When’s the last time I’ve gone to the Arcade? Alec thought to himself. He had just realized that it had been weeks since he last took a stroll down to the local Onett Arcade with his usual stack of change. But now things were becoming different.

Lately, the resident self-proclaimed “gang” of Onett, the Sharks, has been causing all sorts of ruckus around town. Alec even heard a story about them actually ganging up on and robbing a pedestrian; just some unassuming local guy. Alec was indignant about the Sharks’ recent behavior, especially when he could plainly see them from his window on their skateboards, cruising around town like they owned the place, with those stupid “dorsal fin” hats on their heads. But he also had to admit, he was more than a little scared about leaving the house on his own. Even though the Sharks have been around for the last few months, they had just recently started acting unusually violent and mischievous all over Onett. He thought about asking his big brother to drive him over to the Arcade instead.

Ask him to escort me? He’ll think I’m such a loser! Alec thought to himself again. He knew that he had to stop being so cowardly and just get up and go, instead of hide in his room and stare out the window. I’m not afraid of those Sharks, anyway. I just have to be a little brave! And with that, the young boy emerged from the safety of his home, and out into the streets of Onett.

Alec figured that he ought to head over to the drugstore to get some money. Lucky for him, his mother and father were kind enough to let him have a bank account of his own, with a personal ATM card and everything. Alec was glad that his parents treated him like a responsible young adult, even though he was really only twelve years old. He liked the idea of receiving mutual respect from his folks. Once Alec made it to the store, he made a beeline for the ATM machine. While making his transaction, he took a good look around the place. He saw an engaged window shopper, the two store vendors, a kid his age making a casual phone call, and a strange, wide-eyed dog staring at him from between two aisles. It was starting to creep him out a little, so he quickly made his way out of the place once he got his money.

Once Alec made his way across the street and cut through the yard around Town Hall, he could see the Arcade in the near distance. He also saw something that made him stop in his tracks.

Two Sharks were leaning against the fence behind the building, and they were giving Alec an unsettling look. A few others were visible from Alec’s view, but they didn’t notice him. He saw the two funny-looking thugs whisper to each other while they kept their eyes locked with his. Suddenly, one yelled.





“Hey, kid! Come over here!”

Alec didn’t move a muscle. He just froze, unsure what to do. Should he respond? Run away?

“Are you deaf? I just wanna talk! Actually, I have a favor to ask of ya!”

Alec decided to just try to act casual. Rather awkwardly, he ambled over to the two Sharks, and stopped in front of them.

“Um… A favor?” Alec asked. The Shark just let out some odd, hysterical snicker, and the other one behind him crossed his arms and smiled.

“Yeah, a favor,” he replied ominously. They both edged closer to Alec, and the boy’s heart started racing. He wanted to run for his life, but once again he found himself frozen in place. The Shark began speaking again. “It’s simple, really. My friend and I here just need to borrow your wallet for a while!” They both started laughing again, and the Shark who threatened Alec had now grabbed him by the shirt and started cackling right in his face.

Alec panicked. He frantically threw a wild punch at the Shark, landing him right in the jaw. He staggered back, holding his mouth in true pain.

“What the Hell?!” the other Shark said. He lunged towards Alec and tackled him down. Alec punched, kicked, choked; anything he could do to get this guy off of him. He did. Alec pushed the Shark off and regained his stance. He watched his opponent stand back up. He was expecting to be leapt at again, but this time the Shark backed off. Alec noticed that his friend had also run away, into the Arcade.

“You little jerk! Wait until I tell Frank about this!” the Shark said, breathing heavily. He turned to leave, running towards the Arcade.

Alec was amazed. He didn’t think he was even able to approach a Shark, let alone hold his own against not one, but two of them. He didn’t mind fighting, either. It sort of reminded him of wrestling with his big brother. In fact, he couldn’t wait to tell his brother about how he stood up to the Sharks, made them wet their pants, and had them promise not to cause any trouble around Onett ever again…

…But something snapped Alec out of this daydream. It was that very same Shark, the one he had on the run. He had turned back around and was waving something in the air and smiling. Alec scowled furiously when he realized what is was: His wallet.

What?! That crook must have taken it off me while we were fighting!



Alec didn’t even think twice about taking off and charging into the Arcade, for he had a new confidence about him this time. But this self-assurance was compromised once he actually stepped inside, and saw what he was up against. The place was filled with Sharks who were horsing around and causing trouble, equipped with chains, skateboards, even pogo sticks and hula hoops. He even recognized the Shark who he had recently punched out, only this time he had a bandage stretched strangely across the part of his face that Alec had hit. Alec couldn’t help but chuckle to himself a little when he saw this. But as soon as he did, a few Sharks turned their heads around and noticed him.

Alec froze. The last thing he wanted to happen to him was to get ganged up on by some weirdoes on pogo sticks. But fortunately, the Sharks were more concerned with trying to get change out of the game cabinets than they were about some kid wandering into the place, so he was ignored for the most part. Alec tried to search out the Shark who had stolen his wallet, but there were at least five look-alike Sharks in the room, making it hard for him to spot the one he was looking for in particular. But luckily, Alec didn’t have to search for very long before the thief locked eyes with him again by the staircase.

“Hey! I want my wallet back!” Alec commanded indignantly.

“That’s none of my business anymore, kid,” the Shark jeered back at him. “You can go talk to Frank about it out back. But I’ll warn you: Frank’s in a bad mood today.”

Alec wasn’t sure what he meant by “in a bad mood,” but if this Frank was anything like the other Sharks he’s tangled with, he shouldn’t have much trouble.

Alec went out the back door, and entered into a small yard enclosed inside the large fence he saw the two Sharks leaning against earlier. He observed a blond-haired young man tending to some strange robotic contraption.

“Are you Frank?” Alec called over to the man. As he stood up and turned to face Alec, he noticed that this was actually someone who Alec recognized. He was a regular customer to the local Burger Shop, which Alec lived very close to, but compared to the other times he had seen him around, he really did look like he was in a bad mood today.

“That’s me, alright. I’m Frank.”

Alec could tell even under those solid, jet black sunglasses that Frank’s eyes were bloodshot; he looked as if he had been working on that robot behind him all night.

“…Well, I heard you’re in possession of my wallet,” Alec said cautiously; he honestly didn’t want any trouble with this guy. “Can I have it back, please?”

Frank lifted his sunglasses and stared at Alec like he was crazy (Alec was right about the bloodshot eyes). Then he laughed a little and flicked them back down again.

“Hmm… Since you asked so nicely, how ‘bout… No,” Frank said briefly. Alec frowned. “Don’t give me that look! If you really want it back all that badly, how about we have a little fight over it? Winner takes the wallet.”

“I didn’t exactly come here to wager,” Alec replied irritably. “But whatever, I guess…”

“Great! Let’s see how tough you are!”

Frank charged towards Alec with his fists in the air, but Alec dived out of the way before he could get hit. Frank turned around and charged again, but this time Alec caught him with a punch right to the stomach. Frank grunted and stumbled back a little, then shouted some curse words at Alec. Startled by Frank’s horrendous vocabulary, Alec was unprepared for Frank’s follow-up attack; he was punched in the chest so hard that both his feet were lifted off the ground for a split-second. Lying with his back to the grass in pain, Alec braced himself as Frank stood on top of him and glared menacingly. He gasped and closed his eyes as Frank pulled out a switchblade from his pocket and flicked it open…



“…Nah, never mind,” Frank said casually as he tucked the knife back into his pocket. Alec sighed in relief as Frank helped him to his feet. “That was pretty, fun, dude. Thanks! What’s your name, kid?”

“Alec,” the youth replied carefully. He was unsure why Frank was acting so kind now.

“Well, Alec, here’s your wallet. Lucky for you, I have real respect for a dude who can take a punch from Frank without dying!” Frank started laughing as he handed Alec his wallet. “Well, I’ll be seeing you, then. My boys told me about some bratty kid who’s going around hitting some Sharks with a bat! I thought you were that kid, but you don’t seem to have any weapons on you. Likewise, I played fair and didn’t split your wrists open with my blade, here.” Frank laughed again, and Alec wondered what he could possibly find funny about such grotesque ideas. He shuddered a little.

“You might as well hop the fence over to your right, so I can take care of the real troublemaker when he comes along.” Frank said

“Oh, sure,” Alec replied, still a little confused about what exactly was going on. “Bye, Frank.”

“Later!”





Alec made his way across the fence and back onto the sidewalk. He had his wallet back now, and he also made a new friend, so he was satisfied. The boy took a good look around Onett, but this time, he didn’t see shady ruffians hanging in the alleys; he saw some kids having fun, acting normal again. Alec couldn’t fathom what could possibly have brought about this sudden change, but it made him feel happy. He smiled and laughed a little to himself, then took a look inside his wallet.

His 20 dollars were missing.

-AmateurGamer