After a few seconds, I realized nothing was happening. I still closed my eyes. Time was stretching longer than it used to. It was either Zyren who got second thoughts. Or he is already preparing his ritual to wipe my memories about him and his family.
The loud opening of the door made me almost jump from my seat.
We both got distracted by the one who smashed the door enough for its lock to break.
It was Cedric, of course.
Behind him, Lou was cowering. Yet he is interested to know what is happening inside that study room.
"You're going to pay for that," Zyren pointed to the door before he resumed sitting comfortably on his seat.
"Like I care!" he shouted at Zyren before looking at me. "What the hell were you thinking? Why is it okay with you to let go of your memories?"
"He'll only erase the ones that happened today, right?"
"Yes," Zyren said as if we agreed.
"Right! And that is because you don't care about us. Because we're practically strangers with weird abilities that you don't find fascinating," Cedric clarified.
I don't know where this conversation is going. Really. Cedric and Lou knew this would eventually happen, yet now they are the ones who seemed concerned about my memories.
It's not like I'm a damsel in distress.
And it's not like I see Zyren as a villain and Cedric as a prince charming despite knowing they can play that role pretty well.
Anyway, I just wanted one thing.
"I only wanted to go home. Now, if you please—"
"Play a game with me," Cedric said abruptly to Zyren.
"Are you sure? What are you going to pay me if you lose?"
"Let her go home with her memory intact. And do not bother her ever again. That means no manipulation, no subtle ways of getting information—"
"I get it. I'll let our guest off the hook. And if I win?"
"What are your terms?" Cedric bravely asked.
"We'll relocate," Zyren answered.
"Where?"
"It does not matter where. It will be my house and my rules all over again. But this time, I'll be hearing no complaints. And I mean, any complaints? Understood?"
"Deal."
"What if I won?" Lou asked as he walked towards the two men who almost forgot that other people existed in that study room.
"What do you want?" Zyren asked.
"I want my freedom back."
"As if we don't give you enough space and privacy—" Cedric murmured.
"You wanted us to abandon you, is that it?" Zyren confirmed.
"If abandoning me means you will not help me if ever I get into trouble, or both of you will stop treating me like a baby that needs supervision. Then, yes. I want both of you to abandon me."
"I'll make sure I win then," Zyren said.
"Yeah, right," Cedric countered.
"So winner commands all. What game are we playing then?" I asked.
The three looked at me as if I suddenly appeared in the room.
"What? You didn't expect me to join?" I asked them.
"Okay. Winner commands all," Zyren declared.
I thought that somewhere in the house, there would be a game room or a hidden covered court. And I thought we would play a sport that I might not even know or be good at. Yet the game we will play is a deck of cards.
Cedric seems to have an advantage, given what he can do.
But I am disregarding that now since the thoughts he can only hear are about himself.
What would be the use of mind reading if his opponents are busy thinking about their strategies themselves?
We are still in the same room. We all sat on the carpeted floor.
All are holding a set of cards. We only have one match.
So the tension was high.
Yet everyone knew the rules.
I am unsure if Lou is confident because he saw a glimpse of the past and might have probably seen something linked to this moment. But I doubt it.
Zyren seemed pretty confident as he shuffled the cards earlier.
I noticed this was not the first time they all played together.
"Who is the best player among the three of you?"
"Me," Zyren said as soon as Cedric and Lou said, "Him."
They were both pointing at Zyren.
"And yet, you challenge him? Are you both insane?"
"Well, it's better to try our luck again," Lou said while trying to check every card he was holding.
Luck, huh?
I used to believe in that. That luck has something to do with timing and perseverance. But luck is only a magic word I'll use whenever I cannot explain why something good happens.
But I avoid believing in luck. Because if I believe in it, I might end up envious of others, and I might only think I am not successful because of bad luck.
And that sucks.
Four people. Fifty-two cards. Each player has thirteen cards.
There are equal opportunities to defeat each other.
The rule is that the first to discard all the cards is declared the winner. The one who holds the number three clubs is the first to lay a card.
Lou has it. He lay it down as a pair. Three clubs and three hearts. He seemed excited because he was the first to move. However, being the first does not always mean being in control of the game. Lou sat on my right. Zyren sat on my left, and Cedric sat in front of me. I'm trying not to look at him or anyone and only focus on the game.
There is a clue based on how each player arranges their cards. It gives away how many pairs they are holding or if they had a full-house, royal flush, straight flush, or other combinations allowed in the game.
The highest number is two, followed by an ace. The highest symbol in the cards is the diamonds, followed by the hearts, the spades, and the clubs. So, even if someone holds the highest numbers, it can be beaten by the same highest numbers but with higher symbols.
I dropped a pair of cards higher than the first pair. Four spades and four hearts. It was followed by Zyren, with five diamonds and five clubs.
Cedric threw in six clubs and six hearts.
Lou threw his pair of eight. Hearts and diamonds.
I threw in a pair of kings. Diamonds and spades.
"Ooh… someone is impatient," Cedric teased.
Am I being impatient? Should I throw in a lower pair of cards? But I no longer have lower pairs of cards. I just dropped the one higher than the cards of my opponent.
Zyren says passed. And we all looked at him.
Cedric looked at his cards and scratched his head.
"Passed."
"Passed," Lou said, too. And he looks irritated.
Now, I'm in control of the game.
I lay three jacks. Clubs. Spades. Diamonds.
Again, it is a high combination of cards. The only way to beat that is if someone has three aces or three twos.
I am confident that the three twos are not in the hands of anyone. But the three aces are something I needed to anticipate.
"Passed."
"Passed!"
"Passed."
It is still my turn to drop another set of cards.
I think they expect another pair from me. But I only lay five spades on the table.
Lou seemed happy, and so did Cedric.
It was like they were telling me that now I am being nice.
Zyren lay eight spades.
Cedric dropped the ten of spades.
And Lou dropped her Jack of Spades.
I think Lou wanted to gain back his control of the game.
I still have the Queen of Clubs, so I dropped it.
Zyren covers it with the two spades. We are all shocked.
There it is, the first highest number.
Now, we are all waiting for the three of them.
Will someone dare beat Zyren's card?
There was a moment of silence before I heard Cedric and Lou say the word passed.
Now, it was up to me.
But should I dare?
"Passed," I said.
Zyren smiled at me.
"Good girl," Zyren said before holding five pieces of cards and laying them on the table. The three of us look at it.
Three seven. Spades. Hearts. Clubs. Followed by two nine. Diamonds and spades.
None of us are holding five pieces of cards that could beat that.
So again, Zyren is in control.
It was like we were in the palm of his hands.
And we are all waiting for who will defy our fate.
Again, he dropped a pair of cards. Two queens. Diamonds and spades. If no one beats his cards, and the last two cards he turned out to be another pair with higher or lower numbers, we are all doomed.
"Passed," Lou said as if accepting defeat. "Why is he always so good at this?"
"Damn it," Cedric said. "Passed! I will never play this game again."
I dropped my pair of cards. Two diamonds. Two Clubs.
I did not look at everyone even though I knew each froze while staring at me.
"Jesus Christ! You had those!" Cedric said.
"Why, you little faker…" Lou seemed shocked and mad at the same time.
"Passed," Zyren said casually.
Of course, no one can beat the cards that I just dropped.
It was a given.
But I also only have two cards left, just like with Zyren.
But it was not a pair. The control I gained might end when I dropped a single card.
Six spades.
It was unexpected. I know.
Zyren laid down his ten diamonds.
I gasped.
We're the same! He was also not holding a pair!
Cedric does not seem happy because of his cards. The one he lay down is the ace of hearts. But Cedric does not seem confident. Even without reading our thoughts, he knew the outcome already.
Lou passed.
And I was so relieved when I lay the last card in my hand.
It was the ace of diamonds.
I won.
Zyren threw in his last card, the two hearts. He could have won if he dropped that first. But the agreement was that whoever discarded all of their cards first would be the one who would win.
"Okay, then. Tell us what you want," Zyren said.
But I could not move, and I could not breathe properly.
I guess this is what it felt like to be lucky.