Risky Business.

003 . nancy wheeler

chapter 003 ,
nancy wheeler

AS SHE SLAMMED HER OPEN PALM ONTO THE butt of a plastic hippopotamus over and over again, Lucy wondered if the true point of Hungry Hungry Hippos was to achieve a worse hand injury than those she was playing against — which, for the record, were not opponents of her own choice. But that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't having fun with them.

     "Come on, you fat little hippo," Leo demanded. He, out of the six playing, was definitely winning the 'most aggressive button-pressing.' His poor hippo's neck was straining as far out as it could, trying to swallow down marbles while Leo forced its head in and out faster than the speed of light. "Get the marbles, shitbrain!"

"Language," Lucy chided, her focus not moving from the game. "You do know I'm still here, right?"

"Why are you here?" Lucas asked, giving up on his hippo and leaning back in his seat. "Don't you have other things to do? Big kid shit, and stuff?"

"Big kid..?" Lucy repeated, raising her eyebrows. She followed Lucas and decided to quit the game as well. "Do you even know how old I am? Look, I'm only here 'cause this guy's dick brother canceled on me" — she gestured to Will — "and I didn't have anything else to do. Plus, I love this game."

     "Shit!" Dustin yelled, suddenly gaining speed and aggressor as he slammed his palm onto the hippo's ass. Lucy leaned forward to see what had brought on the urgency: there was just one marble left in the center console, and Leo and Dustin's hippos were fighting over it. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit—Come on!"

Before Lucy knew it, Leo was throwing his hands in the air victoriously, as the rest of them sunk back in their seats in dejection. Leo had won again. Nobody was surprised, really; Leo was basically a god when it came to Hungry Hungry Hippos. Playing against him was like making a bet with a fortune teller.

"C'mon, Leo," Will said, "couldn't you let someone else win for once?"

"Nope," Leo said, picking up a cheese puff and crunching it in his mouth. A moment later, he belched loudly.

"Oh, my God, ew." Lucy stood from her chair and shook her head. "Okay, yeah, I'm leaving now. Have fun. And if anybody ever beats Leo, you guys let me know. I'll give whoever it is a dollar."

     The party shared a challenge look between the midst of them, then immediately jumped forward to empty the bellies of their hippos and pour out the marbles to begin again. Lucy stood behind them and watched for a moment, but when Leo immediately took the lead, she scoffed and turned to go.

"Leaving already, Lucy?" Mrs. Wheeler asked when she emerged from the basement's stairwell. The woman smiled at her and offered forward a bowl of pasta. "I'm just finishing up dinner, if you'd like to join us."

Lucy waved a hand. "No, I'm alright," she said, giving Mrs. Wheeler a smile. "Just hung around long enough to lose Hungry Hungry Hippos to my brother. Now I should get home and help my mom get dinner ready. Thanks for the offer, though, Mrs. Wheeler."

"While you're at it," Ted's voice called from the couch, "take your brother with you, will you?"

"Ted!" Mrs. Wheeler chided, putting a hand on her hip. She gave Lucy an apologetic smile. "So, how's your dad doing?"

"Oh, he's well," Lucy said, nodding politely. "His new girlfriend is pretty nice to us. She just surprised Leo with a new Transformer action figure, or something. And she offered to take me shopping, but, uh—"

"You don't think you're there with her yet," Mrs. Wheeler agreed, her head tilted to the side in sympathy. "Yeah, I get it. You know, Nancy's with Jonathan right now, but she should be on her way home; I could take you girls out to Main Street and—"