“Rumia! Rumia! Rumia!”

  Anise was on top of Rumia’s bed, shaking her awake. Neither of them had classes nor experiments today, so Rumia could absolutely not comprehend why she was being shook awake so harshly.

  “Yes, Anise?” Rumia said, getting up and stretching. She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, and she had a certain guard to thank for that. The guard that saw her escape, yet let her go. She should be dealing with one hundred years of capital punishment right now, but the soft bedroom felt colder than that.

  “We should hang out today!” Anise said, cheerfully.

  Rumia blinked. Her mind hadn’t been focused on leisure time due to everything that’s been going on. She realized it’s been a while since she hung out with Anise, so it didn’t sound too bad.

  “What did you have in mind?” Rumia asked.

  “Well, I wanted to do something other than theatre so… lets play some card games!” Anise suggested. “I think the rec room has some cards, so let’s go there.”

  With nothing else to do right now, Rumia shrugged and let Anise drag her out of the room. As they ran out, Rumia then remembered who would be waiting outside for them. A certain grim-looking scythe boy greeted them as they exited the door.

  “Morning, Rumia, Anise.”

  Rumia froze. The boy seemed oddly casual considering how he caught her escaping last night. Grimace normally had a pretty unreadable expression, but this one didn’t make her comfortable.

  “Grimace! You’re back too. Did you want to come and play cards with us?”

  “I suppose. It’s not like I have a choice but to follow Rumia regardless.”

  Grimace responded to Anise’s question without hesitation. It seemed like duties were returning to normal. Though, Rumia could catch Grimace’s gaze looking at her. This was usual, but they both knew about what happened last night.

  They both knew about each other. But they also both do not know either. Grimace knew that Rumia was going out without permission, and Rumia knew that Grimace let her go. Rumia did not know what Grimace thought, and Grimace did not know what Rumia was doing.

  There was an air of uncertainty with the way the two of them looked at each other, but also a sense of trust. The two of them were keeping a secret, though Rumia knew that she had less power in this relationship.

  It was something that she could only hope lasted. She couldn’t waste time dwelling on it, and she would have to keep thinking. Perhaps, Grimace is the path she needs, though not necessarily the path she wants.

  Rumia had played a game of poker with Anise and Grimace. It seemed like they used a similar deck and ruleset to the one she played with Adelyn back home. The only differences were the card symbols, which took the form of a moon, a leaf, a heart, and a flame.

  Anise was also terrible at this game, while Grimace was pretty good. That left Rumia in a comfortable second place, winning a few games but not too many.

  “It’s not just that you’re bad at bluffing,” Grimace said. “You make these really disappointed faces when you receive a poor hand.”

  “That’s not fair. Don’t look at my face like that!” Anise answered.

  “You like theatre, don’t you? I’m surprised that it doesn't carry over,” Rumia said.

  “It’s different,” Anise crossed her arms. “Especially when playing a game like this.”

  “Maybe you’d play better when there’s something on the line then,” Grimace suggested.

  “...naaaah. I think I’m done with poker for now. How about we play a different game with the cards? How about… war Q and A?” Anise took everyone’s cards and began shuffling them. “That way, we can all get to know each other better.”

  “Are you just picking a game that requires no skill?” Rumia asked.

  “The skill is in answering the questions! Truthfully, and all that,” Anise responded. “That’s where the mastery comes in.”

  “You’re quite a bit of a gossip,” Grimace sighed, making his cards into a neat pile. Rumia did as well. Might as well participate in Anise’s game while she’s asking.

  “Alright. Are you ready? Highest gets to ask the question, lowest gets the question asked to them. On three. One… two… three!”

  All three of them pulled out their cards. Rumia had the highest, Anise had the lowest.

  “Ah, shoot. Still can’t win?” Anise sighed. “Alright, ask away.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Rumia hadn’t really thought of a question she wanted to ask Anise in particular. Maybe something about the machine that was constantly zapping her every day, but she didn’t know what exactly to ask.

  “What’s your favorite invention that you’ve made?” Rumia asked.

  “Mmm… hard time choosing between all of my babies. I have a device way back home that sorts shoes. My mom really really liked that one. I got candy for making it,” Anise said wistfully.

  A bit of a mundane answer, but interesting nonetheless. With that question answered, the three of them pulled another set of cards. Rumia got a nine of moons, but Grimace pulled a Jack of Leaves. That left Anise as the lowest one again.

  “Are you kidding me?” Anise complained. “Ask away.”

  Grimace paused for a moment before asking. “What do you think of Governor Rebecca Esther?”

  “I like her,” Anise said simply. “I wouldn’t be able to achieve my dreams otherwise. The funding allows me to invent and invent… it’s nice. You two help a lot with that too, thank you.”

  Rumia blushed a little bit. It was nice being complimented like that. It reminded her of how Adelyn would react when she was complimented. Though, with that question answered, they all pulled out their next set of cards.

  Rumia pulled the highest, Grimace the lowest, and Anise was the one in the middle.

  “Yay! Not last!” Anise celebrated. It was Rumia’s turn to ask Grimace something. She looked at Grimace, and Grimace looked back at her. A bit of awkwardness filled the air as they stared at each other for a minute, before Rumia knew she had to break the silence.

  “Well, Grimace. To add onto your previous question. What do you think of Rebecca Esther?”

  “I think…” Grimace began to answer, but he had a pause before he spoke. Like he was trying to reconsider his words before they came out of his mouth. “I think the Governor is a respectable woman. One of the most dignified leaders in this country, and very ambitious.”

  Rumia remained silent at the answer. It was a very safe answer, and something that wouldn’t get him in trouble. However, while she didn’t know what Grimace was thinking a lot of the time, she could definitely guess that he wasn’t happy. With a lot of things, especially regarding his job. Regardless, she would continue with the game.

  They all drew their cards again. Rumia was unfortunately stuck with the lowest draw once again, but Anise finally got her winning draw.

  “YES!” Anise pumped her fist up, like she just won the lottery. She genuinely jumped out of her chair, which was a bit of an overexaggerated reaction, but it was an amusing one at least. “My question to you, Rumia is… what is your favorite place in the academy to go when you are alone?”

  Grimace raised his eyebrow at the question. Rumia, on the other hand, immediately felt her blood pressure rise at the innocuous ask.

  What kind of a question is that?! Rumia internally asked, especially with Grimace watching her. It was pretty clear Anise’s intention with this act. She wanted to know exactly where Rumia went after curfew. It was probably innocent curiosity but she really didn’t appreciate being put into this kind of situation.

  “I… like to go by the lake. It’s nice, has cute animals… and is tranquil enough to give me some peace of mind.”

  It was the same weak excuse she gave Grimace, but it’s not like she could change her story now. Especially with him directly watching her, so it would have to do. She would hope Anise didn’t ask more about it, or maybe she would keep on drawing last.

  “Interesting, interesting,” Grimace said. He began to draw his next card, as did everyone else. Unfortunately for Rumia, she drew the lowest number again. Even worse, the person who drew the highest number was Grimace.

  Rumia mentally prepared herself for the next question, especially with what Grimace knew. He seemed to be considering what to ask, and Rumia herself was preparing on how to dodge whatever he might ask. After what felt like an eternity, he seemed to settle on something.

  “Are you happy, Rumia?”

  This wasn’t the question that Rumia was preparing for. It had an incredibly easy answer, and that might have been what was throwing her off. She didn’t know what to say. Partially, this time it wasn’t because of Grimace, but it was because of Anise. The inventor girl was looking at her, also a bit confused at the question but eagerly anticipating her answer.

  The complete and honest answer was no. She was not happy. She wanted to get out of here as she always did. But if she were to answer that, then who knows what consequences could spill over, especially from Anise. So instead of dodging the question, Rumia lied through her teeth. “Yes. I am happy. I have a prestigious school and a great roommate. What more could I ask for?”

  Grimace had a pretty unconvinced expression on his face, though Anise seemed happy at the compliment. That made the lie worth it, and Grimace didn’t bother to pursue the topic, thankfully. That led to them drawing cards one more time.

  Rumia pulled the highest, and Grimace the lowest. Rumia once again didn’t properly think of a question, and was just going to pull something out of thin air. The first question that came to her mind was…

  “Are you happy, Grimace?”

  It was hard to tell from Grimace’s usual expression, but throwing the question back at him was the best idea she came up with. Once again, Rumia could probably guess the true answer, but she was curious on what he would say.

  “I don’t believe that matters,” Grimace responded, simply. There was no other extra addition to the statement, just the simple cold fact.

  Rumia raised her eyebrow. That probably wasn’t a lie, for what he thought at least. But it definitely didn’t make anyone feel better.

  “I’m happy!” Anise said. “I know I wasn’t the one being asked a question but since you all were asking. I have two great friends who hang out with me all the time! What more can I ask for?”

  The two of them looked at Anise, and the tension that they had with each other began to quietly dissipate. Neither of them could try and ruin her enthusiasm like that, and silently, they accepted that their current drama wasn’t as important right now.

  “By the way, I’m hungry,” she said. “Let’s go and eat. We didn’t get to finish but… I’m starved.”

  “Yeah, I can agree to that,” Rumia nodded.

  “Let’s go to a restaurant,” Grimace suggested. “I’ll cover the both of you.”

  The three of them put down their cards and got up. It wasn’t like any of them were going anywhere anytime soon. Might as well somewhat enjoy the time they had together, even if there was something much bigger going on.