Stay calm! Assess the situation!
Team Inaba had bet 27 chips. It was a huge gamble that would possibly cost them more than half of their starting amount — a critical victory for whoever won it.
Team Setouchi had folded, sacrificing seven chips. And if we folded, that was another nine chips... which meant Team Inaba would receive those 16 chips for free.
Assuming we let them, of course.
Part of me wondered if this was Inaba’s strategy. Intimidate us, make us drop out, then take the pot without actually having to compete for it. It certainly sounded like something she’d do.
It didn’t look like Inaba and Taichi had found some underhanded method of telling each other their cards. Sure, they were exchanging glances here and there, but they weren’t mind readers. They were in the same boat as us.
Don’t let them scare you! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
“...You wanna do it?”
“O-Okay,” Enjouji nodded, albeit timidly. “W-We gotta try sometime.”
Or else we’ll never beat them.
“Alright, you’re on.” I added more chips to match their bet of 27.
“Whoa!”
“They’re going for it!”
“This is so exciting!”
The crowd cheered. I could only imagine how much fun they were having, watching this unfold from the sidelines.
“Interesting. Are you trying to play to the audience?”
Inaba sounded surprised. Just as I thought — she hadn’t expected me to call her bluff.
“No, I’m just trying to win,” I replied.
It felt so good to say that. My heart raced. We can win! I know it! Luck is on our side!
At last, it was time to reveal our hands.
Me and Enjouji: full house. Taichi and Inaba: straight flush.
Just like that, their chip count swelled to 84. Conversely, we had lost 27 of our chips; only 23 remained. Even if we bet everything on the next round, we still couldn’t quite make up for what we lost.
The game wasn’t over yet... but to us, it felt like we were fighting a losing battle.
“Chihiro-kun, I think we should... what’s the word? Match it. Er, call it.”
“Sure,” I replied halfheartedly.
There were no other big bets after the first one; from there, everyone stuck to five or six chips. Team Setouchi won a round, and then Team Inaba won again. Meanwhile, our chips dwindled and dwindled. We were now in a distant third place.
The audience had dwindled, too. They must have figured the winner was obvious, so they decided to go check out the other battles. As for our second-year supporters, they watched on with pity in their eyes.
“Chihiro-kun... What do we do...?”
“...Let’s just stay in again.”
Why did we keep losing? It felt like we were completely set up in the first round. Did we walk into their trap?
Inaba had made some risky decisions. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but how was Taichi able to sit there like it was no big deal? They didn’t know each other’s hands... or did they? Could they be cheating? No, surely I would have noticed by now if they were. But if not that, then what? The power of love or something? Give me a break.
Inaba and Taichi looked at each other, nodded, then turned back to the game. Both of them oozed confidence.
“I... I don’t think we’re gonna win this...”
“...Well, we gotta try, right?”
We stood nothing to gain from backing down. We were basically desperate at this point. Was it possible to communicate telepathically in real life?
This round, all three teams revealed their hands.
Setouchi and Shiroyama: three of a kind. Taichi and Inaba: two pair. Me and Enjouji: flush. We had earned nine chips, bringing us back up to 17.
At last, we had pulled off a win, and now we were hanging by a thread. Unfortunately, we had won the round with the least amount of chips in the pot.
“All going to plan,” said Inaba.
“Yep,” said Taichi.
They knew we would win? Is that why they didn’t bet higher? Could they read our cards somehow?
“W-We won! Chihiro-kun, we won!” Enjouji exclaimed, overjoyed. Then she retrieved our winnings and started to stack them up — “Ack!” — only to knock them over.
You never learn, do you?
“Dude, get a grip.”
“S-Sorry... It’s just... We finally won...”
“Look how far behind we are. It’s not gonna help much.”
“Okay, but we still won!”
“I mean... yeah...”
Enjouji seemed so wimpy, and yet every now and then she really put her foot down. How many other people at our school knew that about her? Honestly, I probably knew her the best out of everyone. Not that this was particularly exciting.
But if we were so close... maybe if we just looked into each other’s eyes...?
“Looks like it’s our turn to deal the cards,” said Shiroyama.
“Gimme some good ones this time,” Inaba joked. She didn’t sound worried in the least.
After everyone had received their new cards, I looked at Enjouji. She noticed me looking, and our eyes met. She had such large, clear eyes; the inky depths of her pupils seemed to shine brighter than any jewel, almost like I could see through to her pure heart. Surely I could find something in that shine... somewhere...
“Hey Enjouji... Can you feel it?”
“...Yeah.”
You’re kidding me, right?
“Wait, what?” She blinked.
That’s what I thought.
“Yeah, I figured. You can’t tell what cards I have, nor can you read my mind.”
“Nope. I’m not psychic.”
No mere human could ever know what another person was thinking. You could make an educated guess based on their expression of emotions, but even then, you wouldn’t magically have X-ray vision to see their cards. You couldn’t communicate with plain old eye contact.
“And this probably applies to Taichi-senpai and Inaba-senpai, too,” Enjouji mused.