Fun And Games
Dragon's Lair: Chapter 2 (Continuation of the short story)
“Hi mom,” Josh said as he came in the door after school. “Greg told me the arcade will be open tomorrow.”
“That’s nice, Joshie,” His mom responded, only half listening. She was in the kitchen preparing food with her work uniform on. “I got called into work for an extra shift; Margaret will be over in a few hours.”
“Ok, Mom,” Josh said, standing there watching what she was doing. “Mom.”
“Yes, Joshie,” she said, looking up from what she was cutting.
“Can you teach me to cook?” Josh asked.
“Yes, I would like that. Just not tonight,” his mom said.
“Ok,” Josh said and then kept watching her. After a moment, he spoke up again, repeating what he had said, “I heard the arcade is going to be open tomorrow.”
“That’s good,” she said, this time hearing him. “I know how much you liked going there.”
“Yeah, and it’s a half-day tomorrow,” Josh said.
His mother stopped for a moment and thought, then said, “Go into my bedroom and then go into my closet. On the floor behind my shoes is a big-gulp cup full of coins. Pull out some quarters to take tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Josh said as he started to run down the hallway.
“Not more than five dollars,” she yelled to his back.
“Ok, Mom,” Josh yelled back.
Josh’s mom finished making dinner and then headed off to work while Josh did his chores and then worked on his homework.
“Hi Joshua,” Margaret said as she walked in the back door.
“Hi Mrs. Cannon,” Josh said, looking up from his homework. He was sitting in the living room at the coffee table. His math homework was laid out in front of him; the TV was on, showing reruns.
“I can’t imagine you can get much homework done sitting in front of a TV,” Margaret said.
“My mom lets me,” Josh said, then followed by “sometimes,” in a whisper.
“Mmm hmm. Well, we have a little more than an hour before my programs come on,” she said and then stepped over to the TV and shut it off. “Why don’t you take your work to the kitchen table and I will make a cup of tea and help you.”
Josh finished his homework at about a quarter to eight.
“I’m going to make some popcorn for our evening’s entertainment,” Margaret said. “Go claim your spot.”
“Would you like to play Uno. I don’t really like any of the shows on Thursdays,” Josh said.
Margaret thought about it for a second, then said, “Yes, we can do that. Put your books away, and I will have the popcorn done in a few minutes.”
***
“Another draw two? Man, you seem to have a hand full of them,” Margaret said, picking up her cards.
“Do you think Dragons are real?” Josh said as he considered his cards for his next play.
“Well, uhh yes, just not here,” Margaret said, then took a Sip of her tea. “I guessing you forgot your visit with me a month ago where we discussed dragons and goblins.”
“No, I uhh remember,” Josh said, shaking his head to clear some fogginess. “We were talking about a video game called goblins and how the object of the game was to get treasure from the dragon.”
“Uh huh. But why did you ask if I believe in dragons?” Margaret asked.
“I don’t know, I was just sort of curious,” Josh said, and then went back to considering his cards.
They played a few more hands when Josh said, “My friend Kenny drew a really cool drawing of a dragon that he said we had talked to. He said its name was Mike.”
“That’s nice. Is he a good artist?” Margaret asked, trying to keep Josh talking about the dragon.
“He’s ok; he’s drawn other things that aren’t as good. Uno!” Josh yelled as he put down a draw two card.
Margaret drew her two cards, and Josh put down a number card to win the game.
“You’re a pretty good player,” Margaret said. “Do you want to play another?”
“Nah, I’m tired. I think I will go to bed,” Josh said.