prognosticat
Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2007
- Posts
- 219
“I'm bored.” Not only was this the third time she'd said that in the last four minutes, but this time she was practically standing in my face as she repeated her declaration.
I looked up from my laptop, finally cluing in to the fact that she was apparently directing her announcement more specifically at me than at the other six people in the room. I found this a bit surprising, she being a junior and I a lowly freshman.
I thought briefly about what she was saying. Of course she was bored. We all were, but after having spent so many late hours leading up to this competition, none of us could sleep yet. Here we were, in a strange town, the next state over, put up in an old dormitory that was no longer used except for occasions like this. We had all come in a college van, driven by our teaching assistant, who had already hit the sack. And all the robots were impounded until morning, so we couldn't even tinker with that. Our rooms were the only ones in the building that were unlocked, and this dingy lounge the only place to hang out.
I was trying to formulate some kind of cogent reply, but my having turned my attention to her was all she needed to continue.
“Let's go see if the snack bar is still open.”
Earlier in the day we'd been shown where the snack bar was, in the student center, down the sidewalk from our quarters, between us and the new dorms.
“Um, alright,” I muttered, closing my computer. I didn't really need any food at that point, but it couldn't be any more boring than this dismal place. Besides, I'd go just about anywhere she asked me to.
We left the dimly lit lounge and headed down the even dimmer hallway towards the exit. But before we reached the door, she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the left where a stairwell led up and down into the darkness.
“What the...” was about as articulate as I could manage to be.
“Check it out. I found a door unlocked on the third floor,” she said in a loud whisper.
“You what?”
“Yeah, we can explore the whole floor, come on!”
I always thought she seemed fun to be with, but the grin on her face and the obvious thrill she was getting out of the prospect of a little midnight urban exploration was completely infectious, and confirmed my prior suspicions beyond any doubt.
“Ok. I didn't need a snack anyway.”
She took my hand now and pulled me up the stairs, her light blue hoodie flip-flapping as she took the steps two at a time.
We poked around the third floor for about ten minutes, but of course it was a fluke that the door leading into the floor had been left unlocked, and none of the other doors would open, except for the restroom doors, which had no locks. It wasn't long before we had seen all there was to see without being able to get into many other rooms. As we were about ready to head back downstairs, a little disappointed at being tossed back into boredom, we came across another lounge, almost identical to the one we had left at the start of our rather dull adventure. It had the same 1970s era furniture, the same carpet, and the same layout. Still, it was a room we could get into, so we stopped in before getting on our way. There was a beat-up sectional sofa, a wall mount that had once held a TV, a number of chairs, and an end table with a drawer.
Ever the investigator, she slid open the drawer and stuck her hand inside. Immediately I could see a light come on in her face as she pulled a small box of some sort out of the drawer. I joined her as she turned on the lamp on the end table to better investigate her find.
In her hand was a well-worn deck of playing cards.
“Let's play poker,” she said, looking into my face.
“What? Do people play poker anymore?”
“Of course people still play poker, come on.”
“What are we...? I don't have a bunch of money along. Are we betting pennies? I've just got a few bucks and my debit card.”
“No, we're not going to bet money. Let's play strip poker.”
{Open for one female player.}
I looked up from my laptop, finally cluing in to the fact that she was apparently directing her announcement more specifically at me than at the other six people in the room. I found this a bit surprising, she being a junior and I a lowly freshman.
I thought briefly about what she was saying. Of course she was bored. We all were, but after having spent so many late hours leading up to this competition, none of us could sleep yet. Here we were, in a strange town, the next state over, put up in an old dormitory that was no longer used except for occasions like this. We had all come in a college van, driven by our teaching assistant, who had already hit the sack. And all the robots were impounded until morning, so we couldn't even tinker with that. Our rooms were the only ones in the building that were unlocked, and this dingy lounge the only place to hang out.
I was trying to formulate some kind of cogent reply, but my having turned my attention to her was all she needed to continue.
“Let's go see if the snack bar is still open.”
Earlier in the day we'd been shown where the snack bar was, in the student center, down the sidewalk from our quarters, between us and the new dorms.
“Um, alright,” I muttered, closing my computer. I didn't really need any food at that point, but it couldn't be any more boring than this dismal place. Besides, I'd go just about anywhere she asked me to.
We left the dimly lit lounge and headed down the even dimmer hallway towards the exit. But before we reached the door, she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the left where a stairwell led up and down into the darkness.
“What the...” was about as articulate as I could manage to be.
“Check it out. I found a door unlocked on the third floor,” she said in a loud whisper.
“You what?”
“Yeah, we can explore the whole floor, come on!”
I always thought she seemed fun to be with, but the grin on her face and the obvious thrill she was getting out of the prospect of a little midnight urban exploration was completely infectious, and confirmed my prior suspicions beyond any doubt.
“Ok. I didn't need a snack anyway.”
She took my hand now and pulled me up the stairs, her light blue hoodie flip-flapping as she took the steps two at a time.
We poked around the third floor for about ten minutes, but of course it was a fluke that the door leading into the floor had been left unlocked, and none of the other doors would open, except for the restroom doors, which had no locks. It wasn't long before we had seen all there was to see without being able to get into many other rooms. As we were about ready to head back downstairs, a little disappointed at being tossed back into boredom, we came across another lounge, almost identical to the one we had left at the start of our rather dull adventure. It had the same 1970s era furniture, the same carpet, and the same layout. Still, it was a room we could get into, so we stopped in before getting on our way. There was a beat-up sectional sofa, a wall mount that had once held a TV, a number of chairs, and an end table with a drawer.
Ever the investigator, she slid open the drawer and stuck her hand inside. Immediately I could see a light come on in her face as she pulled a small box of some sort out of the drawer. I joined her as she turned on the lamp on the end table to better investigate her find.
In her hand was a well-worn deck of playing cards.
“Let's play poker,” she said, looking into my face.
“What? Do people play poker anymore?”
“Of course people still play poker, come on.”
“What are we...? I don't have a bunch of money along. Are we betting pennies? I've just got a few bucks and my debit card.”
“No, we're not going to bet money. Let's play strip poker.”
{Open for one female player.}
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