Calvinball: A Short Story
Susie had slapped Aaron Brooks when he introduced her to the game Mao. It was at one of those dumb house parties that were full of freshman girls and upperclassmen guys. (She was one of the freshman girls, and hadn't learned to avoid them yet.) She'd had three gin-and-tonics and Aaron kept staring at her boobs, so she only felt a little sorry about slapping him at the time. (And if he was trying to sleep with her, introducing her to an incredibly frustrating card game was the wrong way to go about it.)
"This is worse than Calvinball," she'd fumed.
"Penalty for speaking. Calling a P of O. What the hell is Calvinball?" he'd asked.
"I'll tell you some other time," she'd said.
"Penalty for referring to yourself in the first person, and penalty for not putting down your cards during the P of O," he'd said, laying two more cards in front of her. That's when she'd slapped him. She'd never liked games where she didn't know the rules. …show more content…
An expiration date. A death.
Susie's English thesis is on the use of deus ex machina plot devices in 19th century literature. Her anthropology thesis will be about the transmission of culture among schoolchildren.
Susie's Death is staring at her from a dozen feet
"This is worse than Calvinball," she'd fumed.
"Penalty for speaking. Calling a P of O. What the hell is Calvinball?" he'd asked.
"I'll tell you some other time," she'd said.
"Penalty for referring to yourself in the first person, and penalty for not putting down your cards during the P of O," he'd said, laying two more cards in front of her. That's when she'd slapped him. She'd never liked games where she didn't know the rules. …show more content…
An expiration date. A death.
Susie's English thesis is on the use of deus ex machina plot devices in 19th century literature. Her anthropology thesis will be about the transmission of culture among schoolchildren.
Susie's Death is staring at her from a dozen feet