16⎜The Game

           “So, basically, you just try to talk to a stranger of the opposite gender for as long as possible?” I summed up the essential concept of the game that Scott had just tried explaining to me.

           “Yeah,” he nodded, just as another person magically appeared, floating over to us, and sitting down on Scott’s lap. She hugged his neck, and then planted a quick kiss on his cheek as he recoiled. It was the first time that I had seen her since the party. “Ew! Ira, get off of me! You weigh too much!”

           “Out of the two of us, I think that you’re the one who could really stand to lose some extra chub, not me,” the girl said, smirking at him. Scott stuck his tongue out, rolling his eyes as I merely watched the ease of the interaction between the two. “So, what are you two up to?”

           “Well, if you must know, Ari, I was just explaining to Eric, here, how to play The Game,” Scott told her, attempting push her small frame off of him, but she wouldn’t budge.

           “Wait,” I said, thinking about what he had just said, “the name of this game is ‘The Game’?”

           “Ferociously uncreative, isn’t it?” Ari laughed. She seemed happier than she typically was, but maybe that was just because of Scott’s presence. When Scott was around, she always appeared to be happier.

           “Indeed,” I agreed.

           “So, Scotty, have you explained the point system yet?” Ari questioned, twisting so that she could look directly at the dark-haired boy who had been addressed.

           “I was getting to that,” Scott grumbled with a shake of his head. Completely ignoring the gorgeous girl who was seated on top of him, he looked over to me, and began to explain. “You gain a point for every minute spent talking to the other person, get another two points if you land their number, get three points for contact, five points if they kiss you on the spot, and ten if they ask you to bang.”

           “Why do I have a feeling that the last two ways to earn points don’t actually happen too often…or ever?” I questioned, my eyes roaming around the vast range of people that all possessed their own agendas. Currently, we were just sitting on a quad in the mid-afternoon sun. I had been tanning because it happened to be a Sunday and we didn’t have classes, and then Scott somehow found me, and after talking about the frat like he was trying to convert me to another religion, he posed the idea of playing The Game, as I now knew it was affectionately called.

           “Because they don’t,” Ari said flatly, extending her long, bare legs so that they brushed across the grass. “One time Scott got slapped by some girl, so that got him three points for contact—oh, that reminds me! You can’t be the one to initiate anything but the conversation.”

           I nodded, understanding the basic outline of The Game. “So, you ready to play, Wilson?” Scott challenged, finally managing to push Ari off of him. She rolled onto the grass, not bothering to move for a moment, before reluctantly propping herself up.

           “I think so,” I replied with a shrug.

           “Okay, Ari, you go first,” Scott instructed.

           “No,” she said simply, moving her head back and forth so that her long ponytail of curls swayed with the motion. “Scott, you’re the one who brought The Game up, so you can go first.

           “Fine,” he grumbled, getting up from the grass with as much dignity as he could muster. “Eric, pick someone.”

           “Uh,” I dragged the syllable out as I mentally took a panorama shot of the busy scene before me. My eyes zeroed in on a particular girl. She wearing a large sweatshirt despite the excellent weather, and had short straight hair of a caramel color. From where I was, she didn’t look overly attractive, but she wasn’t ugly, either. Then again, my eyes sucked, so what did I know? She was sitting over in the distance, headphones plugged in as she read through a book. Her lips moved as her eyes traveled down the page, and figuring that The Game was just pure randomness, I elected her as our first unfortunate victim. Discreetly pointing over to the girl, I said, “Her.”

           “Her?” Scott reiterated, eyes wide as he looked her over.

           “Yeah, her,” I said with a nod.

           “What’s the matter, Scotty? Already strike out with her?” Ari teased with the slightest hint of a smirk. It was interesting to see this side of her—light, playful. It was different than her usual detachment.

           “No,” he said slowly. He turned back to us after giving the girl one final glance, and then smiled smugly at us. “Watch and learn, kiddies, watch and learn.”

           With that, Scott marched right over to the girl, and snapped his fingers in front of her face, causing her to jolt up. She looked at him for a moment, and then her eyes flickered back to her book. Scott said something, and she just shook her head. He said something else, and the girl sighed, looking a bit annoyed as she told him something. Scott said something else, and the girl got up from her spot on the grass, book in hand, and walked away. With an irritated frown on his face, Scott strolled back over to us.

           “So…what exactly were we supposed to learn from that exchange?” I asked upon his return. Scott just scowled at me, sitting back down.

           “Nice one, Eric!” Ari complimented, holding her palm up in the air. “Up top!”

           I pressed my own palm to hers to create a high-five, and then Scott finally spoke. “The chick thought I was going to rape her or something. It was a total misunderstanding. Ari, now it’s your turn.”

           “Why can’t Eric go?” she complained, already beginning to stand up and brush herself off.

           “Because he’s never played before, so I think that he should at least get the chance to watch two people strike out before he does it himself,” Scott replied fluidly. Ari snorted, rolling her eyes at him. “Oh, and Ari, I pick that guy,” Scott added, pointing to an overly skinny kid with green hair and those big circle things in his ears. He wore glasses with the lenses knocked out, tight black jeans, and a gray T-shirt with some design on it. From where we were, it appeared as though he was just taking a casual stroll.

           “You never challenge me enough,” Ari told Scott before venturing over to the guy who looked like even the faintest touch would snap one of his bones.

           Scott and I eagerly watched Ari approach the guy, and then she said something. He stared at her for a moment, keeping a dull expression on his face before saying something back. Ari’s lips moved once again, and she crossed her arms over her chest, channeling all of her inner indifference into the interaction. The guy shrugged, and then muttered something else. Ari laughed a bit, and he smiled. More words were spoken between the two, and then guy said something, causing Ari to reach into her back pocket, only to extract her phone. She gave it over to the guy, their fingers brushing ever so slightly, and then he typed something in. The guy said a few more things, and then Ari grinned as he walked away and she came back over to Scott and me.

           “I got his number,” she announced proudly, chucking her phone at Scott. He caught it, and then inspected the new contact that had been added to her phone. “Ten points.”

           “How do you figure that?” Scott demanded.

           “I talked to him for five minutes, our fingers touched, and I got his number. Ten points,” Ari said firmly with a smug grin.

           “What did you two even talk about?” Scott groaned, tossing her back the mobile device that happened to belong to her.

           “Music. He was wearing a shirt with a band I knew on it, so asked him if he liked them. He said yes, challenged my taste in music, learned that I actually knew what I was talking about, and then gave me his number,” Ari recounted what had transpired between her and the frail dude with green hair. She turned to me with a contemplative gaze in her eyes, and then said, “Eric, it’s your turn, and since this is only your first time, I’ll pick someone nice and mainstream.”

           “Uh, thanks, I guess,” I quirked a half smile, wondering who she would select in the sea of college students.

           Ari began to slowly rotate from where she was standing, and then her eyes locked in on someone. “Her,” Ari proclaimed, pointing to yet another girl in the distance. From what I could see, she had long copper hair that was more towards a brownish shade that straight-up red, and that was really it. Her back was facing us, so all I could see was her hair. She was surrounded by a few friends and chatting animatedly with them. I wasn’t really sure why Ari had chosen her, but I wasn’t complaining.

           I heaved myself up from the grass, and then ambled the required distance over to the girl. When I reached her, all of her friends looked up, staring at me like I was a diamond they needed to have in their jewelry boxes. With a gulp, I glanced down at the targeted girl, and lightly tapped her on the shoulder, stopping her mid-sentence.

           “Uh, excuse me,” I said, her hair flipping as she turned around to see who had dared to interrupt her. Quickly upon seeing me, her eyes widened, and a light smile drifted onto her shiny pink lips.

           “Hi,” she said in a bubby sweet tone, her eyelashes fluttering flirtatiously. She didn’t look like she was having a seizure as she opened and closed her eyes like some girls did when they attempted the same move, but rather something else entirely. As I took in her face, I immediately wanted to thank Ari. This girl was hot. Her makeup was applied to her face in a manner that made her appear put-together and poised, and she was wearing a low cut top, exposing just the right amount of skin. There was something about her that possessed so much…class and refinement that I really admired.

           “Uh, hey,” I lamely greeted back. “I’m Eric.”

           “How can I help you, Eric?” she questioned, making a point of looking me over from head to toe, and then ran her tongue along the rim of her lips.

           “Well, if you notice behind me there’s a girl and a guy who are both intently looking at us,” I began, pretty sure that I was about to cheat, though there was no rulebook, so who was to judge? The girl nodded, spotting Ari and Scott. “They basically dared me to come over and try to talk to you for as long as I could and try to do a few other things.”

           “A dare, huh?” she bit down on her lip, her hazel eyes finding their way over to mine. “What else do you have to do?”

           “Well, it would be really great if you could touch my shoulder or something,” I paused, feeling the light presence of her hand on the mentioned body part, “and maybe gave me your number.”

           “Are you sure that this is really a dare and not just a pick up line?” she smirked, accepting my phone as I slid it over to her.

           I laughed, though it came out more forced than had been intended. “I’m sure,” I promised her.

           “So, you have my number, we’re talking, I touched your shoulder, anything else?” she asked.

           “Well, um, you don’t have to, but if you could, uh, kiss me that’d—” not even needing to say another word, the girl’s lips were suddenly pressed to mine. I was really too stunned to do anything, for I hadn’t actually thought that she would kiss me. Sometimes I really underestimated the powers of having a face like mine. It worked wonders when needed. Her lips hungrily latched onto mine, as I was sent into a spiral of thoughts, thinking back to my last real kiss.

           It was with Liz. We were in the middle of fight, involving my two ex-best friends. I was being an impulsive adolescent boy who wasn’t getting what he wanted, so kissed her for whatever reason I saw fit. It was our last kiss. Definitely a waste, as kisses went. Whenever I kissed Liz, I always felt nice inside, but somewhat empty. She was hiding a gigantic portion of her life, and I didn’t even know it. When I kissed Liz, I wasn’t kissing the real Elizabeth Turner who lived for basketball, but rather the Liz I thought I knew that was lie. I never really got a chance to kiss the real Liz, but even if I had, it probably wouldn’t have changed things.

           Seconds passed by, and I finally pulled away from the girl. I hadn’t really depended the kiss, so her mouth was just colliding with mine as it did nothing. She was breathing heavily, and smiled at me, shaking her head.

           “Damn,” she remarked, “you are really hot! Has anyone ever told you that?”

           “Once or twice,” I shrugged modestly.

           “I’d ask if you want to, ya know, hook up later at my place, but I feel like that’s too forward,” she said with a dainty smirk on her face.

           “Yeah, just a bit,” I laughed uneasily, pretty sure that what she had said qualified as “We should bang.”

           “So, Eric, are you going to call me, or is this all a dare to you?” she questioned, making me feel a tinge of guilt that was rumbling in my stomach.

           “Honestly, I’m not actually dating right now,” I said as courteously as I could. Before she could respond, I kept speaking, giving a reason that always made the other party feel slightly sympathetic to my predicament. “I, um, just got out of a tough relationship.” Whether that relationship was with Liz, football, or drugs was up to interpretation.

           “Oh! I’m so sorry!” she cooed as expected. Girls loved hearing the line about getting out of a hard relationship. I wasn’t sure why, but they absolutely ate it up.

           “It’s fine,” I assured her with a small smile. “Well, it was, uh, nice talking you. Thanks.”

           “Sure,” she nodded slowly, her mouth agape as if she was stunned. I awkwardly waved a bit, and then began to walk away from her, replaying what had just occurred back in my mind. A girl had talked to me. A girl had given me her number. A girl had touched me. A girl had kissed me. And I was pretty sure that the same girl had asked to “bang.” I wasn’t really sure how many points that got me, but I was almost positive that in comparison to Scott, I did just fine.

           When I returned to my duo of friends, they both just gawked at me as I casually sat down, trying to not look on the exterior as triumphant as I felt. Scott was the first to speak, and what he said definitely alarmed me a bit. “You cheated.”

           “I cheated?” I reiterated the seven-lettered word that he had used to describe something I didn’t think I had done.

           “Yeah,” he nodded, “you touched her shoulder. You cheated.”

           “Fine. He cheated. Minus three points for that, then,” Ari quickly solved the problem, deducting three points off of my alleged score.

           “Whatever,” Scott grumbled, probably still pissed about his own encounter.

           “So, Eric, want to tell us what happened back there?” Ari posed, her eyes leisurely running over my face.

           “Well, she touched my shoulder,” I paused, handing Ari my phone, “gave me her number, “kissed me—”

           “Yeah, dude, how’d you manage that?” Scott probed, suddenly impressed by my nonexistent skills.

           “Have you seen his face?” Ari scoffed with a roll of her eyes, typing something into my phone, before giving me back the device that currently contained yet another number belonging to yet another girl I didn’t intend on socializing with ever again.

           “Uh, yeah,” Scott rolled his own eyes at the question. “I do have eyes, Ira.”

           “Really?” Ari said in the most sarcastic tone I had ever heard from her. Sarcastic rain. It was an interesting mix. She the proceeded to calmly trace the outline of Scott’s eyelids with her fingers, asking me something else. “Now, Eric, the real question is if she asked you to bang.”

           “Well, uh,” I gulped, a sudden realization of how idiotic The Game truly was formulating in my mind as more words flew out, “I think she did.”

           “You think she did?” Scott laughed. “What’d she say, dude?”

           “She asked if I wanted to hook up later at her place,” I muttered quietly, not believing that it had actually happened.

           “Wow,” Scott breathed, shaking his head, “un-freaking-believable.”

           “Minus the three points you lost for touching her first, and plus ten minutes of talking to her, I’m pretty sure that you just got seventeen points, Eric Wilson,” Ari told me, holding her fingers before her as she roughly estimated on them.

           “Is that good?” I asked hesitantly.

           “Considering that Scott’s top score is only twelve, then, yeah, it’s pretty good,” Ari grinned. She then abruptly stood up from where she was previously sitting, tapped Scott on the head in an affectionate manner, and then smiled down at me. Without another word, she just walked away. No “I’m leaving.” No “See ya later!” Not even a “Bye.” In a second, Ari had trekked as far from us as possible, and I could no longer see her. She was gone.

           “Does she do that a lot—just disappear without an explanation?” I suddenly articulated exactly what I had been thinking. It was just such an odd thing to do, and I had witnessed her do it before, and been apart of it with her. At the dinner a couple of weeks ago, she didn’t say anything, and neither did I. We just left.

           “She doesn’t like goodbyes,” Scott told me simply. There was something about the way he had said it that made me think that there was more to it than that, but I didn’t exactly have the brainpower to ponder Ari Remon’s goodbye-less partings, so didn’t.

           I shook the confusing world of Ari out of my mind, and then allowed my eyes to scan about the still busy college campus. “Her,” I said, pointing over to yet another girl a few yards away. She had on a baseball cap, and was just typing away on a computer. No form of sound cancelation was in her ears, and she looked to have wavy black hair.

           “Easy,” Scott said with a snort. Though, after having seen his first attempt, I was fairly sure that “easy” wasn’t the exact adjective that he should’ve been using. He got up from the grass, confidently approaching the girl as I heard a ding, indicating that I had received a text message. Instead of watching Scott continue to fail at life, I glanced down at my phone, wondering who had opted for non-verbal communication. “Now you have 2 girls’ numbers,” was what I read. The name that appeared above the words, though, was what I found more intriguing: Ari Pomegranate.

A/N: "Ferociously uncreative" is probably my new favorite phrase. 

-Sophie