Page 74 of Fake Game

She holds a limp sweet potato fry out and uses it to gesture at me. “I can smell your lies from a mile away. What are you cooking?”

“Nothing bad. Exactly.” I avert my gaze. “Just helping a friend out. Maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t decided.”

Lee’s eyes pop wide as a sly smile spreads across her face. “Ooooh. Right.”

Sydney whips her head between the two of us so fast I worry she’s going to pull a muscle. “Deer, spill.”

“No. You might get mad at me, and I haven’t even done anything.”

A cool wave washes over her features—her publicist persona kicking into gear. “God dammit. What did the boys do?” She tosses her fry on the table and goes to grab her phone. “I swear, they can’t let me live in peace for a minute.”

“No!” I slap my hand over hers. “No. It’s…Gods.”

“You better explain or I’m going to call them all right now.”

“Fine, fine.” I slump back against my couch, and Lee lets out a cackle. “If we’re going to point the finger anywhere, Stevie is the one who started the whole idea. Okay?”

NINETEEN

JACKSON

Ineed to stop miscalculating these situations.

I am the best game strategist out of the three of us, and yet I didn’t foresee the absolute shit show before me.

“What’s this youryi mais talking about?” My mom grabs my elbow and ushers me to the side of the auditorium. “She said she met your girlfriend. Since when do you have a girlfriend?” Her eyes dart around as she tries to keep her voice hushed from onlookers. “Waa ngo zi,” she pushes, switching to Cantonese.

The recital starts in just a few minutes, and I barely made it in time with all the weekend traffic. I’m hot and gross and don’t want to deal with this.

I can’t exactly say that Auntie An is lying because that will just earn me more scrutiny. I also can’t admit that I was lying because that’s just going to land me in hot shit, too. I really dug myself a grave here. If only life was a video game, and I could revert to my last save so I never went to that damn nail salon.

But then I’d still be stuck going on endless dates.

I am beginning to wonder if there is any way for me to win. It seems like every path just leads me to a dead end.

“You can stay silent, but a picture speaks a thousand words, and my sister has the pictures to prove it.” Mom pulls out her phone and brandishes a photo my aunt must have taken last weekend when Deer and I left the salon. It’s…not great. Myhand sits low on her back and I’m leaning down, almost like I’m whispering in her ear. “Yourpo pohas seen them.” She starts waggling the phone up at me, narrowly missing my chin. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

My mouth opens but I seriously can’t think of an excuse to save my life.

So, I just dig my grave deeper instead.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure.An yicaught me off guard.”

The cold glare in her eyes begins to thaw. “So, you have a girlfriend?”

“Yup.”

Nail in the coffin. No going back.

The phone lowers so it’s no longer a threat, and my mother gives me a look that teeters on annoyance. “You should have told me.” She taps the phone against my arm with a huff.

“Sorry.”

The lights begin to dim, and the chatter around us falls to a light hum.

“We’ll discuss this later. Come on.” Mom takes off without a second glance.

We take our seats in the second row, where Dad has kept our spots. I slide next to my mom, taking my place at the end of the row. It lets me stretch my legs out so I’m not cramped for the next few hours.