04.07.2003 - 3:33 p.m.

I walk into Matt�s suite, frisbee in hand, to find him feverishly pounding on a game controller. On the TV in front of him, a red-clad dwarf is chopping at a small swarm of computer-generated bad guys. �Hey, Sarah,� he greets me. Well, he greets the screen, but I hear and understand.

I sit down on the sofa next to him as he uses a turbo charge to disperse his attackers. �Gauntlet, huh. I hate that level.�

Matt�s thumbs freeze in mid-twitch, and he turns to look at me, wide-eyed. �You know what game this is? You don�t know games! How do you know Gauntlet?�

�I rock at Gauntlet.� I answer calmly.

�I don�t believe you. You�re not a game person at all.�

�And yet I rock at Gauntlet.� I smile, then gesture with my eyes at the screen, thinking he might want to know that his dwarf is once again being swarmed by little green swordsmen.

He turns back to address the situation. �Oh yeah? Then what�s your favorite Gauntlet level?�

�Probably the tree level.�

�Eh, lucky guess. Who�s the boss of the tree level?�

�The Spider Queen,� I reply. Matt has one of those expressive faces that naturally amplifies his reactions. The incredulous shock is priceless. For good measure, I add: �She�s also the best one to kill for no reason, �cause she gives you the most stuff afterwards.�

His thumbs have stopped moving again. �Holy Jeebus, you do know this game. You even know how to level up the cheap way! Who are you, and what have you done with my friend Sarah?�

I run a finger along the scratched edge of my frisbee. �You know, maybe I should go wait in the other room before your distraction gets you killed. You�re being run over by airplanes again.�

His mulish face is another gem of expression. �Oh hush,� he sulks, as he begins the process of rescuing his character. It�s a good twenty minutes before we manage our round of frisbee golf.

-stonebridge

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