Game Of Life: Volume 2

14. Luck

Eivel

Pare-parehong nakaawang ang mga bibig ng mga kalaro namin sa narinig. Maliban lang sa akin na nakakurba ang labi sa isang ngisi.

"W-What- No! He can't do that!" Giit ng babaeng kasama ko sa space.

I smirked. "Why not? He's the Banker, remember? And he can do anything he wants, take how many money he wants." Sambit ko. Binalik ko ngayon sa kanila ang sinabi sa akin ng Banker kanina.

Walang nagawa si Gia kung hindi mapaismid at masama akong tignan.

Taas noo ko lang siyang hinarap. Let's play then, like the way you all wanted.

̵-̷-̷-̸-̶-̵-̸-̶

Time passed quickly, that I almost forgot that we're players here, not business minded people.

I already have 4 properties, and luckily, I managed to have all of the red properties. Meron na itong laman ng tag-iisang mga bahay, maliban nga lang sa pang-apat kong property, which is Atlantic Avenue, a yellow property.

Sage also managed to have both of the dark blue properties. Sa lahat ng properties, 'yon ang pinaka-mahal. And he got Park Place for free, and Boardwalk that's 400$ for only half of its price, 200$. Nagawa niya 'yon dahil sa Banker... they're already friends. Sadly, he didn't managed to get Gia's pink property.

Kid, surprisingly, got a railroad and an orange property, New York Avenue. What surprised me the most is that he only got it for 150$ and its original price was 200$. Ang ginawa niya? Tumawad siya sa Banker. And since he's dumb, we all expected that he'll agree and he did.

Overall, we have 8 properties and a station.

Nalipat ang tingin ko sa tatlong kalaro namin. And as for them, each one of them has...

Four properties, a total of 12, and one utility, the water works.

Hindi ako gano'ng nababahala sa mga properties nila, dahil wala namang ni isa sa kanila ang naka-kumpleto ng iisang kulay. Looks like they're also playing against themselves. And since they all bought it for a cheap price, they can't also charge too much for the rent.

But still, as of now...

I only have 860$.

Sage has 1080$.

Kid has 1220$.

Gia has 1680$.

Teepsi has 1470$.

And Mason has 1890$.

Sa aming mga manlalaro, tanging sila lang ang nagawang kumita mula sa unang perang binigay sa amin. And I don't know if it's just luck... but Mason kept getting a...

"Double dice." Masiglang sambit ng Banker.

Kumurba ang labi ni Mason bago magsimulang maglakad papunta sa space na nakuha niya. Ang ibig sabihin n'on ay sa parehong numero nag-land ang dice niya. Kaya magkakaroon ulit siya ng pagkakataon para mag-roll ulit.

I can get it that he's lucky. After all, there's only a 16.7% probability of getting a double dice, and we're talking about twice in a row. But the thing is... if he's really lucky, why does it only happen twice in a row? Magiging magkaiba ang dice sa pangatlong roll niya. At pag-roll niya ulit ay mauulit ang dalawang double dice nang magkasunod.

His move has a sequence... and I find it fishy. Mukhang iniiwasan niya ang tatlong pagkakasunod-sunod, at may dahilan 'yon. Eventually, if you have a double dice, thrice in a row... you'll go to jail.

Mariin akong napakagat sa ibabang labi. But I can't find... a proof that he's really cheating.

There are still 2 properties left. I know that we can win this even if the Banker is dumb... I mean, this is still Monopoly. But the thing is, there are also only 2 minutes left. Hindi namin magagawang makahabol pa sa loob ng dalawang minuto.

"Rather than checking on my teammate, why won't you check yours instead?"

Natigilan ako sa pagtingin kay Mason nang marinig ko ang boses ni Gia sa hindi kalayuan sa 'kin. Tatlong spaces ang pagitan namin. She showed me a grin.

"Looks like your team is having a hard time. Specially that blonde hair guy of yours, he only have one property." She chuckled. "It must be disappointing that he also has the highest money at your team. I don't know if it's luck or not that he kept landing on your properties. He might not have to pay the rent, but he also can't have his own property."

Hindi kaagad ako nakasagot sa sinabi niya. I can't think of anything to say knowing that she's right.

Isa 'yon sa dahilan kung bakit pinaka-marami ang pera sa amin ni Kid, pero sa parehong pagkakataon ay siya ang may pinaka-onting property sa amin. Lagi siyang nagla-land sa mga property namin ni Sage, and since he's our teammate, we're not charging him for rent.

At this point, property card are useless. Hindi na namin ginagamit ang mga presyo na nakalagay roon. Once the property are already ours, we have all the rights to it. Kasama na rin ang pagpili kung magkano ang rentang kukunin namin sa makakatapak dito.

"I guess that the quote was really right..."

Mabilis na nakuha ni Gia ang atensyon ko sa sinabi niya. Kumurba ang labi niya sa isang ngisi.

"In this game, we are the Banker—the rich is the Banker."

I paused for a moment, slowly analyzing everything... "The clue..." I mumbled. Unti-unting nagsipasukan sa isip ko ang lahat. I nodded at myself, slowly showing a smirk. "The Banker is the Dumb... the Rich is the Banker." Taas noo ko siyang tinignan. "And the Dumb is the Rich." May diing sambit ko.

Gia's forehead furrowed, confused. Hindi ko na pinansin pa ang reaksyon niya at mabilis na nalipat ang tingin ko kay Sage. Halos magkatapat kami ng pwesto sa board. Agad kong sinubukang habulin ang tingin niya.

Hindi ko alam kung napansin na 'to ni Sage. Knowing him, he might have already realized it a couple of minutes ago, and probably waiting for me to realize it. Or maybe, he has a hunch, but not sure yet and he's waiting for my reaction.

When our eyes met, I knew that my second guess was right.

Sa oras na nagtama ang mga tingin namin, parang binabasa na namin ang iniisip ng isa't isa. Sampung segundo, sa loob lang sampung segundo, sabay kaming tumango sa isa't isa.

Everyone was taken aback when we both raised our hands.

"Banker, I want to..." Pangunguna ko. "Give all of my properties and money to Kid." Dagdag ni Sage.

Pare-parehong napasinghap ang mga manlalaro sa silid. Lalong-lalo na si Kid na walang kaide-ideya sa mga nangyayari at umawang ang bibig.

"E-Eyo-"

"Pft, are you really out of your mind? What? Do you really believe that he's lucky?" Hindi makapaniwalang sambit ni Gia sa 'kin. "Unlike you and that dull guy, we can easily fool that blonde! He'll definitely lose all your properties!" She laughed.

Napangisi lang ako sa sinabi niya. I also had a hunch, but I didn't think too much of it before. But now, I'm sure of it.

I don't believe on luck... or even that clue that was given to us.

I believe on him. I believe in my teammate. I believe in Kid.

Hindi swerte si Kid. Sa tongits, sa pagdating sa pera, pagdating sa laro. Kid had a hard time as a kid, and one of the reasons he joined this game was for money. Ito siguro ang natitirang pag-asa namin sa laro, at isusugal ko lahat kay Kid.

He is not lucky. He's just that good at handling money.

After all, he wanted to take his sister to Disney!

✘✘✘