Singers and Secrets

Chapter 4

Erika's POV

All week I thought of Luke. His interest in me, the chemistry we had when we were singing, all of it. I had more than a crush on Luke, I loved him. I know, I was fifteen years old, not old enough to be in love, or so they say. But I was in love, no doubt about it. And he still sat next to me every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We were becoming fast friends. Then, one day at dinner, he asked, "Do you know how to play poker?" "Yeah," I said, "my uncle taught me." He grinned. "My roommate and I are going to play poker tonight - no real gambling, you know, just on cheap stuff like a can of soda. That sort of thing. You want to come?" Without hesitation, I blurted out "Yes!" He grinned me some more. "How about my room? At seven? And bring some stuff to gamble." "I'll be there," I said as I finished off my cup of vanilla pudding. "What room are you?" "Room 13. Our names are on the door. You can't miss it." "I can't wait!"

I put in my favorite feather earrings and smiled in the mirror. I looked good. Madison smiled at me. "Where are you going, Erika?" "Oh, I'm going to play some poker at a friend's room," I answered. "Mind if I come? I haven't played poker in such a long time." "Sure you can come!" I responded. As she fixed her hair, I gathered some stuff we didn't really need from our room: an old bottle of nail polish (even though we were playing against boys), an old seashell, an unused bar of soap, and a single sock. Yep, I don't even know whose sock it was. At 6:55 we left our room and headed over to the Boys' Wing. We reached the door with the names Luke and Jack on it. "Wait, Jack lives here?" Asked Madison. I shrugged. "Guess so." Jack Scarlet was the love of Madison's life, a football player who she dreamed of dating. I always told her he would go out with her because she's so pretty, but she was unconvinced. I knocked on the door and Luke answered. "Hey Erika!" He said. "I hope you don't mind that I brought my roommate Madison," I said, gesturing to her. "Of course not," said Luke. "The more the merrier, right?" I nodded. Jack spun around on a swivel chair and did a double take when he saw Madison. I would too if I where him. She looked great. "Hi Madison," he said. "Hey Jack," Madison said shyly. They kind of stared at each other for a few seconds, but then Luke broke the silence. "Let's play some poker!"