Tip #1 Be brave in difficult circumstances Geeky, pubescent boys aren't the only patrons at Gamer'sHaven on this Saturday, and that is a rarity. The only femaleswe usually see in the place are middle-aged momslooking for gifts for their sons at Christmastime or theirbirthdays. Otherwise, the clientele is all about the same.There isn't a dress code for the store, at least not one thatwe are aware of, but the standard gamer's outfit is usuallythe same: a comic-inspired T-shirt, loose-fitting jeans thathave to be continually hiked up because gamers don'tbelieve in belts apparently, and some Converse sneakers --well-worn and dirty. Most of us have shaggy hair that mayor may not have been washed or combed, and we all looklike we're chronically tired; if one were to take a poll tosee how many customers had purchased Monster Hunter:World on its release day, the tired eyes would be explained. It's Cooper who tips me off to the girl in the store.Because Gamer's Haven isn't known as the place to findgirls, no one usually pays much attention to who comes in.I'm in the zone playing Sea of Thieves when Cooper startselbowing me. "Mess off, Coop. You'll get your turn." I shake him offwith my hand in between plays. "Your loss, Zach." Cooper turns on his heel and stridesaway. I whip my head around quickly to see what he's soexcited about, and then I see her. She's wearing a denim skirt, purple suede knee-highboots, a bright orange T-shirt, and a rainbow-colouredscarf around her neck. Her auburn hair is pulled into ahigh ponytail, and the bottom of it almost reaches thebase of her spine. Her arms are bare and pale. I can't helpbut stare at her profile. I abandon the game and rush afterCooper, hoping to catch a better glimpse of the girl. She's standing in front of the Zelda display. I couldpretend that I'm buying it and make small talk with her.But what would I say? "Come here often?" "You like thisgame?" "Ever play this before?" All of it sounds lame. ButI decide I have to rush in before Cooper does. I pick upmy pace, but Cooper detours to the Okami HD displayinstead. He isn't trying to show me the girl? His eyes wereon something else instead? Was he crazy? I'm happy that he's distracted by something else, butnow I have to try to play it cool and get closer withouther thinking I'm a total stalker. I move one display overand turn my head as casually as I can. She's reading theback of a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild case. Straylocks of her hair curl around her face. She's wearing softmakeup, and when she looks back up toward the display,I can see her bright green eyes. She's even more beautifulthan I thought. I have a stunning burst of courage and decide to act onit before I never see her again. "Need any help?" I ask. She doesn't even look up at me. "You work here?" "Uh, no. But I happen to know a lot about video games.Like the one you're holding -- it's been popular in thegaming world for a couple of years now." Maybe I can helpwith her decision-making. "But is it as good as Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess ?" I don't mean for my jaw to hang open, but it does. "Because it seems to me that this interface is a lot lesssophisticated than the one in Twilight Princess ." She finally looks up at me, just in time for me to closemy mouth again. "You're a gamer?" I ask. "If that's what you want to call me," she responds. "Isthat allowed? Or are you going to tell me it's a guy thingand I should move on to something a little more girly?"Her voice is bitter. "No, not at all!" I say, putting my hands up in front ofmy chest like I'm being arrested. "I think that's awesome!" She steps closer, her long ponytail swishing toward me,and I can smell her shampoo, a combination of honey andcoconut. I want to drink it all in, her smell, her eyes, thefact that the goddess gamer of my dreams is standing infront of me. "I'm not sure it's worth the money. Honestly, I think I'llwait for the next sequel." She sets the plastic case down and turns to leave. Iwant to follow her, ask her more questions, and find outher name, but she turns so fast I just sputter nonsense tomyself. "Hi, I'm Zachary. It's so nice to meet you," I whisper,holding out my hand for the now-invisible girl to shake."You know, if I were you, I'd wait for the sequel. Betterinterface." That could have gone so much better. "Dude, you missed it," Cooper says over my shoulder."Chris was unpacking the new shipment. Dissidia FinalFantasy is back in stock!" "Yeah, and you just missed the girl of my dreams walkingout of this store." I can no longer see her bobbing ponytail. She's obviouslyexited the store and turned to the main mall corridor. "Okay," Cooper says, rolling his eyes. "Mall closes in five minutes, boys," the manager, Chris,calls out. I check my watch and, sure enough, it's closingtime. We are the only two customers left in the store. "Youguys buying anything or can I cash out?" Neither of us has enough money; we like to come andplay the demos when we're bored and broke. Chris neverseems to mind since we tend to buy our games from himwhen we do have money. When today turned into a stormyday, there wasn't much else to do. "Go for it," Cooper replies. He and I stand side-by-side,our hands stuffed in our pockets. "Sounds like the storm is picking up speed," Chris tellsus. "Was supposed to hit south of us but instead it's veerednorth. They've issued a tornado warning." "Really?" I say nonchalantly. Summer in Saskatchewanoften means high temperatures, and with them there areoften severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Mostof the time the storms are nothing to worry about. Thewind typically picks up, we get thunder and lightning,maybe some hail rolls through, and then things settledown. Someone may spot a funnel cloud or two, whichmay or may not touch down. Often the tornadoes touchdown on open prairie and no one gets hurt. At least that'show I think of the tornadoes we get. "Sounds pretty bad," Chris continues. "I guess thehigh winds are causing a lot of damage already. A tornadotouched down a couple of hours west. My wife called tosay there's been some flooding in different areas of the city.Apparently, my basement is taking on water." We both groan. That happened at my house once, andit wasn't fun. Dad and I waded around in our rubber bootsin ankle-deep water trying to salvage what we could. Youwouldn't think a couple of inches of water could do much,but it wrecked almost everything. "Wanna go?" I ask. Cooper nods and we shuffle out ofthe store. The mall is practically deserted already. Cooperfishes for his car keys in the pocket of his hoodie. And then the lights go out. Excerpted from The Gamer's Guide to Getting the Girl by Kristine Scarrow All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.