Mary had already been awake for several hours, as that was just the kind of person she was. Early to bed and early to rise was her way of life. She had already completed her morning chores to the highest degree of cleaning. She had made her bed, twice, and then brushed her teeth. The sand timer on her sink telling her she had brushed for exactly two minutes and thirty seconds. She then mopped the kitchen tiles three times. The first two times didn't seem good enough. Mary had a feather duster in her hands, about to dust the furniture, when suddenly the phone in her living room began to ring. It was the best cordless phone that 1995 could offer. It was a gift from her current boyfriend so he could check in whenever he wanted. 

As Mary walked to the telephone she silently prayed that it wasn't her boyfriend, maybe someone trying to sell her a better vacuum or someone trying to get her to join a cause. Her hopes fell quickly as she took a deep breath and answered the phone with a soft, meek, 

"Hello?" 

It was, in fact, her boyfriend, calling to check up on her. Making she she was dressed, looked presentable, and had cleaned the apartment. Mary calmed reassured him that she was dressed and ready for work, and that the cleaning was just about done. Their phone conversation was just about to conclude when he reminded Mary that she shouldn't be hanging about after work, as she could be sucked into things that didn't involve her. He instructed her to finish work, clock out, and return home to start evening chores. He then hung up, and Mary let out a shaky breath she wasn't aware she was holding. 

Mary walked quickly to the video game rental store which doubled as an arcade in the back. She loved working there. There was no strict dress code, so Mary happily wore a loose fitting sweater, jeans, and sneakers, and the other employees were friendly. She also got to play video games, so that helped add to the benefits. She walked slowly past the other stores on the block, record rentals, movie rentals. Everything could be rented. 

It had been a whole year since the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and it was still one of the more popular rentals in the store. The younger customers always rave about Knuckles the Echidna but Mary thinks his design is just silly. It had also been an entire year since an arcade cabinet had been wheeled in for Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which Mary would admit is a favorite of hers. Last summer Need for Speed debuted, but Mary didn't see the appeal very much. She doubted it would go on to make any sequels or become one of the most well known racing titles in the future. A game that quickly suckered Mary in had to have been Donkey Kong Country, the newest 3D game from Nintendo. 

The end of 1994 came with another new arcade cabinet, Tekken. An immediate success.

And even though the world was only about two months into the new year, new games were already coming out, as well as companies promising for new concepts and sequels to their old concepts. 

Mary stood behind the counter at work, struggling to pin her "Hello, my name is MARY" name tag onto her shirt. In the background a coworker began turning on the quarter guzzling arcade machines. Mary sighed, resting her hands on the counter. She only hoped it would be a long day.