Mall in the Swamps Part 2

2

A-Number One

Once upon a time, there was a fairly vibrant food court inside the Mall of the Swamps.  There was a McDonald's and a Chick-Fil-A, but they both moved out to freestanding restaurants nearby.  All that was left was A-Number One Chinese, and a hand full of tables outside of it.  This was just outside the JC Penney's.  It was surrounded by closed locations, including its last competitor, Swamp Burger, a great idea (including a specialty Gator burger) that failed to take hold.  Maybe the concept of eating something that raised the palette to anticipate 'swamp' was not the best decision.

The specialty at A-Number One was a very spicy General Tso's chicken.  You could smell the spicy kick in the steam that rose from it.  Splitting this treat that could singe your nose hairs were Franny Goodkind and Tabitha Steel. Tabitha was not as thrilled with the super heat emanating from it, but she knew Franny loved it, and she was trying to be a good friend. Neither one wanted to go to the expense of separate meals, and the portions given for each meal were huge.  Tabitha nibbled at the egg roll while Franny twirled strands of noodles.

"They want to go out in the swamps," Tabitha said, between nibbles.

Franny noted that Tabby looked tired, her blues eyes not as bright as usual, with heavy bags underneath, her long, dark hair was not as lustrous as normal.  "Who does?"

"You know!" Tabitha admonished.  "Cokie and the Ghost Squad!  I mean, don't you know what your own brother is up to?" 

Cokie was Franny's older brother, and a recent ex-boyfriend of Tabby's.  Although Tabby had not made that fact clear to Cokie that he was an ex, partly because she was in denial herself.  Franny had not cleared this fact up with Cokie, as she felt that was Tabby's responsibility.  "Sorry, Tabby!  I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't keep up with everything my brother is up to."  Franny took a bite of the chicken, and realized it was a bit hot even for her.  She took a big swallow of sweet tea.  It was not as good as the sweet tea at the Honey Dew, but it would do for cooling your burning tongue off.

"Well, any rate, I don't know what to do.  They're going out to look for clues for what happened to Mr. Mavis.  You know, around where the body was found.  I think they hope to find some ghostly vibes out there, get the story straight from his ectoplasma or something like that," Tabitha said.

"I don't know what they'll find, but it sure sounds like something my brother would do.  Don't you want to go?  Wasn't he one of her favorite teachers?"

"No!  He was THE favorite teacher!  He really inspired me about science and biology.  Between him and my sister, Angela, they really lit a fire in me.  One I hope to stoke into a career in science when I start this fall at Georgia Southern."  Angela was Tabby's older sister, who was a chemistry teacher at Dixon County High School.

Franny thought that might explain Tabby's mixed feelings about Cokie, knowing that she was going to  Statesboro, and how many connections she wanted to have back in Crowley.  "Well, maybe you should go out there, then.  It would help me feel better, knowing that you could stop my brother from doing something too crazy out there."

Tabitha thought for a second.  She pushed at her egg roll.  "I kinda do want to go out there.  I just..." She paused, and Franny thought she saw a tear.  "...it's been awhile since I've done anything with Cokie."

"Ummm, could that be because you and Cokie broke up?" Franny pointedly questioned.

"No!" loudly asserted Tabitha, loud enough for the couple at the table next to them to look over and see what was going on. "We have not broken up!  I've just been too busy to see him, and now, well, I just don't want things to be too awkward."

"Don't over think it, Tabby.  Just go if you want too.  You need to stop stressing about things so much.  You look kinda frazzled."

"Do I?  Well, Miss Goody Goodkind, just because you're high on a cloud with Mr. Dreamboat, doesn't mean the rest of us are!" Tabby teased.  Yes, things were going amazingly well now that Adam and her had finally kissed and started going out, Franny thought.  The shadow of Tabby's sister, Racine, had finally receded.  As hard as it was for Franny to fully absorb, Adam was now her boyfriend. 

"Well, I guess I am," answered Franny.  "Hard to believe that he's interested in this short, chubby girl, but I can't say that I'm not happy."

"Oh, my gosh, Franny, you are so critical.  You are hardly chubby!  And who could resist that sweet face and beautiful smile?  Adam is one lucky ducky, if you ask me."

And who should be coming up the mall, just past the entrance to Hubbell Sporting Goods, clutching a bouquet of flowers? 

And this time, Franny realized, those flowers were not for Racine.  They were for her.

Bath 'n' Body Works

Well, okay.  Not actually in Bath 'n' Body Works.  The tables and chairs set out in the mall near that oderiffic store.  That is where the Waycross Gamers League was meeting.  They were today twelve strong, the apostles of board games, attempting to bring that hobby back to life.

And as far as Mickey Barnes was concerned, was there a more a noble endeavor in human life?  Yes, it was just gaming, or was it?  In this age of sitting by yourself, isolated to your cell phone, TV, computer or video game console, what was better than breaking free of that and reconnecting with people, playing games that actually required human interaction, with people you could see and touch, who smiled at you, and you could smile back?

Mickey was President and organizer of the league.  As a teenager in the eighties, he had cut his teeth on Avalon Hill games like Anzio, Battle of the Bulge and Storm Over Arnhem.  In college he continued, adding in role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.  Then as an adult, working as a cost accountant for the Crowley Paper Mill, he had despaired about the demise of his favorite hobby.  Just in the last year, however, he noticed the hobby was picking up some steam in mentions on the internet, and he found some tabletop gaming conventions that rekindled his interest.  He was surprised in the last year when he put out notices that they would hold some gaming activities in the mall (after getting permission, of course), and that he had a growing base of fellow gamers.

In fact, he saw somebody new approaching.  It was a young teenage boy, a bit overweight, coming towards him carrying a large cardboard UPS box.

Mickey gave him a warm smile and reached out his hand.  The boy set the box down on a table and shyly shook his hand.  "Hi!  Have you come to try some board games?"

The boy nodded.  "I'm Mickey Barnes, and this is our group of gamers!  What's your name?"

"Uh, D-David Roper," the boy sputtered.

David was somewhat younger than the rest of the group.  David appeared to be in early high school, whereas most of the others there ranged from mid-twenties to mid-forties.  It was nice, Mickey thought, to see someone David's age set aside video games and turn his attention to table top games.  It was a great sign for the revivification of his hobby.  "Well, David we have three games going right now.  We have four over there playing Star Wars: Imperial Assault, and another four over here playing Suburbia, and I'm in a group playing Settlers of Cataan.  We've all kind of started, but I'm sure we could welcome you in any of the games."

He saw David hesitate, like he was unsure whether he should continue.  He didn't want the boy to buck and run, so he said, "I see you've brought something.  What did you bring?"

"It's...it's...I don't know.  It's not important."  He turned to pick up his box and leave.

Mickey grabbed him gently by the arm.  He didn't want to lose this chance to expand his group.  "Look, it's okay.  You made a special effort to come out this way.  Show me what you got.  I would love to see it.  Which game company is it from?  Days of Wonder?  Fantasy Flight?  Something else?"

"It's,,,it's...well, it's from me. I made it."  David opened it up and brought out a game board that almost looked like a race track.  "It's...To Crown A King."  The boy had dice, scorecards, homemade miniatures and other game paraphernalia, detailed but very amateurish.  What was he supposed to do here?  The boy had come up with his own game!

Mickey wasn't sure how to respond.  They really weren't a league of game creators.  The boy took his hesitancy as rejection and started to pack his game back up.  "No.  Don't leave.  Give me a chance to finish up my play in Settlers of Cataan, and then I'll take a closer look at your game with you.  We might not be able to play it today, but if you help me understand the basics, I think we can give it a whirl next meeting, okay?"

David's eyes lit up, as he smiled and nodded yes.    "Have you played Settlers of Cataan before?" Mickey asked.

David shook his head no.  "Come watch me play for a bit.  Maybe it will help give you some ideas."

David stayed.  This was going to be good, he hoped.  Maybe this would be even better than the Ghost Squad.