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THE NEW DIG DUG CHAMP (madmax part 1)
Benjamin Newby crept around his house looking for change, being quiet so that his father wouldn't hear him and question what he was doing. After receiving a call from his friend Dustin – well, Ben wouldn't call themselves friends, but Dustin sure would – about meeting up at the arcade, Ben decided to join. Besides, what else would he have to do? Hanging out with his nerdy acquaintances didn't necessarily seem like a bad idea. After shuffling through the couch cushions for quarters and successfully finding three dollars in change, Ben turned to make his way out of the house, stopping dead in his tracks as his father cleared his throat from behind him.
Ben closed his eyes and mumbled a curse word, then turning to look at his father, Bob Newby, who watched him with slight amusement. "Where are you off to, bud?" Bob asked his son, not in a mean or scolding way, but just genuinely wanting to know. Ben shrugged, "The arcade?" he asked, not intending for it to come out as a question. He shook his head, "Dustin invited me to go hang out for a bit." Ben finished, feeling stupid for not just asking if he could go. "That okay?"
Bob smiled, happy to hear that his son was actually socializing. "Of course it's okay! I'm glad you're hanging out with your friends, Benji." Bob admitted sincerely, a huge smile on his face. Ben internally cringed at the use of his childhood nickname. Bob then waved his hand towards the door, "Go have fun with your friends!" Ben nodded, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Thanks, dad." He turned and made a beeline for the door, opening it. "Just be back before nine!" Ben heard his father yell before the door was closed behind him. The boy adjusted his beanie, pulled up the headphones dangling around his neck, started his music, and grabbed his bike, picking it up and biking off to the arcade in town.
Ben made it to the arcade, parking his bike at the bike rack next to three other bikes. He looked around for Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will, but couldn't find them, suspecting they must've already gotten there and gone inside. Ben pulled his headphones down to dangle around his neck and paused his music, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way inside. The beanie-wearing boy instantly spotted the others crowding Dragon's Lair. "To slay the dragon, use the magic sword." The seductive voice of the princess spoke, Ben cringed as he made his way over, throwing his right arm around Will's shoulders, which startled the shorter boy. "Hello nerds." Ben said with a smirk.
Lucas nodded at him and Will smiled up at him. "Hey, Ben!" Will greeted happily. Dustin mumbled a hello but kept his eyes on the game screen. Ben looked to Mike with raised eyebrows, but the raven-haired boy just rolled his eyes and moved away from him, noticing that Ben was too close to his liking. Ben rolled his eyes as well and watched Dustin play, keeping his arm around Will's shoulders.
"Oh, Jesus!" Dustin groaned, "I'm in unchartered territory here, guys." Ben didn't know much about Dragon's Lair, so he just watched in silence. Ben jumped when the boys all started shouting instructions to Dustin, watching with wide eyes as they panicked. Dustin yelled at them to shut up multiple times, as he attempted to slay the dragon in the game. Dustin gasped as his character died, his three friends all sighed in disappointment, while Ben just chuckled to himself. "No! No! No! I hate this overpriced bullshit!" Dustin complained as he smacked the game. "Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!"
