(Read the previous prompt here.)
PROMPT 9 - THE LUNCH
I’ll continue to draw a card to the right.
Card Draw: 4 of Hearts (Red) +2 Potential, 4 Potential total.
Prompt: You and your Rival don’t get along, but that doesn’t mean you want them to be permanently harmed. You rescue your Rival from a great danger of some kind, and they are surprised. What is that reaction like? How long do you think about it after?
Let’s see if BOLD (affiliate link) can help: Result of the rolls are natural; deprivation; prosperous; avoidance
A strict usage of BOLD give us this situation “Prosperous natural deprivation overcome by avoidance.” I don’t immediately see how to work that specific situation into this story, but relying on the words and rearranging them does. A situation where a character has reason to avoid something which deprives them of fulfilling a need that occurs in life (nature) is corrected by prosperity.
You’re wondering if I got in trouble, right? Well, I did. Big trouble. In fact, I was banned from the “Dice & Deck” for a month. The only reason I was allowed to come back was because I grovelled, practically on all fours, to Elaine and the rest of the Game Board to let me come back.
Yes, I am sorry. Yes, I learned my lesson. No, I’ll never do it again. Yes, I’ll apologize to . . . what? I need to apologize to Gwen?
I did apologize to Gwen, of course, but at least I didn’t have to grovel. The Board deserved to be groveled to. Gwen only needed to be placated.
If Gwen and I weren’t rivals before, we officially were now. I hated her. She hated me. And we were fine to leave it like that. We didn’t talk. We didn’t play against each other. In fact, there was an unspoken two-gametable minimum distance between us at all times. And that’s how Gwen and I tolerated each other for the next four months.
Then came pizza day.
Occasionally, the owner of the “Dice & Deck” would order pizza for Saturday Game Day lunch. That didn’t mean the pizza was free. Everyone still had to pay. However, the owner only charged us half price and picked up the rest of the cost. For just a few bucks, you could get two big New York-style slices and a soda. A deal.
The store announced the event the previous week before, so everyone knew to bring money. When the pizzas arrived for lunch, we stopped what we were doing and headed to the front table, wanting to be sure to grab the biggest, cheesiest slices. One person, however, stopped short of the line. It was Gwen. I saw her digging deep into her pockets as a look of horror came over her. She pulled her empty hand out of her pocket and looked at it. With head hung low, Gwen walked away from the madness of the serving line.
The rest of us grabbed our pizza and gathered in groups to eat, laugh, and joke, our games momentarily forgotten. I knew Gwen usually hung out with Morgan, but Morgan was with some of her other friends and Gwen was nowhere in sight.
In the group I was sitting with, Wayne began telling some crude joke about a plumber taking a job at a college sorority. I'd heard it several times before . . . it really wasn’t that funny . . . so I stepped away and began to wander the store's aisles, curious to where Gwen had disappeared. I was passing the classic gaming section when I found her sitting on a stool near the storeroom door. She wasn’t crying, but she obviously wasn’t enjoying some pleasant alone time either.
“Hey, Gwen,” I said. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“No. I’m fine,” she insisted. “Leave me alone.”
I'm not sure why I didn't just leave. For some reason, I wanted to be sure she was okay. “You sure? You don’t look fine.”
“Whadayou care?”
“I saw you leave the line. Did you change your mind about having pizza?”
Gwen had been giving me a Why don’t you go away? gaze, but then suddenly dropped her stare and laid her hand on her belly.
“You’re right. I’m really hungry. I didn’t eat a lot last night, and I had to skip breakfast this morning. I was really looking forward to lunch, but when I got in line, I realized I must’ve left my money at home.” She looked up at me and shrugged. “Oh, well. I guess that means more for you guys.”
I couldn’t help but feel guilty as I finished my last piece of crust. I still had thoughts of strangling her, but at that moment, I hated the idea of her being hungry and not able to do anything about it. I fished in my pocket, pulled out a five, and offered it to her.
She looked at me cautiously. I held the bill a little closer. “Go see what’s left.”
Still hesitant, she took it and smiled shyly. She wouldn’t look at me as she passed, feeling ashamed at the situation, I suppose. As she headed down the aisle, however, I did hear her whisper a genuine “thank you.”
Maybe what I just said about wanting to strangle her was true, but things changed that day. No, we didn’t become instant friends, and our rivalry at the game table grew stronger every month. But the two-table distance no longer seemed to matter, and we even said a passing “hello” from time to time. That one moment of empathy, vulnerability, and humanity led to a level of respect.
I've never compared life to one big story, but after last Wednesday night’s similar expression of vulnerability and empathy, I’m beginning to wonder if that Pizza Day four years ago wasn’t some kind of divine foreshadowing.
* * *
PROMPT 10 - THE FOUNTAIN
I choose the card beneath my last turn.
Card Draw: 6 of Hearts (Red) +2 Potential, 6 total potential
Prompt: You’ve impressed your Rival, this time. How? What lets you know that you’ve won some respect?
Wayne’s shouts of exultation jolted me back to the present. He had just won his second game of Gem Squares. Since each match was short, typically only lasted fifteen to twenty minutes, Wayne, Erik, and I decided whoever won three games would be the Champion.
“I'll be right back,” I said, getting up. “Water break.”
I headed to the water fountain in the back of the store. I had just started to drink when I heard my name.
“Hey, Lance.”
I turned, surprised but glad, to see Gwen.
“How much longer do you have in your game?”
“Huh?” I replied, momentarily confused until I realized she was asking about my game with Wayne and Erik. “Oh, we're playing to three. Wayne’s won twice. Erik and I just once. It could be another hour, or so.”
“Oh. I was hoping we could play our game of Wyvern's Retreat, but that doesn’t give us enough time.”
Gwen clearly looked disappointed. I guess she was serious when she suggested us playing a game Wednesday night.
“I didn't know you were serious about that.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, my mistake. Never mind.”
She tried to hide her embarrassment with nonchalance, but her face flushed and gave her away. She turned to escape, but I reached for her arm.
“Wait!”
She spun back and I hastened to pull my hand back, afraid I had offended her.
“I do want to play,” I quickly explained. “I'm the one who was mistaken. As soon as I'm done with my game . . .”
“That'll be too late,” Gwen lamented. “My parents don't get to spend much time together, so they planned a special date night tonight. Dinner. A movie. Who knows what else.” She smiled at that. “I promised to stay with Fisher, so I need to be home early. Even if we started now, we would barely have time to finish.”
I thought for a moment.
“Wait here,” I told her, and took off, halfway between a walk and a run.
“Guys. Finish the game without me,” I said when I returned to Wayne and Erik. “Something came up.”
“What are you talking about?” Erik asked as I turned to leave. “Where are you going?”
I didn't have time to come up with a story. “I promised Gwen I'd play a game with her,” I called out as I walked-ran away. I'd have to deal with that fallout later, but right now, I couldn't care less.
“Let’s go,” I said to Gwen when I returned to the water fountains.
“What about your game?”
“I told them to finish without me.”
“You brushed them off?” Gwen said, amazed. I watched her deep brown eyes melt from surprise into appreciation. “Thanks. Really, I mean it. Thank you!”
Again, my heart skipped a beat.
“It’s fine. Let’s play.”
We went back to the table where Gwen had already set up Wyvern’s Retreat. It was no contest. Gwen handily wiped up the floor with me.
And I was okay with that.
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