Old Maid is a simple card game: leave a single Joker in the deck, then both sides draw from each other's hands. Whenever you make a pair, you discard it. Whoever still holds the Joker at the end loses.
This was a project custom-picked by Class D—or rather, by Matsushita—because it's one of her rare ways to relax. Before coming to ANHS, after a long day of classes, it was the one casual family game she'd play at home.
When it came time for the commander to choose who would play, Matsushita finally asked her best friend Karuizawa through the earpiece. "Kei, is it okay?"
Karuizawa's expression turned complicated. Truthfully, she didn't want to go up—ideally, she wouldn't participate in any event. She knew all too well how messy this could get: winning would be fine, but if she lost—and lost the tiebreaker at that—her status in class would inevitably take a hit.
Precisely because of that, Matsushita didn't immediately send Karuizawa in. She chose to ask first.
Taking all that into account, Karuizawa's first instinct was to refuse. But… she wasn't the same as before. Thinking of how much had changed these past months, and of the help Yukio had given her, did she still need to cling so tightly to "class status"?
Caring about status wasn't wrong—it made day-to-day life in class smoother. But status wasn't everything.
The old Karuizawa valued status above all else because it was the only talisman that guaranteed she wouldn't be bullied again—an unprecedented shield.
Now, things were different. Even if she lost her current status, Karuizawa was confident she wouldn't be pushed around anymore.
Most importantly, Karuizawa's left hand rose subconsciously to her lower left abdomen—where the knife scar was. Thanks to Yukio's birthday gift, it was fading by the day.
She turned her chin slightly and glanced back at Yukio. Maybe it was a girl's stubbornness? Maybe it was the thrill of the spotlight? Whatever the reason, she really, really wanted to show off just once in front of him—just this once.
"Matsushita." Karuizawa lifted her hand from her abdomen to her earpiece. "I'll do it."
"Great. I'll guide you the whole way—there won't be any problem, Kei!" Matsushita was thrilled, finally clicking to select Karuizawa for the match.
She was so confident because of how this Old Maid event was configured: the commander was allowed to intervene throughout the game, giving full guidance. By the same token, Ichinose could guide her own player the whole time—but it was entirely possible she wasn't as good at Old Maid, right?
With that thought, the final event began.
Karuizawa walked to the table the judge had brought over, facing Chihiro Shiranami—another of Ichinose's close friends.
The judge opened a fresh deck, removed the Big Joker and the ad cards, shuffled thoroughly, then dealt to both.
Karuizawa's slender fingertips hovered slowly over the cards in Shiranami's hand. Watching the monitor, Matsushita focused on Shiranami's micro expressions. When she noticed that Shiranami's look wasn't quite right, she held her tongue.
Only when Shiranami's expression settled into neutrality did she speak. "You can draw that one, Kei."
Karuizawa decisively drew the Three of Diamonds and discarded a pair from her hand.
Ichinose picked up on it at once. "So that's how it is. Even if the commander can intervene throughout, we aren't the ones actually looking at the cards. The person holding the hand—her eyes, her face—will inevitably give something away."
"Then, Chihiro, let's take that one—the ninth card from the left."
Early on in Old Maid, the Joker would sometimes change hands, but mostly normal cards were paired off and discarded.
After about twenty minutes of back-and-forth, both players' hands were down to just a few cards. With her eye for detail and a bit of luck, Matsushita guided Karuizawa around the Joker, keeping her alive until she had only the King of Spades left!
Shiranami, on the other hand, had the Joker and the Club King—one of which would be drawn. If Karuizawa drew the King, she'd lose; if she drew the Joker, there'd still be a chance.
Shiranami was extremely tense, sweat beading on her forehead. She couldn't lose here—losing now would make a mockery of everyone's effort over the last six events!
With that on her mind, Shiranami simply shut her eyes tight. She squeezed them so hard her brow knotted, her expression twisting in a subtle grimace.
That stumped Matsushita, who had been reading Shiranami's microexpressions to avoid the Joker. With the eyes closed, there was nothing to read.
"Chiaki, what do I do?" Karuizawa felt the pressure too. She had a slight edge, but if she drew wrong now, that slight edge would turn into a huge disadvantage.
She dared not move rashly and asked which card to take…
"I—I…" Matsushita hesitated a moment. With no expression to read, she could only fall back on psychology. "It should be the card on Shiranami's left. You and she are both right-handed, and you're sitting face-to-face."
"So, from an ordinary person's instinct, she'll likely place the Joker where it's convenient for your right hand to draw it—in other words, the card on her left. Which means the other card, the King, should be on her right."
"Got it." Hearing this, Karuizawa knew she could only try. Taking a long breath, she drew the card on Shiranami's right—the Joker!
Feeling the change in her hand, Shiranami hurriedly opened her eyes. Seeing that only the Club King remained, she exhaled in relief.
Now it was Karuizawa's turn to sweat, watching Shiranami's hand reach toward her cards. Anxiety churned, her heartbeat climbing. It was as if her heart and her brow were linked—each beat squeezed out a new sheen of sweat. Nerve-wracking!
Ichinose, too, finally relaxed a little. On closer observation, she noticed Karuizawa repeatedly sneaking glances at the card on her left. She immediately directed Shiranami. "Take the card on Karuizawa-san's right!"
Shiranami was about to draw the King of Spades!
No—how could she lose in front of Yukio? At that moment, it was as if Karuizawa couldn't even hear Matsushita in the earpiece. Her mind was filled with one fierce refusal.
Whatever happened, she absolutely would not make a fool of herself in front of him! It felt like the sports festival all over again, when she dodged that punch—the idea flashed through her mind like lightning: a quick little trick.
In the split second of crisis, she began rapidly swapping the positions of the King and the Joker, left-right, left-right, so fast that Shiranami froze for an instant, completely unsure which one to take.
You can do that?!
Shiranami froze, Ichinose gaped, and Matsushita actually leapt out of the commander's chair. "Kei! That was brilliant!"
Karuizawa couldn't spare a thought for what Matsushita was saying. She kept shuffling the two cards' positions in her hands without pause—then, with a flash of inspiration, clapped both cards down on the table, face down.
Now she could swap them even faster and more freely from left to right. Come on then—pure luck! If she still lost after this, she'd accept it!
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