Come join the circle, come join the circle children

“Well! Are we all feeling a little better, now that we got to tie up our loose ends?” Sylvia clapped her hands together as Rose stepped out of the phone booth. The actress had a complex expression on her face that she tried to **** into a smile, but it was clear to everyone that she was struggling with her emotions.

“That being said… there is one more person here who deserves a little bit of phone time, wouldn’t you agree?” Sylvia’s sky-colored eyes turned upon Nick, who gasped.

“W-Wait, me?”

“Why of course!” She chirped. “Just because you’re not in danger of being eliminated that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the chance to clear the air with the people back home.”

She smiled, and for once it actually looked genuine. “I’m serious,” she assured him. “I just want to make you as happy as possible.”

Nick sighed. While he didn’t trust that Sylvia had his best intentions at heart (she clearly didn’t- why else would he be here?) he didn’t know what she stood to gain from him making a phone call. So he decided that if it was being offered, he might as well take it.

A conversation with someone not being **** to appeal sexually to him would be a nice change of pace, actually.

Nick’s Phone Call

The fact of the matter was, Nick didn’t have that many people in his life to actually call. While he hadn’t lost all his friends as a result of Holly’s actions, his slide into depression had led many of them to slowly drop out of his life. And with his father’s passing several years ago, there was only one person he really had left.

“Hello?” He recognized his stepmother’s stern voice from anywhere. Amelia Campbell (née Reynolds, she’d returned to her maiden name after his father’s passing) had an upper-class English accent that illustrated her high breeding; how the hell Nick’s father managed to convince her to marry him was a shock.

“Hey, Amelia. It’s me. Nick.” Since his father’s passing, Nick always felt uncomfortable talking to his stepmother. At 37, she’d been closer to his age than she had been to his father when they got married, which made it difficult to connect with her as a mother in spite of efforts on both sides. The fact that she moved back to the UK not long after the funeral was another reason.

“Oh! Nicholas!” And yet, Amelia was always happy to hear from him. “How are you doing? Are you eating properly?”

“Yeah, uh, actually, I am for once,” Nick said, blushing a little at the fact that she insisted on using his full name. “Listen, um… I don’t have a lot of time. But about what you said before…”

“Oh? You mean moving to the UK to come live with me? Because the offer still stands. The castle has plenty of rooms, after all.”

Castle. Her family owned a castle. His dad must have been the king of game. Nick wished he could be that good with the ladies.

“No, not that, it’s not about living with you.” Although if he had to pick between living in an old castle and being trapped in a hell-dimension shaped like a resort island, it wasn’t a hard call to make. “It’s about what you said before. Getting out and… you know. Living my life again. The thing is, I’ve actually started dating again.”

If that’s what you could call this…

“That’s wonderful! I’m glad to hear you’re finally taking some personal responsibility and turning your life around!” The joyful lilt in Amelia’s voice made Nick wince with guilt. This is why he didn’t like talking to his stepmother; while she meant well, she could be rather insensitive at times. “I wish my students could take after you… this one girl, Vivian, she simply insists on making a mockery of my authority, I swear… oh, forgive me. Long day. You said you were dating again? Who’s the girl?”

“It’s, um… it’s complicated,” Nick said, realizing how much of a mistake going down this line of conversation. He’d called Amelia because she was his last living relative, one of the only people who cared still about him that wasn’t trapped on this island, and he wanted to let her know he was okay.

He really should have considered how interested she would be in his dating life.

“I see, ‘complicated’ is it? I certainly hope that you don’t mean the sort of ‘complicated’ that comes with a nine-month later surprise.”

“MOM!” He exclaimed, turning red in the face. “I-I mean… I always, um…”

Actually, he’d come inside Carly, at her own insistence. And Gina, well, he hadn’t used any protection with her, either…

…

“Nicholas…”

“Don’t worry! Everything’s fine! I’m not gonna… well, you know! It’s just complicated!” He stammered.

His stepmother laughed. “Well, I hope it will be ‘uncomplicated’ by the time I see you next. I should be free in a few weeks once the season turns, if you’d like to meet up for another family dinner? If you’re seeing someone I’d just love to meet them.”

“Um… yeah. Me too…” Somehow, Nick doubted that his life would be any less “complicated” the next time he saw his stepmom.

“I have to go, I have a lot of girls’ papers that need grading. But I’m glad to hear you’re doing better! It seems getting some counseling helped a lot. What was the name of your therapist again? Dr. Richards or something?”

Nick paused, a sour sensation filling his mouth.

“…Dr. River,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Yes, that’s the one. Be sure to give her my thanks as well for all the help she’s given you! See you later!”

And with that she was gone.

Nick sighed. He’d called Amelia in order to reassure her that he was doing better than the last time they’d spoken, but it had only made him feel worse.

When he stepped out of the phone booth, he saw that everyone had disappeared.

“Are you sure it’s okay? Leaving Nick alone like that?” Holly asked worriedly.

“Nah, he’s fine. Dude deserves his privacy,” Carly said, waving her hand dismissively. She was lounged out on a deck chair beside the swimming pool. While Nick was on the phone, she’d floated the idea of the girls meeting up to have a little pool party. Sort of a last hurrah before one of them was eliminated from the competition.

It was only when they got to the pool did everyone realize the issue with that suggestion.

Holly refused to swim in case her chastity belt rusted.

Dawn didn’t want to get her tail and ears soaked.

Gina didn’t want to take off her clothes, lest she reveal her tattoo sleeve to everyone.

Dani didn’t like emphasizing her feminine curves at all; the more layers she wore, the better, and the only swimsuit she had was too skimpy.

Kim’s only swimsuits were school swimsuits, which she found rather embarrassing, and so she refused as well.

Mary didn’t like showing off her body any more than Dani did, especially not now that her figure had become so sexy.

And Carly only realized upon her arrival that, no, she couldn’t change out of her costume into a swimsuit, and thus would have to either swim in Chun Li’s clothes, or strip naked, which Mary vehemently opposed.

Thus, Dakota and Rose were the only ones both willing and able to change into swimsuits and go swimming. But Rose’s mind was otherwise occupied; she paced back and forth, biting her nail, trying to figure out what she should do to win over Nick.

That left Dakota alone to swim laps in the water, blissfully enjoying herself. It was like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Gotta say, I wish I could be that confident,” Dani sighed, staring enviously at Dakota as the pale girl swam like a dolphin. While her new curvy proportions hadn’t affected her running or weight-lifting too much, her hourglass figure was not exactly aerodynamic, especially with two large airbags in front. Swimming would have been a nonstarter even if she could bring herself to wear a suit.

“Where do you think she learned how to swim?” Gina wondered. “Maybe from the implanted memories, I guess?”

“What’s this now?”

All the girls turned to see Sylvia standing with a hand on her hip and another behind her back. She didn’t look amused.

“…Pool party?” Carly offered weakly.

“You girls abandon the master so you could sit around a pool and not swim?” Sylvia huffed. “Why, I imagine he’s crying in his room right now, wondering why nobody invited him.”

“Nick?” Dawn snorted. “I bet he’s happy to finally get some peace and quiet to himself.”

Dawn’s prediction was right on the money. At this very moment, Nick was relaxing back in the Master’s Suite, relieved that he didn’t have to deal with any more drama until nightfall. As much as he cared about and loved his “harem” they could be a bit of a handful sometimes.

Sylvia scowled. “That is beside the point!”

Kim peaked around Sylvia’s back and saw what she was holding.

“Why do you have hotdogs and hamburgers?” She asked curiously, causing the host’s face to turn red.

“Th-That is immaterial!” She huffed. “It is for something else entirely!”

Carly giggled. “Wait, were you just upset that you weren’t invited? Oh, that’s rich! Were you the one crying in your room?”

“I-I wanted no such thing!” Sylvia exclaimed, but her face was only getting redder. “Things like grilling hotdogs by the pool and drinking beer with friends, that is not even remotely close to something I would desire!” She sniffed at the air and crossed her arms indignantly.

A bag of buns dropped out of her coat and she scrambled to pick it up.

“You know, you could have just asked,” Dawn smirked, watching Sylvia squirm like the mouse who'd been corned by the cat. “We would have let you come, right?”

“I don’t know…” Gina tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Usually the more people the better, but when it’s someone like you who treats us all like trash… I’m not sure.”

Sylvia winced. “B-But… I’m the host! You HAVE to let me join, it’s in the rules.”

“No, it’s not,” Dawn bluntly called her bluff, causing Sylvia to shrink back.

And then to everyone’s shock, tears started to well up in the host’s eyes. “B-But I wanna play and have fun toooooooo!” She wailed. “All I do every day is plan out challenges and come up with transformations! I haven’t gotten one weensy little break!”

“I-I actually almost feel bad for her,” Dani winced. Then she burped. “…Nope, wait. That was just the breakfast burrito from earlier.”

Sylvia glared at her.

“Dakota!” She called over to the dark-haired girl who had just reached their side of the pool again. Dakota poked her head out of the water to see what was going on, staring at Sylvia’s **** face.

“I-I can hang out with you guys, right? I’m a friend too, yeah?” She asked hopefully.

Dakota smirked. “Harem only, thanks.”

Sylvia lowered her head in defeat as everyone else burst out laughing. For once the girls were all on the same page, collectively enjoying raking Sylvia over the coals for once, taking advantage of what meager bits of power they had over their host.

But it was Mary’s incorruptible pureness that sank the dagger.

“Of course you can join us!” She said, smiling brilliantly. “Everyone is welcome!”

“Eeeeeyagh!” Sylvia recoiled from Mary’s wholesome aura like she was staring at the sun. The other girl’s kindness was too much for her pitiful black heart to bear.

“Tell you what,” Carly decided. “We’ll let you hang around IF you find us something to do. You’re the host, after all, shouldn’t coming up with a fun activity be your specialty?”

“I can do that!” Sylvia said, nodding eagerly. “In fact, doing a group activity with the girls in the harem the night before a challenge is a tradition, I’m pretty sure!” She thought for a few seconds. “Okay, here’s what we do! I call it ‘Truth or Transformation’. You go around the circle asking the person to your left a truth, or if they won’t take the truth, then they have to get a transformation of your choice! Sound fun?”

“Are you kidding me? You think you’re weaseling extra transformations out of us like that?” Dawn narrowed her eyes and Sylvia flinched.

“Sorry! It was the first thing I could come up with! Um… okay, how about this? It’s like truth or dare, but instead, you have to reveal a humiliating secret. And if you refuse to reveal a humiliating secret, then you have to pick a dare chosen at random! And we’ll all write the dares, so it’s fair that way! What do you think?” She asked, looking at everyone for approval.

“Any dare at all?!” Holly asked, her eyes shining with glee.

That was a collective “nope” from the rest of the girls. Only Dakota was willing to play a game where the players’ fate could rest in Holly’s hands.

“Dude, just get us Cards Against Humanity or something,” Carly groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Oh! Yeah, we have that!” Sylvia nodded eagerly. She tapped her cane and summoned a faerie dressed in blue, who quickly rushed off.

“What’s ‘Cards Against Humanity’?” Mary asked, confused. “I’ve never played that before.”

The other girls glanced at one another.

“It’s, um… a card game,” Dawn offered lamely.

“Yeah, see, each player gets dealt a hand of cards, right?” Gina explained. “And then the judge gets a card of their own. They read it out, and the other players have to choose a card from their hand that best fits the judge’s black card. The judge chooses whose combination they think is best, and then the winner gets to keep the card as a point. Get it?”

Mary’s face lit up. “Why, that seems like a blast! It sounds exactly like Apples to Apples!”

“Yes, Mary,” Holly said, patting her friend sympathetically on the shoulder. “It’s exactly like Apples to Apples.”

“These… these cards are OBSCENE!” Mary screeched as she stared at the cards in the hand she shared with Kim. Her face was red with shame. “What sort of degenerate would create such a perverse game?!”

“I knew this would happen!” Dani cackled.

“Really makes the game more interesting,” Gina agreed.

The eight girls had gathered together to play the game, but with a slight rule adjustment. As Dakota pointed out, if the judge had to judge cards for EVERYBODY, this would take too long. It would be faster if they played in teams. They teamed up with their buddies, of course. One buddy would be the judge, and the other would pick out the cards to use. Mary was her team’s judge, by popular vote. It would be more amusing that way.

That just left one person out.

“Why can’t I play?!” Sylvia wailed. “It’s not fair, it’s not fair!”

Dakota shrugged. “Odd number of people,” she replied. “Someone’s gonna be the odd one out.”

“I-I can be the judge!” Sylvia protested. “Then everyone can play each round! Right? That would be fun, right?”

Gina shook her head. “We’ve already got a system that works pretty good… besides, different judges each time is what makes the game dynamic.”

“Yup,” Dakota nodded in agreement. She and Gina fistbumped over mutual agreement to screw Sylvia over.

“B-But…” Sylvia’s lip began to tremble. “...But that’s not fair! You can’t just not include me like- wait!”

She turned and ran over to Rose, dragging the blonde over to the rest of the girls.

“Rose can be on MY team!” She suggested.

“What?! I have to figure out what I’m doing with the master tonight, I can’t waste my time playing card games!” Rose protested.

“Sylvia can take my place,” Mary mumbled. “I don’t want to play either!”

“Mary, you’re playing, Rose, you don’t have to play,” Carly said. “Sylvia, you can’t just make her be on your team.”

Rose winced. Now that it was out there, she realized that, like Sylvia, she was the odd one out here, as well. No one wanted to be on her team, after all. Maybe it wouldn't kill her to socialize with the others.

“…Fine…” She sighed in resignation. “I’ll play a couple of hands.”

“Oh thank you!” Sylvia gushed, pulling Rose into a big hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Whatever. Don’t touch me.”

Holly winced. Rose seemed to be a in a bad mood. Though she hadn’t felt much better when SHE had gotten last in the popularity poll…

“Okay, I should be the judge!” Sylvia said. “No, wait, I want to come up with ideas, too… maybe I should just do both?”

The other girls looked at each other and sighed.

“You just be the judge,” Rose muttered. “I’ll come up with something.”

First Round – First Card

By unanimous vote, once again, it was decided that Mary would be the judge of the first hand. She gulped as she drew one of the cards.

“…Um, okay, this one is fine. ‘Excuse Me, Waiter. Could You Take This Back? This Soup Tastes Like [Blank]’,” she read.

The girls immediately scoured their hands for ideas. For Team Gamer Girls, Carly was choosing cards, while Dani was the judge. For Team Addiction, Dawn wisely ceded to Gina’s vast amount of expertise with this game, choosing to be a judge instead. And Holly was the judge for Team Passionate, simply because if she had been allowed to pick the cards, her team would probably never have won anything.

“Rose, pick that one! Pick that one!” Sylvia urged.

“Stop being a backseat card-picker,” Rose said, putting a different white card out. The rest of the girls made their choices, and Mary reluctantly picked up the pile of four cards in front of her, and shuffled.

She looked at the first one and went white. Then green, then red, then white again.

“Um… uh…”

“You gotta read it out,” Gina urged. “It’s the rules.”

“'A-A Used C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Condom',” she managed to spit out.

The group burst out into howls of laughter, and even Kim couldn’t help but snicker at her buddy’s distress.

“Not this one!” She exclaimed, slapping it down. “It’s vulgar, and I want no part of it!”

“The girl with the impregnation fetish doesn’t like used condoms, why am I not surprised?” Gina cackled, sending another wave of laughter through the group. This time, even Rose cracked a smile.

Sylvia rolled on the ground howling in laughter as Mary stared at Gina in open-mouthed shock.

“Th-That has NOTHING to do with it!” She exclaimed. “A used condom is vulgar, THAT is why I didn’t choose it!”

“But coming inside, that’s fine and wholesome?” Carly clarified.

“Yes!” Mary cried. Then she gasped. “I-I mean no! You tricked me! Anyway, it’s not accepted!”

Gina frowned, having been knocked out already.

Mary looked at the next card. “'Repression'? What?”

Sylvia glared at Rose. “You picked that one WHY?”

Rose held up her hand to shush her.

Mary shrugged. “That one was weird, I guess… um, the next one is… 'A Stray Pube'?! Ew, ick, that’s disgusting! No, not this one either!”

“Oh come on!” Dani groaned.

“It’s fine, we’ll get ‘em next time,” Carly reassured her.

Finally, Mary came to the last card, from Team Passion.

“'A Salty Surprise'. There, see? THAT one is nice! Why couldn’t they all be wholesome like this?!” She demanded the crowd.

Kim leaned over and whispered something in Mary’s ear. The ginger’s eyes widened in horror and she looked like she was going to throw up.

“It tastes like WHAT?!”

“I mean, that’s what I hear,” Kim shrugged.

“You BET it does!” Carly crowed, having a good idea of what they were talking about.

Dakota scowled. She could already see where this one was going.

“No! Rejected! Rejected! Repression is the winner!” Mary insisted.

“Told you,” Rose grinned, snagging the card. “Best way to play is read the opponent, and Mary would have never taken a dirty suggestion.”

Sylvia nodded in begrudging respect. Then it was their turn to be the next judge.

First Round – Second Card

Sylvia smirked. “’During Sex, I Like to Think About [Blank]’.”

Mary gulped. The girls picked out their cards, and Sylvia picked them up, scanning them gleefully with her greedy eyes.

“’Yelling “Girl Power!” and Doing a High Kick’? Pass. Boring. ‘The Great Lizard Uprising of 2352’? Nope, not a chance. ‘Nubile **** Boys’? Ooh, now we’re getting somewhere…”

“Carly!” Dani gasped.

“Shush you. It’s just for fun,” Carly grinned.

“Mmmm… nope. The winner is ‘Robbing a Sperm Bank’!”

“Wooo, that’s ours!” Kim cheered, grabbing the card. Mary just stared at the ground, mortified.

Dawn scowled. It was Team Addiction’s turn to be the judge, and their team hadn’t even scored yet!

First Round – Third Card

“…This one has two,” she said. “Do we just use two cards?”

“Exactly,” Sylvia nodded, her eyes shining with glee.

Dawn shrugged. “Okay, then. ‘When I Was Tripping On Acid, [Blank] Turned Into [Blank]’.”

“Oh come on!” Gina groaned. “That one would have been perfect for me!”

“This one’s good,” Holly said, pointing one out to Dakota. Dakota rolled her eyes and picked two different cards, much to Holly’s disappointment.

“Come on! It’ll be funny!”

“But Dawn’s a stick in the mud. We won’t win that way.”

“Hey!” Dawn scowled. “I’m not a stick in the mud! I’m fun!”

Nobody said anything. Everyone averted their eyes from Dawn’s piercing gaze.

“I’m fun!” She repeated.

Gina just laughed. “Please, you’re like the opposite of fun. You’re like the mugger who shoots fun’s parents in an alley and sets him on a life fighting against unfun stuff.”

“I’ll prove I can be fun!” Dawn hissed, her tail standing on end. “Put the card in!”

Dakota sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Once the cards were set out in groups of two, Dawn took the closest one, Sylvia and Rose’s.

“’When I Was Tripping On Acid, [Madonna] Turned Into [a Much Younger Woman]’,” she read.

“Okay, that one’s amusing,” Gina had to admit.

“Yeah, see? I thought it was funny. I have a sense of humor!” Dawn was starting to get defensive at this point. She grabbed the next set of cards.

“’When I Was Tripping On Acid, [Half-Assed Foreplay] Turned Into [the Female Orgasm]’.” She stared at Holly and Dakota. “Really?”

“What? That doesn’t work for you?” Holly asked, confused.

Dakota sighed and shook her head. “THIS is why…”

“Holly, not everyone has such a quick trigger,” Sylvia offered sweetly.

“I know that! I just, well…” She couldn’t come up with a good excuse, so she pouted.

Dakota rolled her eyes, got up, and pulled on Dawn’s tail.

“Eeeeyaaaaaooooooh my god…” Dawn moaned, ruining her panties with her squirt.

“There, see? Half-Assed Foreplay = the Female Orgasm,” Dakota said. Gina burst out laughing and Dawn shot a dirty look at her.

“No! That doesn’t win!” She snapped.

“See what I mean? No fun,” Gina sighed, shaking her head.

“How is pulling on my tail supposed to be fun?!”

“Well, it was fun to watch…”

Dawn muttered something under her breath and grabbed the next set of cards.

“’When I Was Tripping On Acid, [Walking Into a Glass Door] Turned Into [a Slightly Shittier Parallel Universe]’. Okay, that one actually makes sense, not bad.”

She grabbed the last set of cards.

“’When I Was Tripping On Acid, [Getting Stoned Before a Job Interview] Turned Into [Crippling Debt]’.”

Dawn stared at the two cards for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.

“This one!” She cackled. “It’s this one, this one gets it!”

“Oh yeah!” Carly cheered, punching the air. “On the board!”

Carly accepted the black card, and with it, the role of judge.

First Round – Fourth Card

Dani drew the next black card and read it aloud.

She winced.

“’Poor Brandon, Still Living in His Parents’ Basement’,” she read. “‘I Heard He Never Got Over [Blank]’.”

That one hit a little too close to home for her. But hey, it was just a game.

Dani grabbed the first of the cards and read it out. “It says… ‘the Economy’. Okay, that’s a really good one! Nice!”

“Do we have a winner already?” Kim asked hopefully.

Dani shook her head. “Too soon to tell,” she said, grabbing the next card. “…‘AIDS’ apparently. Oof. That one is really rough.”

“I can imagine it would be. One of the risks of having sex. Luckily, a certain someone doesn't have to worry about that,” Dakota sighed, shaking her head. Holly shot her a dirty look.

Dani continued to the next card.

It made her burst out laughing.

“…‘Pussy’. That’s all it says, ‘Pussy’!” She cackled.

“Kind of goes without saying, huh?” Carly snickered.

“I definitely sympathize with that one,” Dani nodded. It was a close tie between “Pussy” and “the Economoy”.

She grabbed the last card and snickered. “Come on!” She groaned. “These are all good!”

“What does it say?” Carly asked, taking a peak. She immediately started laughing as well.

“‘Child Support Payments’,” Dani read. “Damn. Three good ones. Ugh, this is so hard! Well, fine. I’m gonna say… ‘Pussy’ is the winner, who had ‘Pussy’?”

“I think that’s all of us,” Kim laughed.

“That was my card,” Dakota said, raising her hand. “And it’s Holly’s turn to be the judge, too.”

Dawn bit her lip. They were close. Super close. The first round was almost over, and they were the only team who hadn’t won a card yet! Sure, the game was just for fun. But Dawn played to win.

First Round – Fifth Card

“Oh come on!” Holly groaned. “This one is so boring, let me pick another one.”

“You get what you get,” Dakota replied.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “Okay, ‘Art Isn’t Just a Painting in a Stuffy Museum. Art is Alive. Art is [Blank].”

Everyone had to take a bit of time to think about this one. Judging by Holly’s personality, she would respond best to the raunchiest combinations they had.

All four teams obliged. Even Kim, to her partner’s undying shame.

Holly read the first card. “Um… ‘A Big, Black Cock’. Well, sorry, but Nick’s white, so… I’m not really that interested. Pass.”

“Oh, come on!” Carly groaned. “That’s hilarious.”

“I’m not interested in penises that don’t belong to Nick,” Holly said calmly. Sylvia whistled out her approval and Holly beamed with pride.

She moved onto the next card. “Hmm… ‘Concealing an Erection’… I like it! After all the way Nick tries to skillfully hide when he gets aroused is just… aaaaahhn…” She swooned, practically orgasming then and there.

Rose nodded. It seemed like her card had a good shot.

Kim’s heart pounded in her chest. The card Holly picked next was hers. Mary’s face burned with shame as her best friend read it out loud in front of everyone.

“Whoa, this one’s a little **** even for me,” Holly admitted, which was saying quite a bit. “‘Running Naked Through a Mall, Pissing and Shitting Everywhere’.”

“Gross!” Dani grimaced.

“That’s disgusting!” Dawn winced.

“What do you want me to do?!” Kim exclaimed. “It was the dirtiest one we had!”

“Forgive me, Father…” Mary mumbled, feeling herself overwhelmed with guilt.

Holly cleared her throat. “Listen, um… I have a lot of ‘interests’ but that sort of thing? Not gonna touch it, nope.” Moving on, she got to the last card and her eyes went wide. She read it in disbelief. “’Used Knickers’?! This one, this one this one this one!”

Dawn sighed in relief. It had just been a shot in the dark when she suggested Gina go with that one, honestly. She had no idea about Holly’s fetishes. But judging by her fanatical devotion to Nick, she suspected that somewhere bouncing around in that perverted head of hers there was an obsession with stuff like smelling. And she’d been right.

“Whoa so everybody got a card this round, huh?” Sylvia noted. “How great!”

Of course, the challenge tomorrow would leave someone without any “cards” to play at all, and they all knew it. The game continued until dark, and the time for Rose’s night with the master arrived.