In every poker game, as in life, there are a few crucial moments where a man's cards don't matter. That's the time to put hesitation aside, take a stand, and make a play.

The next day passed at a strange pace. Joey couldn’t tell if the classes were unimaginative or if his brain was over-imaginative. He couldn’t stop thinking about that hand he played the night before.

He experienced something incredible for the first time. It was like he knew what was going to happen from the first moment he sat down, as if he was an observer outside the scene, watching events unfold with everything in his control.

For so long he had felt like a rudderless raft drifting atop the stormy sea of others’ emotions. It was pure helplessness. He’d long given up struggling with his internal anarchy, opting instead to shut off his heart and stay away from people. After all, emotions can’t overheat you within the frozen cave of isolation. It was lonesome, but better than the alternative.

Yesterday was different. It was like he could focus all the chaos into one channel for the first time. Limited conditions, limited variables, one solitary goal—victory. Everything was clear and calm.

He spent the day wandering lost in thought, his consciousness alternating between the school halls and the recesses of his mind. In moments of clarity, he wondered if others even noticed he was there. Joey was too easy to ignore.

He wasn’t ugly, but not handsome: short brown hair, dark eyes, average build. If you included his low sense of presence cultivated from seclusion, it wasn’t a surprise if others gazed through him.

At some point, he awakened from his stupor. He found himself walking past the school cafeteria. ‘Oh, it’s lunchtime already.’

He glanced inside at all the students as he sighed. He stepped towards the school’s outdoor exit when he heard a familiar voice.

“Joey! Hey, over here!” It was Matt again. Joey pretended he hadn’t heard him and continued marching outside. Then he halted. He heard the furious growl of a ravenous beast awakening from its slumber.

*Grrrrrrggg*

Joey looked down and realized it was his stomach. He hadn’t eaten a proper lunch in days. Then he remembered he still had that 100 dollar bill from yesterday, sitting snug in his pocket.

An empty stomach weighed him down.

‘Should I get myself a proper meal for once?’

‘...But that’ll cost money.’

‘No…look at it as an investment in the energy sector.’

He debated the pros and cons and chose survival through sustenance. He headed back.

The cafeteria in his high school was expansive with many sparse picnic-style lunch tables. In an inner city school like this, many students would eat lunch outside. So it wasn’t very packed.

The entire cafeteria, and indeed the whole school itself, embraced off white hues. Joey always thought it resembled an aging lunatic asylum for the insane in training. For some, it was.

“What’s up?” Joey greeted him as he approached.

“Yo Joey, you remember the game I showed you yesterday? You should understand how to play now right? Jump in. I even brought some casino-style poker chips from home.”

Joey’s eyes flashed when he heard that. That inexplicable sensation he had yesterday was still fresh in his mind...Then he shook his head. He prepared to walk away and get food a grating voice disrupted him.

“If it isn’t the pauper’s corner? I didn’t know they allowed homeless in here.”

A teenager walked up to the empty end of the table. His short blonde hair was so bright it felt like it could give you a sunburn. He was tall with fine facial features, warped at the moment by the sideways smirk dripping off his face.

His name was Craig. He wore the school’s football jersey that players would wear the day before a match as team tradition. Following behind him were several of his friends, clad in matching jerseys.

‘Damn, are these fools rehearsing a teen drama cliche?’ Joey prepared to pull out the popcorn.

“Isn’t this a treat...you boys playing poker? What are you playing for, pennies and cigarette butts?” Craig insulted as his friends broke into laughter. In high school, Craig was considered to be one of the winners: popular, rich, and handsome.

Joey looked down at his clothes, then to those of Matt and the others, and couldn’t deny that they indeed came from humble backgrounds. ‘He’s got a good eye for detail.’ Joey nodded his head in appreciation.

Out of nowhere, a swirl of negative aggressive feelings started to ferment in Joey's chest.

‘Ugh, this is why I stay away from things like this.’ He was preparing to walk away when someone interrupted him again.

“Hey Fiore, you deaf?!? I asked you a question!” Craig snarled.

“What?” Joey responded.

“Do you play poker or are you too busy shining shoes?”

“...I wasn’t playing, just here to eat. You and your fruity backup dancers can relax. I’m out.” Joey answered as he turned around.

Craig and his friends exchanged confused glances for several moments. Craig brushed it off and continued, “Haha yea...that’s for the best. You need money to play this game. You’re better off getting your shine box,” he jeered as his friends chuckled again.

Craig proceeded to take out a wad of 20s from his pocket and slammed it on the table. “Alright which one of you bums wants to play some real poker?!? Let me know if you need a couple of minutes to pool your pennies together.”

Joey knitted his eyebrows. This wasn’t the first time someone like Craig insulted him.. His usual response was to shrug it off, consoling himself that it wasn’t worth escalating things.

Yet today, no matter how many times he urged his feet, they wouldn’t move.

Something was different. He looked down and felt like the 100 in his pocket was burning a hole in it. He had an idea. 

He cleared his head for a moment and closed his eyes. A few moments later, he opened them, showing a face that radiated confidence. He knew what he had to do.

‘I see. I’ve been taking it too easy. I should’ve understood by now this world won’t give me anything. If I want something, I’ll need to seize it with my own hands...even if I have to rip it away from others!’

*Slam!*

Craig was mocking Matt and the others when he was jolted back by a loud sound near his head. He looked to the side and saw an extended arm posted on the table, covering a crumpled 100 dollar bill.

“You wanted to play, let’s play!” Joey declared.