Zenon's Game Chapter 262

Jake lowered the bag of ice on the pavement and smirked. He pulled out his e-cigarette from his back pocket and inhaled.

"You forgot it was Zenon's college acceptance party today," he exhaled knowingly.

Oh mushrooms! I forgot!

"No, no, not at all, never," I lied, backing up to my padlocked door, "I just came out to check on gnomey here, but he seems to be doing well. Now I'm going right back in to change for this important and unforgettable event."

"Right," Jake chuckled, not buying it for a second.

I snuck into Heidi's bedroom to peer into her closet. I don't know why I was sneaking around since I was now the only one who lived here, but I knew she'd kill me if she ever found out.

My closet held 0 viable outfits for Zenon's party and I really wanted to look nice. Heidi's clothes were mostly too small for me, but surely, I could find at least one nice top to fit into.

I found a creamy peplum blouse in the back of her closet and tried that on. It fit surprisingly well, and I realized that, with all the stress of the last few weeks, I must've lost weight.

I was putting on black pants when I heard a motorbike roaring outside.

I texted Jake: Abandoning the party already?

There were only two people I knew who rode motorbikes, and only one of them lived on this street.

Then I texted him again: Jake's Escape. How's that for a song title? Doesn't even matter what the song's about, the title works

I watched the three dots appear in our conversation before receiving his response: Candace, there's a scary guy with a sweet bike outside your house. And no, it isn't me

I put my phone down and went to peer outside my window. Sure enough, a motorbike was parked there – and the gambler was on it.

He waved me down.

It was a sunny and crisp day and I stumbled out the front door for the second time today.

"How's it going, my muse?" the gambler greeted me outside, kicking his bike's side stand down. "Have you met my guy?"

There was a guy with a pickup truck nearby. He was pulling out blocks of wood from the back of his truck.

"Uh... no," I said.

"He's going to fix your broken window," the gambler told me, "Just don't ask him any questions. Especially not his name."

"OK," I said, speechless.

I watched the guy walk past with a saw.

"You don't have any beers, do you?" the gambler asked and waved his own comment away, "Nah, you're underage."

"Tequila's behind the empty pop tart box in the cupboard," I answered automatically, "And vodka in the fridge."

Courtesy of mama dearest.

I then remembered the pound of weed my mom's boyfriend left in the kitchen and said, "Don't look in the breadbasket and I won't ask you any questions. Deal?"

"Deal," the gambler's guy replied.

"OK. Thank you," I said, still not fully understanding the situation, "I'll be back this afternoon. Thank you again, this is really kind."

I wondered what had prompted him to come back and fix my window. He'd noticed it last night when he saw how cold the house was. But I never expected him to come back with a plan.

~Zenon's party~

I walked across the street from my house to the Albert's.

I kept turning my head to see if the gambler and his guy were OK. I could hear the sound of a saw in the backyard as they cut wood to barricade the second-floor window.

Meanwhile, the front door to Zenon's house was open. Pale blue balloons had been attached to the entrance, something I'm sure Zenon hated.

I could hear the faint chitter chatter of polite conversation and glasses tinkling as I walked in. Zenon and I had such different lifestyles.

Even the paper napkins had little basketballs on them. I picked one up, not sure what else to do. There were so many adults here, all dressed up for this event.

I texted my boyfriend: You draw a mature crowd

I awkwardly stood in a room of strangers. I spotted Mr Albert nearby, talking to a man in a navy suit. I overheard them discussing the stock market and tried to listen in:

"I became bearish and had to pull out. That was two days before the CEO's announcement, so I didn't lose my shirt in that one."

"It can rebound though. The premiumization of their products is really-" Mr Albert looked at me, after he realized I was obviously eavesdropping. He ignored me and continued, "It's boosting their margins."

I flapped the paper napkin in my hand and looked down at my phone. I texted Zenon again: Wild party

So dull. Zenon would hate the low energy. What do I even do here?

I ventured into the kitchen where there was more bustle. Food was overflowing across the countertops, in various stages of preparation. The Dawsons had hired a couple people to help serve the food and they were flurrying in and out.

I tried to stay out of their way until I spotted Nicole and Charlotte. Nicole was sitting on a bar stool by the kitchen top, watching Charlotte as they chatted.

Zenon's sister had her long hair tied up in a fashionable clip, with loose strands framing her face. She was pulling out a tray of baked brie bites from the oven.

"Candace," Charlotte exclaimed, noticing me as she set the hot tray on a rack to cool, "Here to support the golden boy?"

Nicole spun round on the bar stool, wearing the sharpest high heels I've seen. Silver spikes were all over it, matching her newly died silver hair.

"Welcome back from Dubai," she said, "We heard the trip was eventful."