fandomtownies | The Perk ; Tuesday Afternoon

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riley poole

The Perk ; Tuesday Afternoon

With his class completed for the semester, Riley actually had some free time that wasn't being consumed by editing his book or making lesson plans. So, it seemed like the perfect time to get out of his apartment and go into town.

Of course, he'd brought a book to read after getting something tall and caffeinated. He was still working hard to not think about the things on Horizon because he didn't want to have some panic attack or end up with nightmares or hallucinations. He wasn't really built for stuff like that. He didn't regret going or helping but still, he was a nerd and that had been...intense.

Riley found a spot near a window and opened up his book, skimming a few paragraphs but mostly just resting and enjoying his drink. He'd already submitted a class for summer so it looked like he was sticking around a little longer.

Hadn't expected that to happen when he'd first arrived. But, he liked this place.

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Sam was taking a break from his unpacking with caffeine and maybe a little people watching now that he was in a small town. He nodded over at the guy and his book because it was only polite.

There were just all kinds of new faces popping up lately. Riley was wondering if the island had made some kind of tourism commercial or something because wow.

Riley waved, putting his book down on the counter so he wouldn't look rude or anything. The book wasn't that good anyway.

Maybe they had. Maybe they'd lied to these poor, unsuspecting people who decided to move here.

SOMEONE MUST STOP THE LIES.

"Hey, no need to stop with that for my sake," Sam assured him, once the barista supplied him with a drink that would keep him awake long enough to finish digging through all the boxes.

He'd found that apparently he'd packed up an ex's hair straightener without realizing it. Maybe it would one day come in handy...

"It's a crappy book anyway," Riley said, shaking his head and making a face down at the book. "I think I'd rather watch paint dry. Can't even remember why I bought this in the first place."

Probably trying to impress some girl somewhere.

"Blackout book buying?" Sam shook his head. "Man, that sounds like a new low."

"...I don't think I was drunk," Riley said though he was frowning now. "God, how boring would I be if I got drunk and bought books?"

"Admitting you have a problem is the first step," Sam assured him, trying and failing not to grin. He held out a hand to shake. "Sam Wilson."

"Riley Poole," he said, taking Sam's hand for a shake. "Good to meet you. New to town or just really reclusive up until now?"

"Man, I've been here for years. You never saw me before?"

Sam. Sam, that was rude.

"...no." Poor, gullible Riley. "But, in my defense, I'm pretty new! And I spend a lot of time in my apartment, on my computer."

Nerd.

"Sorry!"

"I'm messing with you," Sam assured him. Because it wasn't fun when it was so easy.

"Right."

Riley paused.

"So, can we forget that I just admitted to being a huge nerd who stays inside and plays on a computer all day? Makes me look kinda...nerdy."

"Nah," Sam replied. "Never would have got the nerd vibe from that."

If you were being nice, Sam, well...that was nice of you.

"Okay. Good," he said, nodding. "So, you're new? What brings you to a small, tiny little island with about a thousand and one stairs?"

"Not kidding about the stairs," Sam said, making a face at the wind where they loomed. Mocking them. "Well, the rent is half the price of D.C. and I can somehow work one day a week here and still make enough."

HOW DID THAT EVEN WORK?

"Yeah, that's awesome, isn't it?" Seriously, his apartment was huge and he taught one day a week and he was good. "I taught a class on video games up at the school and my apartment is about the size of five of my apartments back home. Amazing."

"Just video games?" Seriously?

"Well, they were classic video games but yeah," Riley said, nodding. "I chose a video game each week and we played. Pretty sweet deal."

"Damn, why didn't my high school have that class?"

Because your high school was sane, Sam.

"I thought the same thing," Riley said, nodding. "Who needs to learn about math and history and science when you can learn about video games?"

His high school had been pretty sane too. How sad. "I'm making up for that now by teaching. Means I got to play the video games too."

Right?

"The only game we played in school was Oregon Trail. I always got killed by an ox."

"We played that for my last class! It was our final exam, sort of," Riley enthused. "I made it by I was the only one. Everyone else died because I suck at crossing the rivers."

"Never ford the river. Never." It always ended in death.

Or bear attacks.

"I usually take the guide if I have the money but sometimes I get a little brave."

And tried to ford the river.

"I usually lose an ox, a party member, and a lot of food. It makes the rest of the trail really darn hard."

"I'm sure that it's teaching the kids an important lesson about life." A beat. "And how to name your characters things like 'Butt'."

Yeah, that was the type of kid Sam had been.

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