Board Games + The End of the World
Emma raised her beer in a toast. “Good game, Yuri.”
“Thanks.” He was distracted, looking out the window.
“Aw, come on, man. Stop looking out there. Chrissie, can I close the curtains?”
She looked up from her phone. “What? Oh, sure. That light is pretty nasty, isn’t it?”
Emma sighed. “Yeah, it is.” She set her beer down on a coaster and moved to the window. “I feel like I’m the only one who paid any attention to the game, and I still lost. I need to play this one more.”
Yuri smiled, though it seemed stretched a little thin. “Well, we could go again, yeah?”
Nate shook his head. “Let’s at least do something different. Maybe something shorter.”
Emma laughed. “What, you got somewhere to be? Everything’s canceled tomorrow. Didn’t you hear?”
“Not funny, Emma.”
She yanked the curtains shut against the pervasive green light outside. It still seeped in around the edges, but this was a little better. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“I’ll have to go home soon,” Nate said.
Chrissie shook her head. “You’re staying on the couch downstairs. You’re all staying here tonight. Or today. Or whatever. For as long as this takes.”
Nate shook his head and said “I can’t!” at the same time Yuri asked “Why? What’s the internet saying?”
Chrissie shrugged. “Look, Nate, none of our cars will start. You caught the last bus that’s going anywhere for a while, and I’m just glad you made it before the light started. And Yuri, as for the internet…it’s saying all of nothing.”
She held up her phone and tipped it side to side. “My phone’s been dead for about an hour now. Before that, there was a lot of panic, but nothing worth mention. I’ve just been poking it, hoping something would show up. Charging doesn’t work. It’s been plugged in this whole time. The computer’s dead, too.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
They looked down at the remnants of the game, tiles and cards and little wooden people fallen on their sides. “Well. Maybe it’s time for another game, then.”
Silence for a long moment, and then Nate said, quietly, “Yeah. I guess we might as well.”
Yuri quirked a smile. “Just don’t expect me to go easy on you. It’s only the end of the world, right?”
Right.
~~~
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“Thanks.” He was distracted, looking out the window.
“Aw, come on, man. Stop looking out there. Chrissie, can I close the curtains?”
She looked up from her phone. “What? Oh, sure. That light is pretty nasty, isn’t it?”
Emma sighed. “Yeah, it is.” She set her beer down on a coaster and moved to the window. “I feel like I’m the only one who paid any attention to the game, and I still lost. I need to play this one more.”
Yuri smiled, though it seemed stretched a little thin. “Well, we could go again, yeah?”
Nate shook his head. “Let’s at least do something different. Maybe something shorter.”
Emma laughed. “What, you got somewhere to be? Everything’s canceled tomorrow. Didn’t you hear?”
“Not funny, Emma.”
She yanked the curtains shut against the pervasive green light outside. It still seeped in around the edges, but this was a little better. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“I’ll have to go home soon,” Nate said.
Chrissie shook her head. “You’re staying on the couch downstairs. You’re all staying here tonight. Or today. Or whatever. For as long as this takes.”
Nate shook his head and said “I can’t!” at the same time Yuri asked “Why? What’s the internet saying?”
Chrissie shrugged. “Look, Nate, none of our cars will start. You caught the last bus that’s going anywhere for a while, and I’m just glad you made it before the light started. And Yuri, as for the internet…it’s saying all of nothing.”
She held up her phone and tipped it side to side. “My phone’s been dead for about an hour now. Before that, there was a lot of panic, but nothing worth mention. I’ve just been poking it, hoping something would show up. Charging doesn’t work. It’s been plugged in this whole time. The computer’s dead, too.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
They looked down at the remnants of the game, tiles and cards and little wooden people fallen on their sides. “Well. Maybe it’s time for another game, then.”
Silence for a long moment, and then Nate said, quietly, “Yeah. I guess we might as well.”
Yuri quirked a smile. “Just don’t expect me to go easy on you. It’s only the end of the world, right?”
Right.
~~~
Thank you for your visit to The Story Machine! I hope your visit was satisfying! Feel free to try another set of options. Beep! Boop!