Anastasia spent well over two minutes staring at her. There was a sort of frown on her face that looked as if she was a police officer trying to figure if a witness's crazy story was true.

"It's your turn," Alicia said, knowing that one too well. "Hello?"

"Any chess player that knows what they are doing takes well over fifteen minutes considering their turns," she said, leaning back on her seat. That frown of hers devolved back to her casual attitude. "But that's not what you should be concerned about. I pass my turn, Alicia."

"Fine." She has five cards on her hand, but it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of them if she plays carefully. The current card on top of the pile is a Blue 6, and the Blue 4 on her hand is almost begging to be dropped. But should she? The passive way Anastasia was playing is disconcerting. She's not even reacting to her, outside of that one Draw 2 that may or may not have deterred her win. Maybe she should learn from that way of playing. Resist the urge to drop down that Blue 4, and draw a card from the pile, making her think she doesn't have an answer to that Blue 6.

She drew two consecutive 6's in a row from the last two turns, and they all went well. But for reasons unexplained, the hand that reached to the draw pile began to shake. Sweat dropped from her head, and her breathing became irregular.

"So this is where it begins," she faintly heard Anastasia say something ominous. Why? What made her so nervous like this? Just a moment ago she was her usual composed self. Why is that pile of cards making her feel this way?

Calm yourself, she thought. But her instincts were screaming at her that something bad is about to happen. She grabbed the first card on the pile and slowly lifted it.

A Red 6.

Alicia wanted to let go of the card, drop it and pretend it was never there, but Anastasia caught her by the arm.

"You drew it. It's yours now."

The third 6. It belonged to her. But what does it mean?

It's nothing. She told herself. All it does is to move from the draw pile to the discard pile. Nothing special. Her hand didn't get thinner in size, but it could have gone worse.

"That is wrong." Anastasia reached for the draw pile. "It's all downhill from here. Your luck had already run out." She got a Wild and declared it to be Green. Having no answers, Alicia drew, but rather miserably. A Blue 8.

Her opponent got a Green 7 next turn.

"No…" Alicia drew but couldn't find anything.

Yellow 7.

"That's…" The draw pile failed her again. Nothing.

A third, Red 7.

"You're cheating!" Before she knew it, she was standing up. All eyes in the library focused at their table, with her as their central attention. Alicia looked at them and slowly sat back down.

"But you shuffled it, didn't you?" Anastasia replied nonchalantly. "Alica McCall. I was wrong about you. You are not the spy. There is nothing in your eyes that even resembled a fabric of motivation to win."

She put down her Red 8. "…What?"

"What keeps you going in this game? I fail to see a flame burning inside of you. Your eyes, they are those that belonged to someone who had nothing to lose. Literally. You must be thinking everything would be fine even if I win, because you really don't know anything about Tesla."

Anastasia pulled out a card that she hoarded since turn one. A Draw Four.

"Fine." She continued. "It was my error. But fate had you to pit against me."

Another Draw 4. She has sixteen cards now in her hand now.

"So who is Joshua Jiu, then?"

Draw 2, Yellow.

"Is he working alone? What is your relation to him?"

Following up was a Green Draw 2.

"…No, I suppose these questions are meaningless now."

She finished it with a Blue Draw 2.

"Let's amp up the stakes, shall we? You may not be a spy, but you still are a Stand user. That means, until we are finished evaluating you, you are still a threat. A threat to the school. How about this, if you lose, you don't have to talk. Not at all. Instead, I am going to punish you for your conformism, your lack of hungering, your absence of a determination, no matter if it's noble, or grim!"

One. Anastasia emptied all of her Draw cards, which was with her since the beginning of the game, and now has just one left before winning. Alicia, on the other hand, carried the burden of twenty-two in her hand. She closed her eyes and placed them down on the table.

"I hate people like you." She heard her say. "You people have the ability to change ultimately for the better, you have the potential to become a star that far outshines the rest of us. And yet you don't do anything about it. All you do is to follow the track that was already laid in front of you. You have no goals in life. You don't try at all. Alicia McCall, you are a weak-willed pathetic being, and I feel sorry for you. Once I put down this last card, I am going to go through your accounts. Your friends will hear of this. I will make you change."

Is this the end? There is no way she can discard twenty-two cards.

But she still has her Draw Fours, saved for this exact moment. "Blue," she said, putting down the notorious Joker of UNO. When her opponent drew, she used it again, the remaining Draw Four. Now Anatasia has nines cards, still far too ahead of her own hand, but now the chances are much better.

"Are they?"

For each of the next eight turns, Anastasia managed to discard something in her hand. The Draw Fours were only delaying the inevitable. Soon she's back to one, while there is still seventeen on her side. A sense of dread slowly enveloped over her. Despair, a feeling she was a stranger to, approached her heart and knocked on its doors. It intends to trespass.

She remembered the day her mother died. It was the day when she got her Stand. Her father called it an accident, but she wasn't sure what happened. Up until that day, she had no ambitions on becoming a detective. But something changed after the disappearance of her mother in her life.

Why did she choose to follow in her footsteps? Is it to enforce justice in society and keep people safe from criminals? She's always told herself that, and never once doubted it.

But…what is this feeling inside of her? Anastasia said she has no ambition, no sense of hunger.

No, what am I thinking, she shook her head clear. This is not the end yet. A trump card. She still has one. Literally. While she was shuffling before the game started, she remembered the trick her dad likes to show off to her countless times as a kid. A classic double lift. Usually it's a card trick that is only used for poker cards, hiding the identity of the top card by lifting the top two cards of the deck at once. The texture of UNO cards are different, but with the help of her flexible Stand, PATD, she was able to sneak a random card on her first draw, while Anastasia was briefly distracted by someone passing by. It was a Wild.

Picking out the hidden card carefully so that it looked natural from the opposing side, Alicia used the color-changing card and placed it on the discard pile. She decided to go with her lucky color.

"…Yellow."

Anastasia gave her a curious gaze. She reached for the draw pile, her imminent victory denied.

Just then, the bell that signaled the end of 9th period rang. Students left and right stormed out of the exit. A few girls entered came in, and they found Anastasia at a table in the back, playing UNO.

"There you are. Fareeda is going to give her presentation." one of them said. "You shouldn't keep her waiting."

The senior placed her hand down and laid it on the table. Blue 1 and 9.

"Looks like the bell saved you. It'll be a draw, then." She said, packing her laptop. "I wouldn't go through your posts, Alicia, but do realize what you are missing out. Keep the cards." She left with the girls, leaving her alone at the library.

"Hey, yo, Alicia!" Someone called out her name as she passed through the main entrance. "I'm not late, am I? You said 11th, right?"

She ignored the kid. It was a draw, that UNO match, but why does she feel so unsatisfied?

"Hey, wait up! We still going to the hospital, right?"

"It's just a stupid card game…" she muttered.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Do not follow me, Miller Jackson, or you will be placed under arrest on an attempt to murder Joshua Jiu." She stomped past him. It was a draw, but she was clearly outmaneuvered. She was only saved because of the timing.

"Hey, I never intended to kill him! I was just going to teach him a lesson. Well, the tree was during the spur of the moment, I admit, but hey, look! I even planted back where it belonged!"

She had nothing to say to him. Miller watched her leave, dumbfounded. He wondered if he did anything wrong.