Ian and Trevor planned this night for some time now. It was supposed to be a study session for the finals, but when their school had a school-shooter event (luckily, there were no casualties), the law dictates that they are automatically passed for the year and are left with a vacation until the school returns to normal. As such, the study night turned into a slumber party. And much to the two boy's chagrin - their mothers insisted that they allow their younger brothers with them. They need to forget the traumatic event too.
"Did you bring enough snacks?" Jim, Ian's younger 12-year-old brother, asked.
Ian opened his bag, "Two bags of Doritos, a can of saved up starbursts, four bottles of mountain dew, and a Tupperware filled with cake from your birthday party two days ago." Ian was sure that they were ready and set.
"Are you going to bring the PSSP?"
"I told you to charge that thing and pack it up when it's full. You forgot, didn't you?" Ian walked over to his desk and picked up the black handheld console. As expected, it wasn’t charging and it was nearly drained.
"It's not that I forgot, but I didn't hear you say that."
"Psh. Just grab a deck or board game in the cabinet then let's go. I bet Trevor's eyes turned white from waiting."
Jim opened the cabinet and saw a peculiar deck of cards with ornate gold markings. He grabbed it, placed it inside his bag, and left their house. They rode on their bicycle and raced themselves on the other side of the suburbs, where the dark forest meets the Hendrich household. Trevor waved at them, with little innocent Isaac holding tight on Trevor's pajamas. Ian and Jim parked their bikes by the porch and went inside the spacious manor.
"The 'rents left on a business trip a state over, so it's just me and my little brother. And don't worry about the noise. The only people who'll complain are the raccoons and the wild people." Trevor, the brown-haired doofus, said.
"Wild people?" Jim gulped.
Trevor walked closer to Ian and whispered to his ear, "That's just some nonsense I told to scare my brother so he could sleep early. Follow the charade and your younger brother will follow suit." Trevor winked.
Ian chuckled. "Yeah, the forest people. A bunch of meanies, they are."
The four boys climbed upstairs and went inside the spacious guest room. A room with two King size beds on one wall, and a wide carpet floor where the pillows and mattresses are already set. The TV is set to Cartoon Station, and a bunch of snacks is already set on the coffee table. Jim helped Ian in setting up their contribution to the foods.
For the first part of the night, Jim and Isaac watched cartoons. Of them, Jim was the loudest when it comes to laughing at childish jokes. Isaac remained apprehensive because this is the first time hanging out with them. As for Ian and Trevor, they entertained themselves with the newly set computer desktop. They surfed the web with curiosity and glee. Trevor even introduced Ian to some websites that looked like their father's stash of naked men and women. But soon, they grew tired of their respective entertainment and sought other avenues of fun.
"Jim brought something we can play," Ian said.
Jim pulled out the deck of cards from the bag and showed it to the group. Ian was puzzled at the sight of it. He doesn’t remember buying an expensive-looking deck and he knows Jim is not a fan of cards. Sure, he knows how to play but his interest is inclined towards toy cars and robots. Nonetheless, a deck is a deck and there are tons of games they can play. Ian pulled out the cards but in doing so, a white card fell on his lap and glowed an ethereal green.
"Bets are decided by fate. Physical or Mental, all are equal in gaining or losing them. Win, and choose amongst the players on which attribute you desire. Lose, and gain the chance of losing the bet chosen by fate. The game is on"
Trevor chuckled, but it wasn't a fun chuckle, more like a chuckle because he is afraid.
Ian's confusion grew a bit more "What does it mean? Bet with our attributes? Let's just bet with the starbu- with the starb-! Starb!" Ian's lips locked on itself whenever he wanted to say Starburst. There's an unseen force keeping his mouth shut. But the force is absent whenever he tries to say other words. "Okay! You don't want me to say that word." Ian said to the unseen force. "We're going to bet with our attributes. What game should we play?"
"Let's start with something simple like poker," Trevor said.
"Does Isaac know how to play?"
"Yeah. We played a couple of times and I'd be lying if I said that lady luck is not on the shoulder of that kid."
Ian shuffled the deck and gave the others their cards. Then suddenly, the white card he easily discarded before, floated in the air with a new set of words inscribed in it. What attribute was dictated by the game?