people clustered around colorful high tables. There were stacks of flat, circular disks, and a woman was tossing square cubes decorated with small dots. It appeared the humans were using the disks to wager on the results of the cubes. Curiosity piqued, she walked over and watched as the cubes were tossed. The woman must have thrown the dice well, as everyone standing at the table erupted in cheers.
At another table, small, rectangular pieces of paper with pictures on them were passed out to several of the players. One male pushed his stack of circular objects in and said, “All in.”
The other people around the table shot him glances and then looked at the rectangles in their hands. Myanin could feel the tension around the table increase. She watched as one by one they said, “Fold,” and then laid down their rectangles until there was only one person left, a female. She sat tall, her shoulders pulled back and her chin raised, as she looked at the man and then down at the cards in her hands.
The man narrowed his eyes, waiting. He had a smug grin on his face, and Myanin immediately wanted to slap it off. Apparently, that was going to be her new reaction to men. Slapping them. Maybe if she’d started out that way in the first place, she never would have fallen for Thadrick and gotten herself in the mess she was in.
The woman shook her head and clucked her tongue. “You celebrate too soon, cowboy. I call.” Her voice had an odd, slow drawl to it that Myanin hadn’t yet heard in the human realm. Then the woman laid her rectangles with the pictures up, just like the man had done. They showed numbers in order, and all of the accompanying symbols—hearts—were the same.
The man gaped for a second, then swore. She winked at him and gathered up all the circular objects. The man cursed under his breath and then lumbered off.
Well, that was interesting. She stepped closer to the table and looked at the woman. “What is this game called?”
The woman looked up from where she was gathering her winnings, which looked useless to Myanin. The disks were nothing like the human money she’d seen at Walmart.
“It’s poker,” the woman said. “You’re in a casino and you’ve never heard of poker? Darlin’, you’d best just turn on around and march right back out of here. These people will chew you up and spit you out.”
Myanin couldn’t help but smile. “None of these people could take me on. Not even all of them at one time. I am superior in every way.”
The woman froze and then laughed. Myanin didn’t know what was funny. She simply spoke the truth.
“I’m just gonna take a gander and say you aren’t from around here,” the woman said after she’d stopped laughing.
Myanin shook her head. “I would never choose to be from a place like this.” She motioned to the chaos around her.
“Well, most of us don’t get a choice in where we come from. But we can choose where we go.”
“And you came here?” Myanin didn’t disguise her disgust.
The woman finished gathering the disks and placed them into a plastic tray. She looked back at Myanin. “Can I buy you a drink, and then I’ll tell you why I chose to come here?”
Myanin swallowed and nodded. “I am parched. I have traveled far on foot. A drink would be good.”
The woman laughed again. Either something was messed up in her human brain, or she just thought everything was funny.
“You’re a riot. Come on then.” She motioned for Myanin to follow.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in a much quieter room. Hanging lamps cast a muted, blue glow throughout the room. They sat at a round table across from one another. Myanin was much taller than the woman, even sitting she looked down at her.
“My name is Wendy Rhodes,” the woman said as she held her hand out across the table.
Myanin stared at it and then looked back at Wendy’s face.
“Wow, you really aren’t from around here. You shake it. It’s a greeting of sorts.”
Myanin took Wendy’s hand and then began shaking it.
Wendy’s eyes widened as her head started to bobble about. “Alrighty,” she said as her teeth chattered together. “That’s enough greetin’ one another.”
Myanin immediately let go of her hand. Humans were so strange.
“Now you tell me your name,” Wendy prompted.
“I am Myanin,” she said.
“Myanin,” Wendy said slowly. “That’s unusual. What’s your last name?”