High School Psychic

Not So Silent Night

I munched on some popcorn while studying my hand of cards.

Ace of hearts. Spades, also. A pair of kings. A queen. I shrugged and tossed two chips into the middle of the dining room table.

"See you, raise you one."

Claire wrinkled her brow and chewed on her bottom lip.

We were the last two players in a heated game of poker. Everyone else had either folded or simply quit.

The mind reader vs. the evil genius.

"See, raise two." Claire tossed out three chips.

I thumbed my cards. She was probably bluffing. Then again, she probably wasn't.

I had figured out the tactics that both the Richards and my mom used while playing poker. I had figured out Francesco's card-playing methods tonight, too.

The only one I had yet to figure out was Claire.

The thing that annoyed me about playing poker was that I couldn't completely read my opponent's minds.

I could get the gist of what they were going to do, but I had no clue when, how, or what cards they were going to use.

I actually asked Francesco about it during one of our mind-training sessions, and he said that it was like their thoughts were making decisions so quickly that my mind couldn't keep up.

Or something.

I fingered a chip. I stared at Claire, and then at my cards, back to Claire.

I slid my hand over to my highest chip and tossed it into the middle.

"See it. Raise it thirteen, and I call!"

I smiled and looked at Claire, who had a smug look on her face.

She flipped her cards and grinned. "Two pair! Aces and kings! Jack high."

My heart leapt. "Yes!" I thrust my fist into the air.

"I win!" I yelled. I slapped my cards down and showed Claire. "Two pair, aces and kings, with a queen high!"

Claire groaned and slid down in her seat dramatically. "Fine, you win," she moaned.

"Yes!" I pumped my fist up and down.

"Shut up," Claire muttered, her face breaking out into a grin.

"No, you shut up."

"No, you!"

"Nuh-uh, you!"

"Hey girls!"

Claire and I promptly stopped our "shut up" war and turned to look at Mr. Richards.

"Yeah, Dad?" Claire asked.

"Now that you've finished playing, I think we're going to head on home and put the boys to bed. I want you home by eleven thirty at the latest, Claire, okay?"

Claire nodded.

"I'll make sure she gets there safely," my mom said.

"Thanks. Thank you for everything tonight," Mrs. Richards said, hugging each one of us.

With a chorus of "Merry Christmas's" and "Good-bye's," the Richards left in the same manner that they had arrived.

My mom shut the door behind them, shivering as an icy gust of wind blew in from outside. She turned and looked at us, smiling.

"How about we clean up and then open some presents?" she asked cheerfully.

We grinned and jumped up to begin cleaning the remnants of our Christmas feast.