16: Prototype Relationship part 3

They walked and went towards the basketball game. Drino dribbled the ball first, then aimed and shot. After less than 10 minutes, Ashmille beat Drino’s score by 5 points.

“Not only did you beat me at the karaoke, but you’re into basketball,” he sounded amazed.

“I only like basketball in arcades.”

“Because it’s more fun?”

“Because my height could only reach this one.”

Drino laughed and tapped her head once. She insisted on playing one more. They ran out of game credits to play more games after the second basketball game. Drino initiated to load the card and left her for a moment while she continued playing for one game.

A group of three high school teen boys was also playing a basketball game beside Ashmille. After a few minutes, Ashmille stopped and stood beside the basketball arcade machine, waiting for Drino.

“Hi, Miss. The dude was asking for your social media account.”

“What for?” Ashmille is being dense here.

She is getting hit by the high school boys.

“He thinks you’re cute. Please type your name here to connect.” He reached for his phone and handed it to her.

Ashmille didn’t accept the phone. She looked at them. They’re tall yet slim. Judging by their physique, outfit style, and their voice, she knew they had just hit their first heartbreak.

“Uhm, you got it wrong. I may not look like it, but I’m older than you all. To give you a clue, I’m in my twenties.”

The boys glanced at each other. “You look younger than your age, Miss,” the second boy commented.

“Either way, I hope you could share with us your account,” the first boy insisted. “If you don’t mind.”

“I do mind. What’s going on here?” Drino intervened. “You, boys, wanted her profile?”

They nodded.

“It was him, Sir,” the high school boy who asked, pointing at the boy standing at the back.

“Hey,” he called the boy at the back. “If you can’t ask her directly that you need a middleman to have her profile, then you’re not yet cut out to have a relationship with her, understand?”

The boys were puzzled. They left the arcade zone with no turning back.

“That boy,” he pointed out.

“That was the first boy who talked to me?”

“He was actually the one who was asking for your profile. He disguised himself as the middleman out of embarrassment he might cause.”

“How did you know that?”

“The boy’s ways are my ways, too. I was once a boy.”

“I see,” she scoffed.

“Honestly, I can’t blame them for hitting at you,” he whispered to himself. “They’ve got good taste.”

“What did you say?”

“This looks cool,”

They went to the boxing punch game, where it measures the punching power, speed, and precision by hitting a padded target and getting a score based on performance.

Drino had his first hit and got a good high score.

“Wanna try it?” he asked her.

Ashmille tried the game, and her first punch was so light that she felt shy when she saw her low score.

Drino chuckled at her.

“I know, I’m not strong at all. No need to laugh.”

“I feel like a high schooler again.”

“Those kids a while ago, maybe they just had their Saturday classes and went straight here before going home. It feels great to be in high school.”

“They had a lot of fun hitting on you, too.”

“Don’t mention that. It’s not a compliment to be hit by teenagers only because I looked their age.”

Drino tittered.

“Here you go again, mocking me. You really enjoy laughing at me, eh?”

“I-I didn’t mean to.” He’s holding her laughter.

“Do I look like a high school student?”

“A bit, yeah.”

She left him and walked towards the cashier. They converted their accumulated game points into prizes according to their points.

“We only have 247 points. If we divide it into two… we can only get the keychain each.”

“Let’s get that plushie instead,” Drino suggested.

“But we can only afford one if we choose that one.”

“It’s alright.”

“You should have a souvenir too.”

They redeemed their two cute keychains as the prize.

“Ashmille is touched by his gesture. In fact, she didn’t want any stuffed toy in the claw machine earlier. She answered his question politely as to which stuffed toy she liked, but she didn’t expect that Drino would find another way to get one for her.

“Let’s go over there!” he exclaimed.

They entered the photobooth stall.

“Oh, wow. This is fun. We can add filters and funny faces!” Drino started experimenting with filters and emojis. “1,2,3 smile!”

They took pictures and got a printed copy. However, the machine only gives one copy per print. They took another set so they could have both copies.

“Let’s grab an on-the-go snack.”

Ashmille asked him to conduct their third date in three hours or less only because she had errands to do. They ate a sandwich wrap and an ice cream, sitting in an al fresco.

“I just finished reading the book the man from the café gave us.”

“Oh, that one. What was the title again?”

“Finding the Love You Desire.”

“How was it?”

“I like the way the author tells his story first and then follows up with the lessons that the readers could learn from. I have it with me right now. I can give it to you if you need it.”

“I’m fine. I think I found the love I desire.”

“Good for you. How did you manage to find it?”

“It’s in front of me.”

“Huh?” She looked behind her because of what he said.

Drino checked his smartwatch. “We hit 9,784 steps!”

“We've probably burned all those calories by now.”

“I’ll keep coming back for that ice cream.”

“I’ll get going.”

They stopped at the bus stop where Ashmille would be taking her ride home.

“You can ride with me. The parking isn’t that far from here,” he insisted.

“It’s okay. I commute every day. Shall we meet again for the third date?”

“Of course, there will be a third date.”

“Ba-bye”

“Bye! I’ll see you again.”