Air Hockey Clash

The high-pitched hum of the air blower kicked on, floating the bright red puck across the perforated table! I took the night bus over to the arcade, vaulted past a stool, and scrambled right onto the slick white playing surface. Clack-crack! Two players slammed their plastic mallets, rebounding the disc at blinding speed right past my feet! Instant tempo. I planted myself firmly near the center line, thrust my microphone out to catch the hard plastic collisions, and fired off crisp, rapid staccato rhymes synced to every rebound off the aluminum rails. A rogue deflection whizzed an inch from my knee, but I didn't flinch until the buzzer sounded!