Sore loser

"So what game are you gonna have them play?" Machi asked.

"Tic-tac-toe," Miércoles replied with a smile.

Everyone shot her a glare. Tic-tac-toe was a solved game, and sadly, one Ivy was more than capable of solving with the one brain cell she had. Unless this sadistic gremlin wanted us to play until the supposed end of the world in a year, I saw no point in her suggestion.

"Ah, y'all think I'm referring to regular old tic-tac-toe? Nah, that shit's been solved. Instead, we're gonna play mental-tic-tac-toe, a game of my own creation. Here, the board is a 4x4 16 square board. You still gotta get 3 in a row, however, you won't be able to see the board, thus you'll need to memorize the positions of your pieces. And before you ask, let me explain how you'll put pieces down."

"Huh? You think I'm too stupid to figure it out on my own? I have a brain cell," Ivy snarled as she attempted to break free.

"You have A brain cell. But Akane's got more, and is the type that would raise a fuss about how things are "unfair" if I don't go over the rules. Soooo, let's begin," Miércoles giggled as she slammed her elbow into my gut, preventing me from escaping. "So the game is played on a 16-square board, and that's the key. Each square, let to right from top to bottom is numbered 1-16. When it's your turn, you'll call out the square you want your piece to be placed on. But... this is all mental. Of course, I'll be writing everything down, but you two won't be able to see the paper. So you'll need to remember where every piece has been placed."

"So what happens if we call out the name of a square that already has a piece occupying it?" I asked.

"Then turn ends, and I don't tell you whose piece is there. That's why this shit is mental. So Akane, or should I say O-kane, you go first and with the Os."

"Okane is my surname."

"Well no shit. Square?"

I clicked my tongue and decided to place my o on square 6. As soon as I said that, Miércoles freed me from her pin, and began scribbling something down on a piece of paper. While I could at least get up, Miércoles had now moved closer to the entrance, preventing any form of escape. Thus, I'd be stuck here until the game was over.

Ivy meanwhile decided to move her x to square 4. That's the corner square if I'm not mistaken. She's making this easy for me. "Square 7!"

"Square 8!"

Shit, there goes that row. Hmm, how else can I get 4 in a row? Maybe... No, first I need to stop Ivy. "Square 12!"

"Square 3!"

Where do we stand? She's called out 3, 4, and 8, so the top right corner and it's adjacent squares. Except for 7, which I claimed, and I also have 6 and 12. The first column is open, and so is the bottom row. Those are the only places left to get four in a row. The problem is that Ivy could catch on, and then the game will end in a draw. So in order to try and trip her up, I'll go to...

"Square 16!"

"Square 2!"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" Miércoles cheered.

"Huh? Um, she didn't get four in a row!"

"And? I said you needed to get THREE in a row, not four. Don't tell me you forgot."

I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster. No, I couldn't have. I'm smart. I'm smart, dammit, so how could I lose to a brutish bitch like Ivy!?

"Ah, guess Akane got no braincells in that soon to be bald skull of hers. And since I won, get me into the CEO shit now," Ivy smirked as Machi was forced to release her.

"Well, you'll want to get comfortable then, sis. The only way you're getting in is with a bald cap, and with your hair, it's gonna take a hot hour and an eternity to not only shove that shit of yours into one, but also make it look natural. In fact, there's a chance doing so might damage your hair to the point where we'd need to shave it off-"

"Oi, Meiru, you tryin' to cheat me outta my winnings?"

Miércoles' expression darkened. I forgot her real name was Meiru, and that she hated being called by it. Leaning in close to my face, she glared at me and held up a pair of hair clippers.

"Akane, you had two chances to win. Two fucking chances and you blew it. I hate you. I had the chance to reduce sis to a hairless sobbing mess, and you blew it. I'm going to make this extra humiliating for you," she snarled.

No, I don't want this to come to be. "BEST TWO OUT OF THREE!" I desperately shouted.

To my surprise, Miércoles agreed to it.

"HUH!? I won, you slut! You're fucking cheating me-"

"It's best two out of three, now you go first," Miércoles huffed as Machi pinned Ivy down once more.

"I'm gonna shave your head and brand it when this is over. Square 1!"

"Square 6!" I shouted.

"Square 2!"

"Square 3!"

"Tch, Square 4!"

Yes, her single brain cell had failed to activate. "Square 9!"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" Miércoles cheered.

"YOU FUCKING CHEATS! I WON ALREADY!" Ivy fumed.

"Final round! Akane?"

"Square 6!"

It was time to right my wrongs.

"SQUARE 7!" Ivy shouted, veins beginning to consume her eyes.

"Square 10!"

"SQUARE 2!"

"Square 14!"

"Ding, ding, ding, the winner is Akane, meaning Ivy's booked for one HUMILIATING bald makeover!" Miércoles cackled as she rushed over to Ivy with clippers in hand.

"YOU FUCKING CHEATS! I WON AND YOU CHEATED ME!" Ivy fumed as Machi mustered all her strength to hold her down.

"Too bad, I want to shave you bald, and I'm sure as hell gonna do it."

"I'll kill you... I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Go ahead. Killing me won't bring back your hair," Miércoles scoffed as she drove the clippers right up the middle of Ivy's hairline.

Rage and tears filled Ivy's eyes as she exploded into a torrent of obscenities. A part of me wanted to watch her get humiliated, but I knew if I stayed, there was a huge risk I'd be caught in her wrath. So I bolted for the moped and rode off, Ivy's screams ringing out behind me. I didn't look back, I just kept going.

But it was once I was back outside that I realized I couldn't return home. Ivy knew where I lived, so my only option was to runaway, and probably change my look. Shit, I remember reading that shaving your head and eyebrows was the most efficient thing to do if you were on the run. Well, maybe if I head straight out of the city limits without stopping, I can make my way to a ferry and get away. Momo, everyone else, sucks to be you, but from the start, I've only cared about me, myself, and I escaping that bitch's wrath, no matter the cost.