ᴍʏ ʙᴜꜱ ʙᴜᴅᴅʏ. [ᴍɪᴄʜᴀᴇʟ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ ꜰꜰ]

Ch. 16- A Break from Drama.

"The card says..." the woman squinted her eyes. "You will be paid $100! Alright, pay up!" She demanded as another female slapped fake cash onto her hand.

She smirked, thumbing through the faux money. "Big whoop! You're acting like you got a $1,000 or something!" Ariel exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

Ophelia shrugged. "I mean, I just might. I'm getting pretty lucky this round." Darryl and Katherine chuckled. The three young adults sat around the living room table, playing Monopoly. Darryl's mom sat on the couch, reading and glancing at them from time to time.

Ariel scoffed. "My turn!" She rolled the dice, landing on a six and four. "Ha! I get to go around ten spaces!" She moved her piece. As she approached the last spot, her face dropped.

Ophelia looked at her smugly while Darryl tried to keep his laugh in. "Go on." Slowly, she placed the piece down. "You have to go to jail!" She laughed at her friend.

Ariel groaned. "I give up! Why do I always have such bad luck with board games?" She sulked.

"Because you're bad at them," Ophelia stated smartly. The redhead rolled her eyes. "Ok, smartass." Kate's head lifted up. "Watch your language, please." Ariel quickly apologized.

"How about video games?" Darryl suggested. They both looked up at the ceiling, thinking about it.

"Yes."

"No."

They looked at each other. "Why not?" Ophelia asked her. "Because I'm bad at those, too!" Despite their different answers, Darryl brought out an NES. "Since when do you play video games anyway? Hmm?" Ariel interrogated her best friend.

"Darryl showed me. Super Mario Bros came out two years ago. It's been the video game craze ever since." She rolled her eyes once again. It was probably the hundredth time she did it. "Come on, it's really fun! I usually don't play video games, but it's just that good. Please?"

"Fine. You've twisted my ankle. I'll try the game."

= = = =

It was 12:00 AM. Katherine had already gone to bed hours ago. Ariel, Ophelia, and Darryl stayed up, eating candy and other junk goods. Well, mainly the two ladies. Darryl wasn't a fan of desserts or candy. He did favor suckers and gum, though.

"Damn." Ariel stood up, stretching. "Look at the time. It's 12:00. We have school tomorrow, so I gotta go." Ophelia nodded at her, getting up, as well. "Right. Goodnight, Elle." They hugged before she left.

"What now?" Darryl asked.

"Hm, I'm actually pretty tired. I don't usually stay up this late. Hanging out with you guys has been the only exception." She briefly yawned. "Do you want to come back to my place? We could just sleep. I don't always like to sleep alone."

"Yeah, me, too. Hold on, I'll grab my pajamas."

= = = =

Michael grabbed his sleeping attire, and they left for Ophelia's apartment. The two laid together in bed, just staring at each other as the moonlight hit their faces.

"It's nice not to sleep alone for once." Her cheeks became warm. "It might be weird to say, but right now, I feel like we're a married couple."

Darryl lightly held onto her hand. The hold was barely there, ghosting over her hand as he was too exhausted to properly grip her. "Maybe someday we will be."