Pink hair fell in front of her face, dresses shifting between the racks until Carter came up beside her, holding up a rather distasteful thing. “Why did you even ask me to come if that’s what you want me to wear?” Carter could hire someone in that case! She was not interested! Sylwia shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll look on my own. If you still want me to come with you, you know where to find me.”
Why she extended an open invitation to Carter, she had no idea. The time and effort alone, that she’d put into getting ready did not make it worth it. Sylwia sighed, running her hands down the front of the dress. Supposedly Carter was coming to pick her up. He still needed a date . . . If he stood her up, there was always the bar close to the apartments. They had burgers and pool, and sometimes they had karaoke. So they advertised. Sylwia had never been in. “This is ridiculous!” Sylwia muttered to herself, touching up her hair so it looked just right. She barely knew what a gala was. It was a formal occasion, something out of a fairy tale. It was something to be suspicious of, since she didn’t know what to expect. Excited might have been a decent word for it a few minutes ago, but nerves were beginning to tie knots in her stomach.
Was it too late to back out? Just turn off all the lights and sit in her room like the old days? Sylwia leaned against the wall, picking at her lace sleeves as gently as she could. She was trying to branch out. Be a better person. But did this really count? Being Carter’s date? Was that better now?
A car horn honked outside. That was her!
Hopefully.
Maybe.
Sylwia grabbed her phone and her apartment key, walking down and getting into the car without looking at Carter . . . She was holding her phone so tightly her knuckles were turning white. “Well?” She finally asked, looking up at the other. “What do you think?” Did she look alright, or was he going to drop her off to hire someone in a slutty dress?
Sylwia hummed. “In business.” The actual number was too difficult to actually get a hold on. Something about, ‘Who watches the watchers?’ came into effect. Sylwia rolled her eyes, laying a hand on her hip. “The original game. Before they changed it into Monopoly.” Carter had already said no, whether or not he wanted to admit it. “You should get used to losing then. Putting it off is not going to help you.” She paused, “It was called The Landlord’s Game. There were two sets of rules, one to make money, the other to give it back.”
Was it really? That seemed like a gross exaggeration and oversimplification at the same time. “Funny how neither of us are laughing. It’s time to swing it back around again.” Sylwia said, gesturing in a big circle in front of her . . . She never really watched sitcoms. Her parents weren’t the most sociable people, so sitting in an empty living room to watch families on the tv hadn’t appealed to her. “Does it really matter if you know or not? What could you do? I think opening accounts in your name would be more fun. Taking out a dozen lines of credit. Within a week I could rack up tens of thousands of dollars of debt, with high interest. All your responsibility.”
Oh! See! See?! Now that she’d turned him down, now that they were drinking from the same bottle, Carter decided to become a fucking stiff over sharing some wings she didn’t actually lick! Sylwia partially covered her face with a hand, holding back a laugh. “Yes. I’m aware, I’ve heard you talk.”
If she said she changed her mind now and had sex with Carter, she’d limit her suffering. Sex didn’t last that long, unlike Monopoly! She would have happily played Twister, or poker, but as Carter asked, all she could do was throw up a hand and say, “Sure. Set it up if you want to play.”
“Do I look like the type of guy who looses?” Before Sylwia had a chance to answer, he held up a finger. “Don’t answer that.” He took another swig, and considered goggling the rules of this new game. His pride, and drunkenness, prevented him from actually doing that. “Fine, we can play your silly little game, but you’d be surprised at how good I can be.” Oh, she’d be surprised alright, but it might be because he completely sucked at these types of things.
He held up his hands in the sprite of a truce. “It was funnier in my head.” Carter wouldn’t admit it, but she would’ve never really considered the idea of getting into his bed. And, consent was very important to him. His brows knitted together. “For someone with the money I have,” in a trust fund. “Do you really think that’s a lot of money, Sylwia?” To some that was a life changing amount, but Carter didn’t see the big deal.
A soft smile playfully tugged at his mouth. He thought she looked kinda cute trying to not laugh. Well, trying to not laugh at him. Taking her suggestion, Carter finished clearly his poker set and laid out the board game. Then, the money, and all the little pieces.
He motioned for her to sit when he finished setting everything up. Carter took a large bite of his pizza. “Since this was your idea, why don’t you go first?” He slid the dice across the table along with some pieces.
Oh, afraid of the answer, was he? If Carter already knew the answer, why bother asking? Maybe it was better . . . He actually knew the answers. Sylwia watched Carter set the board, her stomach tying in knots. It couldn’t be that hard, right? She saw dice and she knew they were supposed to buy property and ruin the other. Would it be too obvious if she looked at the rules? Sylwia didn’t know, since her big mouth had gotten her into yet another situation she didn’t know how to handle. Just had to figure it out as she went along.
“Is that what all men think?” Sylwia asked, looking through the properties, organizing them. To win, she’d probably need the dark blue ones, wouldn’t she? They were the most expensive. Would Carter land on them much? “Yeah, yeah. You can buy real life monopolies. That doesn’t mean you’ll be good at the game.” Sylwia said, giving Carter a pointed look.
. . . “To some, it is.” She didn’t know. In some ways, it was more than she could imagine having at one time, but at the same time, she regularly moved that kind of money through the data waves. “I think it depends on how you use it. To change lives, it can be invaluable.” She’d come without a penny to her name. Sylwia’s first taste of having any real money was picking up change off the ground! It meant something else when it was something you held in your hands, and maybe she would have built a different life if it’d been real and in her hands. “When it’s just numbers,” She started, carefully shifting through the pieces, finally picking out the battleship. “When it’s just numbers, it doesn’t mean anything.”
A small smile played at her lips as she sat down. Despite her nervousness, she couldn’t help but think that this was the stupidest thing they could have been doing with their time. “And here I thought you wanted to be a gentleman.” She said, taking the dice. Well . . . it couldn’t be too hard, right? Sylwia cast her dice.
“I wouldn’t. It’s twenty percent officially.” Personally, Sylwia knew it was more. The studies just reflected the worst of it, people too stupid to bypass the system. “Change the rules, and you’ve changed the game.” Sylwia doubted it . . . she really doubted it looking around, but that didn’t stop her from wandering into the living room, gently pulling apart drawers. “Monopoly is a perfect example. You are aware of the original game?” Sylwia said, allowing herself a small smile since her back was turned to the other as she pushed aside Carter’s poker set and dropped the accursed game on the counter. “Is it the same?”
Yeah, She knew. That’s what people said about monsters. “So I’ve been told.” Sometimes she could hide behind it, bare her teeth and drive away all the bad because she was worse. Other days it ate her alive. “Oh? Like what? I’m willing to take suggestions.” Sylwia said, hoping to move from reality into the hypothetical.
Please! That’s what everyone said! Sylwia wanted to know, had Carter ever seen her eat? Did he know? Or was he being greedy, like she said? Sylwia hummed, a wider smile coming to her face as she slapped his hand away again. “It’s too bad I’ve already licked them all. You don’t want them.” She said, waving a hand. Not bothering to stop Carter a third time.
“You know the percentage of psychopaths?” Carter wasn’t sure if it impressed or terrified him. Probably a little bit of both, if he was honest with himself. He pointed to her with an index finger to signal ‘you got it.’ Stuffing a bite of pizza into his mouth, his brow rose when she went into the living room. What was she doing? “Who isn’t aware of Monopoly?” he said, with his mouth full of a half-chewed bite of pizza. Not smooth, Carter, he scolded himself.
Carter stared down at the game. “If I say no, I lose.” And, he didn’t like to lose. He sighed. “You want to play board games? This night went from R on it’s way to X, to a fucking after-school family sitcom.” One of his nannies used to be obsessed with full house, which meant he had to watch it too. “Steal my phone and venmo yourself a shit load of money. Just label it food, booze, or some shit, and I’d never know the difference.” He tossed out. Which was probably stupid, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Hey,” Carter said, as his hand was slapped away. His nose wrinkled up in a yuck face. “Fine, keep the wings to yourself. Just know my mouth has had way worse things in it.” He grabbed the vodka taking a swing. “So, are we going to play?”
Sylwia hummed. “In business.” The actual number was too difficult to actually get a hold on. Something about, ‘Who watches the watchers?’ came into effect. Sylwia rolled her eyes, laying a hand on her hip. “The original game. Before they changed it into Monopoly.” Carter had already said no, whether or not he wanted to admit it. “You should get used to losing then. Putting it off is not going to help you.” She paused, “It was called The Landlord’s Game. There were two sets of rules, one to make money, the other to give it back.”
Was it really? That seemed like a gross exaggeration and oversimplification at the same time. “Funny how neither of us are laughing. It’s time to swing it back around again.” Sylwia said, gesturing in a big circle in front of her . . . She never really watched sitcoms. Her parents weren’t the most sociable people, so sitting in an empty living room to watch families on the tv hadn’t appealed to her. “Does it really matter if you know or not? What could you do? I think opening accounts in your name would be more fun. Taking out a dozen lines of credit. Within a week I could rack up tens of thousands of dollars of debt, with high interest. All your responsibility.”
Oh! See! See?! Now that she’d turned him down, now that they were drinking from the same bottle, Carter decided to become a fucking stiff over sharing some wings she didn’t actually lick! Sylwia partially covered her face with a hand, holding back a laugh. “Yes. I’m aware, I’ve heard you talk.”
If she said she changed her mind now and had sex with Carter, she’d limit her suffering. Sex didn’t last that long, unlike Monopoly! She would have happily played Twister, or poker, but as Carter asked, all she could do was throw up a hand and say, “Sure. Set it up if you want to play.”
Yeah, no kidding. She didn’t want to deal with real world shit either, but that didn’t mean hiding in your room would change or fix things. “If they aren’t, they’re psychotic.” She said, wondering when the anger and acrid taste in her mouth would fade as she poured ranch over her slice and rolled it like a burrito. “No . . . They just propagate convenient problems. There’s a lot more choice and a lot less consequence.” No wonder so many people chased it as a dream.
“I’ll believe that if I see it!” That being a big if. Sylwia hummed. Carter was right, it wasn’t a great plan now that she’d announced it. “I think it’d be more fun to steal your identity. I’m sure you wouldn’t think twice over a missing license after a night of partying. Meanwhile I’m locking you out of your banks and taking your house.” It was ridiculously easy to take someone’s identity, making their life a living hell.
“Not that I’d do that to you of course. You’re far too charming.“ She said coldly. Sylwia wondered if Carter was joking, or if he was actually perceptive enough to think that she might have been telling the truth. She didn’t know. A lot of people didn’t want to see the truth when it was slapping them in the face . . . Speaking of slapping- No. No. She’d rather just grab more pizza, and smack Carter’s hand away from the wings. “Don’t be greedy.”
The angry remaining in her tone surprised Carter. He wondered which rich asshole purposely pissed in her cheerios. He snorted. “You’d be surprised how many of them are psychotic.” Most people with that much money never faced legal consequences for anything. Or, even a social consequence. “The game is still the same, but the rich play with a whole other set of rules.” Rules they’ve created.
Carter placed a dramatic hand over his chest. “Ouch,” he said. His eyes widened at the slight threat or plan. There had been several times he’d come home missing his wallet or license. It never worried him, until right now. “You’re terrifying, you know that right?” And, creative, but he wasn’t going to give her that compliment. She’d probably have too much with that.
He shook his head. “Sure, you wouldn’t. You’d probably come up with something way worse.” Or, probably had something way worse planned for him. There was no way she thought he was charming, but he wanted her to. He laughed. “You can’t eat all of them. We can split it.” He reached for the wings again, watching her.
“I wouldn’t. It’s twenty percent officially.” Personally, Sylwia knew it was more. The studies just reflected the worst of it, people too stupid to bypass the system. “Change the rules, and you’ve changed the game.” Sylwia doubted it . . . she really doubted it looking around, but that didn’t stop her from wandering into the living room, gently pulling apart drawers. “Monopoly is a perfect example. You are aware of the original game?” Sylwia said, allowing herself a small smile since her back was turned to the other as she pushed aside Carter’s poker set and dropped the accursed game on the counter. “Is it the same?”
Yeah, She knew. That’s what people said about monsters. “So I’ve been told.” Sometimes she could hide behind it, bare her teeth and drive away all the bad because she was worse. Other days it ate her alive. “Oh? Like what? I’m willing to take suggestions.” Sylwia said, hoping to move from reality into the hypothetical.
Please! That’s what everyone said! Sylwia wanted to know, had Carter ever seen her eat? Did he know? Or was he being greedy, like she said? Sylwia hummed, a wider smile coming to her face as she slapped his hand away again. “It’s too bad I’ve already licked them all. You don’t want them.” She said, waving a hand. Not bothering to stop Carter a third time.
Where did the vodka come from? An old girlfriend? Or was it kept around as part of a set? Chocolates, wine, a roaring fireplace and something harder for bitches who wanted to party. Sylwia decided she didn’t care. All she could hope was that she didn’t drink Carter under the table too early in the night.
“Nothing physical. Perhaps a chance at morality then? If they broke free from their hollow, ridiculous lives, they wouldn’t be afraid.” There was so much more to morality, and she wasn’t really one to talk since morality had been a constant failing point in her life, but she wasn’t afraid . . . “Nothing’s ever been solved by rich people.” Sylwia snorted, scrolling through an inactive chat room, rereading old messages and looking away whenever a video came up.
Wow. Carter wasn’t kidding when he said he hated pineapple. “Smooth.” Sylwia said, stepping past Carter to get their plates. Didn’t he have any paper plates? Was- was she going insane? Was she looking in the wrong spot? “That’s debatable.” She said, placing the china in front of them because she was tired of looking. “Maybe I’m just waiting for a chance to swipe the wallet from your pocket.”
When most people came over, they spent the entire time sucking up to Carter. They probably planned on him offering to pay for everything, or they hoped to get him in bed. It wasn’t exactly a difficult task. Gender truly meant nothing to Carter when it came to attraction. Except she wasn’t sucking up to him, she was nearly telling him how much he sucked. And, not in the good way.
“You think rich people are afraid?” he asked, genuinely curious. “Maybe that’s why they hide in their fancy offices, hotels and pent houses. They don’t want to deal with real world shit.” Then again, he’d never really dealt with real world shit. He scoffed. “No? They just create problems that the rest of society has to deal with?” He’d heard the argument before. Or, rather read it on social media.
Carter smirked. “I can be smooth when I want to be.” At least, he normally was. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he grabbed a plate and tossed some wings on it. His brow rose. “Well, that’s one way to get into my pants,” he said. “Swipe my wallet while my tipsy and charge the credit cards before I notice, huh? It’s not a great plan after you’ve announced it.”
Yeah, no kidding. She didn’t want to deal with real world shit either, but that didn’t mean hiding in your room would change or fix things. “If they aren’t, they’re psychotic.” She said, wondering when the anger and acrid taste in her mouth would fade as she poured ranch over her slice and rolled it like a burrito. “No . . . They just propagate convenient problems. There’s a lot more choice and a lot less consequence.” No wonder so many people chased it as a dream.
“I’ll believe that if I see it!” That being a big if. Sylwia hummed. Carter was right, it wasn’t a great plan now that she’d announced it. “I think it’d be more fun to steal your identity. I’m sure you wouldn’t think twice over a missing license after a night of partying. Meanwhile I’m locking you out of your banks and taking your house.” It was ridiculously easy to take someone’s identity, making their life a living hell.
“Not that I’d do that to you of course. You’re far too charming.“ She said coldly. Sylwia wondered if Carter was joking, or if he was actually perceptive enough to think that she might have been telling the truth. She didn’t know. A lot of people didn’t want to see the truth when it was slapping them in the face . . . Speaking of slapping- No. No. She’d rather just grab more pizza, and smack Carter’s hand away from the wings. “Don’t be greedy.”
They had spicy jalapeno pineapple chicken . . . Sylwia was so fucking tempted, because Carter was irritating. Was she just supposed to know magically? And men wondered why women would take everything when they left a relationship. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” Sylwia said, allowing herself a small smile as she took another drink, finishing their order. They had a full spread: two pizzas, wings, pop, and dessert.
She set her phone on the counter, idly scrolling through a random app filled with text and numbers, her attention purposely divided with him and her phone. “Oh?” Sylwia smiled, leaning forward on the counter. “Something like that.” The thought that Sylwia was unemployed probably didn’t cross Carter’s mind. He was probably a trust-fund baby.
If it wasn’t Carter, for some undesirable reason, that would have been the plan. Hell, she didn’t meet most of the people she stole from . . . She was good with a computer! And for the most part, when it came to ordering things online, the money left in accounts and gift cards was forgotten. No one even noticed.
Opening his mouth to speak he snapped it shut again. Part of him truly believed she’d add anchovies on the pizza just to annoy him. Carter reached over and took the bottle back taking another drink. He took a swing and set it back down by her. Normally, by now the person would be eating out of his hand, but not her.
Carter leaned back and pulled out his own phone. Except, his attention remained focused on her. Occasionally trying to sneak glances at her screen. “Oh, come on, don’t most people want to take some rich guys money and give nothing in return?” He’d seen it a million times, but he couldn’t quite figure out what her game was. “I mean it’s practically stealing,” he said, not realizing what he was implying.
A little while later, the buzzer signaled someone was at the door. Carter tipped the delivery guy and carried in their food. He’d nearly dropped the pizza before setting it on the counter. “Plates are in the cabinet,” he mentioned to the cabinet behind her. Carter grinned, opening the pizzas. Only one had pineapple. “Well, well, I guess you don’t dislike methatmuch.”
Where did the vodka come from? An old girlfriend? Or was it kept around as part of a set? Chocolates, wine, a roaring fireplace and something harder for bitches who wanted to party. Sylwia decided she didn’t care. All she could hope was that she didn’t drink Carter under the table too early in the night.
“Nothing physical. Perhaps a chance at morality then? If they broke free from their hollow, ridiculous lives, they wouldn’t be afraid.” There was so much more to morality, and she wasn’t really one to talk since morality had been a constant failing point in her life, but she wasn’t afraid . . . “Nothing’s ever been solved by rich people.” Sylwia snorted, scrolling through an inactive chat room, rereading old messages and looking away whenever a video came up.
Wow. Carter wasn’t kidding when he said he hated pineapple. “Smooth.” Sylwia said, stepping past Carter to get their plates. Didn’t he have any paper plates? Was- was she going insane? Was she looking in the wrong spot? “That’s debatable.” She said, placing the china in front of them because she was tired of looking. “Maybe I’m just waiting for a chance to swipe the wallet from your pocket.”
