Seven o'clock in the evening.
Uzi finally opened her bedroom door and stepped out after a full hour spent between the bathroom and changing. She looked completely different from the night before—wearing a purple plaid jacket over a short-sleeved black T-shirt with "Manhattan Corpses" printed on it in white, denim shorts with tights that covered her legs, and chunky boots that clattered softly with every step. She added a black choker around her neck, and her usual wool hat sat atop her purple hair, covering most of it.
She stood for a second in front of the small mirror on the wall, then turned her back to it without comment.
She called out to N from the top of the stairs. His voice came from the first floor, and she went down, holding onto the banister with one hand and the other in her jacket pocket. She found him standing in the doorway, his hands behind his back, waiting with a patience she couldn't tell if it was genuine or feigned.
" I'm sorry if you kept me waiting too long. I really needed to take a shower after what happened yesterday."
N simply shook his head.
"No, it's perfectly fine." Then, looking at her casually, he added, "You look great like this."
Uzi didn't reply immediately. She rolled her eyes and headed for the door.
"Thanks. Let's go find you something to wear."
But she stopped before she touched the handle and turned back to him.
"Before we go out, I need to tell you a few things."
N looked at her, slightly surprised.
"Things? What are they?"
"First, don't use your wings on the street. We'll take the bus for about ten minutes to get to the store I know. Second, don't talk, let me do the talking in any situation. Third, stay close to me at all times, just in case." She paused and stared at him "And fourth, and most importantly, don't attack anyone. Don't eat anyone. No one. Understand?"
N thought for a moment. Then he realized she was right about everything she'd said. People wouldn't be welcoming if they knew the person standing before them was a bloodsucker. And the order to keep their distance—that made sense too, especially after what they'd been through the previous night. He nodded, giving a slight military salute with a smile.
"Yes, sir, I understand perfectly."
Uzi laughed despite herself. There was something about his response that couldn't be taken too seriously.
"Fine, you idiot. Let's go."
Half an hour later, Uzi was sitting in a chair in the men's section of the store, one leg crossed over the other, staring at her phone without actually reading anything.
Their entering the store had been an event in itself. The shopkeeper glanced at N and what he was wearing—a tight T-shirt and sweatpants—then at Uzi , then back at N, swallowing what she wanted to say. But this was no more annoying than the bus ride. For ten whole minutes, the passengers stared incessantly, some with neutral silence, others with unabashed, obvious curiosity. Uzi sat with her eyes fixed on the window the entire way, wishing the earth would swallow her up. Then she remembered that she was the one who had stipulated he couldn't fly.
"I should have thought before I spoke," she whispered to herself.
Then she sighed and said aloud, but not to anyone in particular, "I should have thought about this ."
"N, are you finished?" she called toward the fitting room curtain. "It's been a while."
His voice came from inside, a little hesitant.
N "Yes... but are you sure about these clothes?"
Uzi "What do you mean? Is there something wrong with them?"
N "No, the clothes are fine. But I'm not used to this style. I think I'll look strange to the others."
Uzi leaned back in her chair.
"Go outside first, then we'll see."
The curtain drew back. The people in the shop fell silent—not all of them, but enough to be noticed. N was wearing an open black suit over a white shirt, black trousers, and white shoes. The clothes seemed tailor-made for his height, his broad shoulders, and his look, a blend of the familiar and the unfamiliar.
"What do you think?" he asked, a hint of genuine concern in his voice.
Uzi stammered for a moment. She hadn't expected this.
"It... suits you perfectly."
N "Are you sure? Everyone's looking at me strangely."
Uzi noticed the glances around them. They weren't looks of surprise—they were more like silent fascination, the kind people don't even realize they're displaying. A girl in the corner had forgotten what she was looking for. A man in his fifties adjusted his glasses and looked again. "Never mind," Uzi said. "People aren't used to seeing someone this stylish, that's all."
But the tension remained on his face. Without much thought, she reached out, took his hand, and pulled him behind her toward the checkout.
"Anyway, let's finish what we came for."
She paid for the clothes, and they left.
On the street, the air was lighter than she had expected. N paused slightly as he walked beside her.
"Sorry you had to pay."
"Don't worry about it." She looked away from him, then added quietly, "Consider it my thanks for what you did yesterday."
N didn't respond immediately. He accepted the words as they were, without making a big deal out of them.
They walked in silence for a while, the streets buzzing with the sounds of the evening—groups leaving restaurants, a car driving by with loud music, a vendor hurrying to mend his stall. Then N said "So... what now?"
Uzi glanced at her watch—seven forty-seven. The original task had been completed much faster than she had planned, she thought. She knew her experience with hanging out with someone else was negligible—her life outside the house had always followed a straight line: school, the Invention Club, home. Sometimes she'd walk the streets alone for a while and then return. But with someone else? That was something entirely different, and she hadn't tried it much.
She glanced around, searching for anything that could occupy her time in a reasonable way. Then her gaze fell.
At the end of the street, a brightly lit sign shimmered with restless colors—green, red, yellow—and above it, a single word in large, glowing letters.
( Arcade ) .
She grabbed N's hand and started walking quickly.
"Hey! Uzi, what's up? Why are you in such a hurry?" N asked her .
"I've got an idea." She didn't slow down. "You'll like it, trust me."
Upon entering, N paused on the threshold.
It wasn't just the sound, nor the lights—it was everything at once. Huge machines pulsating with ceaseless colors, strange, colorful graphics on every screen, sounds overlapping, rising, and falling in a chaotic yet somehow comforting rhythm. Around each machine, a circle of people had gathered—some playing, some waiting their turn, some shouting with unabashed enthusiasm.
N felt something strange in his chest. He couldn't quite name it—the strangeness of things he'd never seen before mixed with an unquenchable, childlike joy. He stood there for a few seconds, trying to take it all in, and all he could say at that moment was:
" Wow. "
Uzi turned to him. Her face was completely open, devoid of the usual wariness she carried on the street. She smiled.
Uzi " I know. Isn't it amazing?"
N "The most amazing thing I've ever seen." He didn't take his eyes off the place " But what exactly is this place?"
Uzi " Haven't you ever been to an arcade before?"
He simply shook his head. Uzi felt a slight pang somewhere inside her. It reminded her that N wasn't just eccentric—he really hadn't experienced what most people did. How many things she considered ordinary had he never seen? She pushed the thought aside slightly and said :
"Well, what you see in front of you are video games. Each of these consoles has a different game—car racing, basketball, shooting, puzzles. You insert coins to start the game. If you win and collect enough points, the console gives you cards. And those cards you can exchange for a prize at the little shop over there on the corner."
"Prizes?"
"Yes."
N's eyes sparkled in a way Ozzy couldn't ignore.
"It sounds really cool."
She looked at him with that look you give a child who can't wait to start.
Uzi "You want to try?"
"Can I, really?" N asked.
"Of course." Uzi replied.
She didn't expect what happened next. N leaned down and suddenly put his arms around her, with the warmth of a child on his birthday. "Thank you, Uzi! You're the best friend in the world!"
"Ok , ok, I understand ,please let go, man!" she said, her voice louder than she meant to, a blush creeping up her face.
He immediately let go.
N "Sorry... I wasn't paying attention. I was just so excited."
Uzi looked at him, then around. Several people had seen what happened and were smiling. She turned her face away.
"It's okay." Then, after a short pause, she said, "I guess."
She continued, walking toward the machines:
"What do you want to play first?" Uzi asked.
N looked at the machines around him. Everything looked different, and everything pulled his attention in a different direction.
N "I don't know. They all look fun. I can't choose."
Uzi "I know. Follow me."
Uzi stopped in front of the zombie shooting machine. She inserted the coins, grabbed one of the two plastic guns connected to the screen by a thin wire, and gave the other to N.
Uzi "This is one of the funniest games here." All you have to do is aim and pull this—she pointed to the trigger—when the zombie appears. Try not to let your character lose all their health."
N gripped the gun. He looked at it, then at the screen, then at Uzi. The countdown had begun.
Three... two... one.
The game started.
Uzi was precise and calm—aiming, pulling, moving on to the next. Her movements had a rhythm she'd acquired from countless hours of gameplay she'd never mentioned. N, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. His arm twitched nervously from side to side as the first monster on the screen drew closer and his character lost health one by one.
"Uzi! What do I do now?!" N asked
"Pull the trigger." Uzi replied
He pulled. He fired. The monster hit. It fell.
"Did you see that?! I took it down!" he said, barely concealing his delight.
Uzi "Good. The round isn't over—there's more."
They both became engrossed in the game. The screen rained waves of zombies down on them, and Uzi calmly cleared her share while N yelled and cocked the trigger with more enthusiasm than accuracy. For a moment, he forgot to aim, grabbed the gun with one hand, and held it aloft as if threatening the screen itself.
"N! Aim first!" Uzi said .
"I know, I know!" he yelled, cocking the trigger again and accidentally hitting a target.
When the round ended, the screen was clear: Uzi had won by a huge margin.
"What did you think of your first video game?" she asked, trying to hide her smile, despite the obvious loss.
"It was..." he searched for a word, couldn't find one, and continued without finishing, "I can't find the right word. I was aiming, the monsters were falling, then others were appearing, and I was trying to survive them... It was so, so beautiful."
"So you're ready for the rest?" Uzi said .
"Yes, let's go!" N replied.
What followed were three hours unlike anything Ozzy had experienced in a long time. First, they tried racing. N sat behind the wheel with exaggerated seriousness, as if he were actually driving. He crashed into the first car that appeared, then the barrier, then another. His lap was over before the first of his competitors had finished. He looked at the screen silently for a second, then said,
"I guess driving isn't my forte."
"That's an understatement," Uzi replied, laughing.
Then basketball. This was a different story—his height gave him an undeniable advantage, and he easily scored several baskets while Ozzy tried in vain. When the lap was over, he said nothing. He just looked at her with a quiet smile.
"Don't say a word," Uzi said.
N "I didn't say anything."
Uzi "Your face says it all."
He chuckled softly.
Then Pac-Man. N sat in front of the console and cautiously began moving the yellow character around the maze, swallowing points. Then the first ghost appeared. N snatched his hand away from the console and took a step back.
"Are they going to jump off the screen?!"
Uzi "What?! No!" It's just a drawing!"
N " But it's moving toward me."
Uzi " It's inside the screen, N!"
He looked at it, then at the screen, then back at it.
" Are you sure?"
Uzi " Yes!"
He returned to the game with obvious hesitation, and every time a ghost turned blue, N punched it with exaggerated zeal, as if he were getting revenge.
Then came the last game—the punching machine. The one that measures the force of a punch numerically. N stood in front of it, rolled up his sleeves theatrically, and threw a single punch.
The machine broke.
Not from the inside. From the outside. The frame cracked, the screen went black, and a faint alarm sounded. Everyone around them stopped. The manager turned from his spot in the far corner.
Uzi looked at the machine. She looked at N. She looked at the manager, who started striding toward them.
" Now." She said.
N " Now?"
Uzi " Now."
And they ran.
10:50.
They were panting on a wooden bench in the nearby park, their shoulders rising and falling with each breath. The night air was cool and comforting. The streets around them were quieter than they had been.
N started to speak:
" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break..."
But Uzi laughter cut him off before he could finish. It wasn't a soft laugh—it was a real laugh, the kind that comes out unbidden.
Uzi " Hahaha! Did you see his face when you hit the machine? I've never seen a face like that in my life!"
N stopped apologizing.
N " Wait... Aren't you angry?"
" Angry?" She wiped away tears of laughter from her eyes" It was more fun than I expected."
N relaxed, a look of relief spreading across his face.
N " Yes. Especially the car race—it was a beautiful moment.
Uzi " Please. You were bumping into everything that moved in front of you."
N" Hahaha, right. " Then a second later " But basketball was different. I clearly beat you."
" Your height gives you an unfair advantage, and you know it. " Uzi said, in a tone of denial.
Uzi smiled without replying. Then she said:
" But let's not forget Pac-Man. When you thought the ghosts were going to come out of the screen and chase you."
N " I didn't know!"
Uzi " You took a whole step back!"
N "The screen was moving towards me!"
They both laughed. A real laugh, the kind that comes without warning or planning. They sat in a short silence afterward, the night drifting quietly around them.
Ozzy said, leaning back in her chair:
Uzi " I haven't had this much fun in ages."
" Me neither". N looked up at the street. "I didn't know there were so many fun things in the world."
Then he turned to her.
N "Do you do this often with your friends at school?"
Uzi face froze.
Uzi "My friends?"
N "Yes, your classmates. The ones you were talking to when I came to school that time."
She moved on.
Uzi "Those… they're not my friends."
N realized he'd touched on something he wasn't meant to touch. He felt the weight of his words return to him. He said quietly,
N "Do you want to talk about it?"
Uzi "There's not much to say. We were close once, but… a lot of things happened." She paused. "That's all."
N looked at her. He didn't ask for details. He didn't try to fill the silence with comforting but empty words. He just looked, and he understood.
He remembered what he'd seen at home—the nature of her relationship with her father, that cold distance between them that no one ever talked about. He remembered the way she sometimes spoke, like someone who'd carried heavy things alone for a long time. Maybe Uzi, the girl he'd always seen as so strong and self-sufficient, wasn't as far away from him as she seemed.
He opened his mouth to say something.
But a female voice came from behind them:
Lizzy " Well, well, well... look what we have here" .
They both turned around.
Three people stood behind them—two girls and a boy—their faces bearing different expressions, but all belonging to the same gender.
" Hello, Uzi. " Thad said in his usual calm tone.
Doll nodded silently, her eyes taking in the scene before her without uttering a word.
Lizzy studied Uzi and N for a long moment, then said in a tone that made no secret of its meaning:
Lizzy" So the rumors are true, Doorman?" .
Uzi closed her eyes for just a second. Then she let out a long breath.
Uzi " Great. This is exactly what I was missing tonight " .