The Society of One

Part 12

I step out into the crisp air and head down the street. The air seems to have a an amazing affect on me, it clears my cluttered brain. Finally, I am able to get some peace of mind. All week I have been smothered by family and friends. I still can't believe that tomorrow I will be leaving.

I head towards the Family Rec Center, hoping that will help me forget. As I enter, I see Beth and Cormac. Making my way towards them, I try to get Beth's attention. When I'm about six feet away, she finally sees me. I walk to them and Cormac inquires "Are you okay? You looked like you were having a seizure." Beth snorts and I jab him in the stomach. "Ow, that hurt", mumbles Cormac. I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning to face them, I see Hollis and Rosemary standing behind me. "Hey guys!", I say. We make small talk for a while and then head over to game room.

As we walk in, I marvel at all the technology. All the games had an electronic aspect to them, either it being holograms or smart boards. Cormac asks what we should play first and I suggest we play Pinochle. They all agree and we head over to that area. I ask who wants to go first and Cormac and Rosemary volunteers. Beth says I should play as well. I am about to argue but she gives me a look and I step up to the table. Putting on the smart glasses, I start the game.

Pinochle is a game of skill and stragedy. Based off an old card game, the goal of the game is to take tricks and make meld. To win, you need to have the most points after a set number of hands. Aces are worth the most, then tens, kings, queens, jacks, and nines. Also aces, tens, and kings are all worth a point. To take tricks, you have to have the highest card on the table. To make meld, you can make marriges, pinochle, and or get a suit around. The deck holds two of every card. Overall the game is hard to play and is not for beginners.

I select random shuffle and watch the table with my smart glasses. I organise cards noticing that I have aces, kings, queens, and a few tens. After all the cards are delt, we bet. Then we show our meld and finally the real games begin. We play hand after hand until the cards are all gone. We count our points and it seems that I have won.

I set down the glasses, smirking. Beth gives me a high five and Hollis gives swoops me up into a hug. I laugh as he sets me down only to have someone turn me around. I face the stranger, only to see it's a boy. He looks around 18 and is quite tall. His shaggy light brown hair fell over his right eye and his lips were slightly turned up into a smile. "Hey, my name is Andrew and I just wanted to tell you that you were amazing in that game. And I might add that you are also very beautiful.", he says. I blush at that comment and am about to thank him when I hear Hollis behind me. "Back off Andrew. We all know your only trying to get in her pants, even though it's illegal." Then, Cormac pipes up, "Hey what happened to that tramp, Francesca? What, did you get tired of her?" Andrew is fuming and walks away, muttering underneath his breath. Hollis puts an arm around me and leads me to Beth and Rosie.

They congratulate me and we discuss what we should do next. Cormac suggest swimming and we all agree. We split, the girls heading to the lady's swimwear department and the boys to the men's. Once there, I step into an open scanner. It scans my body, taking in my measurements and dispensing my suit. It is a standard, black one piece. I step out to find Beth and Rosie waiting for me. We wait by the snack bar for the boys.

They show up and we decide which swimming pool to go to. Since its early June, but not cold but not necessarily warm, we head to the indoor pool. Beth decides to lounge by the pools edge while the rest of us head to the lockerooms.
Once dressed, I head to the high diving board. About fifteen feet above the water, you have to have your advanced swimmer tag to even get on it. I scan my tag, and climb to the top. I look down to make sure no one is in the way and take a deep breath. Slowly, I bend my knees and jump. I'm falling. I take position and slightly arch my back as I dive into the water. I stay under longer than I should and when I surface I see panicked faces. "Are you ok? You were under for a long time. Arabella you almost gave me a heart attack.", says Rosie. I laugh at that and turn to face the others. They all have looks of worry on their faces except for Hollis and Cormac. They both have looks of amusement on their faces. Cormac turns to Hollis and says something that I can't here. Hollis snorts and nods. What could they possibly be thinking about?

A/N

Hey guys!! How are you doing? I was wondering if you would like me to post pictures of what the characters look like. If so, please comment. I love to here your feed back. Remeber to comment and vote. Hope you have a good school year!!