Kid Blink was too good at poker. His happy laughter would fade into an emotionless mask at the table. As the cards slid through his fingers, not even a glimmer in his eye would give away how good his cards were, how much he knew. Almost imperceptibly his left eye would twitch. Sometimes it was covered by an eye patch. Sometimes the other side of his face was blinded.
Only those who watched closely could see the twitch. If that happened, you knew he would fold on the first round. But that was his only weakness.
Many believed Kid to be blind in one eye. Many believed him to be a poor fighter because of his patch. Many believed Kid to be a poor poker player.
Kid Blink was too good at poker.
Cheating was the way of life at the poker table. But none ever caught Kid. Some began to believe he was just that lucky.
Fighting is the way of life in the streets. Survival of the fittest. If you look strong, inevitably someone will attack you, try to pull you down. But if you have a weakness, no one will give you a second glance, except to try steal your measly earnings.
Kid Blink is too good at poker.
Long ago, he learned the feel of the cards. Every bend in Racetrack's deck, every worn edge.
Racetrack was the only one who owned a poker deck. Gambling was against the rules of the lodging house. Not that anyone stayed there most nights. But Kid Blink knew the cards as well as Race. And he could remember.
The eye patch isn't needed. Kid Blink has never hurt his eyes. But he keeps one covered, just in case. During the day, Kid Blink is always near somebody. So nobody thinks he can fight on his own. But no one ever attacks Kid Blink at night. The last one who did never made it out of the alleyway.
Kid Blink is too good at poker.
By seeing the backs of their cards, he can tell who has what card. Kid Blink only plays with Racetrack's cards. He never lets anyone know that his secret is by knowing something they don't.
He knows his eyes will adjust faster to the dark if one has been covered from the light all day. He knows that by keeping one eye hidden, the other will grow stronger and see more. He never lets anyone know that he isn't blind.
Kid Blink is too good at poker.
Someday soon, some of the newsies will gather together their money and buy Race a new deck of cards as a birthday present. Blink will stop playing poker.
Someday soon, in a dark alley, someone will notice Kid Blink's eye patch is on a different eye. That night, as Kid Blink sleeps, the eye patch will mysteriously vanish. Blink will stop sleeping away from others. Because now they know that he never needed it, and no one will believe that he just wants it for old times sake. They'll know.
Because Kid Blink isn't too good at poker anymore.