Irhaboggle Pride (2018) 30 Days, 30 Stories

Arrow Ace

Princeton watched as Quincy fired several arrows into the targets hanging on the back wall of the training area. His shots weren't perfect, but they were still pretty good. Every arrow hit fairly close to the center of each target.

"So, how come you've taken to archery?" Princeton asked, knowing that Quincy usually preferred to fight with blunt or melee weapons.

"Ah, just a hobby," Quincy shrugged as he shot another target.

"Oh, let me guess, it's a competition with Emma?" Princeton quirked an eyebrow and smirked. Emma was another one of their close friends, but like the two of them, she was the one to specialize in archery.

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous!" Quincy laughed and shook his head, but Princeton still had his doubts. Then, as if the universe itself had been eavesdropping on them, Quincy's phone vibrated. Since Quincy had left it on the far side of the gym, Princeton was able to reach it first. It was a text message from Emma herself. Or rather, it was a video. In the video, Emma was also practicing archery. But the point of the video wasn't just to show off her skills. Instead, she was shooting an entire wall rather than just a few targets. And once she was finally done, she stepped back to reveal that she'd written the word GAY using the arrows.

"Not a competition, eh?" Princeton chuckled before handing the phone to its owner.

"Shut up," Quincy grunted embarrassedly, but he put his bow down long enough to watch the video. Just as it finished, he received another text. It was another video, only this time, it was starring one of their other friends, Mallory. Now it was her turn to pick up the bow and arrow. She shot 10 arrows all in short succession, but similar to Emma's video, what it impressive was not the speed or marksmanship, but rather, what she'd done to the arrows. At the end of the video, Emma walked over to them. They were all in a perfect, descending line and tiny flags were hanging from their sides. Each flag had a letter, so the 10 arrows spelled out PRIDE MONTH.

The video concluded with Emma and Mallory both laughing at the camera and teasing the recipient. "Beat that! If you can!"

"So that's what all of this was for," Princeton laughed.

"Maybe," Quincy muttered embarrassedly, setting the phone back down.

"What were you planning on doing?" Princeton asked, amused. "How are you going to top that?"

"Like this!" Quincy sounded proud as he removed his shirt. There, written in gold marker across his chest, were the words ARO ACE. And underneath, on his stomach, there was a golden outline of someone aiming a bow at an unseen target.

"Wooooowwww," Princeton rolled his eyes but he couldn't stop a laugh.

"I was hoping to get a video of me shooting some arrows before the camera would zoom in to my chest," he said. "And then I would be in the same stance as the painted archer as it zoomed back out."

"And that's why you called me here, wasn't it?" Princeton guessed, still laughing. "You needed a cameraman."

"Yep!" Quincy confirmed. "So, what do you say? Wanna help a brother out?"

"Absolutely!" Princeton was quick to take Quincy's phone again. This was going to be so cringeworthy, hilarious and awesome!

Quincy put his shirt back on and picked up the bow confidently. Then, with Princeton filming, he shot several targets. At the end of the little montage, he whipped around to face the camera and removed his shirt dramatically. Stifling giggles, Princeton zoomed in on Quincy's painted torso, and then he zoomed back out as Quincy took the same position as the archer on his chest. Then, in a comically deep voice, Quincy said this:

"This is just your awesome Arrow Ace wishing you a Happy Pride Month! I hope you know that you are valid and loved. And you matter no matter your gender or orientation! ... But, you'll never be as cool as the great and mighty Arrow Ace!"

Then Quincy gave a dramatic, flourishing bow and Princeton ended the video before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"God, they're going to hate it so much!" he snorted.

"And that's exactly why we're sending it!" Quincy laughed back, taking the phone to text Emma and Mallory. "Oh, and get over here for a sec! I wanna take a selfie with ya!"

"You're not going to ask me to do anything archery related, are you?" Princeton joked. "You know I can't do anything straight, much less shoot!"

"No, just a selfie, you'll see!" Quincy's eyes were full of mischief as he dragged Princeton over and raised the phone, camera front-facing.

As soon as he had the selfie, he began to giggle and his fingers flew across the phone's tiny keyboard.

"What are you sending, anyway?!" Princeton laughed, trying to snatch the phone from Quincy.

"Hang on! You'll see!" Quincy managed to say through breathless laughter. Then, right after he hit the "send" button, he all but shoved the phone into Princeton's face. Underneath the selfie was the caption, "Camerawork was done by the Pan-tastic Pan-ston Cross. You can tell it's him because no one pans(exual) a camera quite as well as he does. Happy Pride Month, my dudes!"

"Seriously, dude?" Princeton asked, but he was laughing just as hard as Quincy had been just a couple seconds ago. And miles and miles away, two girls crowded around a phone, laughing over the video and the text, smiling at the last five words of the message. Happy Pride Month, my dudes!