Unordinary: New Student

44: Poker Night

Stephanie's POV

I sat back in my chair at John's table, putting down my notebook. Across the table, John was working on his math homework. He had started hours ago. Seraphina was playing another game on her phone and looking super relaxed. William was laid out on the couch, taking a nap while waiting for John to finish his homework.

"Sera," John started, biting the tip of his pencil. "D-did you get 24.58 centimeters for Question 12?"

Sera glanced down at her paper for a second. She shook her head, making John groan and scratch out his answer on his paper.

Another thirty minutes went by, with me staring at the patterns on the wooden table listlessly. I wished I had my phone to kill time with. John looked up from his paper again. "Uh, did you get 103.7 degrees for Question 14?"

"Huh?" This time Sera didn't even have to look at her paper. "Where did you get degrees from?"

John looked hopelessly and utterly confuzzled. "Uhhhh, 103.7 centimeters? Please, I spent almost thirty minutes on this question..." 

Seraphina rose from her chair, leaning over the table to see his paper. "Here, let me take a look."

At this point, William sat up on the couch, staring blearily in our direction. "What, you're not done yet?" He questioned John.

John shouted indignantly, "Shut up, Dad! It's really difficult, okay?"

William craned his neck, arching an eyebrow. "If it's so difficult, then how did they-" He pointed to me and Sera. "-Finish hours ago?"

John looked extremely miffed by that while I chuckled and Sera positively glowed. "Come on," William said, getting up from the couch. "I didn't fly all the way here to watch my son do his homework the whole time! Where's your poker set?"

"Dad," John complained. "I'm not done yet!"

"Just do it in the morning or something."

Seraphina nudged John. "'Just do it in the morning?' Woah, your Dad is awesome."

***

I watched interestedly as William brought out a deck of cards and a set of poker chips. I didn't know how to play, but it sure looked interesting. After setting up everything, William sat down, clearing his throat. "So, Sera, Stephanie, do you know how to play?"

Sera and I shook our heads. "Uh, I just want to watch." I said.

"Alrighty." William said. "How about you, Sera?"

"Sure, I'll play."

"Great!" William rubbed his hands together. "I'll just explain the rules." 

OKAY I'M GONNA BE A LITTLE VAGUE CUZ I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO PLAY POKER. 

After I listened to William explain all the rules to Sera, the game began. I watched them closely as they each got their cards. I saw Seraphina brighten slightly as she stared at the cards in her hand. "Raise 80." she said confidently. 

"I'll match that." John said immediately.

"Me, too." William said, pushing his chips forward. "Call."

I saw Seraphina looked surprised, deflating a little. She glanced at the new card on the table, a slight frown tugging at the corners of her lips. "I'll check."

Across the table, John grinned broadly. "Raise 240." He said confidently, pushing his chips forward without a single thought.

Sera looked alarmed, her eyes darting to John's face, probably trying to tell what he was thinking. But John gave nothing away. However, I felt like... he was bluffing. I just had that feeling.