Sold to the Smiling Friends.

Chapter One: The Smiling Friends

     I felt myself awaken in a suffocating brown bag that little light could be seen through. My restraints had been lightened but not completely removed. Rather than the heavy chains, I instead had rope binding my limbs together. My blindfold was removed, but my duct tape was reapplied. At first, I heard humming, coming from, I could only assume, Mr. Boss. The bag was swaying slightly, and I could hear him grunt as I felt my container get tossed from shoulder to shoulder. He was walking, carrying me somewhere, but before I could start overthinking about my demise, I heard other voices. 

     “Dude, that-that’s not how the game works,” a nasally voice spoke.

     “Charlie, it says it in the rule book,” one with an accent replied.

     “Yeah, I-I get that, but this is house rules. No one actually plays Uno by the written rules,” he rebutted.

      “Why are they there then?” A new voice spoke up, another nasally one.

     Suddenly, I heard a fourth person, but I couldn’t make out what they had said. It sounded similar to gibberish.

     “Guys, I understand, I’m,” the first voice laughed, “I-I’m just saying, no one actually plays by them. You guys agreed to the stacking rule, too, so why-why is this even a conversation right now?”

     “Well, Charlie, I thought it was just a normal game, I didn’t know what that was.” The accented man replied again.

     “So why did you agree? Why-Why didn’t you ask– I mean Allan, you agreed too.”

     “Hi guys,” the person holding the bag spoke up, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have a surprise.”

     “Hold on, Mr. Boss, I have a question,” The one I’m assuming is Charlie spoke.

     “You don’t have to bring him into it.”

     “Yeah come on, man.”

     The accented one and the second nasally voice spoke almost simultaneously. 

     “No, no, no, since you guys don’t know how to play, I’m asking the Boss,” Charlie cleared his throat and began, “So, Mr. Boss, I asked them if they wanted to play the, uh, the stacking rule in Uno. They agreed, but now they’re telling me it’s, uh, not in the, the uhm…what’s it called.”

     “The rule book.” The accented one sighed.

     “Yeah! Yeah, the uhm rule book. So, what do we—”

     “What’s the stacking rule?” Mr Boss questioned.

     “Oh, it’s where–”

     “See Charlie! No one knows what that is!” 

     “Okay, Pim, dude, no reason to interrupt me. It, uh, basically means you can place a draw two or draw four on another draw two or draw four, so the next person after you has to draw BOTH of the cards.”

     “I’m confused, so would you have to pick up any?”

     “No, no, so if Pim placed a draw two, and I had one too, I could place it down without drawing, and Allan would have to draw four. Unless, of course, he had one, then Glep would have to draw six.”

     “Is that in the rule book?” Mr Boss asked.

     Charlie let out a long sigh, “No-No, so that’s what I’m saying. It’s a house rule that they agreed to and are now trying to take back.”

     “So, it’s not in the rule book?”

     “No. It is not in the rule book.”

     “So it’s not a rule.”