Interlocking Squares: Vincent (4)
Thursday 12 January 2006 (cont'd)
'You and me.' David repeated. The grin on his face had grown wider. 'Well, Vinny-boy, looks like there's finally a girl interested in you, after all these long lonely years.'
Vincent shifted uncomfortably. 'I told you, it's nothing like that,' he began.
David cut him off. 'And she's willing to take the initiative – just what you need. I remember the time you tried to ask... what's her name? That girl in your class, who used to sit in the front row? Ah, right – Wenn Ying. Tan Wenn Ying, was it? The number of pep talks I had to give you... I've always regretted not charging you for that. Then you went and got cold feet on me at the last minute. That's gratitude for you.'
'It's not – ' Vincent tried again, then sighed and gave it up. 'Ah, forget it. I know there's no point trying to tell you something when you've made up your mind it's something else.'
'Smart.'
Vincent hauled his own laptop out of the wardrobe. He kept it conscientiously locked in there whenever it wasn't in use, with the added camouflage of a pile of T-shirts. Unlike David, who generally left his lying around anyhow as if theft were something that only happened to other people.
David leaned over to peer over his shoulder. 'Wonders abound tonight,' he said. 'First you go off on your third hot date in a row, then you actually go online and check your email. I thought you only did that on Saturday nights. I'm expecting a rain of frogs any time now.'
Ignoring his roommate as best as he could, Vincent typed in his password. He waited, one finger hovering over 'enter'. David continued to gaze at the screen with a look of expectant interest. Vincent gave in.
'David, this is... well, personal.'
'The best things often are,' said David blandly.
Vincent tried to ignore that as well. 'Don't you have an assignment or something?' he asked, nodding rather pointedly at David's own laptop.
'It can wait a couple more minutes,' said David. 'It's waited more than a month. Should've learned patience by now. Go on, click it. You know you want to. Not an email from her, is it?'
Vincent didn't need to reply. David took one look at his face and chuckled.
'Bloody hellfire, it is an email from her. Vincent, Vincent. I never knew you had so much Casanova potential in that unassuming frame of yours.'
'It's just a game she's sending me,' said Vincent, feeling his blood pressure spike. 'She made it herself. She wants to be a game designer, she told me.' Though not with much optimism, now he thought back on it.
'Not much chance of that here, though. The games industry is practically nonexistent. I could try my luck abroad, but, well, I'd be starting out as an intern with subsistence-level salary and I'd have travel and relocation expenses to think about, just for starters. Besides, I don't fancy the idea of leaving here permanently, so...'
'That's... interesting,' said Vincent, into the ensuing silence.
Ching Juan shrugged. 'Yeah, that's what people always say. Probably when they can't think of anything else to say. I mean, it's not exactly your everyday career choice. Oh well.' She swirled her teh tarik around in its mug, took a mouthful, and her face lightened again. 'Now, this is something I'd miss if I had to move away for good. Good ol' teh tarik, balm for the human spirit... Hm, teh tarik... wonder what teh tolak would taste like.' She considered the mug for a moment, then burst out laughing. 'I know, water!'
'What?' asked Vincent, bewildered.
Eyes bright with amusement, Ching Juan eyed him for a few moments, then gave a half-sigh and another laugh. 'Never mind. Long story. Chalk it up as yet another piece of random insanity.'
'Teh... tolak?' David repeated to himself, frowning slightly. Then his face brightened, and he burst out laughing in almost the same way Ching Juan had done. 'Teh, tolak the teh – subtract the tea – and you get water. This Ching Juan of yours is getting more interesting by the minute, Vincent.'
Vincent sighed. 'Will you stop... referring to her like that.'
'How about a deal?' said David. 'Fair trade. Laissez-faire and all. I'll stop 'referring to her like that', as you put it, if you'll let me see this game of hers she sent you. I'll even quit badgering you for the rest of the night. Deal?'
Vincent never trusted David's deals. There was always a loophole in them somewhere he never saw until it was too late. But it seemed to be the only way he was going to get any peace tonight. 'All right. You can look.'
There was a title screen, proclaiming it Collector of Tales, and a brief introduction. Apparently the hero was a character called Mervyn, entrusted by his master with retrieving fragments of lost stories from a place called the Citadel of Tales. Then it faded out and the game proper began.
The scene was some sort of library: there were platforms and rows of what looked like bookcases. Various odd-shaped things moved back and forth. A small figure, presumably Mervyn, stood patiently in the lower left corner of the foreground. For some obscure reason, he was dressed in farmer's overalls. After a while, he yawned, stretched, produced a large watch out of nowhere and checked it before resuming his original pose.
'Cute,' said David.
Vincent looked at the screen somewhat dubiously. The only videogame he played these days was the occasional round of Tetris, or Typer Shark. 'Is there a help file – '
'Screw the help file. It's pretty intuitive, isn't it?' David scraped his chair forward. 'Been a while since I played a platformer. Hop, skip, up... good, haven't lost my touch... I'm betting those glittery little things are the ones you've got to collect – bloody hell, where did that come from?'
The two of them watched as Mervyn was swallowed up by what appeared to be a rather flat dinosaur. The dinosaur licked its lips and put on a smug grin. 'Eat!' it declared – or at least, the word appeared over its head as its mouth moved. 'Consume! Gobble! Munch! Devour!'
David burst out laughing again. 'A thesaurus? Oh, God, this is priceless.'
Vincent couldn't quite see what the humour was all about. He cleared his throat. 'Well, now you've seen it...
'I should leave you alone, right? Okay, okay, leaving. It looks quite fun, though. Give me a copy after I finish this assignment.'
'I'd have to ask Ching Juan's permission first, of course,' said Vincent, with dignity.
David merely looked amused as he dragged his chair back to his own desk.
Feeling rather surreptitious about it, Vincent fiddled with the game a little, glad that David wasn't watching him make a mess of it. He'd never been much good with games, a fact only confirmed by Mervyn's third death in quick succession (once falling off a too-high platform, twice devoured by wandering monsters).
Vincent sighed, gave up and switched off his laptop. It was probably the best thing to do. After all, he hadn't finished reviewing his notes from the day's lectures yet.
'You and me.' David repeated. The grin on his face had grown wider. 'Well, Vinny-boy, looks like there's finally a girl interested in you, after all these long lonely years.'
Vincent shifted uncomfortably. 'I told you, it's nothing like that,' he began.
David cut him off. 'And she's willing to take the initiative – just what you need. I remember the time you tried to ask... what's her name? That girl in your class, who used to sit in the front row? Ah, right – Wenn Ying. Tan Wenn Ying, was it? The number of pep talks I had to give you... I've always regretted not charging you for that. Then you went and got cold feet on me at the last minute. That's gratitude for you.'
'It's not – ' Vincent tried again, then sighed and gave it up. 'Ah, forget it. I know there's no point trying to tell you something when you've made up your mind it's something else.'
'Smart.'
Vincent hauled his own laptop out of the wardrobe. He kept it conscientiously locked in there whenever it wasn't in use, with the added camouflage of a pile of T-shirts. Unlike David, who generally left his lying around anyhow as if theft were something that only happened to other people.
David leaned over to peer over his shoulder. 'Wonders abound tonight,' he said. 'First you go off on your third hot date in a row, then you actually go online and check your email. I thought you only did that on Saturday nights. I'm expecting a rain of frogs any time now.'
Ignoring his roommate as best as he could, Vincent typed in his password. He waited, one finger hovering over 'enter'. David continued to gaze at the screen with a look of expectant interest. Vincent gave in.
'David, this is... well, personal.'
'The best things often are,' said David blandly.
Vincent tried to ignore that as well. 'Don't you have an assignment or something?' he asked, nodding rather pointedly at David's own laptop.
'It can wait a couple more minutes,' said David. 'It's waited more than a month. Should've learned patience by now. Go on, click it. You know you want to. Not an email from her, is it?'
Vincent didn't need to reply. David took one look at his face and chuckled.
'Bloody hellfire, it is an email from her. Vincent, Vincent. I never knew you had so much Casanova potential in that unassuming frame of yours.'
'It's just a game she's sending me,' said Vincent, feeling his blood pressure spike. 'She made it herself. She wants to be a game designer, she told me.' Though not with much optimism, now he thought back on it.
'Not much chance of that here, though. The games industry is practically nonexistent. I could try my luck abroad, but, well, I'd be starting out as an intern with subsistence-level salary and I'd have travel and relocation expenses to think about, just for starters. Besides, I don't fancy the idea of leaving here permanently, so...'
'That's... interesting,' said Vincent, into the ensuing silence.
Ching Juan shrugged. 'Yeah, that's what people always say. Probably when they can't think of anything else to say. I mean, it's not exactly your everyday career choice. Oh well.' She swirled her teh tarik around in its mug, took a mouthful, and her face lightened again. 'Now, this is something I'd miss if I had to move away for good. Good ol' teh tarik, balm for the human spirit... Hm, teh tarik... wonder what teh tolak would taste like.' She considered the mug for a moment, then burst out laughing. 'I know, water!'
'What?' asked Vincent, bewildered.
Eyes bright with amusement, Ching Juan eyed him for a few moments, then gave a half-sigh and another laugh. 'Never mind. Long story. Chalk it up as yet another piece of random insanity.'
'Teh... tolak?' David repeated to himself, frowning slightly. Then his face brightened, and he burst out laughing in almost the same way Ching Juan had done. 'Teh, tolak the teh – subtract the tea – and you get water. This Ching Juan of yours is getting more interesting by the minute, Vincent.'
Vincent sighed. 'Will you stop... referring to her like that.'
'How about a deal?' said David. 'Fair trade. Laissez-faire and all. I'll stop 'referring to her like that', as you put it, if you'll let me see this game of hers she sent you. I'll even quit badgering you for the rest of the night. Deal?'
Vincent never trusted David's deals. There was always a loophole in them somewhere he never saw until it was too late. But it seemed to be the only way he was going to get any peace tonight. 'All right. You can look.'
There was a title screen, proclaiming it Collector of Tales, and a brief introduction. Apparently the hero was a character called Mervyn, entrusted by his master with retrieving fragments of lost stories from a place called the Citadel of Tales. Then it faded out and the game proper began.
The scene was some sort of library: there were platforms and rows of what looked like bookcases. Various odd-shaped things moved back and forth. A small figure, presumably Mervyn, stood patiently in the lower left corner of the foreground. For some obscure reason, he was dressed in farmer's overalls. After a while, he yawned, stretched, produced a large watch out of nowhere and checked it before resuming his original pose.
'Cute,' said David.
Vincent looked at the screen somewhat dubiously. The only videogame he played these days was the occasional round of Tetris, or Typer Shark. 'Is there a help file – '
'Screw the help file. It's pretty intuitive, isn't it?' David scraped his chair forward. 'Been a while since I played a platformer. Hop, skip, up... good, haven't lost my touch... I'm betting those glittery little things are the ones you've got to collect – bloody hell, where did that come from?'
The two of them watched as Mervyn was swallowed up by what appeared to be a rather flat dinosaur. The dinosaur licked its lips and put on a smug grin. 'Eat!' it declared – or at least, the word appeared over its head as its mouth moved. 'Consume! Gobble! Munch! Devour!'
David burst out laughing again. 'A thesaurus? Oh, God, this is priceless.'
Vincent couldn't quite see what the humour was all about. He cleared his throat. 'Well, now you've seen it...
'I should leave you alone, right? Okay, okay, leaving. It looks quite fun, though. Give me a copy after I finish this assignment.'
'I'd have to ask Ching Juan's permission first, of course,' said Vincent, with dignity.
David merely looked amused as he dragged his chair back to his own desk.
Feeling rather surreptitious about it, Vincent fiddled with the game a little, glad that David wasn't watching him make a mess of it. He'd never been much good with games, a fact only confirmed by Mervyn's third death in quick succession (once falling off a too-high platform, twice devoured by wandering monsters).
Vincent sighed, gave up and switched off his laptop. It was probably the best thing to do. After all, he hadn't finished reviewing his notes from the day's lectures yet.
9:53 PM, April 13, 2006
hahahaha...sounds so typical.
but hell, i suck at platform games too...:P
looks like a love triangle is starting to develop, i can see it coming...
...run elf run, anyone ;) top