“Oh, what is it now? Bats?”

Emily groaned. She just went through mutant sea creatures, modified insects, altered swamp animals and weird experimentations in a lab. She couldn’t think what else could possibly happen. Her bottom already hurt from sitting too long.

Her back also had gone stiff.

Jae glanced at her as she craned her neck, “Do you want to stop here or continue?”

She checked the score. The difference in their amounts already looked obvious. Even if they ventured to the cave, she knew it would be possible to catch up. She rolled her shoulders. Her body ached to change positions.

“Fine, fine. It’s your win” Emily huffed. She got up and felt pain shot up her legs. How long had they played for? She shuffled her feet, shaking off the spasms. She could use a stretch.

Jae - 2

Emily - 1

Jae walked to her side. He laced his fingers together and pressed them overhead, fully extending his arms. Then, he bent them and pulled them back. His shoulders blades contracted from the movement.

Emily looked at his state, “You feeling stiff too?”

“A bit” he replied, swinging his arms in front of him, “Can we have a game where we could stand?”

Most of the machines in the middle had chairs. They quickly forgot about it. A number of games did require some standing but Emily didn’t feel like it. She kept searching. A large backdrop caught her attention. The neon colors stood out against the white base.

Her feet already moved before she could process the thought. Jae stayed close behind her. He made sure no one would accidentally bump into her. He also made sure not to lose her in the crowd. Their height difference made it difficult for him to slip through narrow spaces.

Emily clapped her hands together, placing it near her chest. She shook her head slowly. Her smile also spread at the same speed. Stage lights stood on either side of the backdrop. It had two screens on it and two platforms in front.

The platform had led lights underneath a glass, lighting up in different colors. The monitors showed animated girls dancing to the machine’s music. A playlist of songs climbed at the center, presenting the available ones for the game.

“A dance battle?” Jae raised an eyebrow.

The rules of the game seemed clear. They had to step on the right boxes when it lights up on the monitor. They’d usually glide from the top so the players could see which boxes came next. It was easy to get lost in the amount of them and distort someone’s focus.

“Yeah, we need to get moving!” Emily exclaimed. She picked the platform on the right. The heels of her boots clicked against the surface. She felt grateful to have chosen pants. Although a skirt gave her free movement, she still stayed weary of strangers.

Jae shrugged and checked the token slot. Once he was done, he went into position. He did some light stretches, “You think you can dampen my spirit with this? I’ll have you know I actually had dance lessons as a kid.”

Emily scolled, her lips curved upwards, “Are you serious?��

“Yeah, mother made Logan and I attend them. She said we needed it to attract girls.”

“Oh, this I’d love to see.”

Emily held the controls for the music. Each song played a preview when the cursor pointed at them. She went through a number of them. Then, one of them had a steady clapping beat for an intro. A bit of nostalgia hit her. It had been awhile since she listened to this song.

The screens blurred into 5 columns, inclining to the top.

Clapping began to blast out of the speakers at a higher volume. Emily snapped her fingers along. Her upper body swayed a bit, feeling the rhythm. Her feet tapped on the platform, ready to strike.

Jae watched from the side. She didn’t hold back. Most girls he hung out with felt shy whenever they’d need to perform in a crowded place. None of them felt confident enough to not care about what others thought.

The boxes came out from the top.

When the artist sang the first line, the first box hit its mark.

Emily moved her right foot in time. Then, she stepped it on another column. She followed the screen as it instructed her. Her upper body also kept up with the pace. She pulled the foot back and used her left one.

The game had a default level which was ‘intermediate.’

Soon, the screen asked for combo movements of two boxes at a time.

It had the players do a bit of jazz square around the platform.

Jae stomped with his feet spread apart. His lower arms did the same thing, elbows near his torso. He knew the song well. It didn’t take him long to get in the mood either.

“I’m too hot…” he started to sing along. He rolled his shoulders, “Hot damn.”

For the next combo, he crossed his legs and did a quick spin. He repeated it to face the screen again, “Called a police and a fireman.”

Emily raised her right arm diagonally, hovering over her left shoulder. She brought it down and snapped her fingers. Her hips also shifted with the motion. Her voice piped out, “I’m too hot…”

Still using her right hand, she did a hair flip, “Hot damn.”

Then, her upper body twisted from her shoulders down to her torso.

“Make a dragon wanna retire man.”

“I’m too hot…” Emily swayed her hips to the left. Her shoulders rose up and down rapidly, “Hot damn.”

She rose her feet to her toes and stepped back down to bump the hip repeatedly. Her left hand also snapped while its arm swung along, “Say my name you know who I am.”

“I’m too hot…” Jae sang louder. Right hand on his abdomen and left arm spread wide, he jumped to the tips of his toes, “Hot damn.”

When he landed, he did a ‘skating running man’ on the middle column. He rotated directions to stay in place, “And my band ’bout that money, break it down.”

Together, they clapped their hands. It added tone to the performance. Their feet didn’t miss a step. The refrain came on and the boxes picked up the pace. It wanted to boost their tempo for the beginning of the chorus.

“Don’t believe me just watch!”

Emily and Jae somehow had an understanding.

When they heard the first line of the chorus, both of them jumped for the combo position. This part of the game gave double points than normal. More so if they had a streak of no misses. No more funny business, they concentrated their energy on their feet. They moved across the platform and used every column it had.

“Stop!”

They did.

“Wait, a minute!”

They didn’t.

Back to the stanzas, Jae decided to goof off a bit more. His random dance moves caught the eyes of a few onlookers. Not one to miss out on the fun, Emily created her own choreography. This competition didn’t rely on score alone anymore.

It was a showdown.

For every foot work Jae presented, Emily did her best to top it off.

If he made a spin, she made a pirouette.

If he did a ‘criss cross’, she did a ‘butterfly’.

If he shuffled in a ‘house happy feet’, she shuffled in a ‘heel-toe cross’.

Their audience began to cheer. All of them encouraged both players. The noise bounced against the ceiling. A scene such as this rarely occurred. They watched while they still could.

When the second chorus ended, the music faded to a whisper. Emily and Jae slowed down a bit. They did minimal body movement as the arrows stopped for a while. The rest of the song started low and gradually intensified. The last part of the chorus would turn into a party level of hype.

The game also gave triple the points.

No time for improvisation.

This decided the final score more than anything.

Both right feet stepped on the right column. Then, the left… double right. Left again, right, double left. Repeat three more times. When all the right columns lit up, they leaped towards it. Shuffled their feet to catch the next boxes.

When all the left columns lit up, they hopped to it. Shuffled their feet again.

The refrain for the last chorus came on and they tapped their feet rapidly.

Boxes flew to all columns.

Feet apart, the players did one big jump.

The end became a showdown of different Shuffle Dances. It kept the feet moving, ideal for this game. A mix of heel, flat foot and toes touched the glass. Speed shot up to the maximum. Emily skipped across the platform. Her movements were fluid yet energetic.

Jae stayed in a close range. His dance had more of a bounce—quick, simple and precise. His upper body didn’t move unless necessary. His eyes had a laser focus on the screen.

The outro began and it asked for several jumps. The more boxes, the more force it should have. Emily went flying. Her stretchable pants allowed her a bit of gymnastics. She posed midair for the last seconds of the song.

Then, she finished it with a split.

The crowd went wild. Their applause overpowered any noise the arcade had. They cheered and hooted their approval. They also screamed for more. Security guards and ushers began to investigate the commotion,

Emily got up from the platform. She sweated a little but the exhilaration topped over it. She pulled the tie around her ponytail, shaking her hair. She fingered combed it and wrapped it up in a bun instead.

“You have quite the fanbase” Jae smirked once he reached her side.

Emily wrinkled her nose playfully. She slapped his stomach a bit with the back of her hand, “You’re not so bad yourself, giant ogre.”

Jae scoffed in disbelief. The smile on his face was too wide for him to control. He shook his head at her and placed a hand on his chest, “Of course, I know that, sweetie. Even the Dance Craze Game says so.”

Her eyes snapped towards the screens.

The left one had a thousand points more than the right. Emily’s jaw dropped. No… no, no, no, her vision must be deceiving her. How could this have happened? They should at least be neck to neck! Did he score more points when they improvised?

Overwhelmed with happiness, Jae wrapped an arm around her upper back.

Jae - 3

Emily - 1

“You owe me dinner, little missy.”