eddie sleeps in a (greencoffin) wrote in summerview, @ 2018-12-30 22:03:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | parthenope van der zee, player: lyddia, zeddie nashton |
late night at josie's
Who: Eddie Nashton, Parthenope van der Zee
Where: Josie's Arcade
When: Sunday night
What: meeting!
Rating: probably very mild
Status: ongoing!
The best part of the night was the flux of customers. Families, children, and adults with early morning jobs stumbled out of the arcade with expressions of surprise that it was already dark. When did the days get so short? And, where was the nearest pizza joint? The kids clutching their prizes, hands diving into bags of cheap candy as they got one last sugar rush before bedtime. The day crowd moved on and the arcade was an idling machine, lights circling as it waited for the next quarter. This was when Eddie liked to have his first cup of coffee and scroll through twitter to see what world-ending news he might have missed while the sun was up. The machines built up a wall of beeps that reminded him of home, of Atlantic City casinos and to him it was more calming than the roll of an ocean wave.
Once he was done checking the fresh horrors on his smart phone, the next crowd of customers started to drift in. Eddie had a pretty strong no drunks policy since they tended to do more damage than sticky fingered children, but he welcomed those who were enjoying a warm buzz from the glass of wine they might have had at dinner. Buzzed customers were perfect. Happy, not too sloppy and willing to put in a little more money than they would have sober. This crowd included circles of scruffy nerds, gothic looking witches and kids a little past ten years old who didn't want to go home yet. Eddie was pretty fond of them all.
He was stationed behind the prize counter, which was desolate at this time of night. It stretched across the back wall under a giant, neon sign that proclaimed PRIZES in Pac-Man yellow. There were stuffed animals hanging from the wall, game consoles locked behind protective cases and a long glass counter with small prizes tucked neatly inside. Eddie was sitting on a worn stool, feet crossed and perched on the counter. In one hand was his coffee and in the other was his phone.
Eddie was a short man, but he made up for it in style. Tonight he had on a simple blue suit that looked more expensive than a house and his black hair was dramatically combed back. The hairline especially made him look like a vampire, sometimes more than the teeth. But, there was a friendliness to him. None of his employees looked particularly afraid of him and only some customers kept a respectable distance.