All around us, the casino is quiet as I run the options in my head. There are so many different possibilities and variables in this particular hand that it’s making it hard.
I take a deep breath and get ready to fold. I think it makes the most sense to get out of the hand; I’ll just have to hope there will be other places, better places, times when I know I will have a better chance of knocking Cole out. I just have to be patient for a little longer. I take another deep breath and get ready to muck my hand. But then I catch Max’s eye across the casino, and I realize that sometimes everything doesn’t have to make sense. I look at Cole then, really study his face, and try to see if I can pick anything up.
Something tells me that he doesn’t have a hand. So I call his bet. The last card comes the five of spades, which means that if Cole has a king, a jack, or a five, I’m definitely screwed.
He bets, a smaller bet to try to lure me in. Or at least, that’s what he wants me to think. But really he’s bluffing. So I raise him.
“I’m all in,” Cole says, looking right at me. And for a second, I falter. What if he really does have a hand? But then he says, “What are you gonna do, Shannon Card?” and when I hear the cocky tone in his voice, it becomes clear. Cole’s been all talk this whole time. About everything. So why would anything change now?
“I call,” I say. And before I can stop myself, I push all my chips into the middle of the table.
? ? ? ?
It totally feels like one of those movies, where everyone is waiting for the big reveal and things are moving in slow motion. I turn my cards over, showing Cole that I have two pair.
Cole turns his over. The ace of diamonds and the queen of clubs. Cole has nothing. Everything stops for a second, and Cole is just sitting there, looking down at the table like he can’t believe it.
Max and Mackenzie and Robyn come over and they’re all screaming and jumping around, and Robyn’s hugging me and it’s like I’m a rock star or something. And when I turn around, Cole is gone.
And then Max is holding me close, and for a second, I can kind of forget that none of this matters because I am about to be in deep, deep trouble. But then the reality of the situation hits again. When Max whispers, “Do you want me to go with you?” into my ear, I shake my head. I pull away and look at him. “How did you know?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I just did.” And then he smiles, and I smile back.
? ? ? ?
I purposely lose on the next few hands. I try to distribute my chips evenly to the two guys who are left, and for the most part, it works. Of course, they’re totally confused by what’s going on, and the dealer looks like maybe she thinks I’m on crack or something.
Once I’m eliminated, I calmly get up from my chair and walk toward the check-in table. And then I say to the pit boss, “Excuse me, sir? I’d like to turn myself in.”
? ? ? ?
They bring me to a room in the back and make me wait while they call in Adrienne, the head pit boss, and the head of operations. They take my cell phone, I guess so I can’t call anyone and try to get my story straight. They give me a small bottle of water, which I drain in about one minute, and then I just sit in the room, in a very uncomfortable chair, trying to keep my heart from beating out of my chest.
I am so scared. I have no idea what they’re going to do to me. I’m definitely going to be in trouble with my family, and at this point, Wellesley doesn’t even matter, because I’m sure they don’t take felons.
Finally, after what seems like forever but is probably only about fifteen minutes, the door to the room bursts open, and two scary-looking men followed by Adrienne come into the room.
“Shannon Card?” the scariest-looking guy asks.
“Yes,” I say, standing up and holding my hand out. Why oh why am I wearing a sweatshirt and jeans? Definitely not proper attire when you’re trying to convince someone not to arrest you. He shakes it, and even his hand feels scary.
“Rich Benton,” he says. “Head of casino operations.”
“Shannon Card,” I say. I’m about to add “cocktail waitress” but then decide against it, since I don’t work there anymore.
“Sit,” Mr. Benton says, and I sit. So does Adrienne, but as she sits down, she looks at me with a death glare.
“This is Clyde Marris,” Mr. Benton says, “the pit boss you just spoke with.”
I give him a half smile, but Clyde doesn’t smile back.
“Is it true what you just told him?” Mr. Benton asks. “That you entered the National Championship of Poker and that you had been participating in collusion and other activities that are deemed illegal?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “But I wasn’t really … I mean, I didn’t technically do anything. But I was part of the plan, yes.”
“And you do understand, Shannon, that what you did was illegal, and that if we so choose, we could prosecute you to the full extent of the law?”
“Yes,” I whisper again. Visions of myself in a prison-issued orange jumpsuit dance through my head. Actually, I’ll probably end up in juvenile hall. Unless they decide to try me as an adult. I start to feel a little nauseous and I try to take a sip out of my water bottle before I realize there’s no water left.
“Good,” Mr. Benton says. “Now we also need to discuss the issue of your being underage. One of the other tournament participants, a man named Cole Porter, claims you’re only seventeen.” So he did turn me in! He got pissed that I beat him, and so he turned me in, figuring I would never turn them in, because I’d get in trouble, too. Not that I’m surprised. But still.
“Yes,” I say. “That’s true, too.”
He starts to talk again, but my head is spinning so much that I don’t know exactly what he’s saying, but I’m sure there are lots of issues to discuss, and the next thing I know, the whole room is getting a little bit wobbly. “I think,” I say slowly, “that I need some more water.”
I must look like I’m about to keel over, because Adrienne’s eyes get all wide and she says, “Get her some water, she needs some water!” and then Clyde rushes out and comes back a minute later with a bottle of water, and I take a few sips and start to feel better.
“Now,” Mr. Benton says. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I say. “I’m feeling better.”
“We might,” he says, “be willing to overlook your minor status and strike some kind of deal. If you tell us more about the cheating that’s been going on here at the Collosio.”
“The cheating?”
“Yes,” Mr. Benton says. He leans over his desk. “We don’t like cheaters here.”
“Of course not,” I say. “Who likes cheaters?”
“So are you willing to do it?” he asks.
I look at him. “You’re telling me that if I turn in the people who have been cheating, and let you know how they’ve been cheating and what their plan was, we could possibly strike some sort of a deal?”
“Yes,” Mr. Benton says. He leans back in his chair, folds his hands in front of him, and waits for me to talk.
“Um, can I get that in writing?” I ask.
? ? ? ?
On my way out of the office, I see one of the security guards hustling Cole in. Cole gives me a really dirty look as I pass, but I just keep walking. I can’t believe I was hooking up with that guy every single night. Eww.
When I get into the lobby near the tournament area, Robyn, Mackenzie, and Max are all waiting for me.
“Oh my God,” Mackenzie yells, and runs over to me. She grabs me in a huge hug, almost knocking me backward. “Max told us what happened. We were so worried!”
“I know,” I say. Suddenly, I’m exhausted. I don’t know if it’s from lack of sleep, or stress, or both, but all I want to do is curl up and close my eyes.
“So what was going on?” Robyn asks. “We saw Cole getting arrested by the police!”
“That wasn’t the police,” I say. “That was casino security, and they were bringing him in for questioning.”
>
Robyn’s eyes get wide. “Questioning?”
“Yes,” I say. “But he’s in a lot of trouble, and he’s probably going to be arrested.”
“Oh my God!” Mackenzie screams.
“Are you in a lot of trouble?” Robyn asks, biting her lip.
“Sort of,” I say. “I mean, they said they can probably cut me some kind of deal if I tell them everything I know. But I’m going to need a lawyer. And I’m definitely going to need to tell Mom and Dad.”
Robyn nods. “I’ll do it with you,” she says.
“Thanks,” I say. “But I really think I need to do this on my own.”
“I can’t believe you were hooking up with that guy,” Mackenzie says. “He is a complete and total rat bastard.”
“Rat bastard?” And I can’t help it. I burst out laughing.
So does everyone else.
? ? ? ?
Robyn takes her car home, and then Mackenzie takes her car home after I promise to call her later and tell her how everything turns out with my parents.
So then it’s just me and Max, and I’m not ready to go home yet, because it’s too … I don’t know. I feel like I need a little bit of time before I go home to face my parents and deal with everything that goes along with that. It’s four in the morning, and I know that when Robyn gets home without me they are going to be flipping out. So Max takes me to a twenty-four-hour Wendy’s and we order chocolate Frosties and French fries and sit in the parking lot, eating.
“Crazy day, huh?” he says.
“Yeah,” I say. I take a fry and slide it into my mouth. I’m surprised I can eat, but somehow even though during the tournament I was too anxious to be hungry, now I’m suddenly starving and resisting the urge to just shove fries into my mouth.
“You did really great,” he says. He reaches over, takes my hand, and draws little circles on it with his thumb.
“I did?” I say.
“Yeah.”
“But I don’t have money for Wellesley,” I say. “And I don’t have a job.”
“You’ll figure it out,” he says simply.
“How do you know?”
He looks right at me and says, “Because I do.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “I’m …” I turn and stare out the car window, thinking about everything that’s gone down the past couple of months. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have lost myself so much that I got caught up in such bad things? What are my parents going to think when I tell them that I’ve lied to them again? Am I really that bad a judge of character? And if so, how can I know that everything’s going to be all right?
“Hey,” Max says, and he reaches out and pulls my chin toward him. As if he’s reading my mind, he says, “Let me prove it to you.” And then he kisses me, and he tastes like chocolate and French fries and everything good, and just for one second, he’s right. I forget about everything else and pretend it’s all fine.
FROM THE TRANSFER APPLICATION TO WELLESLEY UNIVERSITY, PAGE 4:
Please explain any special circumstances that may help us in reaching a transfer decision. Please include any information you think is applicable to the admissions process.
Last year, my early admission status to Wellesley was revoked when I was put on probation due to illegally gambling at the Collosio Casino in Connecticut. Additionally, my senior-year grades dropped substantially, and these two things made me an unsuitable candidate for Wellesley.
I made some horrible choices during that time and alienated a lot of people close to me. However, I am happy to say that my relationships with my family and friends are now the best they’ve ever been. My parents, while always supportive, are impressed with the way I’ve turned things around and the positive attitude I’ve displayed while at Central Connecticut State University.
My sister and I have never been closer, and I can honestly say she is my best friend.
My friend Mackenzie has been there for me through all the hard times, and she and her boyfriend, Filipe, have been responsible for keeping my spirits up this past year when I was disappointed by not being able to attend Wellesley.
My boyfriend, Max, has been amazing, and just being with him inspires me to be a better person.
Additionally, the friends who colluded with me at the casino have been cut out of my life completely, and their leader, Cole Porter, is currently awaiting trial.
Over this year, I’ve done my best to learn from my parents’ example of integrity and determination (my father, who was laid off last year, recently landed a job at a smaller company, for less money, but is hopeful he will work his way up as the economy gets stronger, and my mother has recently returned to work full-time after a months-long job search so that my sister and I can attend the schools of our choice), and I’ve realized that there are no shortcuts when it comes to achieving the things you want.
And while I’m certainly enjoying my experience here at Central Connecticut State, I am confident that Wellesley is the place for me to really grow and expand to the best of my academic abilities. I am very familiar with Massachusetts (my boyfriend is currently attending Boston College) and with Wellesley in particular (my friend Parvati is a student and sends me frequent e-mail updates filled with details about what a great school it is).
As you can see, my high school grades are impeccable (except for the slipup those months during my senior year), and I’ve maintained a 4.0 average here at Central. I’ve done this while holding a part-time waitressing job to help my parents pay my tuition.
Additionally, my probation ended last year when I turned eighteen, and I have had a clean record ever since.
I am available for an interview at your convenience and very much look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Shannon Card
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by Lauren Barnholdt
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
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Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at [http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers] www.randomhouse.com/teachers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89583-8
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v3.0
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Copyright
Aces Up Page 20
