I wipe the sweat of my brow as I carefully examine the connect four board. What I thought was going to be a casual game has quickly turned into an intense mental battle.
Jaki and I are evenly matched so far. We both had many attempts of connecting four but each one was thwarted by the other.
Just as I was about to complete my move and drop a piece down I hear Jaki say:
"You sure you wanna drop your piece there?"
Jaki has been quite intense throughout the game. Though I suppose this isn't much of a surprise since she is known for giving her all in everything she does.
However I'm not one to accept defeat easily as well, especially if I actually put in effort.
"Hmmph your mind games won't work on me, I see through your plan."
"We'll see about that."
We continue to trade moves, until the board is almost filled up.
I wait patiently for my chance to strike as I observe the board and calculate the possibilities left. If we were playing any other game I probably would have lost already.
However when my little brother was younger we used to play connect four all the time. Me being the great older sister that I am, researched strategies online to make sure he loses every time.
Jaki seems to lose her composure slightly as I stopped another sneaky attempt she had setup to connect four. Her moves also seems to become more rushed and impatient as the game is coming close to an end.
With only a few slots left Jaki went for a risky move, however it was a fatal mistake. I seize my opportunity and lay my trap.
Then I triumphantly place the killing blow as I connect four.
"What! I can't believe it, how did I not see that coming."
Jaki grunts and looks all over the board analysing how she lost the game.
"He, he, he."
I can't help but chuckle as I see Jaki being so frustrated over losing in connect four.
"You laugh now, but I'll definitely beat you next game!"
"Ooo, big words, lets see if you can back it up."
We continue playing but each time we repeat the same pattern. It always ends with a close game where I barely eke out a victory.
Afterwards Jaki will challenge me again, not settling for anything less then a win. It was cute seeing her try so hard.
Sometimes our hands will also briefly touch when Jaki is too eager to put a piece in before I have finished placing mine. I can feel my heart flutter a little bit each time this happens.
* * *
Jaki begrudgingly gives up after all her attempts to beat me fails. As she packs away the board I can't help but gloat a little bit.
"He, he. Better luck next time."
"Hmph."
Jaki pouts at me, trying to ignore my comment. Cute, I think to myself.
"Anyway lets get started with preparing dinner."
With the mention of food it seems like Jaki has forgotten all about the connect four games. She now beams with enthusiasm.
"What are we having today, let me help you out."
I quickly brief Jaki that I plan on making some sweet chicken and corn soup. Jaki's eyes lit up as usual when it comes to the mention of food. I'm glad she seems to like the choice of dinner.
* * *
We quickly get to making dinner. Jaki doesn't have much experience with cooking and food prepping. So at the start I demonstrate and taught her a few baic skills such as cleaning and cutting. She immediately got the hang of it and was helping me with preparing the ingredients.
Jaki is sure a quick learner. I can't help but feel a little bit jealous since it took me such a long time to get the basics down and yet Jaki is now doing them like it's nothing.
I secretly sneak glances at Jaki when I am cooking. I don't know how but some somehow she makes picking out corn kernels from the cob look elegant. Jaki is just effortlessly cool.
Oh crap! Our eyes meet when I was trying to sneak another glance at Jaki. I can feel my face burning up as we make eye contact.
Jaki simply smiles gently at me and hands me a bowl of corn pieces.
"Here I am done with all the corn."
"T-thank you."
I quickly grab the bowl and turn around so Jaki won't be able to see the blush that is slowly building up on my face.
I wonder what's wrong with me recently, feeling all these weird tingly emotions and impulses that I have never felt before.