The Henhouse

June 10th, 2019 - 7:31

Go Fish, to Justin's displeasure, would be game of the night. Ella's idea.

Artie was resistant, at first. It must have been curiosity, nerves, or both which compelled him to forgo his masterpiece a little while longer, much to Jonah's chagrin.

"Looking for a rematch, huh?"

Artie glared at her, along with a few others. Dany drummed his fingers on the coffeetable- an incessant, even rhythm as he waited for a hand.

Justin's fingers were twitching to no end. He'd given up on controlling the reflex, but it was almost painful, now – the muscles of his hand felt strained to a breaking point. Fatigue was settling in ever deeper, and headaches were frequent, come-and-go throughout the day. Another half-cup of blood gone only made symptoms worse.

He split cards among the group once they'd been shuffled, and scattered the rest over the table. Then he waited.

The room was quiet. Justin couldn't expect much; the sheathing over the patio doors made him feel like he'd been stuffed in a lunchbox. It didn't make for a comforting atmosphere.

"Go fish. ...So," he finally murmured, "nice weather today, huh?"

"Shut the hell up, man."

Jonah smirked, but Justin didn't ignore her feet tapping frantic on the floor.

"Ooh, watch your blood pressure, Dan-"

"Oh yeah. That's funny," he grunted back at her. "Real funny jokes here. Making me feel real relaxed."

Justin looked to Ivy, unsure what she was waiting for. She ignored him.

"A 3?"

Ivy shook her head.

Ella sighed and reached out for the pile. "I thought I'd at least have a chance this time...."

Jonah chuckled. "You've never been the luckiest in the world."

Ella laughed, raising a hand to her scar. "No," she answered. "I guess not-"

"Jesus- we're actually doing this?" Dany's voice boomed over them all. "The whole small-talk thing?" He paused, body puffing up in his anger. "Why are we h-?"

His sentence skidded to a stop. Ivy's face was foreboding, warning. Everyone was watching her in turn, either in anticipation or confusion.

"We're just- trying to relax," she said determinedly. Justin could tell she was straining to keep her eyes off the rest of the room; probably resisting the urge to scan it for cameras or mics she missed. "Ella," she finally asked. "Aces-?"

"Ivy," Justin sighed. "Listen. There's no point easing us into this, you know that." He gulped, then asked her:

"What do you know?"

Jonah's eyes grew wide as Dany leaned forward, all ears. Ella's back straightened at attention while Peter's hunched over. Even Artie looked roused from some kind of reverie.

"If we're going to have this conversation," Ivy insisted. "We'll do it right. ...Just in case," she breathed. "Ella," she repeated louder. "Any aces?"

"Ah- no. No," Ella stuttered.

Ivy reached for a card with careful composure. Then she took a deep breath, and began.