Into the Penny Arcade
By Claire Massey, first published in Nightjar Press
An adolescent girl jumps out of the fire and into the frying pan when she escapes bullies by entering the lorry of a mysterious man who seeks to play games with her.
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Plot Summary
A girl is walking home after school when she interrupts a group of bullies beating up another girl. Running away, she is struck by something that erupts a stream of blood from her head, so she hops into the safety of a man's lorry that she's seen parked here for some time. The man bolts the doors shut and gives her a shirt to compress her injury with. He tells her when the bullies leave. When the girl hints that she needs to be home soon, he responds pitifully, saying that it's been such a long time since he's had company. Taking in the layout of the lorry, the girl finds that it is full of arcade games, ranging from old school relics to more recent ones. He offers her a penny to play a few games, and then she can be on her way. The girl agrees, not wanting to upset him and believing that if she just politely gives him a moment of company, perhaps he will let her go. She plays a few rounds on the machines while he watches her, and as time passes, she grows restless, insisting that she return home. Before leaving, however, the man obliges her to find out her fortune from a fortune teller game. When she plays, the genie announces that her wish shall be granted, and at that, the man finally lets the girl leave. Once the girl arrives home, she realizes that she left her backpack and needs to return to pick it up. The next day, upon finding the lorry, she enters the back to see that it has been ransacked: shattered glass, splintered wood, and indistinguishable game pieces litter the floor. In the lorry is also the backpack, but the man is nowhere to be found.
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