“Nah,” I answer. “I’d say this is the appropriate volume forSmash Bros.”
“I was talking to Vimlesh,” Jude hisses.
Vimlesh steps into the living room, looks at the TV, then smiles. “Oh, I see. Now I understand the yelling.”
“See?” I say with a smirk. “Vimlesh gets us.”
“Would you like to play?” Jude asks, offering up their controller to Vimlesh.
I quickly lean forward to tap the coffee table. “I’ve got more controllers—we can all play.”
“Hm,” Vimlesh hesitates. “Do you also haveMario Kart?”
“Sure do!”
Vimlesh’s grin grows. “Let me know if you play that next. I prefer it toSmash.”
“You got it, dude.”
“Actually, you guys can go ahead and start that up,” Jude says, standing to their feet and placing their controller on the coffee table. “I should get going anyway. I’ve got some Stats homework due tomorrow that I haven’t started yet.”
“Oh,” I mutter, trying not to sound as disappointed as I feel. “Yeah, of course.”
“Do you mind if I grab one of Max’s drinks for the road?” Jude asks as they walk into the kitchen. “I’ll let him know it was me.”
I chuckle. “Sure thing. You’re also welcome to a Dr. Pepper; those are mine.”
Jude’s brows raise with intrigue. “You know, that sounds even better. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Vimlesh sits in the armchair and retrieves Jude’s controller while I switch out the games on the console. While it loads, I glance back up to Jude to see their gaze lingering on something bright pink on the fridge.
As soon as it registers what they’re looking at, I practically leap to my feet. “Oh, hey, are you going to that EQA thing tomorrow?”
Jude sighs. “I completely forgot about it, and now I’ve already made other plans.” They toss me a dubious look. “Why? Areyougoing?”
“I am. Theo invited me to tag along with him for moral support.”
“Huh,” Jude says, studying me skeptically. “That’s nice of you.”
“That’s me. I’m pretty nice.”
Jude barks a laugh. “Yeah, sure. A pretty nicecheater.”
“I’mnota cheater!” I snap. “Items are part of the game!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jude says dismissively as they put on their backpack. “Whatever you say, cheater.”
“Not a cheater!”
“Bye, cheater!”
The door closes behind Jude before I can shout back, so I mutter, “loser,” before returning to the couch to retrieve my controller.
“What were you guys talking about?” Vimlesh asks asMario Kartboots up.
I snicker. “They think I’m a cheater because I use items inSmash. Which is just insane, because that’s literally?—”
