Chapter 8 - Play On!
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Lisa was too giddy with finally getting to retro game again to notice anything else, as she slowly made her way home while trying out the console briefly.
Everything seemed to work well, and the games loaded just fine. She was grinning from ear to ear as she shuffled around the games and briefly tested some of them while walking.
Once at home, Madison went to her room to continue designing her next item.
Lisa went her way to her room. On the way there, she saw her Aunt Mary sprawled lazily on the couch as she giggled to herself while watching an old sitcom on the TV.
As she glanced at Lisa, she quickly ran over to pick her up and hugged her close to her bountiful chest as she asked,
"My sweet sweet Lisa~! Why did you get back so late? Auntie was so worried about you! Are you feeling well now? You didn't get dizzy at school, did you? I told your Mom to let you rest at home, but she still insisted on sending you away."
"Are you hungry? I prepared your favourite mutton noodles just earlier! Although I got hungry back then and ate some of it... I still saved some for you! Would you like to have it now? Should Auntie feed you instead?"
Although it was a new and unfamiliar sensation for the eternal virgin, Lisa didn't let her mind be too distracted as she shook her head and tried to focus on the more important matters. Gaming!
"I was fine at school, Auntie. Can I eat after resting a little? I am a bit tired, but I want to eat with you a bit later."
Hearing the cute little Lisa acting cute and spoilt, Aunt Mary felt her heart melt crazily. Her daughter also used to be cute like Lisa when she was younger, but she suddenly went into her rebellious phase, leaving her Mother unable to dote on her.
Although Mary respected her daughter's choices, thoughts, and individuality, she still wanted to spoil her little girl. Thankfully for her, Lisa came right in to fill the void, making her Aunt May very satisfied.
"Okay then. Just call me when you are ready to have dinner. I will be in the living room watching the TV till then."
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And so, Lisa kept on gaming for an hour before her Aunt Mary persuaded her to eat. Lisa ate the reheated food while faking deep interest in it.
Honestly, she preferred chicken instead of mutton, but the prior Lisa loved mutton instead, so she had to act the same way for a while before introducing her preferences to her guardians.
As she had a lot of fun playing games earlier, she quickly finished her meal and returned to her room as she continued to play until she knocked herself asleep.
As the first ray of morning arrived, Lisa brushed her teeth, bathed, and dressed herself early, after which she unplugged the GBA from the charging port and began to catch some early morning gaming.
After some time, the door to her room opened, and her Father walked inside her room as he prepared to wake her up. He was surprised to see her already up and ready for school, and a smile came upon his face.
He approached Lisa as she sat on the bed and ruffled her hair lovingly, before his eyes fell onto the gaming console in her hands.
"Oh? And where did you get this thing from, Lisa? Is it some latest gadget?"
Lisa rolled her eyes at her noob Dad. As someone who had never had anything remotely to do with gaming, the GBA looked like a mysterious technology in his eyes.
"Dad, my friend gifted her spare device to me. I will go to the School in a bit with Auntie."
"Is that so? Sure then. But you must treat your friend well. It's rare to have friends good enough to willingly share their stuff. I remember when I was duped into having my precious cards being stolen away by my former best friend... with the lamest excuse at that. I even got betrayed by my friend in college when renting a room out, leading me to suffer several unfortunate events."
"And then... whew, just remembering my dark days drenches me in cold sweat. But your friend shouldn't have those problems. Just like how your Mom entered my life, and all those problems simply never occurred again. She really is my angel."
"Should we prepare a gift for your friend, too? How about going shopping with your old man for once this Sunday?"
"No, Dad. I will give her something nice for her birthday. Besides, you are already busy at work. Did you even eat dinner last night?"
Her Father chuckled to himself as he spoke with some embarrassment.
"Yeah, I had some at the office and returned home late at night. Haah... your Mom has been away for shooting, and we haven't seen her for a while. Honestly, I am missing her a bit, but she would tease me if she found out so I won't disturb her while she's working."
"Well, it's just you and me at home for a while then. You know how it is at work, right? It has piled up a lot, so it's becoming harder than ever to catch a break. Others don't even get a day off now."
Knowing how much of a workaholic her Father Matt was, Lisa knew that the workload must have been self-inflicted. His ambitions and desire to succeed didn't let him sit still as he tried to do three days of work in a single day, raking in a lot of bonus money each month.
But still, her Mother earned ten times more than her Father even on her days of being in a slump.
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