Game Rules

 

Game Rules

               The phone rang. “Do you want to play a game?” asked a robotic voice on the other end of the line.

               “Knock it off Julian!” I was tired of hearing that voice every time I answered his calls.

               His voice returned to normal. “What say you?”

               “What kind of game?” His games were usually a little bizarre and I never really understood them, so I was always leery of agreeing to play.

               “Just meet me by the tower in ten minutes. You won’t regret it.”

               “I already do.” I hung up the phone, grabbed my jacket, and headed out the door.

               The tower he was referring to was nothing more than a pile of sticks and rocks we had piled up as kids in the forest between our houses. It was only a five minute walk from my house so I was a little early, but he was already there waiting.

               “Took you long enough!”

               I looked at him, a little miffed.

               “Here’s the rule book. Look it over and tell me what you think.” He handed me a thick stack of papers.

               I quickly flipped to the back page. “There are 52 pages here! I am not going to read this.”

               “Fine, I’ll sum it up for you.”

               He droned on for half an hour telling me the complicated structure and rules to this so-called game of his. I pretended to listen, but was nodding off, so I started counting the petals on the flower next to me, counting the number and identifying the types of footprints embedded in the dirt around us, and watched a large beetle scurry past my feet into the grass.

               “Now, do you have any questions?”

               Startled back to reality, I looked at him with crooked smile, that I hoped didn’t convey my confusion. “Not at all,” I told him. “However, it’s getting rather dark. I’m not sure there will be enough light to finish the game. Can we play tomorrow?”

               He huffed and looked up at the sky. “I guess. But you have to be here by 9:00 ok?”

               “9:00.” I grabbed his stack of papers off the rock I had set them on and turned towards home. I guessed I’d be skimming this mess of a rule book after all.