Chapter two
I watch with immense concentration as the game flows on. Aces, spades, queens, kings, jacks, hearts, diamonds; I know them all and I know how to use them to the best of my advantage. I have watched them all too many times dealing out those paper cards. Too bad I can't play. I would already have them stripped down to their underwear.
Lize has won once; Erne, twice; Tyki, four times; and Fang Man has lost all his clothes. He lost everything on the seventh round. That sure was quick. Left in his boxes, snot dribbling from his nose, the poor guy really has no idea what he had gotten himself into.
Guess it's my time to do the right thing; I've have my share of the fun today.
My hand extends to tap Tyki on the shoulder. The door of the carriage swings open. I miss Tyki's shoulder and my hand collides with the arm of the chair. Ow…
Out steps a young boy with…white hair? Isn't he a bit young for so much stress? His eyes are silver. I like that colour. What shall I call him? I can't think of a name that suits.
All our heads turn towards him.
I gaze in amazement. Tyki smiles at the new arrival.
"Sorry fellas. This ain't the place for kids." I notice a spike of red hair sticking out from behind the young boy. There's another boy behind him, much taller. I stand on my knees on the seat to get a better look.
What a strange boy. He has an eye patch over his right eye. I wonder why. Is it an injury? Maybe he was born blind in that eye and it looks glassy on the outside, so he wears an eye patch to save the trouble of people gawking at it. Eye Patch: that's a perfect name for the boy with the flaming red hair and the single sparkling green eye.
Stranger still, both the boys are wearing black. Something shiny catches my eye. I blink in surprise. The shine is coming from a silver cross embroidered on their chests. I reckon they are like grim reapers. The black reminds me of death, darkness. I don't like it. Shivers run down my back; very violent shivers.
My eyes linger on the cross. It is a symbol for something important, I think. What? I don't want to imagine. I can feel it though, the pulsating aura radiating from the shiny silver. And it's not a good feeling either.
I stare at it for a while; longer than I anticipate.
In a blink of my eye, the newcomers have joined Tyki, Krory, Lize and Erne around the makeshift table on the floor. The white haired boy has cards in his hands now.
Hey! This isn't fair! How come he gets to play poker and I don't?
I shoot a look of annoyance at Tyki. He's the one who decides who plays and who doesn't. He's the one to blame.
The white haired boy picks up a card from the pile. His face is completely impassive, unreadable, and emotionless. Those silver eyes hold no glint of glee or excitement, or disappointment. Okay, so he has a pro poker face; so what? I still bet my actual cards would better than his.
He picks up another. I notice that his hands are covered by white gloves. What is there to hide underneath?
He is like eye patch; they both have something to hide.
What innocent looking young boys would already have something sinister to hide?
None of this makes sense.
My head is hurting.
"Straight Flush!"
What?
"It's my win again!"
Tyki, Lize and Erne gawk at the younger boy with disbelief. I gawk at them. Where have their clothes gone? My mouth is hanging open as well.
A politely joyful expression engulfs the younger boy's face. A subtle grin is evident. Yet amazingly, his body language remains calm and composed. Beside him, the redheaded eye patch is also shaken with disbelief.
I leap out of my seat to get a better look. Leaning over the crowd, I can clearly see that Tyki, Lize and Erne are quivering at the cold draught that blows through the window. All along Tyki cigarette, there are angry teeth marks. He's still furiously chewing at it, while staring down at the matching set of cards that have been thrown in front of him.
Wait…did he say again?
"DAMMIIIIT! One more round!" Lize demands. He is no longer smiling. He must have lost several times. That murderous intent engraved deeply into his blunt features surfaces whenever Tyki beats him too many times to his liking. He is wearing that expression at this very moment. He throws his cards at the floor in frustration.
My head tilts right. I can see that Eaze is unaffected by the happenings around him. I hope he never takes up gambling.
Inside me, I am torn between the urge to leap for joy at the fact that Tyki has been beat at poker, to feel sorry for him as he brought this on himself, to click my tongue at him to tell him that "you deserve it for not letting me play", and to frown explicitly at how the white haired boy had managed to attain a royal straight flush. He's cheating. It's the only explanation. But what a pro cheater he is too.
The cards are dealt out again and more clothes are lost, adding to the boy's pile. I observe his movements closely. No flaws or slips did I catch and he played all his cards perfectly. He's using the best moves, the most undetectable. Poor Tyki, Lize and Erne. The clothes that they worked so hard for: they're never going to get them back. The boy's just too good. I feel sorry for them, yet at the same time, my insides are jumping with glee at the fact that Tyki got owned, finally. My poker face sucks at times like these (which is usually my downfall when I verse Tyki), but Tyki doesn't notice as he hands over his shirt.
They are saved by the bell as the announcer calls out our station name. Disappointed and cold, they stalk off the train with me and Eaze following behind. Even if it isn't shown on his face, I think that Eaze is actually bursting with laughter inside, just like I am. For a child he has learnt to control his emotions well, constantly wearing that perfect poker face.
"Here," the white haired boy calls through the open window. Clutched in his hand are Tyki's and the other guys' clothes. "It's enough that I got my friends clothes back. It'll be painful being nude at this time of the year, right?"
I bite my lip just in time to shut up the giggle that has erupted inside. Tyki scoffs at the boy's wide grin.
"Boy…" Tyki says in a menacing voice. "We won't fall so low as to accept pity when we lose."
It's my turn to scoff at his words and watch with amusement as their hands hover towards their luggage. Three things about Tyki and the others (excluding Eaze): one, they always play dirty in a game of cards; two, they hate losing; three, they suck at being losers.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Eaze's small figure edge towards the window. He has something tightly grasped in his hand.
"Our thanks," he murmurs softly from behind his mask as he extends his hand to the other boy. I'm surprised: Eaze has rarely uttered any words to me in this few years, yet he's willing to talk to a stranger he just met on the train that he'll probably never see again?
I don't know what Eaze is offering to the boy, but Tyki seems to have recognised the object and rushes to stop Eaze.
"Eaze, that thing's your treasure!" He exclaims. The train whistle muffles his voice. "I'll give you something else as a thanks." Tyki rummages through his pockets on his oversized trousers.
Steadily, steadily, the train begins to move, issuing a cloud of steam as it chugs out of the station. The white haired boy skilfully catches the thing that Tyki throws at him: a deck of cards. I grimace at his so-called gift. That was Tyki's lucky deck of cards. He never loses with them; until today. I think he's lost his faith in them.
"I hope things are cool between us then!" he yells as the train speeds into a dark tunnel.
I peer into Eaze's small, enclosed hands. A glimpse of silver blinds my eye.
"Keep a tight hold on that thing, Eaze," Tyki says, tousling Eaze's blonde waves. "I went through a lot of trouble to get that silver for you."
It's the pendant Tyki bought for Eaze on his birthday, the day that we found him and he became a part of this family. Engrossed on the front is a trail of intricate embellishment. It is only about as big as Eaze's tiny palm, threaded through with a thick string. Eaze loves the shiny present, always wearing it on his neck as a lucky charm. What would make him give it to a stranger?
"Yo, Tyki, let's hurry up and meet the factory owner, then get some grub!" Lize yells as his stomach churns loudly. I can hear the low rumble from 5 feet away. I think he can eat a horse right now if his mouth was bigger.
Another sound breaks through the growl of Lize's hunger: a telephone ring. The ringing pierces my ears, screeching like a siren. It belongs to the public phone hanging on the wall of the station. How strange…
Tyki swiftly walks over to it and picks up the ear piece, silencing the shrieking; so typical of Tyki to not find these kinds of things strange. Someone seems to be talking rapidly on the other side as Tyki holds it against his ear, hidden under his dishevels of brown locks. I try to read his expression: neutral, his usual smile, nothing that would arouse suspicion or give away any clues. Damn his poker face.
"Sorry guys, but I've got another job to do!" Tyki says. I knew it.
"You got another secret job? Bastard, you've been getting a lot of those lately!" Lize fumes annoyingly. I agree with him, for once.
"Can't be helped. Guess we'll be going ahead," Erne says cooling, slinging Eaze's bag over his shoulder.
I frown at Tyki, furrowing my eye brows as much as I could; they're almost touching each other now. The edge of my lip pulls towards the ground. My arms loop around my chest with my suitcase swinging in my hand.
"What's with the adorable look, Rose?" Tyki says with a huge grin. He slides over and presses his mouth to my ear. I look away, able to taste the foul stench of smoke lingering around his face. "So, did you enjoy the train ride?"
I flick my hair across his face. He doesn't even flinch.
"You love to see me lose, don't you? Let me tell you that I only lost because it's your special day. That boy got away easy. Next time he'll be the one in his underpants."
I burst into a chorus of wild laughter, all the annoyance washed away from me. My eyes revolve back to his thick lenses as I clutch my stomach painfully. I think I'm going to cry soon.
Yeah right. You so didn't lose on purpose, even if you did it for me. You're not the type to lose your dignity for someone else.
Tyki shares my smile, weirdly, though it is more of a smirk than anything of amusement. I wipe away an invisible tear from my cheek.
"Sure I am. I admitted to losing, isn't that enough for you? And I made you laugh, didn't I? Sorry if I can't spend the rest of the special day with you, but at least I've given you the perfect present for a day like today."
I am still laughing my head off, as bubbly feeling is rising inside me. Damn Tyki; he knows me too well. He knows everything too well. It's almost like he knew the phone call was coming, that it was especially for him, that he would have to leave before the special day finished and that the perfect present was the finale to the unexpected scene on the usually boring train ride. Hearing the sound of my inaudible voice through laughter is annoyingly the best present he can give me. Luckily, Lize cuts through my moment of unconditional gratitude.
"Oi, what are you two laughing about? I'm starving here!" His stomach creates an earthquake as I fall onto my butt. My own stomach is about to explode from all the laughter cramps.
"Sorry man, guess I'll be off then," Tyki says, his lips twitching at the state of me on the ground. His slender fingers tousle the thin strands of hair on my head, pausing for a moment before retracting and following the direction of his footsteps. My laughter subsides and I leap back onto my feet.
Wait.
Tyki's back responds to the silent call, turning away from me for the other side to take its place. I feel along the walls of my coat, resting on a bundle of paper. I pull out my sketchpad, flicking it open and ripping off the last page.
Here.
I thrust it towards him. He stares at me quizzically through his glasses. How I wish I could see the eyes underneath for once…
Take it.
He plucks it from my hands and smiles as he looks down at the single sheet of paper.
"Why hello Chestnut, are you helping me with my job?" He says. I think he likes it; I hope he does. Even if it's so rough and unrealistic, it's the best present I can come up with. "Happy birthday seventeenth, Rose."
I smile, turning my back to them and joining Lize, Erne and Eaze.
Bye Tyki, come back soon.
Notes:
Wow, that took a while to write.
So did you like that chapter? If you did, review please! If you didn't, review anyway. Encourage and criticism is always good for an amateur author with improvements to make.
~FSR