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“Yeah!”
The shrill ringing of the bell lost the battle against an eruption of cheers as students sprang up from their seats and celebrated the coming of summer. The teacher at the front of the classroom quickly found herself jolted from her cheery end-of-the-day routine as the rising tide of children made their way for the exit.
“Students, careful, now! I don’t want you tripping over each other!” Her orders proved vain as the stampede tumbled out of the classroom, with a few students of the bunch desperately wishing Ms. Umagaki a farewell for the summer as the tide carried them through the door. “Well, umm… have a great summer, kids!”
“Students of Diamond City Elementary. Please remember to exit your classrooms in a calm, orderly fashion. Enjoy your summers,” blared an authoritative voice over the loudspeakers, though the cheering all but covered it up.
Just as quickly as it’d begun, the intense energy left with the students. The classroom, now a calm, orderly place once more, was silent, save the cheering in the halls and beyond the outside window.
“Thank you so much for teaching us this year, Miss Umagaki!”
Before the short, dark-skinned teacher knew it, one of the only two students remaining in the room had placed her in a tight hug. With a surprised jolt, she looked down to see one of her brightest, and shortest, students, grinning up at her through the green-tinted visor connected to his hard hat. His red shirt bore a large yellow ‘V’ on its front, and he wore a pair of matching shoes and green pants.
“Oh… thank you, Nine-Volt!, it was a joy to teach you!” smiled Ms. Umagaki, exuberance washing across her face.
The child broke away and scampered back to his desk before replying, in his treble, young voice, “You’re the best teacher ever! Have a great summer, Miss Umagaki!”
“Thanks, Nine-Volt, have plenty of fun!”
“Yeah, what he said!” The lower, more brutish voice filled the room as a powerful pair of arms locked around Miss Umagaki’s midsection and pushed the wind from her lungs. The new hugger was a tall, built figure clothed in a green tracksuit, with a wild ponytail and pair of 3D glasses on his head. “You’re such a fun teacher, Miss Umagaki, I love you!”
“Ack! Eighteen… Volt! Remember... what we talked about?” sputtered the woman as she struggled to breathe. “Gentle hugs, personal space!”
“Oh, right!” 18-Volt exclaimed, releasing her and backing off before scratching his head in embarrassment. “Sorry!”
After refilling her lungs with a gasp, Miss Umagaki formed a weak smile. “That’s alright, Eighteen-Volt, I know you’re just excited.”
He pumped his fist in the air. “Yeah, I am! It’s summer time!”
The two remaining kids grabbed their backpacks and skateboard before making a stride toward the gateway to summer freedom. As 18-Volt grasped the doorknob, Ms. Umagaki smiled, wishing them a safe and fun summer.
“Bye, Miss Umagaki!” the two Volts exclaimed in near-unison as they strode out into the, by now, almost completely empty, hallways and clicked the door shut behind them.
“So, what’cha wanna do now that summer’s here?” 18-Volt barked, his voice filling the bustling city streets as 9-Volt paced beside him, green, high tech skateboard in-hand.
“Want me to ask my mom if you can come over to play video games?”
“Video games?!” the big kid bellowed, a wide grin spreading across his face as he halted to face his friend. “That sounds fun!”
A car whizzed past, and the pair turned a corner, now bearing down the path to a small suburban area. Modest houses dotted the forested neighborhood, fenced off from each other.
They stopped in front of a large, green house and turned toward it. “I can’t wait to tell my mom about my last day of school!” 18-Volt cheered as his short legs carried him toward the fence gate.
“I bet my mom’ll wanna hear all about it, too!” smiled the smaller boy before turning down the street and giving a wave to his friend. “I’ll call you if she says it’s okay for you to come over!”
“Word!”
With a grin, 9-Volt turned his attention toward the street and tossed down his board. He hopped on and positioned his back foot against a small pedal between a pair of rocket boosters. A light push was all it took for them to fire up and send him flying down the street.
He cheered childishly as the wind rushed past his face, and several houses flew by until he began to slow himself down. His board rolled to a perfect stop in front of a cream-colored house with a red roof. The bustle of Diamond City now lay faintly in the background as he hopped off and kicked his board up into his palm.
The window beside the chocolate brown door was agape, and his brunette, tall mother stood behind it in her usual yellow apron and red hoodie. She hummed carefreely as water sprinkled down from a small can into a windowsill plant.
“Mom!” beamed 9-Volt with an enthusiastic wave, breaking the woman’s focus.
She looked up, her large, brown eyes locking onto her son and a warm smile spreading across her face. “Hi, honey, come on inside!” she waved.
As the boy swung open the door, a strong pair of hands came out of nowhere, snatching him up and pulling him in close. “Oh, Nine-Volt, I’m so glad you made it home safe!” 5-Volt gleamed as she placed her son in a tight hug.
“Thanks… mom,” 9-Volt struggled to utter under his mom’s powerful embrace. “I had a great day today!”
“Oh! Sorry, honey!” she apologized, setting him down and letting 9-Volt dust himself off. “I’m so glad to hear that! Are you excited for the summer?”
The kid enthusiastically nodded his head. “Yeah! I can’t wait to spend more time outside and with my friends!”
5-Volt donned a motherly smile as her face lightly flushed. “And your dad and I will love having you home more often!”
9-Volt strode over to a small bench beside the door, setting his board under it and his backpack atop it. “Is it okay if I have Eighteen-Volt over to play, today?”
“Of course!” the mother smiled without hesitation. Her eyes opened wide, as if a lightbulb had flashed above her head. “In fact, let me make you two some cookies! I know Eighteen-Volt loves my cooking!”
“He loves just about anything,” chuckled the boy.
After finishing up his talk with his mom, 9-Volt scampered over to the phone and called 18-Volt, giving him the all-clear. Then, just as his mom threw a tray of cookies into the oven, he climbed the stairs to his room.
Tossing open the door, 9-Volt gave a relaxed sigh and took in the familiar surroundings. His TV sat across the room atop a cabinet, packed with books and games, and his bed was against the right wall with sunbeams soaking it from the left.
With a burst of speed, he scampered over to his bed and jumped up onto it, his back landing on it with a sigh. “Finally, summer’s here!” he breathed, staring up at the ceiling. He sat for what felt like an eternity, alone with his racing thoughts as his body relaxed into the dark teal comforter.
“Nine-Volt, honey! Your friend’s here!” The motherly shout shook him from his thoughts, and he sprang up from the bed and onto the floor.
“Coming, mom!” 9-Volt raced out the door and down the steps to find his mother standing cross-armed in the kitchen with a light smile. “Is he outside?”
“Mhm! Go ahead, these cookies are almost done!”
He cheerfully heeded his mom’s instructions and bounded over to the door just as it was being knocked on again. He grasped the handle and was pleased to see his best friend standing on the other side.
“Eighteen-Volt, you made it!”
The large boy replied, with a fervent nod, “Sup! I sure did, and I brought a spare controller just in case!” He held up the NES controller in his right hand.
“Awesome! I just got a new game for it from doing extra chores for my mom! Wanna play?”
18-Volt’s face lit up, and his voice boomed at the prospect. “Whoa! Lemme see! What is it?”
As the large boy followed 9-Volt’s lead toward the steps, the smaller of the two turned with a smile. “It’s called Ice Climbers!”
“Oh, oh! I’ve seen commercials for that! I’m super excited now!”
5-Volt gave a light chuckle before glancing over at her cooking timer and back at the boys as they neared the steps. “You two have fun, I’ll bring up some cookies for you when they’re ready!”
“Cookies?!” boomed 18-Volt. “I love your cookies, Misses Watt!”
“I know you do,” giggled the mother.
18-Volt turned to his friend with a wide grin. “Hurry, Nine-Volt, let’s start playing games so the time goes by faster!”
As the two boys scampered off to 9-Volt’s room, 5-Volt gave an amused chuckle and returned to her cooking.
Upon entering, 9-Volt made a b-line for the NES console under the cabinet and pulled it out. He removed the ‘Ice Climbers’ cartridge from its case in the cabinet and lodged into the appropriate slot.
On his command, the TV and console clicked on, and 18-Volt joined him on the floor. “Should I plug in my controller?”
“Yep, go ahead!” replied the smaller boy, beckoning to the vacant controller slot at the console’s front. No sooner had 18-Volt reached forward and plugged in the cord than the console fully booted up, displaying the title menu on the flatscreen TV.
“Oh… this is gonna be so great!”
9 and 18-Volt spent the next few minutes taking the game for a test spin. Their blue and pink characters danced up the screen, hammering blocks of ice and hopping up consecutive platforms. 18-Volt cheered as he bashed a bird and then bounded onto a cloud, with 9-Volt following shortly after.
A knock on the door prompted a quick pause as they turned around to train in on the voice on the other side. “Boys, may I come in?” 5-Volt chimed in her sweet, caring tone.
“Sure thing, mom!”
The woman tossed open the door and stepped in. Her apron now sported a small splatter of dough near her midsection, and in her over-mitted hand carried a plate of steaming, chocolate chip cookies.
“Whoa, cookies! That was fast!” bellowed 18-Volt, bounding up and hopping over to her.
“Mhm! I made them just the way you two like them!” 5-Volt strode forward and set the plate down in front of the console before turning to her son. “Be careful, though, the plate is hot,” she warned with a wag of her finger.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be careful!” insisted 9-Volt with a grin.
“Yeah!”
“And remember, Nine-Volt, I want that plate back downstairs when you two are done with it.”
“Mhm!”
The mother turned to leave, glancing back at the boys to wave and tell 9-Volt she loved him.
“Love you too, mom!”
Not a moment after the door shut, the boys scrambled back to the console and readied themselves. 18-Volt reached over with his long arm and snatched up a cookie, popping the whole thing in his mouth.
“Mmm! Thiph taphs really good!” the big kid mumbled through a full mouth.
“Remember, Eighteen-Volt, no chewing with your mouth full.”
“Hmm?” he grunted, turning to 9-Volt as he swallowed the entire cookie in one gulp. “Oh, right! Sorry!”
The game flicked back on, and the two boys played for nearly two hours, passing level after level and chomping on cookies the entire way.
More and more enemies and hazards filled each stage, and slowly, the large amount of lives the boys had accumulated on the earlier levels began to dwindle. Eventually, on level 44, they were down to only one life.
“Come on, Eighteen-Volt, you’ve got this!”
“I’m trying my best!” was the big kid’s rapid reply as he tapped furiously on the controller, toiling to navigate his character through a quasi-maze of enemies, all while avoiding the spikes. They reached the second to last floor, and things were looking up.
“We’re so close!”
However, just as it looked like they were in the clear, two birds shot in from either side of the screen, colliding with both of their characters.
“No!” the pair gasped in unison as their characters fell over and their last life blinked away.
The solemn ‘Game Over’ music played, and 18-Volt slumped back onto his elbows with a sad groan. “Aww… man. We were so close to level forty-eight!”
“I know…”
As the title screen returned, though, 9-Volt’s spirits quickly lifted and he scampered to his feet. “But man, was that fun or what?!”
“Yeah! The music sounded super cool, and we got to see all those really neat enemies!” boomed 18-Volt, standing up as well.
9-Volt strode up and powered off the console and television before removing the cartridge and placing it delicately back in its case. “We should play this next time you come over!”
“Word!”
After neatly returning to console to its resting place, 9-Volt grabbed the plate and was followed out of the room.
“So, how was it?” 5-Volt beamed as the boys bounded down the steps with wide smiles on their faces. “It sure sounded like fun!”
A surprised expression shot onto 18-Volt’s face, and he scratched his head in embarrassment. “Oh! Were we too loud? I’m sorry…”
“Hehe, it’s alright!”
The boys strode toward the door, and 9-Volt threw it open before turning to his mom. “Thank you for letting me have Eighteen-Volt over, mom!”
“Of course! I’m just happy you two had fun!”
He then turned to his large friend, donning an excited grin. “When do you wanna hang out next?”
“Just call me whenever you want. We don’t have many plans until our vacation a month from now.”
9-Volt sprang up in excitement. “Awesome! How about tomorrow, then?”
“Word! I’ll see you then!” 18-Volt responded enthusiastically, waving with his controller in-hand.
“Yep! See ya!”
The door slammed shut as the brute, not knowing his own strength, left the house. 9-Volt bounded up to his mom and thanked her one more time before heading over to the living room to watch TV.
That night, the young, spirited boy would fall asleep, the moonlight pouring in as his mind filling with cheerful dreams about the adventurous summer ahead.