head. That was surely going too far. Where on earth would I wear something like that?
***
When I got to Craig’s, I walked in on him playing Guitar Hero. Not just playing, jumping on the couch doing rock star windmills while the chorus of Smoke on the Water blared out of the TV.
‘ You dork,’ I said, punching him playfully on the leg. He grinned at me but kept it up. I squeezed on the corner of the couch, well out of the way of his stomping foot action.
‘ Want a go?’ he asked when the song finished, passing the guitar over to me.
I shook my head.
‘What do ya wanna play then? Tekken? Virtua Fighter 4? Smackdown?’ He slid down beside me.
I shrugged. ‘Why don’t we do something different?’
‘ It doesn’t have to be Playstation. X Box is good too.’
‘ We could go out.’ I smoothed my skirt down, waiting for his reaction. No point having all these new clothes then spending my night sitting around playing games with Craig.
‘ Out?’
‘ Yeah, it’s not such a weird concept is it? That’s what normal people do on a Saturday night.’
‘ Aw, but Jules, you know I hate going out. What does ‘out’ have that I don’t have here? A big screen TV? Surround sound? A fine selection of gaming entertainment? I think not. And besides, Tony’s delivers. That’s the whole point of living in this modern, technologically-advanced age. You never have to leave your home.’
I thought about that funky café we ’d gone to on the girl’s night out.
‘ You don’t have cocktails or a DJ.’
‘ I have beers and a stereo system.’
I sighed. This was going nowhere. Another boring night of games and pizza. I folded my legs under me and thought for a minute.
‘I’ll play you for it.’
‘ Huh?’
‘ We’ll play a game. I win, we go out. You win, we stay in.’
Craig snorted. ‘Sure thing.’
I ’d never beaten Craig at anything before. But then I’d never wanted to beat Craig before. I picked up the controller and sat, cross-legged, beside him on the couch.
‘ Street Fighter?’ I asked.
Craig hunted for the disc, laughing to himself.
‘Which version?’
‘ I dunno. Old skool. And get us a drink, will you?’
Craig sat a couple of beers on the coffee table then put the game in.
‘You aren’t allowed to cry when I beat you,’ he said. ‘You’re entering a world of hurt, you do realise that.’
‘ You think?’ I leaned over and opened my beer.
‘ It’s like this, Jules. One of us has the mad gaming skillz and the other one is... well, a girl.’
I kicked him on the leg. ‘You calling yourself a girl, Craig? You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.’
‘ I’m just saying…’
The game started up.
‘I’m going to be Ken.’
‘ You can’t be Ken. Be Chun Li.’
In the entire history of guys gaming with girls, if you play Street Fighter, they will tell you to be Chun Li. Because she ’s a girl and so are you. You can’t possibly be an imaginary pixelated man.
And, in the entire history of gaming, when you are being Chun Li and you win, the guy will get shitty because you used the spinning bird kick which somehow in their minds is unfair even if they spend the whole time throwing hadoukens at you. Then they sulk.
I used the spinning bird kick.
I threw the controller on the ground and jumped up.
‘Game Over. Did you see that? Read those words. “Chun Li” wins. That means Juliette wins. In fact, Juliette, pwns. Now get your dancing on. We’re going out.’
Craig glared at me. ‘That was just luck. You couldn’t do it again. No way. Come on. Best of three.’
‘ There’s no best of three. Best of three is for lamers. Suck it up, Craig.’ I poked him in the arm. ‘You were beaten by a girl. We’re going out for cocktails. Now stop sulking and be a good sport.’
He scowled for a minute then broke into a grin. ‘That was a damn good effort, Jules. For a girl.’
I looked him over. His oversized Dr Who tee shirt flapped around him like a neon sign
***
When I got to Craig’s, I walked in on him playing Guitar Hero. Not just playing, jumping on the couch doing rock star windmills while the chorus of Smoke on the Water blared out of the TV.
‘ You dork,’ I said, punching him playfully on the leg. He grinned at me but kept it up. I squeezed on the corner of the couch, well out of the way of his stomping foot action.
‘ Want a go?’ he asked when the song finished, passing the guitar over to me.
I shook my head.
‘What do ya wanna play then? Tekken? Virtua Fighter 4? Smackdown?’ He slid down beside me.
I shrugged. ‘Why don’t we do something different?’
‘ It doesn’t have to be Playstation. X Box is good too.’
‘ We could go out.’ I smoothed my skirt down, waiting for his reaction. No point having all these new clothes then spending my night sitting around playing games with Craig.
‘ Out?’
‘ Yeah, it’s not such a weird concept is it? That’s what normal people do on a Saturday night.’
‘ Aw, but Jules, you know I hate going out. What does ‘out’ have that I don’t have here? A big screen TV? Surround sound? A fine selection of gaming entertainment? I think not. And besides, Tony’s delivers. That’s the whole point of living in this modern, technologically-advanced age. You never have to leave your home.’
I thought about that funky café we ’d gone to on the girl’s night out.
‘ You don’t have cocktails or a DJ.’
‘ I have beers and a stereo system.’
I sighed. This was going nowhere. Another boring night of games and pizza. I folded my legs under me and thought for a minute.
‘I’ll play you for it.’
‘ Huh?’
‘ We’ll play a game. I win, we go out. You win, we stay in.’
Craig snorted. ‘Sure thing.’
I ’d never beaten Craig at anything before. But then I’d never wanted to beat Craig before. I picked up the controller and sat, cross-legged, beside him on the couch.
‘ Street Fighter?’ I asked.
Craig hunted for the disc, laughing to himself.
‘Which version?’
‘ I dunno. Old skool. And get us a drink, will you?’
Craig sat a couple of beers on the coffee table then put the game in.
‘You aren’t allowed to cry when I beat you,’ he said. ‘You’re entering a world of hurt, you do realise that.’
‘ You think?’ I leaned over and opened my beer.
‘ It’s like this, Jules. One of us has the mad gaming skillz and the other one is... well, a girl.’
I kicked him on the leg. ‘You calling yourself a girl, Craig? You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.’
‘ I’m just saying…’
The game started up.
‘I’m going to be Ken.’
‘ You can’t be Ken. Be Chun Li.’
In the entire history of guys gaming with girls, if you play Street Fighter, they will tell you to be Chun Li. Because she ’s a girl and so are you. You can’t possibly be an imaginary pixelated man.
And, in the entire history of gaming, when you are being Chun Li and you win, the guy will get shitty because you used the spinning bird kick which somehow in their minds is unfair even if they spend the whole time throwing hadoukens at you. Then they sulk.
I used the spinning bird kick.
I threw the controller on the ground and jumped up.
‘Game Over. Did you see that? Read those words. “Chun Li” wins. That means Juliette wins. In fact, Juliette, pwns. Now get your dancing on. We’re going out.’
Craig glared at me. ‘That was just luck. You couldn’t do it again. No way. Come on. Best of three.’
‘ There’s no best of three. Best of three is for lamers. Suck it up, Craig.’ I poked him in the arm. ‘You were beaten by a girl. We’re going out for cocktails. Now stop sulking and be a good sport.’
He scowled for a minute then broke into a grin. ‘That was a damn good effort, Jules. For a girl.’
I looked him over. His oversized Dr Who tee shirt flapped around him like a neon sign
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