𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 ━ five hargreeves

13│GAME TIME

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❛ ᴡᴀsᴛᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ꒱


❝ WHAT'S THE MOST
COMPLICATED WORD
YOU KNOW? ❞

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"Let's play a game," Lola said conversationally one evening.

As expected, the boy rolled his eyes. "No thanks."

"You didn't even hear what the game was!"

"I'm sure it's pointless and not worth my time," he responded without looking up.

Ignoring him, the girl said, "it's called what's the most complicated word you know? I played it with my family all the time on road trips." Some of the enthusiasm left her voice as the memories returned.

"That's a terrible name for a game," Five commented, "it's much too long."

"It's complicated," she corrected him, "hence the point of the game. The title reflects the idea. Let's play— you can go first." Her tone was forcefully cheerful as she tried to lighten the mood.

Five gave a long, drawn-out sigh, "pulchritudinous."

She grinned more genuinely. "You also have to define it since there's no point in knowing big words unless you know how to use them."

The boy gave another roll of his eyes. "It's an adjective. It means beautiful."

"There you go," Lola encouraged him, "now ask me."

He shot her a glare this time but she looked at him expectantly, unphased. Reluctantly, he asked: "what's the longest word you know?"

"Most complicated," came the immediate correction, "and it's antidisestablishmentarianism. It's one of the longest words in the English language and means a position that advocates that a state Church should continue to receive government patronage. It's got twenty-eight letters," she added proudly, "I counted them."

"I'm sure you did," came the boy's dry reply, "we've gone two rounds are we done now?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You're no fun."

"Glad you caught on to that early. I'm working."

"You're always working."

"I told you not to sabotage my equations and preventing me from working is sabotaging them."

"It wouldn't kill you to take a break. In fact, it might help sharpen your brain since you're focusing on something other than math. Math makes you insane, whereas words make you sane."

"I'm not insane," he huffed, "fine, one more round. Ask me."

Lola couldn't help but feel pleased. "What's the most complicated word you know?"

"Chutzpah," Five correctly pronounced the word, "noun, extreme self-confidence and audacity."

The brunette let out one of the first laughs since they arrived in the apocalypse, causing the boy to look at her curiously. "Of course you'd know that word," she giggled slightly, "it describes you exactly!"

He shot her an irritated look. "I don't have to play this dumb game you know. I could go back to work."

She tried to quell her remaining giggles but she felt better than she'd had in months. Maybe playing old family games was a good, not-sad way to remember the lost times. Shaking off her thought, she nodded. "Alright, ask me."