The Etiquette of Smoking

Childish Games

At 9pm we had gathered 74,000 tickets between the 5 of us. Niki had spent her time collecting 20 new plushies for her bed so she had no tickets to contribute but she did offer Max a fat fluffy Kirby plushie that he happily accepted. Max didn't seem upset about not hitting his ticket goal to get a PS4 but I think that's because he knew how unrealistic a goal that was. Still, he kept all of the tickets and said he would be returning here regularly to work on earning enough for his goal prize.

George and I walked the floor again, playing a couple more games and asking no more serious personal questions, only silly ones. I learned that he once owned a 1993 Dodge Stealth that he had to get rid of for personal and mechanical reasons. I told him that traveling the world was on my bucket list and he seemed really interested in that. He asked what countries I wanted to see first and I told him. One of them, of course, was Japan, so he offered to teach me some Japanese.

"Koroshitekure, for starters, is a great way to make friends in Japan. Just say that to everyone you come in contact with." He had said as he walked with me out to the parking lot. It was pitch black outside except for the light of the moon above and the parking lot lights every few feet. Our friends were ahead of us, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

"What does it mean?" I asked, perplexed. He grinned at me, then stared straight ahead, pushing his hands into his pockets as he walked.

"Oh, it's just like 'I want to be your friend,'" He explained, coming to a halt as we reached Ian's car and pulling the door open. "But in the most formal way possible."

I watched him climb in the middle seat and begin buckling himself in.

"Oh okay, I'll remember that then, thanks!"

We all piled back into the car, except for Chad who drove separately, and were driving back to my apartment when Max made a suggestion that had everyone looking at me.

"Hey Olivia, why don't you stay for a bit? We're gonna play some games and veg out."

It was late and I knew Gavin would be upset if he found out I had chosen to go to the guy's apartment instead of home...but...I wanted to. I wanted to continue hanging out with my friends as long as they wanted to hang out with me too.

"Okay...I can for a bit." I was sure my voice didn't sound too positive and George must have picked up on it because his mouth pulled into a tight line again, as if he wanted to say something but was stopping himself. Max smiled cheekily at me, looking pleased, as well as Niki who cheered from the passenger seat.

"What are we gonna play?" Niki asked us, stretching her legs up on the dash of Ian's car and earning a swift shove from Ian himself.

"Get your fucking hooker legs off my car!" He scolded. Niki glared at him as she folded her legs beneath her instead.

"I have Monopoly." Max offered, making Ian and Niki both groan in protested. He offered a couple more boardgames and some multiplayer video games but no one seemed interested. At one point he offered a game of Twister but was immediately shut down by Ian and George. Niki turned around from her seat, giving the 3 of us in the backseat a wicked smile.

"Let's play spin the bottle." She grinned. Again, a collective groan of disapproval from the entire car sounded out.

"No, we're not in fucking middle school." Joji said.

"Yeah, and it's not exactly fair, there's only 2 chicks and 4 guys, and Olivia has a boyfriend so that only leaves you." Max grimaced at Niki in disgust. She looked appalled at his insult before glaring back and pulling her body over the center console.

"Oh, you'll kiss each other but not me?" She sneered at Max. What? I quickly looked at Max and George's faces who were just as taken aback as I was. Was she making a joke or referencing something that had actually happened?