Chapter 12: 500th Place

“So what do you wanna eat? Any dietary restrictions or whatever?” Mel asked.

Hunter shook his head. “I’ll basically eat whatever. Uh, and you probably know what’s good around here more than I do, so you can maybe choose?”

“Aw, fuck, once again I have failed to shift making a decision off onto someone else. How unfortunate. Imagine having to make choices smh.”

“Oh, I mean… I can try to suggest things if that would help?”

“Nah, you’re good. Sorry, once you’ve spent more time around me you’ll realize I just constantly say dumb shit. Uh, does Mexican sound okay?”

“Sure, yeah. Are we gonna walk or drive or…” 

“There’s a place near here that we can probably walk to if you’re down. Like a mile or two. Won’t lie, the ambience and service leave something to be desired, but the burritos are delicious and pretty cheap.”

“Sounds good! Oh, let me just text my mom and let her know I’ll be home later than expected.”

“Aw, it’s nice that you’re letting her know. Wish I had a relationship like that with my mom.”

Hunter felt kinda awkward. Should he ask for more details, or was that prying? He settled for a vague, “That’s too bad.”Mel sighed. “It’s fine. I just really feel like I’m not the child she wanted.”

Hunter was once again feeling out of his depth and decided to smoothly change the subject. “So, uh, how did you end up finding my stream?”

“Oh, I was bored one day and I was looking through Twitch at people playing Ocarina of Time and found your stream and you seemed chill so I kept watching. I’ll just have it on in the background sometimes when I’m doing other things and it’s pretty comfy.”

“That’s great to hear, honestly. Sometimes I feel like streaming is really pointless, just talking into the void, but it’s nice to see that there are real people out there that enjoy watching what I do. This is the first time I’ve met a viewer in person, actually, unless you count my mom, but she doesn’t watch all that often.”

“Aw, your mom watches your streams? Adorable. Maybe you could get her to come on some time, play multiplayer.”

“Eh, she’s really not a gamer. Well, I guess she plays some, like, word puzzle and match three mobile games, but the last time I tried to get her to play with me she kept forgetting which button did what and basically spent the whole time glancing down at the controller.”

“Understandable. Maybe you could get her to do something with VR or motion controls? I’ve def heard people say those are more intuitive.”

“Maybe? I can’t afford a VR rig but I should probably buy a Wii one of these days anyway. I’ve basically just been using Dolphin for my streams.”

Mel gasped in mock horror. “Oh no, not an EMULATOR! How could you? Fake gamer, smh. Nintendo would like to know your location.”

“Hey, it’s not like I actually submit any of my runs to the leaderboards. Not that they’d be anywhere above, like, 500th place anyway. I’m less like an e-athlete and more of an entertainer.”

“I honestly think that makes the streams a lot more enjoyable to watch. There’s too many streamers who just, like, fixate on the run and say zero commentary and never look at chat. At that point, why even watch it live?”

“Yeah, I know I could be better about it but I do try to look at chat and respond regularly. I know I tend to get more into streams when it feels actually interactive so I want to try and cultivate that kind of vibe, you know?”

“Totally. Oh, and by the way, we’ve arrived.”

Hunter started to actually pay attention to his surroundings again--something he tended to zone out on when engaged in deep thought or conversation--and realized they were standing before a low, beige building with a brightly colored banner across the front. A cartoon rooster announced a slogan in Spanish, which Hunter probably could have deciphered if any of high school Spanish had actually stuck.

“Do you want to eat here or get it to go?” Mel asked. “They don’t wipe down the tables super often so depending on luck of the draw it can be a little gross, but on the other hand I firmly believe the constant loud norteño is an integral part of the authentic experience.”

“Well, you make it sound so compelling… but I was thinking we could get it to go and go sit in the park, maybe? The view is really nice.”

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“Sounds good, bud. When there’s not too much smog you can see Catalina!”

That reminded Hunter of something. “Did you know that up until, like, the Middle Ages there were dwarf mammoths on Catalina?”

“What? No way! Like, lil tiny fuzzy elephant guys?”

“Yep.”

“Aw man, and they couldn’t have survived until now? What the heck, dude. I wanna hang out with one of those lil guys. That sounds like the best.”

“I know, right? I guess we were just born in the wrong generation.”

“Ha! Anyway, uh, I’m pretty hungry and I know what I want so I’m gonna go ahead and order. You ready or do you need more time?”

“Uh, I guess I can order with you? I just need to actually see a menu.” He followed Mel into the building and stood for a moment looking at the big lit-up menu on the wall behind the counter. “Okay I think I know what I want.”

They approached the counter. “Could we get a lengua burrito and, uh, Hunter?”

“And a carnitas burrito, please.”

The woman behind the counter asked “For here or to go? And will that be separate or together?”

“To go and separate,” Mel said. She pulled out a debit card and handed it to the woman, who swiped it and then handed it back to Mel, along with a receipt. “Number 24.” Hunter then went through the same ritual. “Number 25.”

“You wanna wait in here or outside?” Mel asked.

Hunter glanced around. The only reasonable place to wait was a low bench along the back of a booth, so close to the front door that if he sat there he’d probably accidentally trip anyone who tried to come in. “Outside.”

They loitered on the small strip of sidewalk outside the restaurant. Overhead, a billboard advertised a bilingual injury lawyer.

“Can I ask what you meant when you said ‘I knew it’ in chat? During the first stream I did with makeup.”

“Oh, uh… it was nothing important. Probably just projecting, honestly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eh, I just mean you kind of remind me of myself in the past a little.”

Hunter furrowed his brow. “Aren’t we, like, the same age?”

“Yeah, that’s--look, don’t worry about it too much, okay? It wasn’t with makeup but the whole vibe just kind of reminded me of the first time I hung out with friends wearing girl clothes. Nothing substantial, just reminded me for some reason.”

Hunter was really confused, until he had a sudden realization.

Mel is trans?

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