“I call,” Crossing my feathered legs, I stared down at the vixen opposite to me. As I placed my chips into the pot, I clutched my pair of Jacks, bending them slightly harder than intended. Jacks. Who ever liked them?
She tossed more chips into the pot, “Raise to 30.” Three times my bet. She had been calling me with garbage all night and now she had less than half of her initial chips behind her. Short stacked and she was still playing this aggressively?
I pinched against my feathers. My feathers fanned out on instinct. Ugh. Its jacks though and she was so bluffy… surely, she was bluffing me again.
For context: Ever since I started working, I’ve been easing up on Kae’s antics. Like small gambles and maybe the usual disturbances. Like a gremlin essentially in my house. Small price to pay especially since she saved me.
And so on a Wednesday night after dinner, she wanted me to play Poker with her, heads up. The loser pays for the whole meal.
“You know you can fold, right?” She licked against the rim on her cup — one of the few things we couldn’t do now as anthros was drinking from cups. I guessed licking from it worked for her. For me, I had to use straws… Seriously, straws…
“Call your 30,” I said before dealing the cards. Never trusted her ever since that day. With the pot at 60 and my stack being twice as much as hers, the flop came: K h , Q d and 2 c .
A horrible flop for me. I still put up my best poker face as she betted another 40 chips into the pot. Should I fold here? She probably had something, right? No, but she had nothing before. This won’t be any different, right? I glanced at her icy stare. Was warmer than our first encounter but it felt as though she was searching for something in me.
She giggled, “Is there something on me?”
“Just tryna see if you’re bluffing again.”
“Look harder then” Her tail swished, as relaxed as before. No changes at all.
“You know what, I call,” I pushed my chips into the pot. The turn came another Q h , pairing the board and giving a flush draw to her.
Once again she betted. This time, 240 chips. Half of her total stack. What the hell did she have? A Queen? I scratched my neck. Pot now at 380 chips. Her ranges had so many Kings and Queens. But Ace high could also do this bluff as well…
I tossed my cards into the muck, only for her to show her hand. Seven deuce off suit… she was bluffing me on that? But wouldn’t she be scared after she…“Ryan, Ryan, you’re too easy to read, you know?”
“Sorry?”
“You’re basically telling me your hand strength with your expressions.”
“Don’t want to hear that from you bluffing me.”
She gathered the cards and shuffled, “Well, you don’t play tricky at all. Every time you bet, it's because you have a good hand; every time you check it means you have a weak hand.”
“Yeah because that is more optimal against a maniac like you,” I rolled my eyes, “Shouldn’t you play lesser hands than bluffing?”
“I mean all my bluffs worked on you so far,” She shrugged, “But it is something you should note. Where’s the madness that made you continue playing? That aggression?”
I sighed, cutting the deck, “I still lost.”
“There’s losing and there’s fleeing” Her eyes arched up, gingerfully playing with her two cards, “I’m all in.”
Glimpsing at my card, I laughed. Kings this time round. Guess luck was on my side, “Call. How many times?”
She pointed up once, revealing five and six of hearts, “Good ol coin flip.”
“It… really isn’t.”
The flop came out as dry as it possibly could with a pair of 9s and a 3. Rainbow with no help from the river or turn.
Scooping up all of her chips, I said, “And on that note, you should learn how to play poker.”
“Shouldn’t these cards have a high chance of hitting flush or straight?”
“If your board is right,” Packing the cards and chips up, I stretched and fanned my feathers, “Pay up, vixen.”
She pouted and grumbled under her breath. Cute… I continued, “Seriously, how do you think that it's a coin flip?”
“Watched tournament clips. They said Aces and Kings get cracked by suited connectors half of the time.”
I blinked. No fucking way she just said that. She knew the hands and the overall game but basic poker theory was completely missing. How did she ever make it this far?
“You know you shouldn’t be watching those, right? Like, do you know what’s ranges are?”
“No idea, bird brain,” She tapped on her phone, transferring me money, “All I know is that you should be more tricky. Less straightforward you know?”
“And you should watch an actual poker guide,” I sent her some beginner poker videos, “Seriously, it's like you started gambling or so-”
“Yeah it kinda is.”
“What?”
“I never gambled before meeting you. Seriously, look at my house. You think I needed to gamble? And plus, I never had a reason to do so until changing into this sexy body,” She brushed against her tail, winking back.
“Wait then how did you get these nerves of steel?”
She chuckled, “My dad obviously. Used to hit me whenever I fucked up. So I had to lie straight to his face. Sales also helped.”
I nodded with a concerned look. Wasn’t like anything I said was going to make her feel better. Sometimes, I pitied her, needing to stay here instead of having a home.
“Alright, alright, enough of that stuff. I’m gonna watch some anime, you're joining me?”
“Yeah sure, not like I had anything going on.”
Hours later, her words still lingered in my mind as I laid on my sofa (she was still sleeping in my bed under my insistence). I was too straight forward? But that was how you win — just play the best move and slaughter them. Step by step, move and move, there was always a guaranteed way to win in the long run.
But she was right. I never bluffed against her. How could I? She would just reraise me again, forcing me to either go all in or fold. And my hands weren’t always the best either…
Gah! She had no idea how to play either. Always bluffing and playing this aggressive? Wasn’t she scared? Scared to lose at all? That part about my decision to refuse her offer, was it really that good of a play?
She had me in her palm. She had planned everything and in my panic, I just fell right into them. All of her traps. But she admired that part of me? Was she just lying to me again? I… I don’t care anymore. Not like I could ask her now at night.
It turned out her words left a dent within me. Even during work and acting as the company’s mascots, I was still dazed. Though initially, they were rather awkward around me, gossiping about my status as an anthro; I reused my lie with my father and fortunately it worked.
So those eyes of disgust morphed into pity as they asked about my condition. And from that day on, everyone just treated me normally. Like a regular person. Sure, there’s little jabs at my feathers on how I should be ‘fluffier’ and how I should ‘fly’ them around in the city. But really everyone at work all had their tailored jabs so it was fine.
Especially after that ‘musk’ incident which left everyone disgusted with me. Turns out Kae’s scent had lingered all over me, causing my feathers to smell like her. And I was none the wiser…
“Ryan!” One of my female colleagues snapped her fingers in front of me. I stood up, fanning my feathers in a shock, “Oh, what’s wrong Emily?”
She chuckled, “Jeez, can never get used to your feathers fanning like that. But yes, send me the report, I need to double check on it.”
“Ah right, sorry for it.”
“Didn’t sleep well?”
I slanted my head to the side, “Yeah. Been thinking about someone’s words.”
She leaned in, “Oh, look at you. Using your feathers to court someone. So who’s the lucky girl?”
“Oh shut it, it's my coach,” I waved my hand away, “He just gave me some feedback and now I’m thinking over it.”
“Sure, sure, whatever you say. Well, just remember to do that email and report by tonight, alright?” She walked away, with a little glint of mischief. Glancing at myself, I spotted some of Kae’s orange fur within my feathers. Right… she ended up sleeping on the sofa, didn’t she?
A blush surfaced as I felt a little more embarrassed. Fuck… why was I thinking about her words now at work? Maybe a little splash of water could clear my mind up.
Heading to the washroom, I splashed myself with water and glanced at my reflection. Just behind them, I could still remember her icy gaze. That sudden pressure in her tone and voice. My heart skipped a beat.
Did she really intend to throw her life away? To bet everything to get her ideal? I sighed, brushing my hair to the side. I…I mean I did the same, right? To lose myself even in the madness.
My talons trembled, gripping against the sink. Ah fucking hell. Was she feeling this fear during the 3rd match as well? She had to win three matches in a row or else she was dead. And to think she managed to make up plans on the fly and predicted my own fear.
I swallowed down my spit. And all she did was to start gambling to get her ideal form? Meanwhile, I was out here, trying to take the safest path to earn money. Might as well get a job but I just… whatever, that was in the past.
Lunch soon arrived. The department went out for the usual lunch setting with us being separated into cliques. Where my blonde haired senior, Charlie, would stick by me asking questions, such as, “So actually, how do you eat meat?”
“Meat? I mean I still have teeth, you know?”
“You do? Don’t you have a beak, why would you need teeth?”
I thought a little. Yeah, why did I have teeth if I had a beak? Opening my mouth, I pointed at my smaller teeth, “I don’t really know. I mean, this was what happened after that accident and I guessed I was lucky?”
“Charlie, don’t get too close to mister popular over here,” Emily joked, “He’s been thinking about someone all day long.”
“I said it's my coach.”
“Charlie, do you believe him or me? Look at how flustered his tail feathers are. I can guarantee it's a lover.”
That last word made my stomach flutter. Lovers? I mean, we were roommates. She was sexy, don’t get me wrong, and I liked her as a friend. But that was it. I was just embarrassed hearing others talk about her. No, no strong feelings here yet.
“Ryan, your silence right now is not very reassuring.”
I shook my head, “Wait, sorry, I was a bit out of it. What were you saying?”
“I mean, is it true? That you’re seeing someone?”
“Errr… I’m still single,” I shrugged, “I mean I have my fox, remember. She is more needy than expected.”
Charlie gave me a side eye, crossing his arms, “Yeah and yet you haven’t shown me any pictures of her.”
I fell silent. Yeah, showing her Kae would drive him insane. And knowing her, she would try to flirt with him, saying along the lines of how he could ‘explore’ her every crook and nanny of her body. Little tinges of discomfort floated in my thoughts.
“Ughh, how can guys like you get everything!” He stomped his foot as we continued our walk towards the mall, “A pet fox, a girlfriend and even this form.”
“Bro, you want this?” I pointed to myself, spotting passerby’s stares at me, “To be gawked at by everyone and get rejected from every other job.”
“Ok no. Butttttt if you take away the social part, isn’t this amazing?”
“Being unable to drink water directly is amazing to you?”
“Right… whatever, maybe I’ll turn into a cat. I’m sure someone wants to pamper me, wouldn’t they?”
I nodded along, playing into his delusions. Scratch flirting with him, Kae would just have full on presentations with him on life as an anthro. Hell, she might just push him down the path of gambling his humanity away. Images of them interacting with one another haunted my mind. No, no, these two were forbidden to meet. Couldn’t have two brats roaming and ganging up against me.
Lunch went by quickly where an irritating message arrived.
‘Mascot Duty @ the station from 7 till 9. Bring Charlie along.’
Great. Another mascot duty day. I elbowed Charlie’s arm gently, “Boss wants us to do MD tonight.”
“Not again,” He rolled his eyes, “Still beats doing any report.”
“So going to toss that Angela or Grayson?”
“Gray Gray needs a little more on his plate,” Charlie left, walking towards the older colleague. As I went back to my cubicle, that last part about being lovers still hung around. I mean… she was nice enough; making me dinner at night, doing chores and staying in the same hous-
A sudden squark escaped my beak, starling the office. Wasn’t she basically a housewife? I waved everyone to go back to their work, stating, “Sorry guys, accidentally stubbed my claws onto the wall.”
While most people returned to their seats, albeit slightly irritated, Charlie didn’t think so. He scooted over in his chair and said, “Your talons don’t hurt as much as they used to, do they?”
“Errr…”
With a pen, he suddenly poked my fingers. And all I had was a delayed reaction to it, “Stubbing my toe, was it?”
“Look Charlie, it's nothing much,” Could feel the tightness within my shoe as my claws dug into the interior — custom made for my talons. But I’ll admit that I would rather be bare footed here. My blush only thickened.
He nodded, “Fine, but we’ll talk later during MD. Seems like someone’s been thinking of someone, aren’t they?” Winking back, he returned to looking back at Excel spreadsheets. Told him too much about myself and looked where that got me. A stab in my talons. Ugh.
With the mundane work passing by, we both made our way down to the nearest station. With me in more… casual and revealing attire (stitched with our company logo) and Charlie with the usual ambassador work, I began flapping my feathers, and shouted for attention.
With minimal eye contact, we just kept advertising our services and sales. Like a charm, passer-bys soon became interested customers as they crowded around me. Some of them ruffled my feathers with Charlie having to step in and warn them off.
Most of them gladly took a brochure as I answered their questions on their sales. Everyone in the station could see me from here like a flame, enchanting moths to come closer. I even had a nickname and saw myself on social media; which they began calling me ‘Peacock’.
The first time I saw it was when Kae flashed it into my face, “Wow, I didn’t know I was living with Mister Peacock here.”
“Oh, just shut up,” I blushed hard, covering my face, “Told them not to take pictures of me.”
“And they still did,” She ruffled through my feathers in my chest, tickling that area, “Imagine if they knew how shy you actually are.”
I stood up, getting some water, “You better not give them ideas.”
“Alright, alright, I won’t,” She chuckled before rewatching the clip. Again. And again.
Now it was better. Attention to me was now much more numbed out. Like sure, the first few mascot duties were awkward and uncomfortable but now it was just a job. The thrill and anxiety had diffused into numbness.
“And that should be the last one,” Charlie stretched at me. I closed my feathers on cue as he squinted at me.
“What?”
“Thought you might want to say something,” He began walking towards the vending machine, “Do you want one?”
“Dude, I told you I need a straw.”
“Oh yeah, I got you,” Dropping coins into the machine, he took a straw from inside his pockets and passed it to me, “Aren’t I the best?”
I rolled my eyes and nodded. Grabbing the cold drink, I pushed the straw down. Man… drinking canned soda used to be so easy but without a straw, I was practically leaking half of the soda down the drain. Just can’t fit that gap within my beaks… “Thanks man.”
“Now, fess up.”
“Confess what up?”
“I saw your feathers wagging at work before you supposedly ‘stub your talons’,” He gulped down his drink, sitting down by the sidewalk, “Seriously, lying to me that you have no girlfriend? We’re both guys here. Just help a brother out, won’t ya?”
I glanced back. Now, what do I say here? Felt like everything I said would be the wrong answer. Or rather would piss him off or make him depressed. Mirroring his actions, I awkwardly sat down by the vending machine as well.
“C’mon, say it. Don’t you want to see your friend get laid?”
“Dude, do you think with only your third leg?”
“Most of the time,” He shrugged, "It's hard alright. I… I’m just so fucking lonely all the time.”
“Didn’t seem that way to me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I just don’t like living with NPCs. You know what I mean? Everyone just acts the same way like drones. Till I met you,” He pointed at me, gulping down his can of beer, “Mister Peacock.”
A part of me cringed at his statement. I used to say that. I used to try and justify my card counting activities as… special and unique. Rather than getting any old random job on the streets. When in reality, the stability was much more comforting, “Fine. Yes, I’ve been thinking about someone.”
“See!”
“No, no, it's not like that,” I stood up, “Like she to-”
“So it’s a she?”
“Yeah, she told me that I was too straightforward or something. Like I was too expressive or-or that I was thinking too direct and I-”
He took another sip, “I mean, it's true, isn’t it?”
“Sorry?”
Rising to his feet, he chuckled — a little drunk from his voice, “Hell, even I can tell when you’re happy, sad or uncomfortable. Your little tail,” Pointing down at my tail feathers, “Just dance to tell me.”
“Ok but straightforward? I mean I’m no-”
“Working with you is so much easier than working with anyone else in office. Like you just follow instructions to a tee. And… and whenever you assign work, you’ll give crystal clear instructions,” He let out a burp, “Sometimes I wonder if you’re a robot with rough feathers.”
I nodded along. So it was true. I… I was too direct. While Kae was out here planning around my best move, I was still stuck thinking on the base level. Must be some bad habits from chess. Like wouldn’t everyone want to play the best move at all times? Was I wrong on that?
“Now tell me who you’re thinking about?” He leered into my phone, which had a single notification of Kae, typing a simple ‘Ok’, “Damn, is that her?”
“Yep.”
“So you two aren’t together.”
I shook my head. He swallowed down his spit, “Cool, cool. So how is sh-”
“She’s my sister. So no. I’m not going to gi-”
“My bad, bro. My bad. I didn’t think that she’s your sister at all,” His face flushed bright red, embarrassed at trying to hit on her, “But if it's possible, could she introduce me to some girls or something? I’m li-”
Walking away, I nodded, “Yeah, yeah, will ask her tonight. See you tomorrow at work, Charlie.”
He waved goodbye, going in the opposite direction. See, I wasn’t straight forward. I could easily lie when it…
…didn’t matter.
Poker games of the past came rushing back. I never did a proper bluff like how she would do it… always raising with range advantage and that was about it… Even my chess moves were all formulaic or how I only relied on fundamentals.
I blinked. Guessed I needed to work on my mindset and then some. Taking my phone out, I clicked on a chess app and started playing. Had to blow some steam off on some randoms.
When I returned to work the next day, Charlie wasn’t there. His seat was missing with nobody being able to contact him. Probably out drinking at some bar after we left.
I had a small smile plastered on my face. Thanks to him, I was able to figure out my own problems. As the day continued, it was strange to not hear a peek from him. Like he had disappeared off the face of the world.
Usually, he would be on social media, posting about his status. But he wasn’t even online on private messaging apps. And the last thing he would do was to block me. Where else was he going to ask stupid questions about anthros?
With that said, I called him after work behind the company’s building. Probably just me but my hearing had improved till I could hear every convo on the train with ease. I meant, with great displeasure. Had to wear headphones to survive being on the train nowadays.
“Come on, just pick up,” I tapped against the floor. The line connected, “Charlie, the hell did you go?”
“Oh? You actually called?” A foreign deep voice replied.
“Sorry, did I call the wrong number?” I glanced down to see his contact name. Wait. Who was he?
“No, no, you called the right one,” He said, “So Ryan, your friend Charlie now owes us 50k. If you would like to see him again, please repay his debt in his stead.”
“Debt? What debt?”
“He gambled it yesterday. Betted against me and lost it all. But it's ultimately your choice.”
I groaned, “Just send me the address, I’ll come.”
An unknown message popped up, showing the address of the casino. Close to the station, “Reach here by seven,.” And the phone hung up.
I stomped against the ground. That fucking idiot! Charlie, really? Did you have to bet everything away? It had been a day and he was already in debt? How drunk was he yesterday?
Letting out a hefty sigh, I dragged my talons. Couldn’t just leave him there, could I now? I brushed my hair to the side. Well then, I had to show myself, shouldn’t I?
In fifteen minutes, I arrived standing outside of the Crowned Jewel Casino. Bright lights and jewels scattered through the environment. Just like Sadelo. Showing the body guards the message, I demanded, “Let me in.”
They barked into their mics, probably informing their boss of my presence. On cue, he arrived, clapping his hands. With a white suit and greasy hair, he appeared to walk straight out of a God Father movie. Scars on his face shined under the light as he puffed out smoke from his cigar, “You must be Ryan. Heard from your friend, you’re an anthro but didn’t expect you to be this,” He placed his hands on my shoulders.
I shoved it off, “Where’s Charlie?”
“Straight to the point, huh. But first, where’s the money?”
“Not with me.”
“Then you’re not getting him.”
“Even if I were to gam…gamble?”
He raised his eyebrows. A mafia, surprised to hear someone gambling; that was the real surprise. He scanned behind me, trying to check if I had any backup. My heart began to pound. Gah, what the fuck was I going to do here? Even as an anthro, he would beat the shit if I actually won the gamble.
“Follow me,” He gestured, calling someone. Great. Now my overconfidence was literally going to get us killed. Both of us.
Trailing behind his large steps, I followed him downstairs. Similar to where I was stationed in the past, it was an air-conditioned room with a table and two chairs. The only difference was how much smaller it was with dim lights illuminating the place.
In the corner, a familiar man was tied to his seat, a bag over his face with piercings on his ears. He struggled within his seat, upon hearing our steps, as he shouts in muffles.
Immediately, the air stiffened around me. The man in front of me finally finished his call and glanced back, “So you’re the lucky guy in Sadelo?”
“Sorry?”
“Heh, what’s with that shocked face?” He leaned forward, stroking against my chin, “You know Riley, I’m good friends with the owner. And news gets around.”
I rolled my eyes, “So what about it?”
“Well, I’m thinking of expanding my harem,” He plucked one of my feathers out. A deep green one, “And you’ll be next.”
“And if I win, you let both of us out. All of his debt repaid,” I trembled, “Is th-”
A knock interrupted me. A man strolled right into the room with a silver brief case. With his chest puffing out of his body, he resembled the bodyguards outside but more sophisticated. Bowing down, he apologised, “So sorry for interrupting you but I will be hosting the game as a referee.”
“Referee?”
“Oh Player Ryan, you haven’t received your card yet?” He tossed me a bronze card with my name and face, “Aside from the usual casino, Sadelo also offers referee services with our nanomachines so you can gamble anywhere you desire.”
I looked down, “And so I’m assuming he paid you guys?”
“We receive payment after the gamble,” He opened up the briefcase to show all too familiar syringes, “Essentially, no matter who wins, Sadelo will receive 50% of it. So if you were to win against Player Henry here, you would have to give half your winnings to us.”
“And if I lose?”
“He will pay for the serum to tame you,” The referee said with a smile, tilting his head in an uncanny manner, “So my job is to make sure no rules are broken and to make sure payment is paid in full.”
Henry cracked his knuckles, “Last chance to leave, Ryan.”
“Fi…fine,” Was this how Kae felt? Challenging me? This pounding in my chest wasn’t leaving me but something about this was… luring me closer. Closer to this flame, “Let’s do this.”
The referee dusted his suit off, “So, let’s establish the stakes. If Player Ryan here wins, he will repay his friend’s debt fully. Else if Player Henry wins, he will tame Ryan as his new consort. Is that right?”
Our eyes locked and we nodded. I never gambled feeling this out of control before. This disadvantageous and unaware of the game.
“As for Sadelo’s payment, we’ll have 50 thousand, matching his debt if Ryan wins. Else, we will take in his friend for our own purposes. Any questions?”
I raised my hand up, “I would like to have my own witness to the game,” Pointing at Charlie, I said, “Could I have him to be the witness?”
Henry clicked his tongue before ripping his cloak off and untying him, “Get up, dumbass!”
With puppy eyes, my colleagues blinked at me in utter shock. Once he was untied, Charlie ran to me like I was his parent, “You came?”
“Was lonely without you today,” I chuckled before he rushed behind me, “So what the fuck happened?”
“I… I don’t know. I was on a winning streak at blackjack and I agreed to do a game and somehow I lost all of my money in one go,” He said with his voice trembling, “Seriously, do you think you can win?”
Tapping on his table, Henry jerked forward, “You know what? I’ll let you play the same game as he did,” Grabbing a deck of cards from his pockets, he tossed it to the referee, “It’s called Guess Poker.”
“Guess Poker?”
He clicked his phone. A couple of attendants came down to pass us both 100 chips and a button signifier, “Basically, each round we exchange being button and blind where the blind has to put 2 chips out while button puts one. Every round, we’ll get one card each, forced to put it face up on our forehead. If either of us sees it, we lose half of our total chips.”
“There, the betting phase starts. The usual raise, call and fold mechanic with poker with button acting first. The normal way to play it is to go to Showdown where we compare which card is higher. If it's a tie, the pot remains as it is till a winner takes the pot. Aces are high here by the way. Fold your aces, you lose half your stack.”
I said, “So just like Indian Poker?”
“Should’ve said that if you knew from the start,” He grumbled, “But the only difference is before showdown, either of us can guess our own cards. Guess the exact card, win 20x your bet. Guess the exact suit, win 3x your bet. Guess the exact rank, win 10x your bet. And vice versa. If either of us guesses right, we skip Showdown entirely.”
“There,” He grabbed the jokers and ripped them, “Our dear referee would rip the cards. And we’ll end the game after the deck is over. Whoever has more chips wins.”
Oh. Oh wow. I stifled my laughter. Was this game that easy? This easy to beat? Shoving down my expressions, I swallowed them down. Down my throat. He definitely was cheating but the path to victory was so very bright. How could nobody beat this child’s game before?
I raised my hand ever so slightly, “So even if you bust, there will be no consequences?”
“You want them to be?”
“I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem worth it from my perspective,” I shrugged, “Like even if I make you lose all your chips, I think I deserve a reward.”
His laughter echoed in the small basement. Charlie immediately nudged against me, his eyes glaring down.
“Oh trust me, alright,” I said with my talons trembling, “I’ll get us out of here.”
“Fine by me!” Slamming down the table, he said, “Double the damn bets then.”
The referee now stepped in, “So if Player Henry loses all of his chips he would have to pay 100 thousand to Player Ryan and 100 thousand to us. Else, if Player Ryan loses all of his chips…”
“I’ll have this peacock ass molded into my perfect slut. Anything that could be molded will be altered by me,” He flashed his golden tooth, “Any other demands, slut?”
Staring down at him, my tail feathers fanned themselves out. Oh this was bad. No wonder Kae enjoyed this. This madness of going up against impossible odds. She was definitely a bad influence but this was… too thrilling to ignore.
“Fanning yourself for your new master already?”
I shoved my tail feathers down. Shouldn’t get excited just yet, “Whatever makes you happy.”
As the referee shuffled the deck, Henry leaned back and roared with laughter. Goosebumps appeared on my feathers with the cards dealt towards me. Could even feel Charlie’s worrisome thoughts behind me.
Placing my two chips into the middle, the referee declared, “Round 1 of Guess Poker starts now!”
