"We came all the way here to play cards?" Inquired Katie, as she raised.

So, yeah, we were playing poker. I knew the rules since I used to play it online a few times, but it's a mostly luck-based game, as most card games are, so I lost interest stopped playing it before long. I could win every round if I used Save and Load, but...I'm not gonna waste my powers on a game that I really couldn't care less about winning or losing. In other words, if it looks like I'm going to lose money, I'll fold right away.

​​

"You know, it's hard to tell if you're just asking or being sarcastic, your tone and expression give nothing away," Remarked Mitchell with a wry smilr.

"Hm, what do you mean?" She replied with a slight tilt of her head.

"Exactly."

He's got a point, I can never tell whether she's being serious or sarcastic either.

"Aw, man...I fold, I keep getting awful cards," Sighed Andre, placing his cards on the table, "I'm almost out of chips too."

"Hey, I have an idea, whoever ends up in last place should have to do a penalty," Suggested Lin with a grin.

"Ooh, I like that, how should we decide what the penalty is?" Asked Mitchell, instantly sold on the idea.

"How about whoever finishes in first place decides?" Replied Lin, after thinking it over.

"Yup, sounds good to me!"

"Hold on a sec, I'm against that!" Protested Andre, who was sure to finish in last place, "The loser already loses the most money, so there's no need!"

"I agree, and besides, we're in public, we'll probably get kicked out of this place if we do any stupid dares or whatever," I added objectively.

"In that case...let's put it to a vote!" Declared Mitchell, "So far, it's two for and two against. There's nine of us total, so it won't be a tie."

"Sure, if the majority agrees, then I won't say anything," I replied...depending on how the vote goes, I might use Save and Load, after all.

"Alright, then...what do the rest of you guys say?"

"Against," Responded Katie immediately.

"Hm...I guess it could be fun, so long as the penalties aren't too extreme, so I'm not against it," Said Zoya, voting for.

"Um, I'm against it," Chimed in Seila timidly.

That's four against and three for. Looking good so far.

"I'll, uh, vote for," Mumbled Bytra awkwardly...she'd been pretty quiet this whole time, she'd barely spoken to anyone.

And for the tiebreaker...

"I'm voting against," Added Suri with a frown.

Yes!

"Aw, man...you guys suck," Sighed Mitchell with a look of disappointment, "Alright, after we finish this game, let's move on to the next stop!"

Huh, guess he lost interest in this place since the votes didn't work out the way he'd hoped. Well, I don't mind, card games aren't really my thing. As I glanced around, I noticed that some of the staff were setting up dominoes in a pattern. Some of the others had noticed too.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Andre inquired curiously, asking a passing staff member.

"Hm? Oh, some customers booked the entire casino for a birthday party later this evening, and they requested that we set this up, so that when the dominoes are knocked down, it spells out a birthday message," He explained, before nodding politely and carrying on.

"Guess it's a good thing we decided to leave after this current game, huh?" Remarked Zoya with a wry smile.

"I kinda wanna see the dominoes fall though," Sighed Mitchell wistfully...it was his idea to leave soon in the first place, he sure changes his tune easily.

"Word, that stuff is so satisfying to watch," Agreed Andre.

Anyway, we soon wrapped up the game and left...or at least, we began to leave. See, the area in which they were setting up the dominoes was between where we were and the exit. I'm assuming they were placing it there so that when the customers who booked the whole place show up, the domino message will be the first thing they see.

There was plenty of space for us to go around the set-up dominoes, of course, but I overlooked one important fact...we've got someone here who's so clumsy that even physics has no say in her falls and tumbles, to the extent that harem protagonists are put to shame.

Yeah, someone should have figured that this would happen...okay, so maybe I kinda saw it coming, but I didn't say anything because, A, I didn't think that it would actually happen, and B, because if it did happen, it'd be fun to watch...that said, my expectations were still exceeded...and then some.

Right as a waiter carrying a half-empty glass on a tray walked past us, she tripped over her own feet, desperately attempted to maintain her balance, before falling to her left...and bumping into the waiter, right as Zoya grabbed her right arm and stopped her from falling.

The waiter stumbled off to his right with an alarmed yell, the glass starting to fly off the tray, before he quickly reached out for it with his other hand and grabbed it in mid-air...wow, that was kinda impressive.

But, the chain reaction had only just begun, and my classmates and I watched it unfold with near-disbelief...some of the liquid in the glass splashed out before he grabbed it, falling onto the floor...right behind where one of the other staff members was setting up one section of the dominoes.

And then, another employee walked past from behind him, but didn't see the liquid on the floor and slipped on it, letting out a startled yell, as he reached out to grab hold of something...and ended up grasping the belt of the guy setting up the dominoes.

Naturally, they both fell down...and the guy who got dragged down, his knee brushed against the last domino he'd set up...and knocked it down. Which knocked down another one, followed by another one, and another-...you know how dominoes work, I don't need to explain the entire process.

As the dominoes continued to tumble, the staff desperately tried to stop them, but in their rush, they only ended up making things worse and knocking down the other sections of the set-up.

"Uh, guys...we better go before they figure out what happened," Mumbled Mitchell, heading for the exit.

"Yeah, good call," Responded Suri, as we all speedwalked towards the exit, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone.

Well, that was...chaotic. The casino is silent right now, the staff are probably in shock and disbelief over what just happened, all that effort, just gone. Heh, too bad they can't go back time...

...

...

"Here's our next stop! Well, incidentally, it's also our final stop, but only because there's a lot to do in this place!" Grinned Mitchell, as we arrived at...a Marijuana cafe.

Huh...I've never tried weed before. Besides alcohol a few times, I haven't had anything else that'd make me, you know, not sober. I better set a Save point here, just in case.

"Cool, it's been a while since I got stoned," Added Andre with a look of excitement.

"Yeah, me too," Chimed in Katie, though I don't have a clue whether or not she's excited.

"Oh, you two smoke up? Nice! What about the rest of you guys?" Asked Mitchell, looking around, "No one's against this, right?"

"I've never tried it, but I'm all for new first experiences!" Exclaimed Lin enthusiastically.

Dial it down, too much energy...

"Um, I've tried it a few times, and I'm okay with it," Added Seila, as Mitchell turned to her inquiringly.

"I've smoked weed once before, it was alright, I guess. And sure, I'm not particularly against this," Shrugged Suri.

"I have not tried it, but I'm open to it," Said Zoya.

"Yeah, um...me too," Chimed in Bytra.

And that just left me. First...

"," I mumbled inaudibly, before adding, "Haven't tried it, but I'm game to give it a shot."

"Sweet, we're all in agreement! Let's go!"

Right as we began to head for the entrance...

"Zax? Oh, it really is you, hey!" Someone called out.

That voice...

"Ruby?" I responded, turning towards her.

"Fancy seeing you here! Talk about unexpected. What are you doing here?" She greeted me with a smile, throwing an arm around me.

"Uh...just hanging out with some classmates."

That felt so weird to say...

"No way....since when do you socialize?" She inquired with a teasing grin, poking my cheek.

Ugh, I can feel the stares from my classmates, how annoying...

"Yeah, well...since when do you go outside?" I countered dryly.

"...touche, you got me there. Well, I'm gonna go, I just came out to get some parts, I'll see ya later, Zax!" She remarked, letting go of me and starting to walk away...before first planting a quick kiss on my cheek as she did.

Crap...why in front of the others...she did that on purpose, didn't she? Grr...next time I go to her for weapon maintenance or whatever, I'm gonna be rough with her when it comes to 'payment'...

"So...someone you know?" Inquired Mitchell with a mischievous smirk, poking my shoulder.

Ugh...kill me, now...

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.