Page 94 of Rules for Rule Breaking
Back at the party, Kai was blasting “No Woman, No Cry.” Everyone was cheering and clapping, camera flashes were going off, and everything that was good before became better with the knowledge that Winter was open to giving him another chance.
The Baes and Parks finally showed up, and despite being late by several hours, they grabbed fresh bingo cards. Bobby and Winter greeted them, then took their seats in front of their long-abandonedbingo cards, the old metal chairs squealing under their weight. Mr. Park, spotting his mother across the room, rushed past them, straight toward Halmeoni. The other parents shook their heads. Bobby’s mouth curved into a smile as he watched Halmeoni wave her son away like a pesky fly, trying to focus all her attention on her bingo card. The hall was alive with the sounds of clinking chips and animated voices echoing off the walls in a symphony of excitement and anticipation as Kai prepared to call the next number.
“O sixty-six, because old Nat King Cole knew where to get his kicks!” Kai yelled over the crowd as the players continued shuffling their plastic red pieces over their boards.
After a few more lucky rounds, Bobby only neededBandGto win.
“Our time is almost done. Who in here has got N thirty-one?” Kai said, brandishing the little white ball. He cranked the ball turner and pulled out another. “Britney says gimme gimme more, so gimme more for G fifty-four!”
Bobby was able to get hisG. He was one letter away from bingo if he got aB.
“How are you doing over there?” he asked Winter with a smirk. She tried to hide her board, but he pulled her arm away. “You could still win.”
Winter scoffed. “I could still win?Where is that competitive spirit, Robert? Or are you going to lie down and let me win again?”
Bobby blinked hard. “Do you want me to let you win?”
“I want you to beat me if you’re going to beat me. None of this gentleman bullshit. What happened to the Bobby Bae who made Angela Warren cry during a class debate about the dangers of self-driving cars?”
There were only a few minutes left until the five hours and oneminute was up. Bobby and Winter never broke eye contact as they played against each other like they were the only ones in the competition. He regarded her through narrowed eyes, nearly forgetting anyone else was around.
“Beautiful people, I know you all can control yourselves, but, Ms. Betty, it may be time to put the champagne down and take your B twelve!” Kai called.
Bobby’s eyes grew wide. That was the last letter he needed. He slowly pushed the red piece toward the spot as Winter followed his hand with her eyes.
“You know what this means, right?” he asked. “It means you’re not the best anymore.”
He could almost see steam coming from her ears. Her eyes darted between the playing piece and his grinning face several times before she finally swept his entire board onto the floor, sending the pieces flying.
“Who’s the best now, bitch?” Winter exclaimed.
Bobby didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“We’re almost at the end,” Kai said, “so I just want to bring Miss Emmy Lin to the stage to say a few words.”
Emmy stepped up onto the platform with Kai’s assistance. She stood with her feet turned outward in second position and smoothed out her skirt. She lowered the microphone almost a foot and tightened it.
“Hello, everyone,” Emmy said quietly. She cleared her throat. “I’ll make this quick so we don’t miss our five-hour-and-one-minute mark, but I just wanted to say how much I love everyone here. My grandmother was so happy to be with you all, and I wanted to dedicate this night to her memory. She would have loved it. With me moving soon, I may not come back here as much anymore, but Iwanted to let you know how much I cherish every second I’ve spent here.” She gestured to her father, who was watching her with a sparkle in his eyes. “Baba, do you want to say something?”
Mr. Lin crouched down to the mic and squinted at the lights. “I’d like to read you all a poem from my personal collection.” Winter laughed as everyone in the room tried to hide their displeasure. Mr. Lin threw a finger gun. “I’m just kidding. To Nai Nai!” he said, raising his glass, and everyone followed, relieved.
“To Nai Nai!” the entire room chanted in unison, their glasses in the air, Halmeoni seemingly raising hers the highest.
“Now let’s all count down our last ten seconds together!” Emmy yelled over the crowd.
Everyone prepared to count down, but the only thing Bobby could focus on was Winter. He had never been more attracted to her than he was in that very moment.
Ten seconds felt like forever as everyone in the room grabbed sparkling cider bottles and got ready to pop the corks.
With nine seconds left, Bobby stared deeply at Winter, who was daring him to take his revenge for turning over his board.
Eight seconds didn’t feel like long enough to come up with a plan. Was revenge even what he wanted? Was it even necessary for them to compete anymore?
Seven seconds quickly turned to six.
Six seconds quickly turned to five.
Five seconds quickly turned to four.
