Each player now had 10 cards in their starting hand. Taiga was able to get rid of 4 cards, Hilda and Acco both rid themselves of 6, while Sydell and Cindy only had 2 cards remaining.
Marco sat in the corner, his eyes fixed on Acco. Cogs were turning in the boy's mind.
The order of play had changed; however, it was currently Cindy's turn to choose from Sydell's pair.
"How about you tell me which hand the Old Maid's in, old man? Maybe then I'll start to look at you in the eyes."
Sydell remained silent and stared blankly at his cards.
"Tsk."
Cindy ended up picking the leftmost card, which was unfortunately the Old Maid, not that anyone could tell, as Cindy kept her rage to herself.
'This would be quite the conundrum for anyone but myself. I have a little trick up my sleeve that'll leave everyone gobsmacked!' the boyish girl thought to herself.
"Aww, crap! Of all the cards I had to get, the Old Maid. Thanks for nothing, Sydell!" the girl spoke in an obviously exaggerated tone as she slammed her fist into the desk. "Just my luck..." she said, sinking back into her chair.
'It's called reverse psychology, bitches! Now all you guys think I'm lying, fibbing, putting on an act. You've all been fooled into thinking I don't have the Old Maid. Muhahaha—fools!'
'What an idiot,' everyone except Sydell thought in unison.
'No way she's that braindead. Her shitty acting could be seen through by a blind man on stilts,' thought Taiga.
'She totally has the Old Maid,' thought Acco.
'She couldn't be less like her father,' Hilda thought to herself.
As the rounds commenced, Cindy grew more and more furious that, somehow, everyone was dodging the Old Maid sitting in her hand.
'She's so easy to read,' thought everyone except Sydell in unison.
'Time for plan B!' Cindy's brain had once again begun to whirr.
"Hey guys, wanna know something cool?"
"Go on," entertained Taiga.
"This card right here," she began, lifting the Old Maid from her hand and hiding it from the others.
"Yes?" Acco asked.
"Drum roll, please... Is the Old Maid! That's right, this is the Old Maid right here! In the flesh!"
'That's what we call reverse, reverse psychology. Or maybe just psychology.
'Victory is all but guaranteed!'
With that, Cindy lost the second round of Old Maid.
"Bullshit," she muttered under her breath. "Go on, what's my punishment, Acco?"
"Well, I'm glad you asked—bring in the glowsticks!" With a clap of her hands, an assortment of glowing apparatus fell into the room from the staircase.
"Do you have a team of glowstick throwers on standby at all times or something?" Taiga asked, standing up from his seat.
"Ew! Why is it speaking to me?"
Taiga crashed back into his chair and slumped so far down that he was no longer visible from atop the table.
"So... heartless..." he managed to squeeze out before total emotional collapse.
"Your punishment, Cindy, is that you must dance and cosplay as a pop idol! You have to hit all the moves, without fail, whilst also singing your heart out. Then, and only then, will you be free."
Veins became visible on Cindy's face, but she knew that her fate was set in stone.
"I hope you die a painful death, Acco."
"Kill the lights!" the maroon-haired maid shouted while tossing the glowsticks to everyone in the room. Marco's slipped right out of his hands, while Taiga remained unmoving in his sad, sniffling state in his chair, and Sydell outright refused to take part, instead choosing a trip to the toilet. Eventually, everyone else was ready for the performance.
"How am I supposed to know the lyrics just like that, Acco? Or the dance choreography?"
"I think you'll be just fine," Acco said as she pressed play on a speaker that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
An upbeat tune began playing. It sounded like something out of a children's commercial.
Cindy's face lit up with joy as she began to serenade the group, dancing effortlessly at the same time.
"Go! Go! Go! Choco! Choco! Choco!" she sang.
"Are your mornings looking dry? Looking around and keep wondering why?
"Tilt your head down and see a bowl full of slime? Don't worry, it's choco time!
"Say goodbye to boring bran, grab a spoon and change the plan!"
"Go! Go! Go! Choco! Choco! Choco!"
"Go! Go! Go! Choco! Choco! Choco!"
Taiga was frozen in shock, his mouth gaping towards the spectacle in front of him. It seemed everyone else was not only used to this, but in fact massive fans too.
"Woo-hoo! Oh yeah, Cindy! You tell 'em how good chocolate pillows are! Best cereal on the planet!" he shouted while waving his glowsticks around like a maniac.
Hilda was hitting some classic robotic dance moves, while Acco jumped up and down, covered from head to toe in luminescent material. Sydell was washing his hands, smiling to the sounds from outside.
"Go, go, go! Choco, choco, choco!
Munching fast or munching loco!
Dive right into pillow town,
Turn that morning frown around!"
Everyone had now begun joining in with both the dance routine and the song.
"Go, go, go! Choco, choco, choco!
Get your Choco Pillows now!"
Cindy brought her performance to an end, panting heavily whilst wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"Hey Cindy, how come you knew that song so well?", asked Taiga.
"That song, is from a commercial I watch every single day, for as long as I can remember, I opened my mornings with that video."
After answering, she reached for her cap as she confirmed something with Acco.
"This wasn't recorded, right?" she spoke in between big huffs and puffs.
"Of course no—"
Acco was cut off by the shutter sound effect of her camera, which had been sneakily placed under the table on Sydell's seat.
Cindy immediately pounced at Acco, but was luckily restrained by Marco.
"I'm gonna kill you! Just you wait! When you're sleeping—that's when I'll do you in. Right when you think you're safe. I'll chase you to the ends of the Earth. I'll kill you, Acco!"
"Yeah, yeah, anyways, this is getting shown to everyone in this castle. Maybe I should do a premiere. 'The first performance of soon-to-be legendary pop icon Cindy Cartwell!'"
"It's got a good ring to it," Hilda chimed in.
It was at this time that Sydell re-entered the room, signaling the start of the next round. Cindy was also able to redirect her anger towards her chair, shooting it across the room and placing it next to Marco's chair. She proceeded to stomp her way towards her seat as the round began.
"Erm, actually, before we start, do you mind if I head to the little boy's room as well?" Taiga asked, confused about who to direct his request to.
Sydell signaled behind him at the door to the lavatory, while Hilda gave him a verbal confirmation.
Atop the toilet seat, many thoughts ran through Taiga's mind.
'Finally, some alone time. Wait, that sounded pretty perverted. What I meant was I get a little break from all these extroverted weirdos. Well, I guess Sydell's pretty reserved. Poor guy's in shambles. I wonder who made him that way. Marco's pretty funny, and so is Cindy (when she's not being a bitch). Hilda's really nice; she reminds me of my mother. I wonder who made her that way. Ugh, that Acco girl. Such a pretty face wasted on a crappy personality. No one made her that way, that's for sure. You have to be born with that kind of shitty personality.'
When Taiga entered the toilet, the sound of a door opening from upstairs could be heard.
"Took his time," Acco said, getting up from her seat to greet the new arrival.
"Everyone stay calm," the voice could be heard slowly descending. "Please do not faint within my presence. For I am only a mere mortal, no greater than you commoners."
"Very funny," Cindy critiqued.
"I see the tomboy has a mouth on her today. Fear not, I'll be sure to shut you up—BITCH!"
"Not very prim and proper now, are we..." Marco entered.
The mysterious voice finally entered the room. His golden bedroom slippers first entered the frame, followed by his black silk pajamas, ending with his bright pink hair coming into view.
"Forgive my tardiness, plebians. It is not easy being both a member of Parliament and a member of Tallow—hell, it's not easy being in just one!" he laughed with a forced upper-class laugh.
He was finally able to get everyone to crack; even Sydell let out an exhale which sounded similar to a laugh.
"It's been ages. Where have you been, Jane?" asked Marco whilst hugging his friend.
"Sorry, man. I'll make it up to you by attending every game night till the day I die—how about that?"
"Sounds good, big bro!" Cindy jumped, now back to speaking in her usual soft cadence. "We'll hold you to it!"
"Yes, we will," chimed Acco before hugging the boy. Jane reciprocated the gesture before placing his lips on hers.
"Alright, you two lovebirds, cut it out. There are kids watching."
"Like hell there are, Aunt Hilda! Talk about cock-blocking."
The sound of flushing could be heard in the background.
"Who's that? Did you guys invite Gertrude again? That girl's a total bore."
As Taiga entered the room, his eyes met Jane's.
Taiga's eyes widened.
'You don't love your brother, do you?'
Jane's eyes narrowed.
"What is he doing here?!"
'Would you still love your brother if he was better than you?'
"Hey, big bro, calm down. Sydell wanted him to play for a bit. He didn't take your place or anything. Sure, he has your seat, but that's just because you haven't shown up in months."
"Why is he here?! Playing with all of you?! You think you have the right to even breathe the same air as us?! Get away!" Jane's remarks began to border on the delirious.
"What are you so angry for?!" Taiga shouted back. "You're the one who tortured me! Where do you get off acting mad?!"
"Get away from them! These people... You can't take them too—you can't!", the sound of tires screeching replayed in Jane's mind.
Aunt Hilda attempted to diffuse the situation.
"Jane, Taiga, I think it's best you both leave. Go get some re—"
"Like hell I'm leaving this monster alone with any of you! All of you need to leave now! I'm saying for your sakes!"
"Enough," Sydell began to speak.
"Acco, take Jane back to his room. Hilda, Marco, Cindy, you should all head back too. I don't think anyone wants to play cards in this environment."
"Sorry about that, Taiga. You haven't done anything wrong." Hilda kissed the boy's forehead before heading out alongside Marco and Cindy.
"Sydell, you've got to listen to me. He's not safe," reiterated Jane, Acco clinging tightly to his arm.
Sydell stared back in silence.
"I think we should head back too, Jane," Acco broke the silence. "Sydell is strong enough to hold his own if something were to happen. But I don't think Taiga would do something like that. Where's all this coming from?"
"What, so you don't believe me either?" snapped Jane.
"What? No... It's just... I think we should head back, that's all."
Still oscillating with rage, Jane decided to leave the room, Acco jogging behind him in an attempt to catch up.
Sydell and Taiga were now the only two left in the room, the deck of cards still strewn across the table.
Taiga cleared his throat and began to make his way towards the exit.
'Looks like my time here's up. It was fun while it lasted.'
"Wait, boy," Sydell spoke calmly.
"Our game isn't over."