“Show-off,” Jenna adds, though she’s laughing now too.
“The one-arm backwards no-net shot?” Shane reaches up as high as he can on the wheel and grasps one of the pegs. “I’d be showing off, too, if I could do that.”
He sends the wheel spinning as hard as he can, and it speeds up, electronic beeps sounding when each slot passes the marker at the top.
I pull my phone out of my pocket as the beeps start slowing.
“Come on, come on, come on...” Shane grabs my shoulder again, and I glance back up at the wheel, which slows more as it approaches the jackpot slot.
“Not a chance,” Jenna taunts, though she leans in closer.
Shane’s hand tightens on my shoulder, and we all watch in disbelief as the wheel stops in the same spot it had the turn before. The lights flash, the cheering sounds, and Shane jumps up in the air, pumping his fist.
“No way! Awesome! Yessssss!”
There’s much more cheering and much more laughing, and when the group starts to move away to join the others at the basketball shooting game, I excuse myself to head back to the table, tapping the screen on my phone to check the time.
It’s after seven thirty.
Nico should have gotten home a while ago. And he said he’d message me when he did.
But I haven’t gotten any notifications. No Discord messages, no texts, no calls. Nothing at all.
My stomach drops, and I glance up so I can navigate faster through the arcade into the dining area. When I reach our tables, they’re mostly empty except for two guys I recognize but don’t really know. I nod at them, and they go back to their pizza and conversation as I slip into one of the end chairs and open my phone again, tapping on the icon for my Discord app.
Alex4:50 PM
im leaving for Omaha
be home late
call if u need to
Alex5:39 PM
everything go ok?
how does it feel to officially own ur car? lol
Alex6:23 PM
nico
bro ur making me worry lol
text me back
I stare at my messages, frowning, and an uncomfortable heaviness settles on my chest. He was supposed to head straight to his mom’s from work. Give her the money and leave. He should have been home by five thirty or six at the latest.
It’s not unlike him to ignore his phone, especially if he’s upset or having a bad day. And I know he hates having to use Discord, since he hasn’t had a chance—or the money—to reactivate his phone with a new number.
So maybe I shouldn’t be as worried as I am.
But something about this just doesn’t feel right.
I glance up at the arcade and see Jenna watching me. She gives me a thumbs-up, but from her expression, I can tell it’s a question. I frown and shake my head, and she purses her lips and narrows her eyes. Then she leans over and says something to Leela before starting on her way over to me.
With another glance back down at my phone, I push myself slowly to my feet, willing those three little dots to appear by his name. But still, nothing happens.
