Poker

"How about poker," you suggest. "For each hand I lose, I'll have to buy a box of cookies. When I win, that's one fewer box I have to pay for."

"And what happens if you win more than you lose," Claire asks sharply.

"I guess I get a few free boxes of cookies," you say.

"We can't give away boxes of cookies," Lin quickly says.

You can tell that you're going to lose Lin if you don't come up with something. "How about I start out buying three boxes, then," you suggest. "I'd have to win all of those back before you're giving anything away."

Claire and Lin think it over and shrug. "Okay."

You pull out a deck of cards and you sit down in a circle in the middle of the living room. You deal out the first hand, and Lin gets lucky to draw two pair. Lin deals next and gives you a straight to put you back even.

Enter the plant. For those who don't know, a plant is an individual sometimes used in events involving audience participation (like magic shows, press conferences, etc) to make sure that the right thing is said or the right question is asked. Though I wasn't sure of it at the beginning, I suspected that Claire was going to be my plant to get things moving in the right direction.

As Claire shuffles the deck of cards for the next deal, she suggests, "At this rate, we might play a lot of hands and not get anywhere. Why don't we make the game more exciting?"

"Claire..." Lin starts to interrupt.

Claire, however, pretends not to hear her and continues on, "Let's make the game strip poker instead. We play until you're naked. For ever piece of clothing we have left on at the end, you'll have to buy three boxes of cookies."

Lin, clearly uncomfortable, says quietly, "I don't know..." Claire gives her a sharp glance and she goes silent. "What do you say?" Claire asks you.

Strip poker with two attractive, 18-year-old girls? How does she think it sounds? You think it over for all of five seconds - worst case, you lose five hands in a row and have to buy a bunch of boxes of cookies. "That works for me," you reply.

"Okay, we've all already taken off our shoes, and each sock counts as a separate item," Claire explains as she deals out the cards. "And we both have to lose all of our clothes to lose the game."

The first six hands of this new game go by quickly - everyone is getting used to the game. Claire definitely looks like she's taken charge, while Lin's nerves have steadied a little bit, though she's still quiet. At the end of those six hands, everyone has lost twice, and no one has any socks left. The next hand will start to reveal something more interesting.

Claire deals out the cards for the next hand. Remember that you're playing five-card draw. You look at your hand seeing four hearts, including an ace and a two, plus a two of clubs.