Alkalians

by Caleb S. Bugai

  Rose, blushing slightly for the moment, says, “Well, most of it’s just common knowledge, nothing to praise over.”

  The two sit there for an awkward moment, neither one sure of whether to keep the conversation going or head off to bed, until an idea comes to Matt while he is glancing over Rose’s figure. “Hey, Rose?”

  “Yes?”

  “Um, I know we’ve only been here a few days, but I was wondering if you, being a, uh, woman, also, may have heard some things about her. Do you know anything about Amelia? Amelia Rotin?”

  A bit startled by the question and its subject, Rose delays in response. “Uh, well, yeah, I suppose. She’s a senior, and, um, second-in-command of Lyn’s associates. But you probably already knew that.”

  “Yeah, I did. What else have you heard about her?”

  Her expression showing she doesn’t want to, Rose sighs and tells him, “Well, these are only rumors I’ve heard, just rumors. But, it seems Amelia has a reputation here at the college, kind of like the boss students. Except, she’s not a boss student. She’s a different kind of student.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Ugh, Matt, I’m only telling you this - and this is only what I’ve heard - because I’m concerned for you if you’re going to be around her and Lyn’s other girls. You see, she’s apparently promiscuous.”

  “…Sorry?”

  “Oh, how do I put this plainly? She, she likes to sleep around with other men.”

  It takes a moment for Matt to register what Rose is trying to say, and then he gets a stunned look on his face. “Oh! Uh, wow, do you think that would be true?”

  “I don’t know, Matt, and I really don’t want to know. All I can say, like Sean said, is you should be careful around her, Lyn, and the other girls. Just don’t get into something with them you don’t understand or can’t control.”

  “Yeah. I’ll be careful around them.” Matt yawns. “Well, we should probably be getting to bed.”

  “Agreed.” After standing up, Rose watches curiously when Matt reaches over to the night stand by his bed and grabs a small container of pills. “What are those?”

  “Oh, this is my medicine. It’s a prescription I have to take before I go to sleep. It supposedly keeps me asleep for the night. I’ve had it ever since I was a young kid; I can’t remember a time when I didn’t take it.”

  “Ah, okay.” Rose starts out the door, and calls back, “Good night, Matt.”

  “Good night, Rose,” he returns. She leaves for her room, and Matt pops a pill into his mouth, swallows, and lies down in the covers. After a deep sigh, he’s asleep, his last thoughts about his difficult predicament of being a Dark Warrior, and Amelia.

  ***

  As the school week leads into the weekend, two full days without study hours, Matt and Rose, after all the work they had done, want to rest until the next busy week to come. However, Sean has other plans. After begging and enticing them, he convinces them to join him at a special place on the college grounds, a place where, according to him, all the students go to party and enjoy themselves at night. The three head for a large building about a mile away from the college complex, dazzled with glowing lights and right next to a river. In the bleak darkness before the building’s lights, they pass many other students from different class levels flocking towards it.

  When Matt, Rose, and Sean enter through large shining doors, Sean announces, “Matt and Rose, welcome to the Alkalian College Casino!”

  Matt and Rose gasp at the sight before them. The entrance hall of the building is vast and magnificent, its background gold and glittered with lights and jewels. A majestic waterfall takes up the center of the palace-like room, and to its sides are smaller hallways that lead in different directions deeper into the building. Many people are spread out in the entrance hall, and several more are moving in and out of the hallways. This many people in one area is a shock to Matt and Rose as they had been so busy they forgot there are so many students on campus.

  “Wow,” Rose says, still mesmerized by the beauty and size of the building. “So, this is a casino?”

  “Yep,” answers Sean, “and it’s been rated one of the best in the world. Plus, it’s for students only! This is also where…” Sean pulls up a large suitcase he had dragged with him from the cabin, and as Matt and Rose wonder what it’s for he opens it and reveals a stash of red, blue, green, and yellow coins. “One can make some money!”

  After looking it over a few times, Rose tells him, “That’s a lot of marcs. May I ask how you get it here?”

  “Oh, we’ll get to that eventually,” replies Sean, closing the suitcase back up. “But first, I will give you two a tour of the place, so you won’t be lost like the rest of the freshmen.”

  Sean leads Matt and Rose through the immense building, giving them a scenic and descriptive tour. They first go through the far right hall into another large room, humid and tropic. A large circular pool is set in the center of the room, deep and wide, and surrounding it are several spots filled with hot spring bathes or tanning machines one can lay under and get a tan. Taking in the scene of water and numerous people in various kinds of swimsuits playing or lounging in it, Matt and Rose are speechless as Sean explains, “This is the pool room of the casino. You’ve got the big pool in the middle for swimming, the hot tubs for a relaxing, warm dip, and the tanning booths for getting some darker skin, if so desired.” Then pointing to two doors at the far end of the room, he says, “And those doors lead to the changing rooms, one for men and the other for women. There are also exits leading outside from them.”

  While Matt has a hard time taking his wide eyes off all the women in swimwear throughout the room, Rose says, “Wow, this place is beautiful!”

  “Hehe, you like?” Sean asks.

  “Oh yes, very. This could be just the place I can go to get away and relax from my studies!”

  “Well then, I’m glad I could help you find an outlet for your stress!” Then snapping his fingers, Sean says, “Oh hey, wanna know something interesting about this place?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Guess where the water for the pools comes from.”

  “…Uh, an underground reservoir, where it usually comes from?”

  “Pff, no, silly girl! But I’ll give you a hint. Did you see the river alongside the building on the way here?”

  “…Oh, the river!?”

  “Yes, the river, my dear! The story goes that, when they were looking for a place to build the casino, they chose by the river for two reasons. One, they could extract and filter the water for constant, fresh water in the pools, and two, the running current of the water could be harnessed to provide the whole casino with unlimited power! Pretty clever, eh?”

  “Yeah, that is smart thinking. It’s resourceful and nature-friendly.”

  “Exactly, Rose. And so, the river was able to kill two birds with one stone, as they say!” Turning to Matt, Sean asks him, “What do you think, Matt?”

  A few seconds go by before Matt realizes Sean and Rose are looking at him, expecting an answer, and he stammers, “Oh, uh, it’s nice!”

  “Right. Moving on!” Sean takes the group through a doorway in the wall to another big room. Unlike the pool room, which had been bright, humid, and relatively quiet, this one is dark with flashing lights, has a distinct chill in the air, and is loud with music blaring from speakers in the darkness. He says, “And this is the dance hall of the casino, also-known-as, where the party’s at!”

  While Matt and Rose’s eyes adapt to the darkness and neon lights obscuring their sight, Sean points about the room and introduces its features. “Smack in the middle of the room, you can see the actual dance floor, where a lot of students just get out and dance to the music. And may I say, things can get pretty wild out there!” Then pointing off to their right along the wall, he says as he motions them to follow, “And this is the bar for the dance room. You can order drinks of alcoholic or non-alcoholic nature here, and then gulp them down rig
ht here or attempt to make your way around the dancing to the booths on the far wall.” Snapping his fingers at a bar tender behind the corner, he shouts to him over the noise, “Yo, Carlos, Raiguera, with some black spice and a shot of vodka!”

  “Coming right up, Ace!” the bar tender replies while his quick hands work below the counter. Rose looks to Sean and asks, “Raiguera, and ‘Ace’?”

  “Ah, yes, I must explain. Raiguera is this special kind of drink they serve here in the casino. It looks like an alcoholic drink, smells like one, and even tastes like one, but it’s not one! See, it’s brewed from the leaves of the raiguera plant, hence its name, and has the similar short-term effects of alcohol – the warm sensations and a buzz of energy and high spirits – but it lacks the long-term effects of drunkenness, so it’s a very popular drink for those who don’t want to drink heavily. The black spice and vodka, however, is my way of giving it a little more taste and kick.

  “And as for him calling me Ace, well, let’s just say I’ve got my own kind of reputation around these parts, but I’ll tell you guys more about that shortly.” A tall glass of a pinkish liquid is set on the counter next to him, to which he exclaims, “Ah hah, gracias, amigo!” while putting a few coins from his coat pocket into Carlos’ hand before taking a swig from the glass. He declares with a grin, “Wooh, excellent as always!” Glancing to Matt, he asks him, “You getting all this, Matt?”

  Again, Matt is slow to respond as he stares at certain female figures amid the dancing bodies on the floor, and he jumps a little when Sean taps him on the shoulder. “Oh, yeah, I got it.”

  “Great! Okay, this way people, and stay close, ya don’t wanna get lost in here!” Staying close to the walls, Sean leads Matt and Rose past the dancing mob to the other side of the room and through another doorway, where they come into a much bigger, brighter, yet just as busy and noisy, room than the last. As Matt and Rose marvel at the scene before them, Sean says, “Now this is the place where one can gain, or lose, an entire fortune in one night. This is the gambling hall of the casino, the main attraction to all the students!”

  With his one hand still carrying the suitcase, he gestures about with his other hand that holds his Raiguera drink. “As you can see, there are multiple stations throughout the hall for different games of chance. You have the card tables, which feature games like poker and blackjack. There are also the roulette tables, where one bets on what number or color the ball will land in the spinning wheel. Then, perhaps the most popular aspect of gambling here, would be the dice-throwing, or more commonly called ‘crap-shooting’, tables, where all you gotta do is roll the dice and hope to show the favored results.”

  After taking another swig of his drink, Sean brings the group over to the far left of the hall, to one of the tables he mentioned was for the dice games. Setting his suitcase down, he approaches the table and people crowded around it. “Good evening, guys and dolls! Anyone care if I take a toss or two?”

  The ladies smile at Sean’s arrival, the men groan or shrug, and the table worker nods and says, “Very well, sir. The dice is yours.” He tosses a pair of dice across the table to Sean’s waiting free hand, where he shakes them in his fist. “Okie dokie. Let luck be a lady tonight!” He then rolls the dice across the table with a flick of his wrist, and everyone’s eyes watch as they land to show three and four dots, respectively. The worker announces, “Seven, a winner!” and the ladies cheer for Sean as he grins and sips some of his drink.

  One of the men who was grumbling off to the side suddenly steps up, pointing a finger at Sean and saying, “Okay, wise guy, you think you’re so cool because of some luck at these games? I challenge you to a roll-off!”

  As everyone looks to the upset challenger, Sean shrugs and says, “Very well, ol’ chap. As the challenger, you may roll first.”

  Glaring back at Sean’s smug expression, the guy takes another pair of dice from the worker and throws them across the table, landing a five and six and causing the others to gasp. “Hah,” he exclaims, “eleven. Let’s see you beat that!”

  “Hmm, those are big odds to beat, I will admit.” Shaking his dice nonchalantly in his hand, Sean tells the ladies near him with a wink, “Yes sir, that would put a lot of pressure on somebody. But you know what they say, under immense pressure, a lump of coal becomes a diamond!” He then tosses the dice, and they stop at the center of the table, each showing only one dot.

  Upon seeing the low number, the other man sneers and says, “Hah, would you look at that? Snake eyes! You lose, Ace!” But then, the worker next to him taps his shoulder and tells him, “Actually, sir, in a duel of dice, snake eyes beats any other combination save for seven.” Fidgeting, he growls out, “Oh, whatever! At least I didn’t lose any money to this cheating snake!”

  “Ah, true, you didn’t lose any money,” Sean remarks. “But you did lose your pride!” He and the others at the table explode into laughter while the loser slinks off amidst the crowd throughout the hall, before he turns to Rose, who asks him, “Care to explain a few things about what just happened?”

  “Why, of course, my sweet and caring roommate! Where shall I start?”

  “Well, how about why you and that other guy didn’t gain or lose any money?”

  “Haha, that’s simple, Rose!” He gestures to the side of the gambling hall they are in. “You see, on this half of the hall, anyone can play the games for free. They need not worry about betting and losing out on their money.” Pointing to the opposite side of the hall, a mirror reflection of the table arrangements of where they are, he says, “On the other half is where you have to put your money on the table to play!”

  “Uh huh. So, why did that guy think he beat you just now? I could have sworn, where I come from, that snake eyes is a bad thing in crap shooting.”

  “Ah hah, but what we just did wasn’t crap shooting! That was a duel with dice, or more simply called a ‘roll-off’. Now, the basic idea is whoever rolls the higher number wins the duel. However, the two combinations that are exempt to this rule are snake eyes, the lowest number you could get, and seven, which is always a winner when it comes to dice!”

  “Oh. Okay, I get it. And, the reason everyone keeps calling you Ace?”

  “Pff, wouldn’t be it obvious by now? As that poor bloke alluded to, I just have this reputation where I always have good luck and fortune in these games of chance, and whoever’s betting against me tends to suddenly find himself broke! And so, as if I am a trump card to whatever else anyone has, people in the casino call me Ace! Ain’t that true, ladies?”

  While the women by Sean giggle and nod and he smirks and drinks down his Raiguera, Rose shakes her head. “You truly are an odd one, Sean.”

  “Hah, and that’s the way I like it!” After gulping down the last of his drink, he waves good-bye to the other girls before saying to Rose and Matt, “Alright, now our last stop for the evening is…” He stops short, however, as he and Rose notice something. “Hey, where did Matt go!?”

  ***

  “What do you say, Matt?”

  Checking his face-down card, Matt looks unsure before he says, “Um, how do you say it? Hit me?”

  “That’s right,” answers Amelia with a smile, directly across the table from him, garbed in a uniform suit like the other workers in the hall except she still doesn’t have an undershirt beneath her vest, which yet shows off much of her cleavage. She deals out a card face-up to him, a queen of thorns. “And what does that give you?”

  Comparing the queen with his face-down card, an ace of bolts, Matt replies, “Uh, if aces can be worth eleven, then, twenty-one?”

  “Very good, Matt! That means you won!”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yes, and here’s your prize.” Reaching into one of her vest pockets, she takes out a hand full of coins and sets them on the table before Matt. “Twenty marcs, on the house.”

  “Oh, wow. Thank you, but, you told me I didn’t have to bet any money, so why…?”

  “Don’t worry
about it, Matt. Let’s just say you earned it with your beginner’s luck.” After Amelia winks at him, a baffled Matt hears from behind him, “Yo, Matt, there you are!” and turns to find Sean and Rose hurrying over to him. “Jeez, Matt, next time you’re gonna wander off like that, let me or Rose know, okay?”

  “Oh, sorry, guys,” Matt apologizes while pocketing the marcs Amelia gave him. “I just saw Amelia over here, and thought I’d say hello. Did you know she works here at the casino on the weekends?”

  “Hehe, yeah, how silly of me to forget to mention that.” Then taking Matt by the arm, he throws out to Amelia while tugging him away, “Sorry if he caused you any trouble, my dear. The poor guy’s like a lost puppy, you know?”

  “Oh, he was no trouble,” Amelia assures them. “In fact, he was a relief. As soon as he started walking over here, all the men crowded around me scattered like dust in the wind.”

  “Ah, in that case, we’re glad he helped!” While Amelia waves good-bye to them, and Rose casts a wary glance over her shoulder back at her, Sean then growls to Matt as he leads them through the hall, “What’s the matter with you, man, are you trying to cause a scene already?”

  “Wha-what do you mean, Sean? Is it wrong to just say hello to her and let her teach me how to play blackjack, at her offer?”

  “Well, no, but, do you know what could have happened if, if, doh, never mind! The tour must go on!” They pass through another doorway, and find themselves in a room unlike the first three. As it is dark, yet loud, like the dance room, it is also as big as the gambling hall, and there is a large group of people gathered around something in the center of the room, looking and cheering at something below them. As she and Matt are confused by the atmosphere of the room, Rose asks, “What room is this?”

  “Here,” says Sean, “is another place where a student can make or break. The Casino Pit Battle Arena!” Motioning with the empty glass in his hand, he points out where the students are gathered. “There’s a shining pit in the center of the room, deep-and-wide, which serves two purposes. Provide a battle field for competitors, and contain the pot of money from bets.”