Let's play a Game.

"Hey Terrance, it is Terrance isn't it?"

"Yeah, i'm Terrance." he responds, turning his head to me and looking at me with his piercing blue eyes.

I feel something strange stir, a bubbly feeling in my heart. I dismiss it as nervousness. I'm not used to people being in my room, i'm a private person usually.

"You're Clye? No, Gabriel. Right?" he asks.

"That's me" i respond with a nervous laugh. I push myself up against the headboard and sit up. "Wanna play a game or something? I'm bored."

"Depends" he responds, throwing his legs over the side of his bed and folding his arms, questioningly "what do you want to play?"

I shrug "i'm not fussy, d'you have a pack of cards or something?"

He smiles "i've got a bottle of rum and a poker set, interested?"

Personally while i like to drink i'm not overly fond of it, i don't like to get drunk. But being tipsy is a better alternative to sitting in awkward silence.
So i shrug my shoulders.

"Sure" i reply "why not."

"Good" he says earnestly, digging into his rucksack to pull out a pack of cards and a large bottle of rum, along with two plastic shot glasses.

"I brought a few with me" he explains when he gets the shot glasses out "Jamie and Dan are usually up for a game, generally in the shed, but there aren't any shot glasses here."

Well there wouldn't be. Our parents idea of a piss-up is the steady acumulation of a high blood-alcohol concent through repeated brandy-and-tea's, maybe the odd double whisky and on a rare occasion plain, common, beer.

Terrance throws his duvet onto the floor and starts placing cards "Ultimate Loser fine with you?"

"Yeah" i respond, pretending to know what he's talking about. I assume Ultimate Loser is some sort of drinking game.

I slide over my bed and land on the floor beside his, slumped with my elbow on his bed i watch as he deals the cards. He seems to sense my lack of knowledge and begins to explain the rules.

"So Gabriel this is how you play. I'm going to split the cards so be both have an equal amount but there's one left over, the aim of the game-"