(by Edward Zeusgany and Alex Anders, © copyright 1999, all rights reserved)

On school nights, the naughty boys hang out at the mall. They assemble at the arcade and play video and other games. Of course they can be found there at other times, as Vince knows well, but then they are mixed in with a crowd of other boys. On Friday night through Sunday afternoon, Vince does not bother with kids he doesn’t already know.

He has a choice of malls. There are two, side by side, on the highway not a five minute drive away. The old one is nearly defunct, most of the shops are empty. But the movie theater with its four screens is still operating, and a pizza parlor and a small, rather dingy arcade. The new mall is bigger, has two department stores and many shops, a “food court,” a six screen movie establishment and a much larger and brighter game room.

The naughtier boys are at the old mall, so Vince usually goes there first after work. Vince graduated from the vocational-technical high school a couple of years ago and is employed as a mechanic by one of the car dealerships on the highway. He has lived in this community all of his life and is known as a tough kid who, while he doesn’t start trouble, is unwilling to back down when challenged. He is of average height, average weight for nineteen, and has dark, curly hair. He is a naughty boy grown up a bit.

At the arcade on a school night, if Vince doesn’t see a kid he knows, he will play one of the games. He is really good at this. Some of the games post a record of the highest scores ever made on that machine and the first name or initials of the player. Vince’s name appears on most , generally at the top. So when he gets a really good score going he often draws an audience. The naughty boys admire Vince’s expertise.

After displaying his talent, Vince takes a break, finds a place where he can lean against something and still have a good view of the area. He bides his time now, taking a good look at each of the boys. They are not all naughty, at least not very, specially at the new mall. Many of the kids’ parents work for one of the colleges in the area. Some, the sons of professors, are doing their best to be naughty, but it isn’t really in their nature. Vince appreciates that they try.

Eventually, Vince makes a move. Some kid, at a machine by himself, strikes his fancy. Perhaps it is the boy’s appearance or demeanor, but something suggests to Vince that things might develop as he wants. He approaches and watches the kid’s struggle against the machine, analyzing the performance. Moving closer, Vince sees several easily correctable faults in technique. He makes a suggestion.

Perhaps the boy tries the remedy, his score improves. He gives a quick smile of thanks. Vince moves closer now, they are almost touching. The vigorous action of the kid’s shoulders, arms and hands translate into movement in the hips. Occasionally, the boy bumps into Vince, neither seems to notice. He puts his hands on the boy in order to correct the kid’s posture at the machine, moving an elbow, adjusting his position forward or back a little. Then he moves back a bit, watches and offers encouragement.

The game ends. The boy is pleased the higher number of points he has scored. He nods in appreciation to his instructor. If he appears to be about to move away, Vince offers the kid a quarter. “Try again,” he suggests. The boy’s smile broadens, he accepts. This time the result is not as good. “You’re trying too hard,” Vince advises, “Relax, be patient.” He moves in close again, making as much physical contact as possible, as much as he dares to risk this early and in plain sight. The results of the third game are better than the first..

“I need a cigarette, you want one?” Vince asks the kid. If the boy accepts, they go to Vince’s car, a heavily modified Chevy, which is in a far corner the parking lot, so that the custom paint job doesn’t get scratched. The youth understands that Vince doesn’t want to be seen giving cigarettes to the under aged, and they can’t smoke in the arcade anyway, it isn’t permitted.

They sit in the back, “... there’s more room ...” Vince taps the pack and a few cigarettes pop up. He takes one for himself and tilts the rest in the youth’s direction. He lights the boy’s and then his own. They smoke. He gets the kid talking about himself. He appears interested, because he genuinely is. Vince asks him if he is a tough guy. The boy laughs. They joke around, back and forth. Vince feels the kid’s arm, “ ... looking for a muscle ...”

When Vince is finished with his cigarette, he flips it out the open window. The kid does the same. Then Vince waits to see if the boy suggests going back to the mall. But he doesn’t wait too long, maybe half a minute. Then he says, “I’m feeling horny,” and he rubs himself. It’s a lament, “Where are the broads when you need one?” He laughs ruefully. If the kid says nothing, he continues with, “Do you get horny often?” Vince gets some sex talk started, if he can. When he thinks the right moment has arrived, he says, “I’ve really got to jerk off.” Then, “Hey,” as if he just thought of it, “I’ll do you, if you do me.”

Sometimes a kid Vince already knows will go back to his apartment. Some naughty boys really like to get into it, specially if Vince will supply a beer, more cigarettes, a small “loan.” Which is why, when Vince arrives at the mall, he first looks for one of those boys. In time they move on and don’t come to the arcade any more. So Vince also needs to meet the newcomers, those just starting their careers as naughty boys.

He seldom faces any serious competition. For a while there was a middle aged man who came to the new mall on Thursday nights. He would walk through the arcade and have a look, then he would sit at a table in the food court near the entrance to the games and nurse a soft drink or read a paperback. After a while he would walk through again, then resume his seat.

The man must have hoped that a boy would approach him, because he never did anything but look and wait, trying hard not to be obvious and attract the attention of mall security guards. But what would a naughty boy want with an old man? They were at the mall to escape people the age of their parents and teachers. It became a joke. “The Thursday night queer is making another pass through,” some kid would say. Vince joined in making fun of his own future.

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