Laser tag
Ocean was in her starting zone of the laser tag arena, ready to go.
She’d only played laser tag once before, but she’d pick it up quick. She had to. Because there was a lot at stake, and she was never one to turn down a challenge.
Noel had insisted that they compete for who got to be choir leader this year, and Ricky, the only one who’d conceded from the competition, insisted that they compete in a laser tag challenge.
The rules were easy.
Last one standing was the winner. Every choir member for themself.
And also no physical violence, because no one put it past Ocean, Mischa or Noel to get a little too competitive. Which was fair enough.
Ocean went over her strategy quickly as she waited for the game to start. The arena was a hexagon, with one choir member in each corner, and sort of a maze, filled with walls and barrels and a million places where someone could hide or sneak around.
On her left was Ricky’s zone, and on her right was Mischa’s. So she had to go to the right first.
Ricky was fierce competition, obviously, because they were the most experienced of anyone here. Their walking cane barely made noise, so they could move pretty stealthily, and they’d played enough of this to be a great shot.
But they weren’t in the competition, they were just here for fun.
So Ocean could take them down later.
Mischa, on the other hand, was a pretty good first target. It was pretty much inevitable that he’d be heading in Ocean’s direction first, too, because Noel was on the other side of him. Mischa and Noel weren’t really together, but they’d been flirting a lot and it was pretty much inevitable at this point, so Mischa would probably be hesitant to knock Noel out of the competition first.
He wasn’t Ocean’s strongest competition, primarily because he moved really loudly, but he was pretty quick and Ocean had seen him on the shooting gallery enough to know he was a good shot, so it was best to get rid of him quickly if she could.
Then the lights went down, colours lit the place up, and the game began.
-
Game on.
That’s all Ricky thought when he saw the lights change and the game start.
He knew what to expect from each player, but he still had no idea who was going to win.
It could be Ocean, with her wild competitive nature and insanely detailed strategy.
It might be Mischa, with his speed, strength and excellent aim.
Noel was a possibility, with his stealth tactics and probably some sort of plan.
Penny was in the running, of course. She wasn’t the best shot, at least as far as Ricky was aware, but she could move basically silently and was pretty smart, which gave her a fighting chance.
Then there was Constance, who was a bit of an underdog, having never played laser tag before. But maybe that could work to her benefit and help her win. Because she probably wouldn’t be viewed as competition, so if she managed to avoid conflict, like usual, she could probably get close to winning quite easily.
Still, Ricky was sure of one thing.
If this was just laser tag, no choir leader competition, he’d have this win in the bag.
He’d conceded from the competition because he had no interest in leading the choir, but there was a reason he’d suggested this competition.
He’d been playing laser tag since he was a kid, and while he couldn’t move as fast as the other kids, he learned to move quietly, hide effectively and shoot brilliantly.
He’d been practicing so long that he basically never missed.
And he was in this game for one reason and one reason only.
To make sure that Ocean didn’t win.
She’d led the choir for too long, and while she was passionate about it, it was time for someone else to have their time to shine. Plus, she was ridiculously strict with scheduling and called people out for being off key in a way that was pretty rude, even when she was off key herself. Sure, Ricky was never the one called out, given that he couldn’t sing, but that didn’t mean he approved of what she was doing.
So Ricky was on a mission to take her out of the competition, and he moved slowly across the arena, hiding around every corner, careful to keep the sounds of his walking cane as quiet as possible.
He had this in the bag.
-
Noel ducked behind barrels in a dark corner of the arena, careful to stay hidden.
He wasn’t the best shot, and he knew it, so the element of surprise would probably be his best friend here. Or distraction, if he had any chance of distracting his opponents.
Anything that let him get close enough to them to shoot.
He was trying to be confident and stealthy, rather than anxious anyone could come around the corner at any time. Like Monique with a gun.
Intimidating, ready for anything.
Because he really wanted to lead this choir.
He’d be a great leader, if he had the chance. He was in the choir from the start, he knew all the members well (although anyone in the choir could say that), and he could bring good choreography, new energy, and vocals that weren’t flat, which is what they really needed.
Noel was thinking about how good he’d be in the choir leader role when he heard someone running in. They ran around the barrels that Noel was crouching behind and threw their back against a wall, trying to stay still.
Clearly they’d just narrowly escaped someone who was chasing them.
Noel was glad he hadn’t been seen yet, so he grabbed his gun and started to aim, before this person noticed he was there. Except when he looked up, he saw that this person was Mischa.
He’d been flirting with Mischa for weeks, and now they were alone.
Sure, Noel could shoot him, but maybe trying to distract him would be more fun.
He supposed that was a risk he was willing to take.
So he stood up, and he saw Mischa turn to look at him.
Time to channel Monique.
-
Mischa stared at Noel, who’d seemingly appeared from nowhere.
He didn’t want to shoot him. At least, not right away. Because then he’d be out of the game and have to leave.
And honestly, Mischa wanted to talk to him. Or more, flirt back and forth with him like they’d been doing for a while.
Hopefully Ocean wouldn’t catch up any time soon, because Mischa was lucky he’d managed to lose her.
“Ocean was chasing me,” Mischa explained, talking quietly, so no one but Noel would hear him.
“Did you shoot her?” Noel asked, and Mischa shook his head.
“Was too busy running,” he said. “Have you been hiding all game?”
“It’s worked so far,” Noel shrugged. “Better than your strategy, anyway, because at least I’m not out of breath yet.”
He was right. Mischa was still catching his breath from running from Ocean, and it really didn’t help that there was something about the way Noel was looking at him that made his breath catch in his throat. He had the sort of effortless confidence that Mischa didn’t get to see from him a lot, but it was enchanting. He was holding the laser gun slightly wrong, but he didn’t seem to care, focusing entirely on meeting Mischa’s gaze.
Noel was usually too anxious to make eye contact, so this was different, and it made Mischa feel weird, in the best way.
“I do not have strategy,” Mischa stated, and Noel started walking towards him.
“I figured,” Noel stated, stopping and standing inches away from Mischa. “It’s a shame.”
“What is shame?” Mischa asked, legitimately confused, and Noel smirked.
“That I have to shoot you.”
“You don’t have to,” Mischa stated. “We could truce?”
“I do,” Noel shrugged. “A truce wouldn’t work, we’d have to turn on each other eventually.”
Noel was right, and Mischa knew it. Logically, he should shoot Noel now. But he didn’t want to, and Noel clearly knew it. There was something flirty in his tone of voice that had Mischa holding on to his every word.
“Why haven’t you shot me yet then?” Mischa asked, teasing a little. Usually, Noel would get defensive, but this time, he didn’t skip a beat.
“Because I wanted to do this first.”
Noel’s hand pushed Mischa’s chest, pressing him back against the wall, and then Noel’s lips were on Mischa’s.
It was passionate, intense and everything Mischa had been waiting for. Everything he could have wanted. He could feel his heartbeat, and all of his thoughts came down to one word.
Noel.
Then, he heard loud footsteps running up, getting closer by the second, and Noel pulled away. Mischa’s head was spinning.
“Sorry,” Noel whispered, his lips just an inch from Mischa’s. “It’s just strategy.”
Then Mischa saw the lights on his vest go out, and Noel ran.
Noel had shot him.
And he wasn’t even mad about it.
He knew he was supposed to leave the arena now, but he didn’t care.
Instead, he let his back slide down the wall and tried to process what had just happened.
That wasn’t what he’d been expecting today, but he wasn’t complaining.
Because that kiss was worth losing for.
-
One of the lights above the arena went out. The green one. Mischa’s.
The first choir member had been eliminated.
Penny smiled at the knowledge that at least she wouldn’t be the first one out.
She’d never been in a laser tag arena before and so she was just having a good time quietly exploring. Any good hiding places were noted in case she needed to go back to them, and any sharp corners were also acknowledged, as she tried to dodge any potential surprise attacks.
Honestly, this whole place made her feel lost, but not in a scary way.
She knew she wouldn’t win this. Not only did she not really understand how the game, or the laser gun, worked, but she also had no idea how to run a choir. After all, she was still pretty new.
The only reason she hadn’t dropped out of the competition was so that they had more competitors, so it was more interesting.
“Dammit!” Ocean yelled from somewhere else in the arena, so loud that Penny was pretty sure everyone could hear her. The blue light went out. Ocean had lost.
Now, that one was a surprise. Ocean was the clearest choice for choir leader, and that’s what she’d been apparently since the day the choir was started. Apparently a new leader was really being established today, and that could be really cool.
Now, the only competitors left were Constance, Noel and… well, and Penny.
Maybe she was more competition than she thought.
But that idea was short lived, because seconds later, her own orange light went out, as Noel poked his head around a corner and shot her vest before she’d even really seen him.
Sure, it was disappointing, but it was fair. Noel or Constance would make pretty good leaders, if they had the chance, and Ricky was still in the game, so maybe the decision would be left up to them. Either way, she wasn’t mad at any of the others winning.
Just mad she didn’t get to take anyone out of the competition.
Still, they could probably play again later, just for fun.
“Good game,” Penny yelled out, but Noel had already gone, running to find the other competitors.
Penny still wasn’t sure if she was rooting for or against him now.
-
Constance walked calmly through the arena, just looking for another person. She’d not seen anyone all game, and it was starting to get a bit boring.
She’d seen lights going out, but she’d forgotten which colours belonged to which players, so it didn’t mean a lot to her.
“Hello?” She called out. She knew giving away her location sort of defeated the aim, but it did make things more tense, knowing that someone might know where she was.
Another light went out. Purple.
Constance had no idea who that was, but it meant there were only two people left, two lights on the ceiling.
Yellow, hers, and red, her opponent’s.
She’d gotten way further in this competition than she’d expected to.
Then she heard a loud noise on her left, and she jumped and pointed her gun, shooting randomly without aiming in a blind panic.
And the red light went out.
“Fuck,” Noel cursed under his breath. He was awkwardly sprawled on the floor, having obviously tripped in what was probably an attempt at a sneak attack.
The arena flashed with yellow lights.
There was no one else in the competition.
Constance had won.
She was the choir leader.
“You’re the last one, right?” Noel asked, and Constance nodded.
“I won!” She grinned excitedly. “I’m the leader of the choir!”
“Thank God it’s not Ocean,” Noel joked, hugging Constance in congratulations. She hugged him back excitedly, before pulling away.
The others would be sitting right outside, waiting to get their results. Ocean had been the choir leader forever, what would she think of that changing?
“Do you think Ocean will be mad?” Constance asked, and Noel shook his head.
“She’ll be relieved it’s not me,” he joked. “But seriously, she’ll only be mad if you shit her. Did you shoot her?”
“I didn’t even see her,” Constance shrugged.
“Then you don’t need to worry, because I’m sure whoever did take her down is probably being lectured as we speak,” Noel smiled. “We should probably go and rescue them.”
“Good idea,” Constance said, grabbing Noel’s hand and skipping in the direction of the door. Or, at least, the direction she thought the door was.
She had no idea where she was going, but that didn’t matter.
She’d find her way eventually.