“They’re just henchmen,” the boy said.
“But it feels like they’ve gotten mixed up in something that has nothing to do with them.”
“That’s the life of a henchman. Go down that pipe,” the boy instructed. “There’s a bunch of coins down there.”
“I know! I’m getting to it,” Sadie said. “Al seems annoyed with me most of the time, so I don’t know why I couldn’t go to Space Camp. It would have been my first time at overnight camp and my first time flying alone on a plane. It was only going to be for two weeks anyway.” Sadie was nearing the end of the level. “What’s the secret to landing high on the flagpole?”
“Hold down the run button as long as you can, then crouch down and jump just before you’re about to fall,” the boy said.
Sadie/Mario landed on the top of the flagpole. “Hey, it worked. I’m Sadie, by the way.”
“Sam.”
“Your turn.” She returned the controller to him. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.
“I was in a car accident,” Sam said. “My foot is broken in twenty-seven places.”
“That’s a lot of places,” Sadie said. “Are you exaggerating, or is that the number?”
“It’s the number. I’m very particular about numbers.”
“Me too.”
“But sometimes the number goes up slightly because they have to break other parts of it to reset it,” Sam said. “They might have to cut it off. I can’t stand on it at all. I’ve already had three surgeries and it’s not even a foot. It’s a flesh bag, with bone chips in it.”
“Sounds delicious,” Sadie said. “Sorry, if that was gross. Your description made me think of potato chips. We skip a lot of meals since my sister got sick, and I don’t think anyone would even notice if I starved to death. All I’ve had today is a pudding cup.”
“You’re weird, Sadie,” Sam said, with interest in his voice.
“I know,” Sadie said. “I really hope they don’t have to amputate your foot, Sam. My sister has cancer, by the way.”
“I thought she had dysentery.”
“Well, the cancer treatment gives her dysentery. The dysentery thing’s kind of a joke between us. Do you know that computer game Oregon Trail?”
“Possibly.” Sam avoided a direct admission of ignorance.
“It’s probably in the computer lab at your school. It’s, maybe, my favorite game, even though it’s a little boring. It’s about these people in the 1800s, and they’re trying to get from the East Coast to the West Coast, in a wagon, with a couple of oxen, and the goal is to make it so everyone in your party doesn’t die. You have to feed them enough, not go too fast, buy the right supplies, stuff like that. But sometimes, someone, or even you, still dies, like of a rattlesnake bite, or starvation, or—”
“Dysentery.”
“Yes! Exactly. And this always makes me and Al laugh.”
“What is dysentery?” Sam asked.
“It’s diarrhea,” Sadie whispered. “We didn’t know at first either.”
Sam laughed, but just as abruptly, he stopped laughing. “I’m still laughing,” he said. “But it hurts when I laugh.”
“I promise not to say anything funny ever again, then,” Sadie said, in an odd, emotionless voice.
“Stop! That voice is going to make me laugh even more. What are you even trying to be?”
“A robot.”
“A robot sounds like this.” Sam did his impression of a robot, which cracked them up all over again.
“You’re not supposed to laugh!” Sadie said.
“You’re not supposed to make me laugh. Do people truly die of dysentery?” Sam asked.
“In the olden days, I guess they did.”
“Do you think they put it on people’s tombstones?”
“I don’t think they put cause of death on tombstones, Sam.”
“At the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, they do. I kind of hope I die of dysentery now. Shall we switch to playing Duck Hunt?”
Sadie nodded.
“You’ll have to set up the guns. They’re right up there.” Sadie retrieved the light guns and plugged them into the console. She let Sam shoot first.
“You’re fantastically good,” she said. “Do you have a Nintendo at home?”
“No,” Sam said, “but my grandfather has a Donkey Kong machine in his restaurant. He lets me play as much as I want for free. And the thing about games is, if you get good at one game, you can be good at any game. That’s what I think. They’re all hand-eye coordination and observing patterns.”
“I agree. And what? Your grandfather owns a Donkey Kong machine? That is so cool! I love those old machines. What kind of restaurant is it?”
“It’s a pizza place,” Sam said.
“What? I love pizza! It’s my favorite food on earth. Can you eat all the pizza you want for free?”
Sam nodded while expertly annihilating two ducks.
“That’s, like, my dream. You’re living my actual dream. You have to let me go with you, Sam. What’s the name of the restaurant? Maybe I’ve already been to it.”
“Dong and Bong’s New York Style House of Pizza. Dong and Bong are my grandparents’ names. It’s not even funny in Korean. It’s like being called Jack and Jill,” Sam said. “The restaurant is on Wilshire in K-town.”
“What’s K-town?”
“Lady, are you even from Los Angeles? K-town is Koreatown. How do you not know that?” Sam said. “Everyone knows K-town.”
“I know what Koreatown is. I didn’t know people called it K-town.”
“Where do you live anyway?” Sam asked.
“The flats.”
“What are the flats?”
“It’s the flat part of Beverly Hills,” Sadie said. “It’s pretty close to K-town. See, you didn’t know what the flats were! People in L.A. only ever know about the part of town that they live in.”
“I guess you’re right.”
For the rest of the afternoon, Sam and Sadie chatted amiably while slaughtering several generations of virtual ducks. “What did the ducks ever do to us?” Sadie commented.
“Maybe we’re shooting them for digital food. The digital usses will starve without the virtual ducks.”
“Still, I feel bad for the ducks.”
“You feel bad for the Goombas. You basically feel bad for everyone,” Sam said.
“I do,” Sadie said. “I also feel bad for the bison in Oregon Trail.”
“Why?” Sam asked.
Sadie’s mother poked her head into the game room: Alice had something she wanted to tell Sadie, which was code for Sadie having been forgiven. “I’ll tell you next time,” Sadie said to Sam, though she didn’t know if there would ever be a next time.
“See you around,” Sam said.
“Who’s your little friend?” Sharyn asked as they were leaving.
“Some boy.” Sadie looked back at Sam, who had already returned his attention to the game. “He was nice.”