©2007-2008 okisakana@gmail.com - All Rights Reserved.
Please do not plagiarize blog posts and story material from this website.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Chapter 15 - Risk

8pm Saturday Night, Fall Sophomore Year

"Well this sucks. I'm out." said Ricardo.

"When you start on Asia as your base on a six player game, you're usually the first one out." I responded. "Don't worry, we got all night, there's always another game."

"How is it that Armand is still alive?" asked Ricardo. "He just stared playing this board game tonight!"

"Luck" I added.

"No Mikey, it's skill." voiced Armand with a big smile.

We all let out a chuckle. It turned out to be a fun hour and so far it was turning out to be a great day.

"I'm still sore from playing football this afternoon, but at least I threw a few touchdowns today." said Ricardo.

"Yeah that was fun." responded Tony. “I especially like those 80 yard bombs that you threw.”

"I juked like this and juked like that..." answered Bill while performing the "I'm too good for you" two-step.

"Ricardo, you might as well wait on the sofa and watch a movie, but don't worry. I'll send the others there is shortly." I said crassly.

"Mike, save your self a seat. You are going down." added Bill.

"Nope, the only person that has beaten me since the 6th grade is my brother. So I don't think so." I replied.

"I'm still in it." smiled Tony.

“Ha Mike. You speak too soon. With these cards, I will smite you.” relished Chad. He was definitely having a good time.

This game was getting fun the serious players were definitely ready.

"Bill, do you have Commando or Rambo in your movie collection?" asked Ricardo.

"Yeah, just look over there in the cabinet”

"Well it's my turn now. Sorry Armand you are going down. Brazil to North Africa, let's roll some dice.” I picked up the dice and let it roll.

*****

10 pm, Saturday Night

"Finally, I’m out of this game. I thought you guys said playing a game of Risk would only take two hours finish." said Armand. "Not two hours just for me to lose."

"Sometimes when you’re doing something good, it takes longer then you think to finish it. When things get fun, it's easy to lose track of time." I said.

"Well I'm done Bill and since you took my territories, where can I find your food? This game will take forever." added Armand.

"There are plenty of chips over there." pointed Bill. "And the cokes are on the counter."

"At the rate we are going, we should be done by midnight." I explained.

"Well if that's the case, then I'm out. Because if you say midnight, then it will be dawn before you’re done. Time to go home now, I'll see you guys tomorrow." said Armand as he continued to raid our undefended refreshments before he left for home.

*****

1 am, Sunday Morning

“Mike you are not going to win this territory,” said Chad as he rolled the dice in his hands.

“Hey Tony what happened to the cute girl that made you go with her to church?” I asked.

“You mean Audrey? Well let’s just say that after they started speaking in tongues, I decided that scene wasn’t for me. It’s totally different then mass on Sunday,” responded Tony.

“Long curly hair and knockers right? Mike isn’t she in your grade?” asked Bill.

“Yeah, but she’s not my type.” I replied. “Pass me the dice, it’s my roll now.”

“Too cute for you right? Or did you mean because she’s not a seventh grader,” laughed Bill.

“Shut up Bill. But I’m sure you’d date one.” I retorted.

I picked up the dice and rolled. Bingo! All hits, I won the territory.

"Damn it, I lost. Mike you got too many lucky rolls. Otherwise I would have beaten you." said Chad.

"It's called skill. Feel free to join Ricardo in the loser…ummm” I faked a cough. “…movie room"

“Mike grow up” yelled Ricardo from yonder.

"Well I’m beat, Ricardo let's get outta here." said Chad. "It's a long walk, but it should only take us about an hour to get from su-na-be to Lester."

We all said "good night" as Chad and Ricardo started their voyage back to Camp Lester.

*****

2 am, Sunday Morning

"OK, it's late, why don't we finish this later? Everyone else is probably sleeping and playing football this afternoon is finally catching up with me."

"Nope. We stay until someone wins" replied Bill. "Do you want to give up?"

"I don't want to quit, but I'm too tired to stay awake long enough to win. This game seems endless."

"Hold on Mike, I'm going to attack South America." said Tony. "Maybe you can go to sleep real soon."

"Feel free, I want to sleep." I replied.

*****

3:30 am, Sunday Morning

"Thank God I'm out. This game is getting way too long. Bill do you have Sixteen Candles? I feel like watching something fun."

"I thought you were tired. Or was that an excuse to lose." he said with a smile.

"Nope, I'm really tired, but I think I'm past the point of no return. I'm awake now." I replied as I walked towards the movie cabinet.

*****

3:41 am, Sunday Morning

I could barely see the movie on the TV. My eyes could barely stay open. But I could hear parts of a conversation in the distance.

"The game seems even. By the way Tony, you seem to hanging around Hillary a lot this morning during bowling. What's up?" asked Bill.

"What do you think about Hillary? She's been flirting with me..." said Tony.

"Like with all my girls. You have to see how far you can go." replied Bill. "Now where are those dice, let's finish this game."

*****

7:30 am, Sunday Morning

My dream-world turned into an earthquake as the world around me started to shake violently. I felt my shoulders tighten and I sensed a familiar voice in the distance.

"O-hi-o" said Tony as I awoke, he was shaking my shoulders. "Time to go home, the game is over."

I looked at him with eyes half open and asked, "Who won?"

"Bill. He's pretty good at Risk. He’s always willing to take chances. You should watch him and you might learn something." Tony replied.

"From Bill?" I responded half-heatedly. That's the best sarcasm I could muster this early in the morning.

"See Mike, I'm the best player when it comes to risk." said Bill "You need to use more round about attacks so your opponent doesn't see it coming."

"I guess you are the best at Risk tonight." I replied. "I think I could have won, but I was too tired to play an all night game."

"Then that's something you need to work on, if you can't stick to it, you can't win." answered Bill.

"All right Bill, next time I’ll win for sure. By the way good night...ummm...Good Morning. By the way Bill, do you have any o-cha-zu-ke?”

“What the heck is that?” replied Bill.

Tony just started to laugh.

I have no idea why I remember this fragment, since these mundane moments aren't very exciting. Maybe I remembered it because these are how things used to be before girls, alcohol, and Joe would change our world forever. I'm not saying that the keeping the original ways was good for the gang, but I do remember it as a very fun and simple time. If anything, those ordinary days were the last signs of our innocence. Bill and I never had a chance to play another board game of Risk, since our lifestyles were about to take us down two different paths. What I didn't realize at the time, was that the real game of Risk between Bill and I had just begun. I didn’t know it consciously, but it was a game that would take more than a night to finish; a game without borders, a game without rules, a game that would last years, and a game that would put our friendship at risk. It was a game that neither of us should win. Well at least I didn't want too.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hahaha..."No Mikey, it's skill." Man, I was quite the wit back then. What ever happen to that "skillful" dude?

Oh, and pretty heavy stuff there at end with your author's comments. A game without borders, without rules, and with a friendship at risk. I'm hooked! Tell me more!

Jim Harper said...

I had dreams about Risk and Axis and Allies after playing so much w/all of you guys!

©2007-2008 okisakana@gmail.com - All Rights Reserved.
Please do not plagiarize blog posts and story material from this website.