> Winning a major poker tournament is like taking a rocket ship to the top of the poker world. There, at the height of a champion, so many new things enter your reach: fame, status, and of course, can't forget that sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet prize money...It's sweet.

Beating people down is tiring. The harder you hit, the faster you get winded. That's why heavyweights have the worst endurance. Just now, sunglasses took a hell of a thrashing. Joey played an hour longer, but between the tournament and the cash game, he was already starting to feel exhausted. Knowing his limits, he got up and cashed out.

Out of the corner of his eye, Joey noticed a streak of blue. He turned only to see Ellie looking at him. Caught once again, she quickly looked away. He was amused and went over to her table. When she wasn't in a hand, he got her attention. "Coffee?" he asked. Slightly blushing, Ellie just nodded and soon got up. A few of the players at her table didn't look very happy.

'Where does this bastard think he's taking my future wife?'

'I've intentionally lost a few pots to this beauty just so she starts to like me. Was it all for nothing?'

'Don't go too far punk...I will MURDER you.'

Joey noticed these glances and lightly chucked. 'It seems she's popular.' They walked to a nearby coffee place within the casino and sat down, ordering with the waitress.

Joey watched Ellie drink her latte, accidentally getting foam on her nose. He wondered just how this ditzy little elf ever found her way into this dangerous underground poker scene. "Ellie, I haven't seen too many girls playing poker...How'd you get into it?"

Ellie tried to get the foam off with her tongue but it didn't reach. Disappointed, she ultimately succumbed to using a tissue. "When I came here, I didn't know how to play. Luckily, I was staying with Amy. She started dealing around then and told me that anyone could play in the freeroll at Pocket Rockets. I didn't have a job, so I went and somehow finished 3rd, winning some money. After that, I just started playing regularly."

Joey didn't expect Amy and her were so close. "How did you know Amy?" he asked.

"We were friends from summer music camp in high school. When I told her I was coming to New York, she almost forced me to agree to stay with her. She's been...really good to me." Ellie looked at her drink as she recalled the memory, her heart warming up to match the heat of the cup.

"Somehow I find it hard to imagine Amy playing a musical instrument."

"She's amazing! She's the best accordion player I've ever met." Ellie eagerly boasted about her friend.

"Have you met another accordion player?"

...

"What about you? You never told me about your hobbies. Just...the one." Ellie blushed as she looked down, spinning her spoon around.

He grinned. "Nowadays, poker is taking up a lot of my time, and I like that. Before, I wasn't involved in many things. My father...he said most of the things others my age did were foolish. 'Complete waste of time' were his exact words. Let's just say it's not easy to make friends when your dad often says that out loud in front of others." Joey snorted.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"I understand what that's like. Besides for Amy during the summers, I didn't really have any other close friends growing up. My parents always had me on a schedule. I think it made others see me as cold and distant." Admitting that, Ellie was slightly embarrassed.

"An eccentric, weirdo cutie like you? Which Summer camp banjo player wouldn't want to befriend you?"

"I'm not weird!" Ellie yelled while giggling. "Actually, I dyed my hair blue, got my nose pierced and everything, only when I moved to New York. Before that, I was just boring. You wouldn't have even recognized me..."

"Your hair's blue? Damn, I'm color blind. Why didn't you warn me? My family's strict about dating within the species. I guess our fairy tale romance is over..." Joey shook his head and sighed.

Ellie couldn't help but giggle stupidly at that. Some of these feelings she's had the past couple of days, she's never felt them before. That unknown made her excited.

"So, why did you make all the changes when you came here?" Joey asked.

Ellie sighed. "I needed a fresh start. I wanted to push myself to be more outgoing, to go after what I really wanted to do."

Joey drank his coffee. "And what do you want to do?"

"...I don't know yet. I guess I'm also trying to find out."

Joey said, "I get that. We're all looking for something, right?" He lightly smiled. "Will you come here next weekend?"

Ellie replied, "Probably not next weekend, but I'll definitely come a few times before the New York Poker Championships."

Joey's ears perked up. "What's that?"

Ellie became slightly eager. "It's the biggest yearly state tournament in New York, here at Splitting Stone. The main event is $1000 buy-in, there are usually over 100 people so the prize pool gets pretty big. Winning not only has bragging rights, but it's like a gateway to the big leagues. It's why I've been practicing tournaments lately."

"Big leagues?"

"Yea, the bigger tournaments, in cities like Las Vegas. If you can get a top result in a tournament like the NYPC, your bankroll would be big enough to play at the national level tournaments. I play 10-20 but I can't play those. Tournaments have much bigger swings than cash games, so you need a much larger bankroll to play at the same buy-in level."

'New York Poker Championships...' Unknowingly, Joey clenched his fists. "When is the NYPC?" he questioned.

"Early March. Are you...also going to come here again?"

Joey showed a lopsided smirk. "Of course, how could I not? I'm your good luck charm after all. You need me."

*Pfft* "Who made you my good luck charm?"

"Look, I don't make the rules. I just enforce them. It is what it is."

"Haha!" They talked for a little while longer and then went back to the poker room. Ellie got back into her game and Joey went upstairs to take a nap.

'God, even flirting is tiring when I use my ability. This is crazy...' Joey thought as he rubbed his temples. He complained about a problem others could only wish they had. When he got to his room, time stopped and naptime started.

...

He woke up to the sound of Anwar shadow boxing in the corner of their room. Rubbing his eyes, he asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

*Phoo* *Phoo*

"Amy told me to do 2 rounds," Anwar answered between punches.

"What are you even training for?"

*Phoo*

"...She hasn't told me yet."

...

"Bro...escape." Joey shook his head. This guy was whipped worse than a sled dog.

After Anwar finished his training, he told Joey that everyone else agreed to meet in the lobby and check out from the hotel in 30 minutes. They would drive back, trying to get home at a reasonable time. Some of them had things to do Monday morning. The poker rates for the rooms were really cheap, enough that it was worth splitting Sunday between two people just so they had a place to rest during the day.

Joey went over to the window and opened the shades. He looked out at the view from this high floor. It was the black of night, the darkness completely engulfing all existence, past and present. Everything below was gone, taken away, and into that giant space he gazed, endless possibility filling the void.

'So it's here...The New York Poker Championships.' Joey's eyes shined, threatening to penetrate that darkness.

He saw it, that eventually, one dawn, the light would come, pridefully displaying a brand new world.