Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Bryce
“From Spades Smoke to Uno Warfare: When Game Night Turns Personal”
Adrian slammed his cards down on the table like a declaration of war. “Man, hell nah! This some bullshit!”
Isis flinched at the bass in his tone.
We had just finished playing spades, and Adrian’s anger was directed squarely at his partner, Isis, who sat across from him, her expression shifting from confusion to defensiveness.
“You ain’t even cut when you had the chance!” Adrian continued to rant, his voice rising.
“I tried!” Isis snapped back, throwing her hands up. “I didn’t know they had the ace in play!”
“Next time, try with somebody else.” Adrian gestured to the air like he was evoking her partner privileges entirely.
“On some real shit, that wasn’t even a real L.
I damn near carried the whole game like LeBron in 2016!
Isis played like she was in a real game of ‘Guess Who’ instead of Spades, like that was ‘Designing Women: Card Edition.’”
Isis, unbothered and composed, sipped her wine, crossed her legs with practiced elegance, and replied, “And I stand by it. Spades should not be black; that’s visually aggressive. Plus, that little club shape is cuter.”
Chesteria, unable to control her reaction, nearly choked on her cocoa. “Girl… did you just say the club is cuter?”
“I did,” she stated confidently, holding up the club card like it was a fashion accessory, showcasing it to the room. “It’s giving luxury mushroom,” she added with a playful smirk.
“And why would both of y’all—” Adrian pointed between me and Chesteria like we were conspirators in a card-playing crime, “—get on the same damn team, and both of y’all can actually play?! That left me stuck with... with…”
He stalled, clearly offended by his own reality.
“With Isis, Adrian. God said balance,” Chesteria teased with an amused smile on her lips.
“Nah,” Adrian shook his head, throwing his arms out in disbelief. “I was left with bad decisions in thigh-high socks.”
Adrian grabbed his hoodie off the back of the couch like he needed to cool off.
“Oh, wow,” Isis muttered.
“Aight, clearly, that was too much heat," I intervened, attempting to diffuse the tension. "Since Adrian and Isis got slaughtered in spades, we gon’ give y’all a chance to redeem yourselves. Let’s play a more common game.”
I opened the side table drawer and pulled out a deck of cards known for breaking families apart—Uno Reverse.
“Now this, surely you know how to play.”
Isis squinted in confusion. “Uno Reverse? That’s really a thing?”
“Oh, it’s a thing… and it’s violent,” Chesteria warned, her tone serious yet teasing.
“I only ever played regular Uno,” Isis admitted, looking slightly apprehensive.
Adrian scoffed. “You out here living raw in these streets?! If you’ve never played Uno Reverse, then you ain't never tasted pain, and you damn sure don’t know betrayal.”
Isis shrugged. “If it’s just Uno but backward, I don’t see the problem.”
I smirked, relishing the moment. “Famous last words. Welcome to the dark side.”
“Where are the instructions?! This doesn’t feel safe!” Isis blurted.
“Aight. I’ma explain this real slow,” I stressed, looking at Isis, holding up the Reverse card like it was a prop in court.
“This right here? This means the direction of play changes. If we going clockwise, and I throw this down, now we going counterclockwise. That’s it.
It don’t mean skip three people. It don’t mean Uno Attack. And it damn sure don’t mean ‘I win.’”
Isis blinked, already overwhelmed. “So… are we going clockwise toward me or away from me? Like is twelve o’clock me or…?”
Adrian sipped his drink. “Fooling around with Isis, you gon’ end up explaining again when we five draws deep. You’ll be better off explaining as we go.”
“I agree with Adrian. Just play,” Chesteria added.
I shuffled the cards with a devilish grin, already knowing who was about to get emotionally body-slammed.
“Y’all ready?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Adrian cracked his knuckles, a sign of serious intent. “Oh, I been ready. I came up here for peace, and y’all done gave me petty. Let’s go.”
I started dealing, slow and dramatic, like the fate of the living room depended on it.
One minute into the game, Isis’s turn arrived. She held up a bright yellow card.
“Can I drop this on anything? It’s cute,” she asked, like she’d suddenly forgotten the rules.
Chesteria chuckled. “No, Isis. This isn’t an art class. You don’t get points for color coordination.”
Isis frowned. “So... what now? Do I go next? I don’t have green. Do I just, like… skip?”
Adrian laughed. “Nah, baby. You draw ‘til you get green.”
Isis, now visibly frustrated, started pulling cards from the deck—one card… two… four…
“Why am I still drawing? Oh no! This is personal! Uno got beef with me!” she shouted, flipping another card with disgust. “This is exactly why I don’t play broke games! Uno should be digital only! I’m too bougie for all this card confusion!”
Adrian leaned back, snickering. “We done went from four books in Spades to four draws in Uno. This is a setup.”
“Call it what you want!” I slapped down a blue skip with zero remorse. “Skip you, my guy!”
“Thank you kindly,” Chesteria purred, tossing down a Draw Four with an air of theatrical finesse. “Bryce, enjoy.”
Adrian stood up. “Draw ten! Ten! How ‘bout that!”
Chesteria giggled. “Sir, that’s not how any of this works. You should know better!”
Adrian pointed to absolutely nothing. “If the card looks like a reverse and feels like a skip, then it’s whatever I say it is. That’s house rules. Check the back of the box… in invisible ink.”
“Nah,” Chesteria corrected. “We’re in my house, so we’re by my rules. Any emotional outbursts, you draw two and journal about it later.”
Isis groaned as she drew another card. “This game is toxic… just like men! “No way this is legal! Bryce shuffled like he had a vendetta!”
I tried not to laugh, watching her spiral as she was now three cards away from building an entirely new deck. Meanwhile, I was down to two cards, my chest puffing up like I’d just hit a buzzer-beating shot in the championship game.
I leaned back, ready to claim my victory. “Game point, folks.”
“Slow your roll, ego,” Chesteria said sweetly.
With a graceful flick of her wrist, she laid down a Reverse card, followed by a Skip, and then placed her last card on top of the pile.
“Uno out,” Chesteria announced with a stretch, like she’d just finished a satisfying workout. “Told y’all… I’m the undisputed Queen of Uno.”
I fist-bumped her in celebration. “And I’m the Spades king. Together, we reign supreme over this game night.”
Isis, with a playful roll of her eyes, poured another glass of wine, then tossed her cards onto the table in a dramatic flourish. “Well, I’m the queen of keeping my nails flawless. Y’all can have these dusty cards; I’ve got my manicure to maintain.”
Beside her, Adrian slumped in defeat. “And I’m the king of getting played," he groaned, a hint of humor breaking through his defeated tone.
“Congrats. You finally know your title," Chesteria joked.