Before we finalize things, Bree has a question. “What if someone says or does something mean? Can we take one of their points away?”
Mom looks around. “You’re the ones playing the game, so you can decide. What do you all think?”
After several more minutes of debate, we all conclude that the game will only be fair if we are able to take away points for unkindness. To do this, we’ll use the second page of our notebooks as a scorecard for others’ negative points, which will be subtracted from that person’s total at the end of each week.
The final question, also from Bree, is, “Can we start now…because I’m totally going to rock at this.”
Mom checks her watch. “Let’s just eat first,” she suggests. “As soon as the last person is done, we’ll start.”
Ten minutes later, with a mouthful of noodles, Ann asks me why I’m staring at her.
How can she not know? “I’m waiting for you to take your last bite.”
“Oh, right. That.”
Bree is already rinsing her dishes in the sink. She can’t hear us over the sound of the water. “That what?”
“The game,” I shout back. “The one I’m gonna win.”
“Like heck you are,” she fires back with a grin. “I have a plan. You might as well not even try, because I’m gonna kick all your butts.”
Mom is still sitting at the table. “Don’t say ‘butts,’ Breezy.”
Bree rolls her eyes.
“You’re both playing for second place.” Ann is chewing on another big bite of spaghetti, so her words come out all squishy and garbled. “I have a plan too.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re all so keen on winning,” says Mom. “You guys about ready to start?”
Ann swallows her last bite. “Ready or not.”
First we have to clear the table, but then Mom hands out the notebooks and pens. “OK. On your mark…get set…The Bennett children Winner’s Game has officially begun!”
“Ann, you’re the best sister ever,” I blurt out as fast as I can, then quickly strike a check mark in my notebook.
“Thank you, Cade,” she replies politely.
“You’re also really pretty,” Bree tells Ann, though it is obvious she doesn’t mean it.
“Thank you.”
“Bree, you’re the best sister too,” I gush. Check mark! “And you’re…um, pretty, I guess.” Another check mark!
Bree gives me her “you’re an idiot” look. “You ‘guess’? That’s not very nice.” She flips to the second page of her spiral pad and announces, “That’s one point for me, and one point against you. Wait, two points against you, because you also told Ann she was the best sister ever, so you must’ve lied to me. Ha! You’re losing points faster than you’re gaining them, little brother!”
“Well, taking points away from me is mean, so I’m taking two points away from you for taking two points away from me!” I quickly mark two negative points next to Bree’s name on the second page of my notebook. “Now we’re even.”
“Heck no!” hisses Bree. “If it’s mean for me, it’s mean for you too, so another two points against you, plus one more for raising your voice.” She turns to Ann before I can reply. “Now, to gain back the points that Tweedle-Dumb took away…Ann, you have great hair, I really like your outfit today, and I don’t like to admit it, but you’re really smart.”
Ann smiles. “Thank you, thank you, and thank you.”
I need some quick points too. “Ann, I’m glad you got your braces off last year. You look much better without them.”
“Thanks, Cade, that means a lot to me.”
“And,” I continue before Bree can say anything else, “you’re a great swimmer. I always liked watching your meets, back before…well, you know. And I’ll be really happy once you get a new heart, because you’re really nice and stuff and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Awww, thanks, Bud.”
I mark a few more points for myself, figuring that’s probably enough to get me back to zero. “Oh, and Bree, that’s three more points against you for taking my three points, and minus another one for yelling, and one more for calling me dumb.”
“I said Tweedle-Dumb,” she growls. “And the way you’re acting now, you’re proving my point.”
“Fine,” I tell her. “Minus another one.”
Bree and I go back and forth for several more minutes, each of us taking away more points from the other in a never-ending circle of meanness. Once in a while we stop to give Ann a compliment, but we are both bleeding “kindness points” quickly. The math is getting fuzzy, because I don’t know exactly how many points Bree has taken from my total, but based on the number of marks next to her name in my notebook, I’m guessing we’re both nearing fifty points in the hole.