Page 121 of Glitched Play

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What exactly did you research?"

I set my laptop on the desk before answering. "The history of gaming."

She hums thoughtfully.

"I honestly thought you meant a different kind of research."

Before I have an opportunity to ask what that means, the office door swings open again.

Maci walks in carrying her laptop against one hip, a coffee balanced precariously in her other hand, and several printed pages tucked beneath her arm. A strand of silvery-pink hair has escaped the knot on top of her head, and she absently blows it away as she crosses the room, completely unaware she's smiling.

She looks...

Happy.

The thought arrives before I can categorize why noticing matters.

"Morning," she says.

"Good morning," Dara answers, still wearing that suspicious smile.

Maci doesn't notice.

She's already spreading papers across the small work table, excitement replacing whatever sleep still lingered in her eyes.

"I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday."

"I noticed," I say.

She laughs. "I may have gotten a little carried away."

"A little?"

"I outlined the documentary."

Dara looks between us. "The documentary?"

Maci nods enthusiastically and turns the first page toward us.

"I kept thinking about those kids in the arcade yesterday. The grandparents showing them where gaming started. Then I started wondering how many people know the story behind any of it."

She flips to another page.

"So I broke it into six episodes instead of one. Arcades. Home consoles. LAN parties. Competitive gaming. Streaming. Then where we think it's headed."

As she talks, she stops reading her notes.

She's simply...

Talking.

Her hands move when she's excited. Her ideas build on one another faster than she can organize them, and every time I think she's reached the end of a thought, another connection appears.

I find myself watching her instead of the proposal.