April was editing her friend's gameplay video quietly. Lofi Hip-hop played from a speaker that had been hooked up to Sean's Alexa. All of her roommates were either at work or college, so the apartment was free for the majority of the day.
She tapped her foot to the beat, internally humming along with the tune. Every so often, she would need to unpause the video and make some more cuts, her friend's voice mixing with the music.
Her editing style often depended on the music she was listening to, so while her friend had played a puzzle game with beautiful art, she had chosen lofi hip-hop.
A knock from the door broke the haven April had made with her music and editing. She jumped off the couch, saving her project and closing the laptop.
Opening the door, she was greeted with a smiling Alex.
"Sorry I'm early, but basketball ended and I had nothing better to do," Alex grinned bashfully.
"Oh, it's no problem, come in," April opened the door wider, closing it once Alex had made her way in. "I was just editing a video for my friend's youtube channel,"
"Ooo, so you've already had some practice with editing. Nice!" Alex flopped down on the couch. She kicked off her shoes and hugged her knees.
"Can I offer you a drink?"
"Nah. I have a soda," Alex raised a half-empty bottle of Pepsi.
April hummed in response, sitting back down on the couch and propping up her feet on the coffee table. She opened her laptop, continuing with the editing of the video.
After a couple of minutes, she found herself unable to focus as it was obvious that Alex had been watching her edit very closely. Deciding no work would be done while the other was here, she closed the tab and opened a platform game instead.
She controlled the little adventurer, jumping and picking up gold expertly. After months of playing this game almost every day, she had become quite good at it.
"What game is that?" Alex asked, scooting closer to April.
"Splunkey, you want to try?"
"Totally!"
April restarted the game, making sure it was on the title screen before sliding it over to Alex.
"So, you move with the arrow keys. To drop bombs you press A, to throw ropes you press S. To use your whip it's X, to jump you press Y. If you want to sprint, press shift," April gently placed Alex's hands on the keys when they strayed.
"Thanks!" Alex started playing as April watched closely, noticing some rookie mistakes, but it was ok. She ended up dying on the second level.
"Oh man, I guess it's your turn now," Alex tried to slide the computer back over but was stopped by April.
"Hey no, you can keep playing. It takes practice. And anyway, if I had a turn it would last far too long for it to be fair," She laughed a bit.
"Yeah, but I'll learn from watching you. Have a turn," Alex placed the computer back on April's lap, making it very clear that there was no fighting it.
April sighed, but smiled regardless. She slowed down her gameplay a bit, feeling Alex's careful watch fall on her fingers and the screen. She stopped when she got to the fourth level, throwing herself on some spikes right before the door.
"What was that for? You could have gone in?" Alex looked at her quizzically.
"Don't want to show you the next area," April smiled, handing the computer back. "Now you go,"
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Beyond the Bell
रोमांसFour Juniors who have never properly met are forced together with a group project that will determine the majority of their second-semester grade. As their acquaintanceship grows stronger, they quickly start to consider each other friends, which cou...
