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John was sitting on the roof again, tired after the long, weary day of the continuous workload machine that was the last month of the winter semester. He leaned his back against the cold, chain-link fence, lazily gazing at the huddling groups of students socializing down below on the main level. He was quite lonely, though he wouldn’t internally admit it. He just needed a small distraction for the time being, something to block all the train of thoughts that circled his brain, as if completing victory laps time and time again.
What’s going to happen to Sera? To me? Who is Spectre and what do they want from us?
These were just a few of the thoughts that kept on shoving themselves into John’s brain, dangling in front of him, but the answer was always out of reach. Like the wind nipping his skin no matter how many layers he put on top. Like a hallucination, an illusion. Always there, but at the same time, not. There were so many things to worry about, not to mention all of the final exams coming his way. It was not like he ever did any good on them, but he was almost positive that his dad would freak out if he got anything lower than what he got the year before.
So many things to do, but so little time.
The one thing that he was internalizing the most, however, was the loss of his ability. John never really had a great relationship with his ability. It was always a part of himself that he felt was inherently evil. After one horrendous misconduct, he was sent to readjustment courses, classes that drilled a repetitive, glum ideology into his skull. He could feel it etched there, figuratively. He was told, again and again, that he was a monster, a tyrant, a hypocrite, a freak. He was out of control, all because of his stupid ability. And these taunts did hold true, for when he exposed his secret, he let out the beast yet again here in Wellston, and he paid the price.
Recently, however, after his suspension and the Safe House trip, he was doing better. Like Sera said, he did have control over his ability. He did use it to de-escalate a situation. He couldn’t remember the last time that ever happened. Possibly never. But now… Now it was gone. John held his hand in front of him, scrunching his fingers into a fist, then slowly releasing. He could see every last channel in his body, down to the last finger. What once glowed with a soft, orange hue, was now empty. It felt unnatural, like something inside of him was incomplete. Like a piece of him was missing.
It’s better this way, he assured himself, now, I won’t have to worry about losing control.
The thought didn’t do much to get rid of the feeling of unease creeping in his bones, or shake the tension he felt in every joint of his body. But it made him feel a little better about the pitiful situation.
Turning back to the eerie comfort of his phone, he looked at the recent message he just received from Sera.
Sera
Just Now
Sera
Hey John, just finished with Spectre stuff.
Sera
Wanna come to the Safe House with me? We’re playing cards.
John
Srue 👍
Sera
Alr, I’ll tell them to wait for you.
John immediately got up from the cold spot he was sitting in, glad to get his mind off things for the time being. John loved playing cards, especially poker. It reminded him of his Dad and simpler times. And since they were playing cards, he was sure that he would be able to secure a win.
John opened up the door that led downstairs and began walking to the third floor room, where the Safe House was located. Recently, he had come to better terms with its founders; Remi, Isen, and Blyke. He was truly grateful for the step forward the royals took in terms of the safety of the school, and couldn’t help but feel guilt prickling at the back of his mind every time he remembered it was him who tried to take it down almost a month before, no matter how many times he was reassured he was forgiven. He even, (though he wouldn’t admit it), came to tolerate Arlo, if you would imagine.
When he finally reached the safe House door, he, with slight hesitation, took a deep breath and opened the door. He was met with the blast of the heater that felt like the humid air of a hot summer day, as well as the chatter that filled the room. Some students sat at desks, doing work on their laptops (or playing games) and some leaned against walls or sat down, chatting with their friends, doing whatever. His attention then turned to a small group in the corner, who sat in a circle, dealing what he was sure were cards. The group consisted of a pink haired girl; Remi, a boy with a goofy grin; Isen, a boy who was hitting him; Blyke, and a blue-eyed girl who waved him over; Sera.
“Hey,” she greeted.
“Hi,” said John, “Whatcha playing?”
“Uno,” she told him, holding up a few cards
“Oh.”
“Hey, hurry up,” interrupted an irritated Blyke, “We don’t have all day.”
Remi tapped Blyke’s arm.
“Hey, hey, let’s be civil. He just got here.”
Blyke just grumbled.
“Fine.”
John, already seated next to Sera, picked up the cards that Remi sorted out to him and flipped through them. They didn’t look like a standard deck of cards, displaying odd colors and large, white numbers in the middle. He also had one that had a rainbow symbol that looked like a round Microrough logo.
Leaning towards Sera, he whispered, “wait, so how do we play this?”
Everyone heard him.
“Wait,” blurted Isen, “you don’t know how to play Uno? Seriously? It’s a classic!”
John sent him a dirty glare. Isen flinched.
“Well, I prefer to play more niche games, but since it’s such a classic, please enlighten me.”
The rest of the group, sans Remi, looked at Isen expectantly, though they all knew the game.
“Well,” Isen began nervously, “basically, everyone starts with seven cards. The goal of the game is to get rid of all of your cards.”
John nodded. It seemed pretty straightforward so far.
“So we flip over the first card on the deck,” he gestured towards the pile on the floor, “and based on whatever color or number it is, the next person would place another of their own cards on top of that, with either a matching color or number.”
He almost took one of his cards to demonstrate, but Remi stopped him.
“Wait!” she blurted, “why don’t we invite Arlo to play with us?”
Everyone gave her a look.
“What?” she asked, catching a glance at all of their unconvinced looks, “He told me that he's coming over to pick up the book he left here. It would be fun!”
To John, Arlo was the exact opposite of fun, and he wouldn’t expect Arlo to agree to join.
“Well,” he told her, “It’s his choice, but I wouldn’t count on him.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, shaking her head, “you shouldn’t underestimate my stubbornness.”
Sera and John shared a knowing glance. They were both also known for their unmatched stubbornness, though John especially.
“Alright,” said Sera, half agreeing, “we can wait for Arlo.”
Just then, as if he was waiting for them to say his name, the door swung open with a loud creak, and in walked the tall, blond, senior. Arlo.
“What?” he asked aloud.
He had caught them staring.
“Arlo!” shouted Remi, breaking the tension, “Come play Uno with us!”
She ran up to him and began pulling him by the arm.
“Remi - wait,” he told her, struggling to get his wrist out of her grip, “I just came here to get my book.”
He nodded at the only empty desk, where there was an ashy gray book called ‘Rock Bottom’ resting. Remi let go of his arm, letting him retrieve the hardcover.
“Come on Arlo,” she whined, trying to convince him, “it’s just for a bit. And besides, aren’t you the champion of Uno?”
Arlo was about to protest, but before he could say anything, John interrupted him.
“Wait, what?!” he shouted, suddenly springing up from his spot, “Arlo is good at card games?”
“Not necessarily any card game,” Arlo said, addressing John this time, “though I would admit I am rather good at playing at Uno.”
“Oh? Great at Uno, you say? Well then, I bet you that I could beat you in my first game,” John challenged
Sera hid a laugh behind a cough.
“Jealous that somebody else is good at cards?”
“No!” shouted John, getting heated, “It’s just a friendly challenge.”
“Calm down, bro,” Blyke semi whispered
But John didn’t listen.
“So, what do you say?”
Arlo sighed.
“Fine. I’ll play one round. It will be satisfying to knock you down a peg,” he said, smirking at John.
John huffed in response.
“Fine.”
Arlo sat himself in between Blyke and John, as Isen finished explaining the rules.
“So, to continue,” Isen explained, “after one person puts a matching card, the next person places their own match on top of that.”
He demonstrated, placing one of his blue 2 card on top of the blue six that was the starting card.
“If you don’t have a color or number that matches the card shown, you just take one from the draw pile and skip your turn,” he informed John, pointing at the stack.
Blyke sighed impatiently, and John slightly nodded.
“Wait, so what’s this card?” he asked, holding up the rainbow for everyone to see.
“You’re not supposed to show people your cards,” Blyke suddenly snapped, patience worn thin.
“I was just getting to that,” Isen said calmly, ignoring Blyke and answering John’s question.
“Oh.”
John quickly put the card back in his own deck.
“So, like I was about to say, there are also special cards.”
He grabbed the crumpled instructions and smoothed out the wrinkles, pointing to a few cards that were singled out.
“This,” he said, pointing to the rainbow card, “is a wild card. When you place it down, you can change the color of the card, possibly hindering the next player’s ability to place down specific cards. So, for example, if I put down a wild card and call out ‘blue’, the color would change from green to blue and the next player will have to place a blue card down.”
John nodded, letting Isen continue.
“Next are blocks and ‘plus two’ cards. If you place down a block card, the next player’s turn is skipped, simple. The ‘plus two’ card skips the next player’s turn and makes them take two cards. Then this,” he said, pointing to a wacky looking card, “is the plus-four card. It’s basically the ‘plus two’ card but with four cards. Lastly, is the reverse card, which switches the direction of the player’s turns from clockwise to clockwise and vice versa. So, got it?”
He looked up expectantly. John blinked.
“I guess…”
“Don’t worry, you’ll catch on once we start the game.”
“Okay.”
Isen looked around. The game seemed fun, but as they were all playing, he didn’t see why he shouldn’t add an incentive for the winner.
“Before we play, we should probably decide what the winner gets. You know, as a prize.”
“Free Woaba Boba,” blurted John without a thought
A few of them looked at him quizzically.
“That boba shop a few blocks away from here,” he explained, “It’s really good.”
Sera piped up, “Okay, so whoever wins gets a free trip to Woaba Boba all paid by the player with the most cards by the end of the game, if you guys agree”
Everyone, minus Arlo, nodded. It seemed like a solid idea.
Remi clapped her hands together, “Alright, let’s play, then!”
Isen’s example card was discarded and he was given a new one. The round started with Arlo, placing a blue 7 on top of a red 7. Blyke followed, placing down a blue 1. Next was Isen, who put down a 0 of the same color. Remi was next. With a triumphant humph, she placed down a ‘plus two’ card. Grumbling, Sera took two cards and added them to her pile. Catching on, John went next and placed down a blue 8. Arlo put down a 2, Blyke drew a card from the deck, Isen placed down a blue 4, Remi put down a 5, then Sera reversed the entire direction of the game. It didn’t seem like such a great move to John, but what did he know? He was only a beginner.
So, Remi went again, and placed down a wild 4 card. Isen groaned.
“Remiii…”
John just glared at Sera for giving Remi such a large upper hand, and for skipping his turn. He felt like he knew who would win.
“So, what color is it, Remi?” asked Blyke, who’s turn was next
“Hmm.. Red,” she decided, her eyes traveling to her friend’s hair.
Isen snickered.
“Okay,” grumbled Blyke.
He placed down a red 4 card. Arlo put down a 9, John a 6, and then Sera a 2. Remi put down a 3, then Isen a 6, Blyke a 7, then Arlo a 3. John, seeing that he had neither a three or red, drew a card, a green 5, and placed it in his deck. Sera placed down a 5, then Remi a red 0. Isen drew a card. Blyke played a wild card, announcing the color to be green. Taking the chance to block John, Arlo quickly placed a skip card in the pile, skipping the boy’s turn. John grumbled, and Arlo smirked. At this point, he had a higher chance of winning than John did.
Ignoring the little scuffle, Sera placed down a green 4, realising too late that Remi held two cards in her hand.
“UNO!” shouted Remi, placing one of her cards down.
A few Safe House students looked at her with concern. She laughed nervously. With no way to stop her, Isen placed down an 8. Blyke placed down a ‘plus two’ card, and Arlo right next to him drew two cards and added them to his pile.
“Heh,” John laughed, glad that Arlo got what was coming to him.
Arlo just ignored him. John placed down a 1. Sera a 5. Remi, with a triumphant grin, placed down her final card, a green 0.
“I won!” Remi shouted.
“Good game,” Blyke told her clapping her on the back
“So, who’s paying for the boba?” asked Isen, curious to see who lost the game.
Everybody turned to him, looking at the eight cards in his hands.
“W-wait, me?” he stammered, counting his cards.
It was, indeed, him who needed to pay. Arlo had already risen from his spot.
“Wait, you’re leaving already?” asked Remi
“Sorry, Pinky, I can’t stay for long,” he told her.
“Wait– before you go, we should probably add each other’s contacts to keep in touch. Maybe we can go out together again when Isen buys me boba,” she told everyone in the group.
“I already have everyone’s contact,” Arlo told her, “so I can add you all to a group.”
With that, he left the room along with his book.
Blyke snorted, “Who knew that you could get Arlo to willingly join a group chat with all of us?”
“I told you that you shouldn’t underestimate me,” smiled Remi.
John just shook his head, remembering the last time he went to Woaba Boba with Arlo. It was a complete disaster; Arlo utterly refused to drink anything other than black coffee. That, and he tried to lull John into a false sense of security. But that was all in the past.
“Wait, where did Arlo get John’s phone number from?” asked Isen, interrupting his thoughts.
“Rowden trip,” explained John
“Oh.”
Sera turned to John, “So, what did you think of Uno?”
John smiled, “Well it was nowhere near as fun as poker, but it was alright. I guess it's
sort of the same, in a way, where you have to trick other players into thinking you have a specific card.”
Sera nodded, “yeah, it’s funner when it’s a bit slower and there’s less players”
“I knew we shouldn’t have played with Arlo,” he grumbled..
Sera laughed.
“Well, do you want to get boba now?”
She smiled, “sure.”
They walked out of the room, Spectre and ability loss forgotten as the two friends bonded over what they believed to be the best drink ever created; mango boba.