Page 60 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
“No fair,” Beverly said, cutting me off. “Robyn, are you going to tolerate more cheating from them?”
Robyn looked at me and gave me an exaggerated glare.
“Irritation. Scolding. Disapproval,” I shot back at her.
Robyn tried to maintain her stern expression through her smirk. “Let’s just keep playing. We’ll deal with that scenario should it come up. Are you ready, Annie?”
Annie nodded, and then her face fell when she opened her envelope.
We began guessing in earnest.Sadness. Depression. Unhappiness. Upset. Grief.
When Robyn called time, we still hadn’t got it, so she turned it over to Beverly’s team, who huddled.
After a few minutes of hushed disagreement, they broke and their spokesperson said, “Regret.”
Robyn groaned. “So close, the word was remorse. That means there’s still only a one-point difference.”
Beverly strode to the center. Her posture remained ramrod straight as she read the word in her envelope. Then her face fell. She shoved the envelope at Robyn, whose expression also changed when she read the word.
“Um, why don’t we choose a different word?” Robyn said.
I studied Robyn’s expression, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
“No! I can do this.” Beverly’s tone was harsh.
“Okay,” Robyn said. “I’ll start the timer when you’re ready.”
Before our eyes, Beverly’s sullen expression turned into a mask of pain.
“Grief,” one of Beverly’s teammates called out.
A stiff-backed Beverly walked back to the couch and sat down. The woman standing behind her patted her shoulder, but Beverly flinched and moved away from the touch.
“We’re tied,” Robyn interjected, pulling the attention away from Beverly. She met my gaze. “It’s all in your hands, Blake.”
I raised my arms over my head, stretching from side to side, pretending I was warming up for an athletic event. Then I danced to the center. Was the competition getting me stoked, or was I having fun?
I ripped open the envelope.Yes!I had this. I handed Robyn the envelope.
“The timer will start when you’re ready,” Robyn said.
I let my shoulders drop and matched my expression to the action.
My team shouted out answers.Tired. Sympathy. Empathy. Reluctance. Resignation.
Shit.They weren’t getting it, so I tried again. This time letting out an enormous sigh.
They continued spewing wrong answers.
Time running out, I switched tactics. I waved my arms as if erasing the slate, and my team grew still.
I circled my arms in front of me and then mimed placing it at thigh level. Then I walked in front of it and squatted as if I were sitting.
“What the hell is she doing?” Annie asked Emma.
I ignored them and pretended to reach beside me and yanked down on the imaginary toilet paper. I pulled down again and then wrapped the invisible paper around my hand.
“Jesus. Is she taking a pee?” Katlynn said.
