Chapter 4: Rising Stakes
Did she come off as a gold-digger?
There's no way.
Not even twenty years old, the two of them must have just looked like an unlikely university couple in the back seat of the car. Her: done-up, blonde, gorgeous, fit, wearing an admittedly slutty outfit and an outrageous necklace. Him: greasy, wearing an anime hoodie and sweatpants, hiding the fact he was a little overweight and hadn't had a haircut in the last month. Cassie dodged the eye contact from the Uber driver as Robbie inched closer to her neck and... smelled her.
"Don't talk too much, okay berry blossom? Most of the boys have inadequate social skills to interact with a female such as yourself."
"Mhmm," Cassie hummed, adjusting in her seat. Her leotard shirt was tighter than she thought and tugged at her crotch. "Where are we going?"
"A gaming establishment downtown. You wouldn't have heard of it. We play a complicated collector's card game called Magic The Gathering. It requires the players to construct decks of cards that balance a system of energy, warriors, and artifacts to defeat your opponent..."
Robbie continued on to describe how his deck of cards was far superior to his friends while nonchalantly placing his sweaty palm on her thigh.
Cassie cringed and searched out the window for their destination. Her new "boyfriend" had some sort of secret code for the driver, though, because they went around and around until Robbie unloaded every fact he knew about the game. When they finally arrived he let out an exasperated sigh that made Cassie want to wipe herself off.
"Perfect timing, old chap! You earned yourself a tip."
"Thank you, sir."
Robbie tipped him 200 dollars for the 15 minute detour.
What do their parents do?
Not prepared for the cold, Cassie stood outside the car clutching herself as she waited for Robbie to take her into the shop. Waited —
A year ago I would have just walked in.
Her fingers absently traced the huge sapphire around her neck and she estimated, roughly, how many hours it would have taken her to afford such a thing. How many hours did she owe Robbie? How many dates? The idea made her feel dirty.
Well, what's a date with me worth?
"Ouch!"
Robbie skipped a few feet and raised his hands.
He just pinched my butt!
"Robbie, don't!"
"Oh, come now, my dairy plum. I was only playing. I'll buy you your very own shiny magic deck, how about that?" He walked inside. "Hurry up, it's cold out here."
Cassie walked in after him, totally annoyed, not sure how she was supposed to react to this newfound physical aggression coming out of him. A girl should set boundaries and maintain respect. But she also had to play nice if she was planning on putting up with him for a few more months at least. Where was the balance?
Then she saw the cards in the shop: 79.99, 124.99, 330.00, and nearly had to pick her jaw off the floor. Three hundred dollars for a piece of cardboard!
Robbie escorted her to a long table with a bunch of... interesting people that smelled... strong, each of them in the middle of trading or playing with their cards sheathed in different colored protectors. Robbie immediately took center stage in that regard and revealed a case full of black-sleeved shinies (at least that's what Cassie called them), some with signatures that were clearly very impressive.
"Greetings, boys. This is my girlfriend."
Glasses reflected like headlights, and she could nearly hear their energy drink fueled heartbeats quicken.
So intense!
Cassie pulled at her necklace and did a little wave with her free hand. "Hello?"
"What's your name?" The question came from a girl at the end of the table. She had pink crew-cut hair and spoke nice and clear.
"Cassie."
"Nice to meet you, Cassie. My name is Gale."
There was an awkward pause.
Can I go sit with her?
The other boys introduced themselves next, taking turns shouting their names. Or not, a few of them didn't seem to care enough to introduce themselves, which Cassie didn't mind one bit.
Before the whole ordeal ended Robbie had already started trading his cards and talking numbers with an older guy at the shop. Numbers which seemed to add up quickly.
A thousand and what?
Did it make Cassie horrible to perk up at the mention of money? She sat there not saying much other than the expected replies to random weebs, while she thought about that. There was an obvious difference in Robbie's disposable income and hers, and that... excited her? The sheer amount of stuff she could buy with only a few thousand dollars seemed endless. When they started to play it was like all she could see were dollar signs. How much was that shiny worth? How much was that? Some spectators even openly checked their value on phones.
As for the actual game, Robbie's turns never ended. His cards did two or three times as much as his impoverished opponent and he slapped them down with such authority, such disregard.
Like royalty.
"Take 18 direct damage," he said.
"That was actually 22," Thomas said, defeated. "The token gets pumped, too. I'm dead."
"Ha. Wondering if you'd catch that. Did you see that, Cassie?"
Cassie kissed him on the cheek.
Why did I just do that!?
Robbie's chest swelled like a giant inflatable raft she'd accidentally pulled the cord to. He was about to say something completely embarrassing! Panicking, Cassie placed a cool hand on his forearm and tried her most breathy voice.
"Can I play, too?" she asked.
"O-of course! Did you want one of my perfectly constructed..."
"No! I want to pick my own guys. It wouldn't be fun if they weren't my cards."
"I suppose that makes sense, baby girl. Go pick whichever cards you want and I'll pay, okay? I'll... stay here and, and play against Thomas again," Robbie said, suddenly so stiff. Or perhaps guarding something that would be a bit too obvious if he were to stand up?
Cassie felt electric.
Not so confident now, are you?
And covertly let out a sigh of relief before walking over to the glass-case display countertops. To her surprise, along with the eyes of every boy at the table, the pink haired girl followed.
