Chapter 200 - A Date After Class (3)

Scarlet looked around and thought for a while before pointing to her choice. "I choose that!"

Edward looked at the whack-a-mole machine and chuckled. It was a cute machine with an overly exaggerated toy hammer. The machine was slightly too tall for a.d.u.l.ts but it actually looked like the right size for Scarlet. He found it amusing and agreed on the first battle.

Scarlet paused when they got there. She wanted to see how Edward's arcade skills were and asked him to go first. Not one to disappoint, Edward rolled up his sleeves to show off a little arm muscle that went unnoticed by Scarlet. The same could not be said about the guards lingering outside the arcade. They knew when a man was trying to flex and impress a lady and weren't very happy about it. Still, there was nothing to be proud about flexing muscle over a whack-a-mole-machine with adorable creatures who went "ouchie" whenever you hit them.

Scarlet had to admit, she felt slightly bad for the penguin that just got smacked on the head with the hammer that came down with a pow. Edward was merciless and Scarlet covered her mouth as she watched her boyfriend work up a small sweat over the last stage when the pace became faster and the animals started to rise in rebellion, dodging the hammer expertly before Edward could get them. It was at this moment that she noticed something that she could use to defeat him in the game. Edward was only using one hammer and there were actually two. Perhaps this was meant to be a couple's game but for them, it was a competition. Too bad Edward didn't notice the other hammer because the string had been snapped off and it was lying on the ground beside the machine underneath the stool that he was sitting on.

The previous high score was 395 and Edward trashed it completely with 605 by the end of the game. The arcade owner walked around to congratulate him and told Edward to choose a prize. The prizes weren't very appealing and Edward decided to ask if he could have more tokens instead of getting a prize. The arcade owner was generous and gave him thirty more tokens that Edward handed half to Scarlet.

Now that it was Scarlet's turn, she looked over to the owner. "If I break his current high score does it mean I also get extra tokens?"

The arcade owner smirked. "605 is quite a high score. I think your arms would be tired out within a minute. It looked easy but it's not. However, if you can break his current high core, I'll give you thirty tokens as well."

Scarlet grinned and picked up the other hammer beneath the stool. "It's not cheating if I used both hammers, right?"

The arcade owner shook his head. "The hammer is quite heavy so it's not advisable to do so but if you feel like it, be my guest. Even your boyfriend changed hands twice in those five minutes."

Scarlet laughed and tested the hammer out, throwing it by the handle and letting it spin in the air before she caught it and gave the toy a flick with her wrist, bringing it down harshly on the hole. Edward didn't understand why her display of brute force here was exciting and he swallowed. For some reason, a confident Scarlet was rather s.e.xy.

Scarlet fed the machine a token and waited as the music played. The starting was rather boring and Scarlet even had time to dance a little to the music. It wasn't until it started to speed up that Scarlet became a little more serious. She didn't need the stool. Instead, she stood with her legs apart and slightly bent to lower herself to an optimum height before delivering blows onto those small heads before they made their way fully out of their holes. Edward's jaw fell. The girl wasn't even looking at where the next one would pop out, she was just staring at the scoreboard screen in the middle and reacting completely on reflex with deadly accuracy.

Even the arcade owner was stunned by how mesmerising Scarlet was as she continued to pummel the machine without missing a single one. It was now at the most insane stage when three or more creatures would pop out at once. Scarlet didn't even bat an eyelid at the confusing pace. Her reflexes were faster than the machine's trickery and the high score of 605 was easily smashed. Edward wondered how such thin arms could continue to whack moles without tiring and then he remembered that Scarlet was an actress who performed her own stunts. He might have underestimated her when it came to reflexes and strength. Scarlet might be small but she knew just how to pack a punch.

The lights flashed wildly as the music came to a dramatic stop, indicating that the game was over. Scarlet smirked. The new high score? 997.

"I believe you owe me thirty tokens now," she said calmly and put the hammers to where they originally were. Her arms were aching slightly and Scarlet knew that if Claire found out, she would have to train harder at the gym. She had only started to live with Edward and already she was slacking off on her training. Scarlet berated herself as she received the thirty tokens.

Curious about what the new high score was, the shopkeeper went to take a quick peek while Scarlet and Edward decided on their next game. His jaw fell when he saw that Scarlet was only three points away from the perfect score. If he knew this was going to happen, he would have filmed it earlier. That said, he looked at the couple who settled down on an easy racing game. He was expecting the girl to win again but this time, the boy won.

"You should use the brakes. Going too fast and crashing into the sides will make your car spin. You lose more time like that," Edward advised and Scarlet frowned.

"Again!" she demanded and Edward chuckled.

"Fine. But it's first to have three wins and we'll stop, alright? You can choose the track this time."

Satisfied, Scarlet tried again and fed the machine another token. This time, she chose a trick that had more hills and slopes. At the same time, Scarlet decided to go for a different car. She chose a Ferrari earlier and it wasn't doing good so she changed it to a Porsche. Edward was more practical and stuck to his same Benz because he knew that the car models functioned the same in the game.

"3... 2... 1.. Race Begin!" the voice boomed and Scarlet stepped on the gas pedal, not caring about all the other cars.

Edward was more cautious and allowed the other cars to overtake him at the start. He knew he would be catching them at the bend and watched out for signs of the first big bend on the smaller map.

Scarlet was several cars ahead of Edward and could feel her heart racing as she approached the bend. Instead of heading towards the outer lane to prepare for a drift, Scarlet stepped on the brakes and spun the steering wheel before hitting the accelerator again. Edward nearly had a heart attack when he almost crashed into Scarlet's car when she did that. Thankfully, he was able to manoeuvre away in time and easily overtook her.

After losing the lead, Scarlet naturally lost that round to Edward. It was two to zero wins and she was beginning to get worried.

"Mr shopkeeper, you said that driving games were about reflexes and not about knowing how to drive a car. How come he's winning by so much when I clearly have better reflexes?"

The arcade owner laughed. "I guess having some basic knowledge about ars would be important as well. He's using techniques to win you."

Hearing that, Scarlet immediately jumped on the opportunity to find out more. She went up to the owner to talk him into giving her tips. Edward didn't mind at first when the owner shared with Scarlet things like how she could take the outer bend before a turn to drift and how she should release the accelerator to slow down instead of slamming the brakes then hitting the accelerators to save time. However, he found it a little unfair when he started talking about the tracks that she could choose with some shortcuts.

"That's enough," he chimed in and brought Scarlet back. "Any more and that would be cheating."

Scarlet pouted but agreed. She thanked the shopkeeper and readied herself for the next round, determined to win. Edward fed the machine tokens and they braced themselves to the track that Edward chose. Scarlet didn't know everything but the tips the owner shared came in helpful.

With her head start on speed, Scarlet was able to pull ahead of Edward and prepared herself adequately for the first bend approaching according to the arrow signs. She took the outermost lane as advised and drifted to make a turn before keeping to the inner lane again. This time, Edward didn't pull ahead of her and they were still maintaining the same distance on that minimap. Scarlet grinned, happy that this might be her win.

Edward struggled a little to pull ahead of Scarlet after she received some tips. In terms of reflexes and coordination, Scarlet might be better and from the looks of it, he might have to concede defeat for this round. Nevertheless, it wasn't over. He still had a trick up his sleeve that he would use as a last resort.

Scarlet won two rounds and now, they were neck and neck with the score. At this point, Scarlet had decided that she liked the Maserati and stuck with it for the next match that would conclude the winner.

Edward selected a track that he knew would be in his advantage. Unlike the previous tracks, this one had a sharp turn that made the car turn two hundred and seventy degrees. Scarlet had no idea that using the same trick for this bend wouldn't work and Edward was ready to claim that victory.

True enough, Scarlet grabbed a good headstart and Edward lagged behind. At the problematic bend, Scarlet tried to do the same thing but ended up crashing into the side and falling to the last place instantly while Edward swiftly overtook her in a perfect drift.

The match ended and Scarlet admitted her defeat. Yet she had a question.

"How did you tackle that sharp bend so easily?"

Edward grinned. "A true master never reveals all his tricks and secrets. However, since the match is over I'll let you know how I did it. You can step on both the brakes and accelerator at the same time to cause the car to drift in a reverse direction because it technically locks the wheels from moving behind while the front wheels are still moving. Cars aren't driven for all four wheels in real life."

After listening to the explanation, Scarlet couldn't even be mad. Edward was more knowledgeable than her and he didn't cheat. Hence, it was a fair game. 

"Alright, that's one to one. I guess it's my turn to pick another game. How about some shooting game?"

Edward looked at her for a long time and Scarlet blushed.

"What is it?"

Edward hesitated. He didn't know how to bring up the topic of guns without scaring her. However, he had a duty to care for her and he didn't want her PTSD to return and ruin the date.

"Will you be alright? A shooting game means guns, Scarlet."

Blinking, it took a while for Scarlet to remember why Edward was asking this. She remembered how she panicked and broke down in front of him before. He must have learned about her fear from that meltdown and his concern warmed her heart.

Smiling, she nodded. "I'll be alright with a plastic gun but not a real one. Besides, these guns shoot light instead of bullets, I'll be alright."

Edward nodded. "I trust you. However, if you start to feel uncomfortable or unwell, let me know. We don't have to do this."

Scarlet nodded and Edward patted her on the head, kissing her lightly on the forehead before escorting her to the shooting games.