Despicable by Timothy Bryan

Author:Timothy Bryan [Bryan, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Timothy Bryan
Published: 2022-03-15T06:00:00+00:00

INSIDE, KALISA STANDS at a crowded roulette table. Surrounded by half-inebriated and wildly gesticulating gamblers, her eyes are alive as she pans them around the table. While arms from fellow players grab chips and point at particular spots, she holds back her own money, avoiding committing herself as the roulette ball spins in a lazy circle. As the crowd waits in anticipatory silence, she watches the ball, trying to gauge its place and potential landing spot.

Reaching forward, Kalisa quickly pushes the whole of her piled wealth on a single bet, the “2nd 12” numbers of the roulette board. She just manages to beat the deadline for placing wagers.

“No more bets,” says the croupier, and he sweeps the waiting group with an indifferent frown and a forbidding hand, just as the ball pings and bounces for a long and torturous moment. “Black seventeen.”

The crowd erupts in raucous applause, and Kalisa pumps her arm in triumph. She takes time hugging the strangers around her, smiling a winner’s smile while a huge stack of fresh chips is pushed next to her.

Later, Kalisa sits at a huge bank of slot machines, and along with the clicking and beeping that accompanies wheels on the huge LCD screens, a two million dollar “Grand Prize” is offered for a perfect combination of flashing diamonds.

Depressed, Kalisa watches the screen with anguished eyes. She raises a lip in disgust, shaking her head at her bad luck and hoping for a comeback. After a couple of more spins, she lowers her eyes and runs her sweaty hands through her hair, wanting to pull it out by the roots.

Leaning at a cozy house bar, Kalisa stands while playing a video poker game at the end of a line of machines. Moving quickly, she slaps at the buttons, chasing the Royal Flush across multiple played hands—but having little luck. Around her, the area is silent, with only the distant beat of pop music offering entertainment to break the mood.

Frustrated, Kalisa takes a shot of vodka with a grimace, then points to the bartender for another. The confused man shakes his head in response, gesturing to a line of several other alcoholic drinks already awaiting her attention.

Kalisa sighs and finally sits at the machine. She continues smacking at the buttons, hoping that slapping the plastic knobs harder will bring a more beneficial result.

Pissed off, Kalisa stretches her arms towards the ceiling in a stretch. When she drops her hands back down, she notices the time on her watch: 3:30 AM. She scowls, trying to concentrate through her booze-induced buzz.

At a blackjack table, Kalisa has a huge pile of ships stacked in front of her, grinning like a contented schoolboy. Strangers stand behind her, egging her on and shouting as the dealer flips a winning hand in her favor.

“Blackjack—winner is paid 3-to-2...again,” says the bespectacled dealer, and his tone says even he doesn’t believe her luck. As he moves more chips in front of Kalisa, her eyes brighten at the colored rows of pink pieces with “$1000” stenciled on their surface.

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