☆ pinball
"Hey Finn, can you quickly go to the Grab N' Go and get me a soda?" Gwen said, flicking through the channels on their TV.
Finney huffed in protest, before re-tying his converse and heading out the door down to the Grab N' Go.
The walk was short, and Finney relished in the fresh air outside.
As he neared the shop, he noticed the 'missing' signs in the window. His was still there.
"I guess they hadn't bothered to take it down..." he thought, pushing open the door to the Grab N' Go.
The first thing he noticed when he went inside was the pinball machine. It looked like it hadn't been touched in months, as a thick layer of dust covered it.
He wondered who the last person to play it was, and would anyone ever beat Vance's high score?
Finney walked past it, trying to ignore the prickling feeling of guilt spreading in his chest.
He grabbed Gwen's soda, paying for it at the counter.
Finney's change was exactly one quarter. Surely, it wouldn't hurt to have just one go on the pinball machine?
He placed Gwen's soda on the ground and shaky hands inserted the quarter, starting up the game that reminded him so strongly of the dead boy who once lived in the basement he escaped from.
Finney played gently, his hands slightly shaking as he was getting closer and closer to Vance's high score.
Then he lost, a few points below Vance's score. Although he lost, he was thankful that Vance's score was still intact. It was comforting, really. That although Vance was gone, his score was still there and so was his impact.
Finney picked up the soda from the floor, and left the Grab N' Go with a pang of sadness.
Would Vance be playing pinball if he was still alive?













