klatsch
or klatch
[ klahch, klach ]
noun
a casual gathering of people, especially for refreshments and informal conversation: a sewing klatsch.
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Jeff
trudged through the room. He had long since given up pretending to care about
tea. He did not even drink the stuff. And yet, here he was, among old women
talking about something he had exactly zero interest in.
He soon
found the far wall, which had thankfully been lined with chairs. And there,
sitting in one of those chairs, was something that made his being there much more
enjoyable. He slowly made his way up to the pretty girl who was fiddling with
her phone.
“Hey,
uh, mind if I sit here?” He asked. The girl shrugged without looking up.
Jeff sat
and pulled his device out. Now he just had to figure out how to start a
conversation. Should he just ask her a question? Would that be weird? It would
probably be weird. Besides, he did not know her, so he had nothing to ask
about. Well, other than the tea tasting.
“So,
your mom drag you here too?” He asked.
“Ugh,
yeah.” She said. “I told her I didn’t want to come.”
“Same. I
mean, seriously, who likes this stuff?”
“I know,
right? Who cares if there’s, like, twenty kinds of tea? It’s all just tea,
which is the most boring drink ever.”
“Jeff.”
“Lisa.”
Okay,
that was a big leap forward. He now knew her name. Now he just needed to keep
the conversation going. Should he ask about not seeing her at school? No, that
was pointless. It was a big school, and there was no way to know everyone in
it. Besides, she could also go to a different school.
He
glanced quickly at her screen. It was a game. And not a small puzzle game, but
a real one. Well, as real as a mobile game ever could be.
“What’re
you playing?” He asked.
“It’s
some lame attempt at a shooter. It sucks, but it’s better than nothing.” She
answered. “Don’t bother asking what it is, I barely remember. Hell, I only
downloaded it because it’s free.”
“Got it.
You play anything else?”
“Oh
yeah. I own everyone at Warrior Zone.” She said with a smirk.
Now he
was on familiar territory. “Oh really? Because I bet I could take you.”
She let
out a quick, barking laugh. “I doubt that. What rank are you?”
“Diamond
five.” Jeff said proudly. She let out a low whistle.
“Not bad.
I’m diamond six though.”
Damn, that
meant she was good. “Okay, maybe you’ll be a good challenge. I mean, I always
need a good warm up match.”
“Oh you’re
on.”
She felt around for anything to
write on and came up with a small napkin that she tore in two. That was then
followed by a small, eraserless pencil. She scribbled something on half the
napkin and handed everything to him. A quick glance at the writing showed what
was obviously a gamer tag. Jeff responded in kind.
“I look forward to filling you full
of lead.” Lisa said as she tucked his online handle into her pocket.
“You can try.” Jeff replied as he
did the same. Now that he had an in, he just had to keep rolling with it. “So,
what else do you play?”
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To be fair, there are a lot of really good mobile games out there. But those are a vast minority.
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