air and came crashing down on a bumpy, rocky path. My motorcycle shook like teeth chattering from the frigid air but kept spinning its wheels forward.

Loud cheers at the end of the raceway announced that the winner was my date. I came to an abrupt stop, and then a big obnoxious sign flashed on the screen formally declaring him the winner. Another sign popped up on the screen revealing my status as fourth place. Bewildered, I sat staring at the screen in an attempt to figure out how my date was in the lead the entire time.

"This game was rigged!" I declared.

"How so?" he asked with a chuckle.

"You were leading the whole time! How is that possible?" I asked, clearly exasperated.

My date shrugged. "Beginner's luck, I guess." "Uh-uh. Not possible."

He helped me down from the machine that betrayed me. His arms on my waist were a great consolation to me. "Where to now?" he asked.

I raised my arm through the air. "Whack-A-Mole!" I yelled with enthusiasm.

"Whack-A-Mole it is, then!" he stated with almost as much vigor as me.