Game Night

I like Mark's high school friends, even if I've only met them several times. Mark's high school was just a few minutes away from where we lived, so most of his friends from that part of his life were sort of our neighbors, too. Of course, I didn't know them until he introduced me to them at one of his birthday parties.

It was nice being around people who knew Mark longer than I did. It was like seeing a side of Mark that I didn't see often. Not that he was a different person around them, except maybe he comes off a little quieter when he's with them, perhaps from being the youngest in their group.

"Oh yeah, we won again!"

I had just a little apprehension before I arrived, but when I saw the board games that Kristine, the host, had laid out on the table, I felt more at ease. Apparently, it was game night for them, which was why Mark invited me because here's one of my useless talents: I am the queen of casual games.

"All right, Rain!" Kristine said, giving me a high five. We have been playing a girls-against-boys double deck game of Monopoly Deal for the past hours, I just won for the third time that night.

The boys groaned, and Joel gathered the cards to start shuffling again. "Do you practice this at home, Rain? Do you play against your friends and beat them senseless every single time?"

I just smiled and shrugged, grabbing a handful of chips from the bowl beside me before passing it to Mark.

"What's the score now?"

"Five to two," Mark said, pushing another piece of chocolate towards our side of the table, our way of keeping score. "We shouldn't have let our guard down after the first two wins."

"Stop letting Rain win, Mark!" Vincent complained, grabbing the bowl from him.

"Hey!" I said, glaring at Vincent.

"Yeah, hey," Mark said with a laugh. He gave my arm a squeeze, to assure me that his friend was just joking. "I'm not letting her win. I'm just really bad at this game. If we played Pictionary, however..."

"Oh no, you don't! We played that last time and you pulverized us," Hazel, Joel's girlfriend, said. "You totally dominated that game. If Rain was here then, we would've had a fighting chance."

"It's not my fault you can't draw," Mark teased. He glanced at me, winked, and added, "It's her programming mind. Rain's just good at these things."

"Yep, I like my casual games," I said with a firm nod. I grinned at Vincent. "Deal with it."

Kristine and Hazel cheered again, while the boys - except Mark - grumbled.

"I think I need a break," Joel said, rising from his chair. "You girls want anything?"

Hazel and I shook our heads while Kristine said, "Get the last bag of chips from the table, please, and thank you!"

He waved to affirm Kristine's request as he left, his steps fading away as he headed for the kitchen. As soon as he was gone, Kristine turned to Mark.

"Hey Mark, did you know that Jas went home last month?"

"Really?" He said, giving me a quick glance before looking back at his friend. To my surprise, his cheeks turned slightly pink. "No, I didn't. Did you get to talk to her?"

Kristine shook her head. "I just saw photos, but no, I didn't talk to her. And what would I tell her, anyway? It's not like we talked again since she left. She never even sent a message."

His cheeks were still pink. It made me curious, so I turned to Hazel and asked in a loud whisper. "Who is Jas?"

"Mark's ex," Hazel whispered back, her eyes glued on my best friend.