The Counterstrike cyber kids in Madrid

I own a cyber cafe in north Madrid where I, among other things, cater to about several dozen kids who all get together daily to play these fascinating computer games. Included in this group are about a dozen or so young college guys, who still wish they were teenagers, that come in to check out the action as well as their rankings in these competitions that are posted on a cyber scoreboard with players from Germany, the United States, Japan and other countries. I describe these games as "fascinating" because I am amazed on how anyone can sit for hours entralled in a virtual world of Army combat action, violence and extraterrestrial battles. I charge them 5 euros or about $6 for three hours of play time. (Ripping off the kids you might ask? Hey, Europe is expensive!) The most popular game that is played is Counter Strike -- an award winning series of action battles developed by a group of computer wizards from an outfit out of Bellvue, Washington. You can play alone, with others at the cafe or online with pratically anyone in the world. The Madrid cyber kids also like World of Warcraft, Diablo and Jedi Knight Jedi Academy from the Lucas Arts Star War series. Because they connect with their own user names, they select logins that vary with their personalities. "Garnock" is a serious looking boy of about 16 who always dresses in black. He is thrilled when he is playing these games with his friends "Cuervo," a skinny pimplely boy about the same age, and "Lord Fenni," a heavy set lad who completes this unholy trio. The three are very polite and always come in in the early evenings. They say they walk about 20 minutes from their homes to get to my cyber. It makes me feel good that anyone would come so far to come to my business for an escape fantasy. Then on the weekdays, when all good boys should be in school, I get the noisy bunch that consists of "Maxy," "Muchy," "Nachopolitos," and "Spyke." I always know when they are approaching because I can here their running steps as they dash up my sidewalk trying to beat each other to get the best computer in one of the middle slots. My favorite one in the gang is "Muchy." "Muchy" is a small thin good looking boy about 14 with a hair style that would put Duran Duran to shame. When he should be out dating girls and going out to the non-alcohol discos, he rather hang out with his buddies and scream in front of a computer screen. He is very hyperactive and is far from shy. His knowledge about computers and programs is vast. It amazes me how much he knows. Hell, when I was his age I didn´t know how to use the square-root button on my pocket calculator! "Maxy" is the noisiest. He has to scream the loudest to ensure that he is heard, nevermind that his buddies are sitting next to him. Many times, the other clients who are there to check their emails or connect to Hotmail Messenger have to tell him to pipe down. "Maxy" ignores their scolds. "Nachopolitos" is the more mature of the four and maybe the most polite one. He´s taller than the rest and has a personality that won´t quit. He´s dying for me to give him a job at the cyber. "Spyke" is the quiet one. "Nacho" and "Muchy" told me that they think he is "autistic" because he likes to "talk to pigeons!" Now, I don´t know what one thing has to do with the other. But even though I don´t believe what they say and I know that he is far from suffering from any mental problems, I do feel sorry for "Spyke." One afternoon when he came into the cyber by himself when no one was around because it was in the middle of the Spanish siesta, he invited me to play Dawn of War with him. He taught me things that in my 40 years I didn´t ever think I would need to know!!! Yes, we do get females clients but they come in usually to connect to the Internet and prepare their resumes. Those are the ones that bitch the most. My favorite complaint from them is that the computer is not working because a web page is unavailable or cannot log into Hotmail because they forgot their password. I do get this young Jodie Foster type who comes in ocassionally for a piece of the action. She always has her basketball on hand and puts her skateboard in my office for safekeeping while she jabs, stabs and shoots down her boy competitors in this virtual world of blood and violence. Then there is this peculiar group of a young Romanian women who don´t want any of my services but come in one at a time to ask me if I have change for a 100 or a 200 euro bill. Okkaaaaay.... Nothing in this world changes except the language.