Not of This World

Eight: Wren

"I won!" I exclaim, pulling the cards toward me. "So first question." I start shuffling the cards again. "Where are you from?" I glance up at her to see her looking to the side. I wait for her to answer.

"Really far away."

"You have to be less vague. That tells me nothing."

"Reyela."

"And where is that?"

"One question at a time." She looks up at me, a sly smile on her lips.

I narrow my eyes. "Whatever." She wasn't very fast the first game, so I'll probably beat her this time. I deal out all the cards and let her put her card down first. After another five minutes of slapping and taking cards, I win again. "Okay, where is Reyela?" I demand.

"783 cycles by 84 cycles by 926 cycles in the fifth quadrant in relation to the Central Point."

"What does that mean?" I exclaim. She's being vague on purpose.

"Next game." She nods toward the cards in my hands, expression blank.

I narrow my eyes, but start shuffling again. She's getting the hang of it, so I have to try harder. Usually people don't pick up on it this fast, but she's different.

She wins this time. I didn't even think she'd win that fast. She thinks for a second. "What do you do for fun?"

"I do track. I play video games, I listen to music, I hang out with my friends... um... yeah."

"What's track?"

"One question at a time," I snap, getting revenge.

I shuffle the cards again, but she wins again. "What's track?"

"It's a sport where you run and stuff." How does she not know what track is? Has she been locked in a room her whole life? Thinking about that makes me remember one girl in seventh grade who was very sheltered. At lunch, we would teach her what different words meant. She left my school after eighth grade. Sya reminds me of her with that ignorant innocence.

I win the next one, but it was mostly just luck. "Okay, explain what the cycles and the Central Point thing was."

"They're... coordinates."

"For what?"

"Reyela."

"And what is that?" I'm getting frustrated. She's being purposely mysterious.

"You have to win again." She gathers the cards and starts shuffling them.

"You're being evasive on purpose. How am I supposed to trust you? You're in my house."

"The game was your idea," she points out calmly. It's like my outburst had no effect on her.

I sigh heavily. "I just need to know who you are."

She looks away and says, "I know." Then she starts dealing the cards.

I roll my eyes. She's playing with me, and she knows it.

She wins the next game. After sliding my cards neatly into the stack in her hand, she looks me in the eyes. "So who are you?"

My eyebrows raise slightly. "I'm Wren. I'm seventeen years old. I'm a US citizen. I... Really don't know how to answer that any more."

"Alright." She starts shuffling the cards again.

"How about we play a different game?" I suggest. "This one takes too long."

"You're impatient," she comments.

"I'm not playing just to play. I'm playing for answers."

"And you keep losing, so you need to change the game."

"I was going to ask if you knew of any games to play. So I wouldn't have the upper hand." I narrow my eyes at her.

"Not with these." She gestures to the deck.

"Okay, I'll just have to teach you a new one then. You'll pick it up pretty easily anyway." I take the deck and start explaining Gin Rummy. This one has a little less skill involved and a lot more luck. Hopefully it will get me a few more answers, even if her skill grows.

We pick up cards and discard some until I finally win.

I lean forward. "So who are you?"

"My name is Sya. I'm seventeen. I'm a Reyelan citizen. And I don't know how else to answer that question." She basically copied the answer I gave, which I should have expected since I copied her question.

I win the next game as well. "Are you American?"

"No."

"You don't have an accent," I realize.

"I don't?"

"No." I shake my head.

"Should I?"

I smirk. "Now that's a question, isn't it? You'll have to win for me to answer it."

She gives me a look that says, "Seriously?"

I just smile and start dealing the cards again.

***

Guess who's really really good at updating this book. Me.
-Shemuel99