Slot Machines

"Mwaha. I actually saw something really neat earlier." Nemo says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Here it is! Ta-daaaaah!" She directs my attention to a slot machine.

"Slot machine?"

Slot machines aren't supposed to exist for another three years.

"You already know what it is?" Nemo asks.

"You pull the lever and push the button to stop the reels so they show the same picture, you get money."

"All right, watch closely. I'll show you how to do it." Nemo waves her arms in a grand flourish and pulls down on the machine's lever. "Breathe in. Breathe out. Yaaaaaaaaah!" Nemo gets a fierce look on her face and strikes a strange pose. "Hwaaaaaaaaah!" With a shout, Nemo starts to press the button with lightning speed. In a moment, chips begin to clatter into the tray at the bottom of the machine. "How do you like that?! The genius engineer has done it again!"

What part of screaming and pressing buttons was the "genius engineer" part?

"It looks easy. I want to try." I say.

"Hmph. Go ahead, but it's not that easy!" Nemo says. "This game calls for excellent sight, reflexes, and most importantly, experience. It looks simple, but is actually very deep."

"Oh, I won."

"What?!"

"And there's more coming out than before."

"Whaaaaaat?!"

"It is pretty easy."

"Amazing. No normal human could pull that feat off! Hngggh. I can't back down yet!" Nemo grabs her shoulders and stretches, and walks up to the biggest slot machine. "From what I read earlier, this monster slot machine was imported all the way across the sea from America, just for this event! The reels spin at such high speed that it's impossible for the naked eye to keep up! Would you still think this is 'easy', Mr. Caleb?"

"I'll give it a try."

The reels move at a furious speed. The pictures have all blurred together. This might be difficult.

I suspect that I will probably fail, but I do my best to press the buttons. "I didn't get anything. Oh well."

"Mr. Caleb. If I'm able to get a match will you love me?" Nemo asks.

"I won't love you but, I certainly would be impressed."

"Good enough! There's a saying in Asia that the journey of a thousand yards begins with a single step!"

"A thousand yards isn't much of a 'journey'." I could probably run that far in minutes.

"Now just watch! I'm going to perform a veritable miracle with this machine!" Nemo pulls a small silver box from her pocket. "I'm using this to interfere with the internal spin speed! With this, any slot machine becomes mine to command!"

"Isn't that cheating?"

"Now, now, a slot machine is a game of skill, and I used my own skill to make this. But let's not tell security."

"Nemo, behind you."

"Just watch! This little baby's going to save the day!" Nemo laughs and is about to press a button when a huge shadow falls over her.

"I see. So you've built a device to 'save the day', did you, madam?" Standing behind Nemo is a guard with quite a lot of muscles.

"Oh, uh, um, this? No, it's a good luck charm. It's a music box that plays my favourite song. Wanna listen? Let's listen." Nemo says.

"Why don't you come with me, madam?" the man in the suit says.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, hold on!" The man seizes Nemo by the scruff of the neck and half walks, half drags her away. "Don't worry about me, Mr. Caleb! We'll meet again! Our love is eternal!" And like that, she's gone.

"I need to help her. What should I do?"

"Don't bother." I turn around, surprised to find Lupin standing next to me. "She'll wriggle her way out. Who knows, they may even knock some sense into her. Hm. Though that's far too unlikely."