Made
Two Quarters and a Heart Down
Laila made pasta, and they idly watched television and ate and drank. He came face to face with Laila's love of game shows, and she made him watch reruns of "Deal or No Deal" and the like for hours. She laughed heartily at every joke, and kept a small smile on her face for the duration of the evening. There were a lot of cultural references she didn't get, but kept watching dutifully anyway.
"It's almost as fun as 'Jeopardy'," she said, munching on some Twizzlers she'd gotten from ASDA. "But not quite."
She was talking about "Pointless", a game show dedicated to obscure answers. He looked at her in confusion.
"What's 'Jeopardy'?" he asked.
She shot him a condescending look.
"As in, Alex Trebek," she said. He shook his head.
Laila jumped up, sending the Twizzlers flying. She dashed up the steps and came back down with a small Apple laptop.
"Where did you get that from?" he asked, trying to take it from her nimble fingers, but she yanked it away before he could get a good grip on it.
"Work," she said. She pulled up a bunch of clips from Youtube, muting the television to show him the "second best game show of all time".
He watched carefully, and enjoyed the clips, but still didn't understand the appeal.
"Why does it have to be a question?" he asked, finally tired of the "what is" that the contestants used before each answer.
"I dunno," she said. "I think it's sort of like 'Pyramid'. It's an answer, so what is the question type thing."
"What's 'Pyramid'?" She gave him a little pat on the head.
"You lead a sad life, sir."
Four hours later, they had watched clips of "Pyramid", which he enjoyed much less than "Jeopardy", but liked nontheless, and videos of game show bloopers. She had scooted closer to him, tucking her body into the small space between his arm and his torso, and munched on Twizzlers (which she said were disgusting and a shame to the brand, but ate anyway) and some pistachios.
Laila started to fall asleep by about 11PM, as he idly traced circles on her exposed thigh.
"I like spending time with you," she murmured, before fully succumbing to sleep.
He kissed the top of her head and carried her up the steps to her room, careful not to drop the laptop he was balancing on her stomach.
He planned to only put her down and trudge up the stairs to his room, but she refused to let go of his arm, and with a surprisingly strong grip, pulled him down to the bed next to her. She just rested her head on his chest, and though the angle was terrible for him, he somehow managed to fall asleep anyway.
"It's almost as fun as 'Jeopardy'," she said, munching on some Twizzlers she'd gotten from ASDA. "But not quite."
She was talking about "Pointless", a game show dedicated to obscure answers. He looked at her in confusion.
"What's 'Jeopardy'?" he asked.
She shot him a condescending look.
"As in, Alex Trebek," she said. He shook his head.
Laila jumped up, sending the Twizzlers flying. She dashed up the steps and came back down with a small Apple laptop.
"Where did you get that from?" he asked, trying to take it from her nimble fingers, but she yanked it away before he could get a good grip on it.
"Work," she said. She pulled up a bunch of clips from Youtube, muting the television to show him the "second best game show of all time".
He watched carefully, and enjoyed the clips, but still didn't understand the appeal.
"Why does it have to be a question?" he asked, finally tired of the "what is" that the contestants used before each answer.
"I dunno," she said. "I think it's sort of like 'Pyramid'. It's an answer, so what is the question type thing."
"What's 'Pyramid'?" She gave him a little pat on the head.
"You lead a sad life, sir."
Four hours later, they had watched clips of "Pyramid", which he enjoyed much less than "Jeopardy", but liked nontheless, and videos of game show bloopers. She had scooted closer to him, tucking her body into the small space between his arm and his torso, and munched on Twizzlers (which she said were disgusting and a shame to the brand, but ate anyway) and some pistachios.
Laila started to fall asleep by about 11PM, as he idly traced circles on her exposed thigh.
"I like spending time with you," she murmured, before fully succumbing to sleep.
He kissed the top of her head and carried her up the steps to her room, careful not to drop the laptop he was balancing on her stomach.
He planned to only put her down and trudge up the stairs to his room, but she refused to let go of his arm, and with a surprisingly strong grip, pulled him down to the bed next to her. She just rested her head on his chest, and though the angle was terrible for him, he somehow managed to fall asleep anyway.