Yumeko Jabami x Celestia Ludenberg

2: celeste

I apologise for all the time I've taken away from writing this fan fiction but I've had school exams, holidays etc. I'm back now.
Next chapter I'll do it from yumeko's point of view and if you want me to do any other fan fiction just ask.
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Mary beckons for me to follow her to a room with just a singular table beside a lady shuffling cards.

"I suppose,"  Mary drawls.
I look at her to see her smiling horribly, "Since I challenged you, I get to choose the game we play"
I exhale deeply and simply reply, "That's fine"

Mary looks satisfied. I think about money, how much is this pathetic girl going to pay me already!

After what seems like centuries of repetitive shuffling and intense staring, she finally speaks up,
"how much are we playing for... I don't know... 100,000 yen to begin with?"

I nod and begin to claim my chips. I can see people gathering around our table now, mesmerized. I will obviously beat this girl.

"We will be playing just simple blackjack" Mary states, looking at me. The dealer shuffling the card explains the rules, even though I know them. 

"Blackjack, otherwise known as pontoon or 21 is a game in which you will rotate being the dealer.

The dealer gives themselves and the player a card face down, the player then places a bet.

They both recive another card. After receiving the second card they may look at them both.
After observing what cards they have, the player takes the first turn in choosing to 'Stick or twist'  which basically means they can either keep the cards they have or recive another card. Then, the dealer can do the same.

Then both players reveal their cards. Whoever gets the closest to 21 wins. If you're over 21, you are 'bust' and loose.
If the player looses, the dealer gets to keep the chips and if the dealer loses, they have to pay back the amount the player betted. Aces can be counted as either 1 or 11 and picture cards are counted as 10"

Quite a crowd has swarmed around us, watching mezmarised as I nod.

Mary smiles at me sweetly and says, "do you need any of that repeating" I shake my head and I look at my reflection in the polished table and stare into space before the lady shuffling cards gives the deck to Mary, "She can deal first"

Mary deals us each a card facing down. Now... how much should I bet... To insure winning I must start smaller. I bet one 10,000 yen chip which makes Mary roll her eyes and sniff disaprovingly. I add another one which makes her ease a little bit.

She deals us another card each. I turn mine over to reveal an eight and a seven , totalling only 15. I could risk another card. "Stick or twist" asks Mary.
Should I play it safe? She looks determined.

I feel a hundred eyes watching us carefully, some muttering to each other and some utterly sucked into the game.

"Twist"
I already regret my choice. She deals me a king.
My eyes expand: I didn't win. I went over by 4. How could I loose?

"Bust" I stutter.

Mary doesn't bother turning hers over, instead she greedily picks up my two 10,000 yen chips and tosses them onto her pile that totals her at 120,000 yen.

She looks like a shark about to go in for the kill. "Here" She passes me the card deck.

I look at her smile- so confident. My teeth grind together as I try to hide my disappointment. This is a game of luck right?

"Are you going to give me my card or what?"
I place down her card then mine as she throws five chips next to her cards, 50,000 yen.

I can't lose to this dumb, ugly freak. She seems too comfortable and confident- I hope I look that way too. Probably impossible considering the beads of sweat gathering above my left eyebrow.

I place down our second cards, hers first then mine.
"Stick or twist?" I ask, my accent disappearing due to my inevitable rage.

"Stick" She answers, smiling. I can already tell the cards she has just from the smile and confidence she shows: a picture card and an ace. A perfect 21. A pontoon. There is no way I can beat her.

I realise slowly that maybe she has a 20 or a 19 and maybe I'm just paranoid about her level of certainty.

I am starting to lose hope. I have to win. No one can defeat celestia ludenberg.

Nonetheless, I pick up my 2 cards, the 2 of hearts  and the king of spades. 12. I pick up another card, 1. Another card, 5. Another card, Ace. Another card, 2. A perfect 21. Also, a 5 card trick.

This means she can only beat me by having an ace and a picture card.

We flip our cards simultaneously; it feels like time has slowed down.

She pulls a picture card and an ace.

I have lost 50,000 yen. Only 30,000 left. I feel all certainty drain of hope and evaporate like boiling water out of me. Was I really going to lose.

I realise slowly that luck isn't in my favour at the moment. More people are walking in by the second, peering maliciously at our game. Some have even placed bets on the outcome of our game.

Mary doesn't look so confident anymore. She keeps on exchanging nervous glances with the lady who shuffled the cards.

It hits me like a bullet.
Mary Saotome, compulsive gambler, is a filthy cheater.

The girl never expected me to be so brave as to call a 5 card trick like that. She had the cards rigged by the dealer.

Why not play along? They can't change the order while all these people are watching us...
Meaning the cards are in my favour.