03 - Just One More Level? Please?

[imjustpicky]

[Action A - 7132 Brooks Lane, Morning]

[Having heard in passing that people were getting stuff back in the mail, Picky was anxious to check his own mail to see what he'd be getting. Monday morning he volunteered to bring in the mail, and atop the usual bills and flyers was a box with "Picky Minch" written on it.

...the town didn't seem to care that he had been going by a different name. Huh.

But never mind that. A box! A box for him! He scooted back inside, set all of the mail down on the table by the front door, and hastily tore his package open.]

Hey! My Game Boy!

[And it was his, not just any dumb Game Boy plucked off a shelf. It had a scuff and dent on the bottom from when he dropped it, and it had the sticker over the battery cover that he had put there himself. And it was real, because when he flicked it on, the little red light lit up and the green-yellow screen powered on, and the "ding!" of a proper start-up sounded. Followed immediately by the first few strains of the Tetris title screen music.

...he shook the box out to see if any other games were included, but alas, none were. Still, Tetris was pretty good. And he really should play a little, to make sure that it worked properly... Someone's probably going to have to shoo him out the door to get him to go to school.]

[Action B - Mayfield Elementary School]

[Class has gotten dull, and Picky is no longer paying attention. He has his Game Boy on, volume turned down, tucked partway beneath his desk. He won't get caught, right? No one's paying attention, right?]

---

[Lunchtime isn't much different. Rather than concern himself with peanut butter sandwiches and classmates, he's off at a table by himself, not eating, determined to get past level 4. That's where he's been stuck at this past while. It just gets so fast...]

[Action C - The Park, Afternoon]

[You know what happens when you play with your Game Boy all day? The one that had the same batteries in it from the before, that you haven't replaced in a while? The batteries run out.

Picky is on a bench in the park, manipulating those Tetris blocks, just about to get to level 6 when the dim red light finally flickers out. He starts, lifts his head, holds the Game Boy out in front of him, and then gets upset.]

Drat!

[Phone - Early Evening]

So, uh... hey. Does anyone know if you can get double-A batteries in this place? Or, or even better, does someone have a charger for a Game Boy?

It, uh, might be easier to get the batteries, but... but I've gotta ask.

Comments

[imoutos]

[ THE MOST INTENSE GAME OF TETRIS EVER. ]

Aaah! There's so many now! If one doesn't appear soon, it'll reach the top! [ Yes, her nervousness is still increasing, but she's still trying!! Not giving up this soon, no siree! ]

[imjustpicky]

[Video games are so much more epic when you're little.]

Maybe you'll get one! Maybe you'll get one! ...AAH! THERE IT IS, THERE IT IS!

[He is jumping up and down with excitement, now.]

[imoutos]

It's here, i-it's here!

[ THIS IS THE CRUCIAL MOMENT. She focuses as much as she can, directing it to the side so it can complete the row of blocks and.. yes, it falls right in there, clearing four rows at the same time!! VICTORY. ]

... I did it..! [ She sounds a bit surprised over that fact. ]

[imjustpicky]

Yes! YES!

[Picky laughs, punching a fist in the air. How great! How awesome!

But oh wait, that was enough to get her to the next level. IT'S GETTING FASTER!!!]

You can keep going! There's more, there's more!

[imoutos]

N-no, wait!! [ OH GOD NOW SHE'S SERIOUSLY FREAKING OUT. This speed, this speed!! ]

Why is it suddenly g-g-going so fast..?!

[imjustpicky]

It gets harder when you go up in level! That's why!

Oh no! Aaah! Move it more, move it faster, you can do it! [It's almost SCARY when it gets this fast!]

[imoutos]

I-I don't know if I'm ready for this, ah..!

[ IT IS ALREADY SCARY. The scariest and most intense game ever, but Nadeko doesn't want to give up just yet.. ]

I'm trying.. a-ah, this is so hard, it's going to fast now..

[imjustpicky]

You're ready! You can do it! It's... it's... aaah! It's ALMOST TO THE TOP!!!

[TETRIS: SURVIVAL HORROR perhaps. But can they survive?!]

[imoutos]

N.. n-no, no way! I'm going to lose, I'll definitely--

[ She gasps, before looking towards the side at him, almost pleading. ]

Please.. help me..!

[imjustpicky]

[Oh no. She's going to lose. HE HAS TO HELP!

He reaches up to take the Game Boy from her, and is quick at work in clearing out the mess as best he can. The stack gets a bit lower, and some more lines are cleared out.]

It's gonna be okay! I'm good at Tetris!

[Oh wait, he just flubbed sliding a piece into place...]

[imoutos]

[ She stares, unsure what is happening.. but then she sees that piece. ]

A.. ah, watch out! Look at that piece..!

[imjustpicky]

No! Oh no! Aaaah!

[It is no use! The pressure is getting to him. He misaligns another piece, and then the next drop catches on it, and then the stack overflows, and... EEEEHN. GAME OVER.]

....aw.

[He lets out a looooooong sigh, the tension leaving him. They lost. It's over. Wow.]

[imoutos]

[ She lets out a deep breath too, she has apparently been holding it in all this time since it was just too intense.. ]

It's.. over, isn't it? [ most intense game of Tetris. ]

[imjustpicky]

It's... it's over.

[And now, the high score music is playing. Hooray for them!]

Here. Put your name in. You got a high score.

[imoutos]

A.. high score?

[ She blinks a few times, first at him and then at the device. ]

But why would I need to put my name in for that..?

[imjustpicky]

So it remembers who got the high score! [And because it is way cooler, this is TOTALLY a version of Tetris with some battery backup to remember the scores, yes...]

You did all the hard work. It was the BEST first game of Tetris ever!

[imoutos]

W-wow, so I'll be remembered everywhere..! [ she's so intimidated by this idea yet amazed so she is entering it either way.. ]

And.. no, I have to thank you. You let me borrow your game, and you helped me out a lot at the end..

[imjustpicky]

Well, you'll be remembered in the game! Every time I play, it'll say...

...uh... what's your name? [Wait, wait, they hadn't even exchanged names, had they?]

You're welcome, then! It was fun. It's more fun to play games with someone, than play them alone.

[imoutos]

Ehehe, it's.. Na-de-ko! [ She says it as she puts it in on the game too. ] N-nice to meet you..

... Hmm.. do you often play games alone..?

[imjustpicky]

Nadeko? Okay! I'm Finch. Nice to meet you, too!

[His face falls a bit. Just a little.] Yeah. My brother went away from home, and I don't have a lot of friends, so... it's just me.

[imoutos]

... Aw, I'm.. sorry.

[ although, she knows a lot about brothercomplexes, so.. ]

Do you like your brother a lot..?

[imjustpicky]

I do! Not everyone likes him, but... he's okay. Really. When you get to know him. He watched out for me, all the time. And I'd watch out for him.

[He looks really happy to be talking about it. And it seems like he has more in him... but it's probably way more than he should have said. Picky looks up and down the hall, wondering if anyone is listening in.]

Do you have a brother? Or, or a sister?

[imoutos]

Well.. A-as long as you two like each other and watch out for each other then.. that's nice and alright, isn't it?

[ she smiles a little - don't worry, this is a subject she's very eager to talk about as well. ]

I don't have any real siblings, but.. there's Koyomi onii-chan, and I can call him onii-chan, so I guess he's.. like a real big brother to me.

[imjustpicky]

Mmhmm. Yeah. It is. [Whatever memories he's thinking of, they seem to be happy ones. That's a very content smile on Picky's face.]

...oneychan? [I am 8 and what is this Japanese stuff?] That's a nickname? Big brothers're good, though. Even almost-ones.

[imoutos]

O-oh, that's how you would call an older brother in.. Japanese, ehehe.

[ she figures language barrier is the problem here, at least. ]

And they are.. They're kind to you, really funny, and they protect you when it's needed, right..?