"Aisha, are you bored?"
"Of all the questions you could ask, you ask that one?"
Recess had just started. As always, Lusia dragged me off somewhere to hang out, and as always, I let her. This time our destination was the science room since it was the closest to ours. No teacher would bother us there unless we brought food or anything else that could make a mess.
"Well, just… look at this."
"Hmm?"
When we arrived, Lusia pulled a few small boxes from her pockets, none bigger than her hands. These boxes had illustrations of all kinds of card games, poker, rummy, even a few TCGs. They would have been the most remarkable thing if it weren't for a small note that fell out of her pocket that said "Do not touch."
"...Who did you steal this from?"
"I borrowed them from my aunt."
"Are you sure you borrowed them?"
"...I'll tell her I borrowed them later."
"…"
There was no point questioning her, so I just let the conversation flow in the direction she wanted.
"Wanna play cards?"
"Yes."
"I'm not particularly good at it. I don't even know the rules of most games…"
"Don't worry, I know a few simple ones that don't require many brain cells."
"Do they have anything to do with the TCG cards?"
"No, I only brought those in case you wanted to look at the illustrations. It'd take at least forty recesses to learn the basic rules of a TCG."
"Good point."
After putting away the overly complicated card games, we were left with the more classic ones.
"Alright! Do you know how to play poker?"
"No."
"Blackjack?"
"No."
"Baccarat?"
"Doesn't ring a bell."
"Okay… we'll have to play the simplest game I know."
"And that would be?"
"Old Maid."
The next two minutes were spent with Lusia explaining the rules of Old Maid. They weren't difficult, you just discard matching pairs until one of us runs out of cards, always avoiding being left with the joker. In that sense, it felt like the opposite of poker, where the joker is usually the most useful card.
"Is this a game of luck?"
"More like a psychological one. You have to keep a straight face so the other person won't know which card to avoid."
"…Are you sure you want to challenge me to something like this?"
"Hehe, not to brag, but I'm good at that too."
"It's not like I've practiced or anything…"
With nothing more to clarify, we shuffled the cards a few times and started the game. Both Lusia and I took a handful of cards and carefully checked them without revealing what we had. I, unfortunately, had drawn the joker.
"(Hmm, I think that's bad.)"
My hand wasn't anything special. The best part was that I had a two of diamonds and a two of hearts, so I could at least discard a pair.
"(I wonder what Lusia's hand looks like)"
I subtly looked up to check her expression. Her small smile suggested she had at least one pair.
"Good hand?"
"Who knows."
With nothing else to do, I laid down my pair, giving Lusia the turn. She began speaking as she laid down a pair of her own.
"Have you used the nail polish I got you?"
"Is it okay to talk about unrelated stuff during the game?"
"Of course. It actually makes it more fun, since it distracts you and you might make a mistake."
"What a way to complicate the game."
"So? You didn't answer me."
When it was my turn, I gestured for Lusia to hold out her hand and drew a card from her. Unfortunately, it was useless, so I ended up drawing from the deck.
"Not yet. I'm not really sure when would be a good time to use it."
"It can be anytime. You just have to choose to use it."
"Even if I don't know how to paint my nails?"
"You can learn. If you don't take risks, you won't achieve anything."
During her turn, Lusia followed a similar pattern. She was lucky enough to avoid the joker but didn't get a pair either.
"If you say so…"
"Are you at least going to wear the outfit you bought?"
"I'm waiting for an occasion. I work longer on weekends, so it might be a good time to wear it as a uniform."
"You don't have a uniform?"
"Just an apron to show I'm helping my dad. Underneath, I wear my school uniform."
"I don't even want to imagine how limited your wardrobe is…"
"Although… There's something that caught my interest."
"Really?"
Lusia looked surprised—it must've been shocking for her to see me take initiative without anyone prompting me.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure if it'll be available, so I'd rather not disappoint you."
"So you're going to be mysterious."
"If you want to see it that way…"
"Can you at least give me a hint?"
"Like I said, I don't want to disappoint you."
When it was my turn again, I took another card from Lusia's hand. It wasn't useful either, but I noticed something odd.
"Just out of curiosity—is this a normal deck?"
"Why do you ask?"
"The back design looks kind of strange…"
"All decks have weird designs on the back."
Even if she was right, these cards definitely had something odd. When I drew from the top of the deck again, I looked carefully at the back design and noticed small, subtle dots that could be dismissed as decorative elements.
"(Two on the left and three on the right… it's going to be a five.)"
When I drew the card, I saw that my prediction was right—it was a five of diamonds. Lusia hadn't realized we were using a marked deck.
"(She said she borrowed it from her aunt. I should tell her this isn't a fair game.)"
I was about to tell her what I'd noticed, but stopped. Knowing her, she'd probably just say I should try to beat her anyway. She wouldn't want me to throw the game. So I decided to use this to my advantage.
"Are you going to invite me out again soon?"
"Maybe next week. I want to try exploring the city on my own."
"Wouldn't it be better if I came with you so you don't get lost?"
"I don't want to go through that humiliation again…"
I subtly lifted the joker a little during Lusia's turn, and surprisingly, she fell for the trap. She clearly didn't expect it, though she tried to keep calm.
"Aisha… you're good at this."
"No need to fake it. I know I gave you the joker."
"I-It'll be back in your hand soon enough."
The next few rounds followed a simple pattern. While Lusia struggled to discard pairs, I focused on both matching my own and making sure she couldn't take any useful ones from me. The joker was easy to identify—unlike the other cards that had varying dots, the joker had identical dots on both sides.
Lusia tried to stay composed, but it was clear she was struggling to keep a neutral face as I steadily gained the upper hand. It must've stressed her out, as she started scratching her side with her free hand.
A strange habit of her, when she was nervous or stressed, she'd hurt herself a bit. Biting, hitting, or scratching. Even if it was light, it could eventually leave small wounds. If I pointed it out, she'd always get embarrassed, so instead she tried to steer the conversation somewhere comforting—and she was doing that now.
"What did you think about our outing…?"
"What's with the question?"
"Just curious."
"Well… it was kind of rude how you left me like that."
"Sorry about that."
"At least the food was good, and it was fun visiting that vinyl store."
"Thank you."
As she spoke, she slowly moved her hand away from her side, letting me know she was calming down, even if just a bit. I didn't always understand what others felt, but I could get a sense of it by remembering how my dad acted when working.
When I was younger, I'd sometimes stay up to secretly watch my dad work, and in some way, that helped me learn how to respond to certain situations. Hurt people often adopt self-destructive habits—some speak differently, others resort to physical harm or unhealthy coping mechanisms. I'm not sure why Lusia reminds me so much of those cases, but one thing I learned from watching my dad is that some people prefer to carry their pain silently, even when it's unhealthy.
"(I should be able to win next turn.)"
When I focused back on the game, I realized I only had to draw a six from Lusia's hand to win—I had the victory in the bag. But then Lusia said something that changed the course of the game.
"Although… the most fun part was spending time with you."
"With me?"
"You're a little weird, exhaustingly kind, and way too emotionally clueless."
"Sorry for—"
"But that's what makes you unique. I admit I like that you never say no, but I also enjoy teaching you things."
"Isn't that tiring?"
"Not at all. The more time I spend with you, the more I want to make sure you have fun."
"…"
Lusia's smile as she said that—for some reason, it completely captured my attention. I was so focused on her, I didn't realize I picked the joker.
"Ah…"
"Finally!"
She jumped with joy at having turned the game around. As for me, I didn't understand why I made such a basic mistake. I could've thought more about it, but instead, I just watched her joyful expression.
"Now I can finally make a comeback!"
"We'll see…"
The game continued, but not in a conventional way. I knew Lusia would be mad if I didn't play seriously, but I couldn't help giving her more and more of an advantage. I don't know how to explain it, but seeing her smile was oddly calming. I wanted to see it a bit longer, even if it meant falling into a huge disadvantage.
"Just a little more!"
"Just a little…"
We placed down more pairs until we reached the end. Somehow, our hands were evenly matched.
"We're tied."
"One more pair and I win!"
The top card was a five. Lusia and I both had nines, and aside from the joker, no other cards remained. It came down to a 50/50 choice that would decide the winner.
"Draw the last card."
"I will!"
I didn't use any tricks. At this point, I just wanted to see what fate had in store. Lusia smiled, realizing I wasn't going to interfere, and with determination (and way more force than necessary), she pulled a card.
"…"
"…"
"…I won!"
Overjoyed, Lusia placed the two nines down and ended the game with no cards in hand.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you, thank you!"
DING DING
"Recess is over…"
"That was so much fun!"
"Definitely…"
"Let's play again sometime!"
"…Maybe not. That was kind of complicated."
"Boo."
Eventually, Lusia would have to notice that the deck we used was marked—but for now, I let her enjoy her win. Now, it was time to head back to class.
"I'll help you put the cards away…"
"Thanks."
The game had been fun, and even though I hadn't won, somehow, I felt like I'd achieved a different kind of victory.