[Alex Black's Point of View, age 16]

  The noise of button smashing and video games fills the living room. My thumbs glide over the buttons effortlessly, the pixelated fighters on screen clash in a flurry of kicks and punches. It's all muscle memory at this point. A practised easy that comes with years of playing. I chuckle as my character on the screen jumps over the assaulting panda bear and smacks it into the ground with an impressive thud, effectively reducing my opponent's health bar to nearly nothing.

  "Oh! Come on, man! How is that even possible?" Johny huffs from besides me on the couch, his brows furrowed in concentration. His panda character stumbles back under a barrage of attacks, and I can barely hold back a grin as the words "Player 1 wins!" start flashing on the screen. "You have to be cheating. Nobody's this good at Tekken."

  I grin and shrug. "Nah, Johny. You just suck."

  Johny lets out a soft dignified scoff. The kind he probably picked up from his mom. His parents have this thing about always acting dignified and looking propper. I swear, their family foto's are worthy of hanging in the Royal palace of England. I used to think Johny was uptight, but he's cooler than he looks. He just tries to keep it together, like he's afraid someone might catch him being a regular kid.

  I know my earlier insult didn't land. He knows I don't mean it. That's just how we are. We've been friends since we were five years old, and over the years, it's been one video game tournament after the other, with me usually ending first and him usually ending second. He's never beaten me, not once, but he keeps trying.

  "One day, man. One day I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

  That day isn't today.

  I laugh, leaning back and stretching. "Face it, dude. I'm just better."

  "Don't get cocky, Alex," he says, straightening his posture. "You've got the upper hand now, but one mistake, and this panda's taking you down."

  Johny glares at the screen as he ques up another game, his fingers pressing buttons almost automatically as moves quickly across the menu screen. I watch as the pointer moves to the start button, but then he goes quiet, his eyes staring unseeing at the screen.

  "What?" I ask, sitting up a little straighter.

  He hesitates, then glances at me, his brown eyes serious. "So... when are you leaving?"

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  I wasn't expecting him to bring it up. My chest tightens just a little, but I keep my expression neutral. "Sunday," I say casually, like it's not big deal. Like I won't be moving to another city a two hours drive away.

  Johny nods, but he doesn't look at me. "That's... soon."

  "Yeah." The room feels heavier now. Outside, I can hear someone pass by on a bike and trees rustle.

  "I mean, that's great and all," Johny says quickly like he's trying to convince himself. "I bet there will be, like, a ton of arcades or whatever. But..."

  "But what?"

  He shrugs, keeping his eyes on the coffee table. "I don't know. It's just... You'll be gone, and I won't get to see you anymore."

  For a moment, I don't know what to say. It's funny to me that he mentiones the arcade, because his parent's house is massive! Bigger than mine, with everything a kid could want: a pool, a gaming room, even a home theater. But I guess it doesn't mean much when you're alone.

  "You'll be fine," I finally say, trying to sound confident for both our sakes. "You've got like, a million other friends."

  "Yeah, but none of them are you."

  That hits harder than I expected. Johny isn't the type to say cheesy stuff, and for a second, I don't know what to say.

  "Promise me you'll visit?" Johny says quietly.

  I look at him thoughtfully for a long moment. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind visiting. But we both know it will be you who'll be visiting me, mister-my-parents-own-a-private-jet-and-chauffeur."

  "As if you're so poor, mister-son-of-the-doctor-who-cured-us-both."

  "What can I say, my dad's a smart man," I laugh with a shrug.

  "Aren't you afraid?" he asks after a moment of silence.

  "Not really," I say. Honestly, I'm a little surprised by the question. What was there to be scared of?

  "Dear, God. I feel terrified in your stead!" Johny says dramatically as he hugs his own shoulders. "A new town, a new house, a new everything! What if you get lost on your first day of school? What if no one wants to be your friend! What if they suddenly start chasing you because they want to eat your brains?!" He holds out his hands in front of him and says the word "brains" in a zombie-like manner.

  "Idiot!" I laugh as I punch zombie Johny playfully in the shoulder. And then his words sink in. Am I afraid of an unknown place? Perhaps I should be, but I’m not feeling it. I know that I have a good head on my shoulders and I don’t think that I’m socially awkward, since I get along with everybody who lives in this pinhead of a town… I’ll probably be fine! "Come on! One more round. Perhaps, I'll let you win because of the special occasion."

  Johnny rolls his eyes, but picks up his controller anyway. "I don't need you to let me win. Just try not to humiliate me too much."

  "No promises."

  The game starts and for a while, it's like everything is back to normal again. The sounds of button-smashing and in-game punches fill the room again. I almost let him take a round, just for the heck of it, but then he pulls of some ridiculous move and I'm remembered of the fact that he doesn't need me to go easy on him. When the match ends, he's still grinning, and for a moment the heavy stuff doesn't matter. It's just us, two kids playing Tekken, like we've always done.

  "See?" Johny says, smirking back.

  The sun is starting to set outside, casting long shadows across the room. Johny's panda lies KO'd on the screen, and I know that I should be going home. But instead I say: "Best two out of three?"

  He blinks, then grins. "You're on!"

  And just like that, it's easy to forget about Sunday. For now, it's just me, Johny, and the game.