infinite_reflection | In front of the Arcade...

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In front of the Arcade...

Ever since Miho introduced Greg to the arcade at the local mall, he's been there most weekdays after school for at least an hour or two... It ate a lot of money, sure, but it's money he would've spent on point cards for his phone at any rate.

At the moment he was just outside, though, sitting on a little bench near the entrance and fiddling with his phone for some reason or another. The boy was, as usual, paying no attention to his surroundings or anything but himself and the small piece of technology in his hands. The perpetual and unfortunately socially discouraging look of vague annoyance and great boredom was in place on his face, though he was completely free to approach for anyone not bothered by it!

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Simon was actually a bit of a Debbie Downer himself but he was a little grateful that he would have someone to relate to in a sea of strangers. "Um, yeah. I actually had to skip a few years." He nodded while awkwardly rubbing at his arms. "What about you?"

A smart kid then, huh? He didn't seem arrogant, much the opposite actually, so that was good. Greg put his phone away for politeness' sake; Simon would probably find it a little rude if he kept right on staring at it while keeping the conversation. "Second year, never skipped anything. My name's Gregory, you probably already know that... Who told you about me? Was it Seiya? Or maybe Miho..."

He actually wouldn't have minded if Greg kept fooling around with his phone. He felt content enough just to be carrying a conversation with someone he just met. "Ah..." For a moment Simon had to ponder about his answer. "Seiya... yeah, Amada."

"Heh, that figures." That girl was something else. Greg looked Simon up and down for the first time to get a decent look at him. Hmmm... "What part of America are you from?" ... "And..." It'd be weird to ask this question, but he was curious. "What'd... Seiya say about me, exactly?"

"I'm from New York City," Simon answered as he shifted his weight from one side to the other. At Greg's second question he arched a brow. "Um, not much really. She said you were a nice person & that you were from the US as well." Is that the sort of answer he was supposed to give?

There was no expected answer, thankfully, and the one given seemed to satisfy Greg well enough. "Huh. Well, I'm also from NYC. It's a small world." Simon got a small hint of a smile from the boy, and he leaned back on the bench he was sitting a little more. "Why're you here? Like, what brought you to Japan?"

Simon was leaning from one side to the other absently though he looked a bit more comfortable now. Greg received the same sort of smidge of a smile until he asked about his reason for being in the far east. He really hated talking about it so he tried to keep it short. "Uh..." A finger poked his head a couple of times. "It was suggested I attended this school." Now he had to turn it around before more questions were asked. "How about you?"

Suggested, huh? That was an odd way to word it, but Greg wasn't about to poke his nose where it didn't belong. Greg shifted in his seat with the question; it was a lot easier for him to answer this one. "My dad moved out here for work. He helps make video games, and the company wanted him across the ocean. Already knew Japanese so he was pretty much a shoe-in."

The boy shrugged and glanced around the slightly busy mall. "It's all right here, I guess. I've only been here a few months... Haven't really explored."

"I see," Simon said quietly, nodding his head as he listened to the other boy speak. "He must be really talented." It must be nice to have a relative with you, he wanted to say but refrained. He wasn't really sure if it would've been rude or not.

He rubbed his arm & followed Greg's line of vision before he started to look around as well. "I've only been here a month. I can understand the language just fine but it's still a little getting used to I guess." At least he wasn't in Tokyo.

"Yeah, I don't have the language down perfect either. Have to stop and think a lot, so you're not alone." He disguised those little sections of thinking with uhm's and uh's, usually. "My dad's... Yeah, pretty talented. Really dedicated, that's what matters the most." Greg sounded a little annoyed by that, to be honest, but he glazed over the subject pretty quick.

"Are you in any clubs?" A weird thing to just ask, so he had to explain. "Because Seiya was saying I should be in one, or something. I figure if there's another American in one, I can feel a little more at home if I joined his."

He was actually quite fluent in Japanese but he didn't want to correct himself & make Greg feel bad. He wouldn't mind pretending to be bad at something if it meant relating to another person. He noticed the hint of annoyance in the other's voice but kept all questions to himself when Greg changed the subject.

"Um, I joined the swim team... but that's about it." He tilted his head a bit. "What.. sort of things do you like? M-.. Maybe we can join something together."

Oh. Well, shit! "I can't even swim, heh. I guess that's not gonna happen... Hmm." Greg rubbed at the side of his head for a moment, until the suggestion that they join together came up. That was an idea, huh? "There is a book club type thing... I dunno if it's more reading or writing, but that sounds about my speed. I've been asking around and stuff, it sounds like most of it is sports." He didn't look particularly athletic, so those were either a no-go or he'd probably be the worst on the team.

"A book club?" Well that wasn't a club he expected someone like Greg to suggest but he couldn't reject the idea. It didn't sound like a group that would be too pressuring. Really, the only reason he was even on the swim team was because he wanted to swim. He just happened to have been recruited by an overly enthused classmate. People here sure got excited over the strangest things.

"Sure, I think that sounds like a good idea." What would they do there anyway besides read & discuss books? Didn't seem too demanding. "Do you know who is in charge of it? Or where & when they meet?"

"I actually haven't looked into it very hard. Seiya was telling me to join one, and it was more obligation... I'll figure out more and see if they're even accepting soon, though." That guaranteed another meeting between the two of them, at least, so Simon was getting somewhere, here. Either way, he had more questions in other areas for right now!

"How're you liking it in Japan? I'm still not sure, and it's been a few months... I like the arcade, here." Greg pointed backward toward its entrance with his thumb; the place looked mighty crowded. "Everything else isn't as different as I thought it'd be. School is, I guess, but just... Life. Is pretty much the same."

The conversation was going surprisingly well. In fact this entire meeting has been going surprisingly well. Maybe it was because they were both from the same city or maybe it was because they were both alone in a foreign country -- or maybe they just clicked. Whatever it was he was... glad.

"Well it is definitely different from the US. The culture isn't as difficult to get accustomed to but there are similarities between the two," Simon answered & then tilted his head up to look at the sky. "It's different but I like it. Perhaps because they respect privacy a lot more than at home."

"Yeah, they do do that." Greg rubbed the side of his head, thinking about that... People were a lot more private here, for sure. There were a few exceptions, but they were just that... 'Exceptions'. It was nice, in a way, because he wasn't particularly curious about the inner workings of most peoples' lives!

He stood up from the bench, finally, and then slung his backpack onto one shoulder. "Are you busy? Or headed anywhere?" Gregory wasn't the type to directly ask people to hang out; this was probably the closest Simon would get to that.

Simon's gaze fell from the sky to Greg, a bit surprised by his question, general as it was. "Uh, no not really." He was still in his uniform & still had his bag slung across his chest but he had no plans, other than just go home & do homework. Now to ask the dreaded question. He was a little afraid because he wasn't quite sure if the other boy was asking so he could be rid of his presence or he wanted to do something with him.

The younger boy swallowed a little & prepared himself for the worst. "Did you... did you want to do something?" A hand was gripping at his bag's strap & though it wasn't apparent to him himself, he looked a little nervous about Greg's answer.

It was hard not to see how nervous poor Simon looked, though Greg thankfully chose not to address it... Or even react at all. "Yeah, sure. You've been here even less time than me... It's weird feeling like the tour guide myself, for once." Generally he had Seiya or Miho lead him around the mall and take him wherever. It was nice to be the one with the choice! That is, until he realized that he had no ideas. Fffuck.

"How about... Well, are you hungry? The food court's pretty good... There's a stand that has American food, which is nice. They advertise their hot dogs, but it's all kinds of things." He'd actually gone there quite a lot, because it was pretty cheap alongside being familiar.

"Hot dogs sound nice," Simon said with a tiny resemblance to a smile. He was reminded of the times he & his younger brother walking around the city to buy hot dogs & pretzels. "We could, um.. get something to eat & then walk around maybe?" He felt bad to force poor Greg to play the tour guide so maybe just a casual walk around would be better.

After thinking about that for a moment, Greg nodded and then started on his way with a short beckoning motion for the other American to follow. That sounded like a plan... He wasn't the best at that whole 'socializing' thing, but it seemed like Simon wasn't, either. "That sounds like a plan, sure. It's near the food court, short walk but that's no big deal." The mall was a little crowded, which he really hated, but thankfully there were no visible roadblocks in sight... Sometimes there were just massive groups of people that you practically had to wade through just to get where you were going. It was a nightmare.

Dear god there was a lot of people. It was because of the substantial amount of people in malls & places like it that Simon avoided them altogether. He stuck sorta close to Greg as he followed him into the mall. "For a city so small, it's a little funny that this place can get so packed.." Says the boy who was born & bred in one of the busiest cities in the United States. He kept the rest of his thoughts to himself though as he was still a little unsure as to whether or not his new acquaintance cared enough to hear them.

Eventually the pair ended up at the hot dog stand, thankfully without much trouble. Surprisingly there wasn't much of a line. Maybe the Japanese didn't find the glorious hot dog & all it's 'secret' ingredients as appetizing as Americans? When they made it, Simon sighed in relief. Apparently he didn't like crowds very much.

The menu was odd at first glance; it looked like the classic hot dog with a few very Asian twists to it. Spicy mayo, shredded nori, bonito flakes... All very strange toppings for a hot dog, but there were the more traditional American condiments there as well. Thank goodness! Greg generally preferred his plain either way, or maybe with a tiny bit of ketchup. He'd never honestly tried the more extravagant toppings that this place offered, and that wasn't about to change on this particular visit. On that note, he would probably never tell Seiya about this place... She'd probably make him. Blegh. "You just have to tell him what you want on it. They've got some weird stuff, so take a look at the menu and all that."

Greg already knew what he wanted, though, so he turned away from Simon to face the stall's owner and switch back to Japanese. "Yeah, uh..." Simon would definitely notice that he spoke a little slower in the foreign language... The boy hadn't quite mastered it yet. "Just one for me. Plain, none of the, uh... Just plain."

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In front of the Arcade...

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