Fruit Machines

Fruit
Machines

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The flashing lights of the fruit machines
enticed me into the Amusement Arcade. They glew in the dark dull
streets, rain was coming and my car was parked all the way across town.
Samantha had said I could have stayed for a bit longer but I decided to
make a move, conversation had already dried, there was nothing more to
be said. It was the first time I had seen her since she moved to the
coast, packing all her belongings into her Renault Clio and began her
new life to the soundtrack of seagulls and the ocean. I grew up in the
city and longed to get out of it just as she had done but couldn't. I
had my flat, my job, my Global Videos Membership Card. Things like that
cannot be replaced. Maybe if things were different I'd have sand
in-between my toes and be hanging my clothes out to dry in the fresh
sea breeze, I'd be in a bungalow on the cliff edge. But instead I
stayed with my communal washing line, getting my socks dirtied by city
fumes. In my flat I felt happy, at my desk in my office I felt content,
it was only when I got away from my Weetabix and rented DVD world that
I felt something was lacking. Perhaps that is why I rarely got
away.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">

 

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">I rummaged in the
pockets of my suit trousers for loose change but with the exception of
a fifty pence piece, I just had notes in my wallet. I looked around at
the machines to see which one of them I could put my 50p in. For a
Sunday on a wet October evening the arcade was surprisingly busy and
almost every machine was occupied by grim faced people of all ages,
cradling coins in the cups of their hands. Elderly people, dressed for
the weather brewing up outside, rather than the sunshine of the
afternoon which most were still clothed for The ninety year olds looked
every bit as sharp and showed identical determination to win as the
five year olds, and everyone in between. The Amusement Arcade didn't
seem to be amusing anyone, it seemed to be getting them down. Within
minutes of walking in it seemed appropriate that most of the bulbs
illuminating the letters of AMUSEMENT above the doors did not light
up.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">

 

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">I decided not to put my
50p into a machine in the arcade. I looked around me at the holey
cardigans, the Barclays Bank money bags full of silver coins and the
unhuggable stuffed toys people tried so desperately to win and grew
desperate to drive home and open the front door to my flat. I wanted to
be away from everything, the smell of Vinegar, the sight of fat people
in shorts and flip flops, the frittering away of coins. I wanted to get
to my BMW in the car park and get out of a place where people looked so
gloomy, where the pavements were paved with shattered glass. But none
of these were the main reasons I wanted to be out of town. It's because
it was Samantha's town. I heard a crash of thunder, and fingered my 50p
again. Rain suddenly seemed
appropriate.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">

 

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'Smirky! Smirky style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sherman style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">!'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">The voice
reverberated 
around the room and stood out above the noises of the
fruit machines and the sound of the 1970s album being played on loop,
quite possibly since the 1970s. Nobody had called me Smirky since
school. Nobody had any reason to. I turned around to see the highly
punchable face of Ian 'Peewee'
Herman.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'How are
you?Ian?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Call me Peewee,
everyone else still does do. What are you doing here
Smirky?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">A chill went down my
back. His grin, his clothes, his voice, all exactly the same as they
were at school. I remember playing football against him once, he was on
the left wing and I was at right back. It was pouring with rain and the
pitch was soaking wet. When I slid in to tackle him I skidded and
nearly studded him in the face, but I managed to move my leg just in
time to spare him. I wasn't a popular person in the changing rooms
afterwards. As I stood opposite him in the Amusement Arcade I wished my
studs had gone through his eyes and into his
brain.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'I'm?just leaving now actually. I live over
in Manchester
now, I'm only here now visiting my?an old
friend.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'I live here now. I mean here in this town,
I don't actually live in the Arcade!'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE:
12pt">'No.'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Although some people
would say I do do!' He laughed loudly. Those football boots had been SO
close to his face.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'I moved here when I
left school. I got offered a job with the council, so couldn't turn it
down.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He took one of the coins that he'd been
irritatingly tossing from one hand to the other and put them into the
fruit machine we were stood
beside

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'I come here most evenings, I've got a lot
of friends here.'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">I couldn't see any of
them.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'It's so weird meeting up with you again
Smirky. How did you do in your
GCSEs?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'What? I dunno?it was
nine years ago. Quite well I
suppose.'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'I got
4.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He smiled, but at the machine as much as
what he was saying, and he continued putting coins in the machine. You
have to persevere with these machines Smirky. You never win at first.
There's no such thing as beginner's luck, it's all skill. If you are
skilled enough, then it all works out your way in the
end.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The lights on the fruit machine flashed and
bounced but money came out at the rate of Ian Herman's interesting
anecdotes.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'You're in the AA as
well then?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'What?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Amusement Arcades!
That's what we call ourselves. The
AA!'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Ian talked to me without looking at me. His
head, that head that I nearly studded with my football boot stayed
staring at the fruit machine as though his neck was in a brace and to
turn around would have given him spasms of pain down his spine.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'No, this is the first time I've been in an
Amusement Arcade?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'The
AA!'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'Yes. This is the first time I've been in
one since I was a little kid. I only came in because it looks like
rain. We always used to go on holiday to the style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Isle of Wight style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">. Me and Hannah used to play on these
machines all the time, our mum and dad would give us 20p each and we'd
go off and play. It was fun. Do you remember
Hannah?'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE:
12pt">'Yeah.'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'She's working for the
BBC now, she's got a flat in Docklands. What about you, how's your mam
and dad?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'I work with my dad, my
mam's still a dinner lady.
Yours?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Yeah, my dad's on a
business trip in America at
the moment, my mam's gone with
him.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Peewee didn't acknowledge this information,
instead he carried on pushing buttons which made various noises, so I
decided to make my excuses and leave. Even though it was still raining,
and the wind was getting worse, getting cold and wet was a small
sacrifice to get home. This town had got me down and was dragging me
down even further. But as I prepared my farewell speech he resurrected
the conversation.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'I've been doing these
machines for probably five years
now.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'Are you up or
down?'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE:
12pt">'What?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Winning. Have you won
more than you've put
in?'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'No.' Peewee started pressing the buttons
with more purpose, carressing them with both hands like a skilled piano
player. His face turned from a vacant, gormless gaze to a determined
grimace, although he still managed to maintain a degree of
gormlessness. Again I contemplated slipping out of the door unnoticed,
not bothered about saying goodbyes, as I would almost certainly never
see him again. I was definitely not going to be going back there,
certainly not to the Amusement Arcade and probably not to the town. Not
after what happened with Samantha. I had to admit that I would never
see any of this again. But I had a new life to be getting on with and
being in the arcade reinforced my opinion that life should be better
and for me and that it will be. A dog started barking at my feet and
made me jump. Peewee laughed at me, stroked it and it ran
away.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'You get lots of dogs round here. Drug
dealers, they all have dogs, tramps as well. Evenings like this most
people here are drug dealers or tramps. During the day you'll get
little kids and familes. Casual
players.'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">He said the words with
disgust and made me feel guilty that I hadn't devoted my life to
putting coins into a machine, trying to line up three bananas in a
line.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'Girls as well. Fat ones most of the time
but then sometimes you'll get real fit lasses with big
tits.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">He made the actions in case I wasn't aware
of what big tits were.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Have you got a
girlfriend?' he asked, again without looking at
me.

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'No, no, I
haven't.'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'Neither have I. No
time. Some of the girls you get in here though. Well it's not the
reason that I come here all the time, but it makes it worthwhile. It's
the same with working in the council, I work in the same department as
my dad and sometimes we'll go round to somebody's house to sort a
problem out, and there'll be a real fit bird with big tits. Nothing
ever happens?but it makes you think though. Are there any fitties where
you work Smirky?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'I suppose there are.
I've never really noticed, I was in a relationship?engaged. But it all
fell apart, quite recently. It was all a big mistake, I had something
perfect and I blew it. If I could have my time
again?'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'You should never use
that phrase Smirky. Never say 'If I could have my time again' never say
'if only everything was different.' Things happen for reasons, take a
positive out of it, look at you, you've got a suit, a good job, money,
you won't have any problem at all attracting somebody else. At school
you got through all the best looking girls. At school I used to say
things like 'I wish' or 'if only' but my dad soon snapped it out of me.
He told me what I'm telling you now. There are reasons for things.
Reasons you're not going to marry this girl. There may even be reasons
we met each other here
today!'

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">Peewee took his eyes
off the machine for the first time, looked at me and
smiled.

class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN:
justify">'It's probably a load
of crap though. I just like to keep a simple life. I believe in things
happening for a reason, there is no such thing as luck. If you work for
things, you get them. Life is like that, it's balanced. It was good
seeing you here again Smirky, I'm going now, I've no money left to play
any more. I've got a doctors appointment first thing in the morning so
I should get home. Good
luck.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">'Yeah, same to you Ian.'

style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Peewee reached his arm out and I shook it as
he turned around and walked out into the rain, patting the machine as
he walked past it. I put my hands in my pockets and watched him go into
the sweeping rain outside, preparing to do the same. I fingered the
jagged edges of the 50 pence piece. I took it out and put it into the
machine and pressed the same buttons Peewee seemed to have been
pressing. The machine lit up and pound coins poured out of it. People
turned and looked at me as it pumped out more and more, and I
frantically scooped and pocketed it. When it had finished pouring money
out, I looked around and walked outside, also tapping the fruit machine
as I passed it. It had stopped raining outside. The sun was coming out
again.