That's what I'm Counting On

         

Thorne whined, mimicking the pathetic sound of an impatient conure who had not been let out of its cage for an entire half of an hour.

Cinder was supposed to be having a good day. She had finished up the days documenting three hours earlier than the norm, and had an entire extra hour to herself for the evening. She had planned on sitting back to watch a net documentary, read a book, or even get an hour of extra sleep, but no. Thorne had commed her out of boredom to complain about how she had played a a single game of cards almost a year ago, and what you can and cannot do while playing.

Unlike what she had told him, she had never actually downloaded the rules. She had made it up, simply because it was much just easier to play off a mistake, but she would not be caught in a lie by Thorne.

          "Why are you being so stubborn?" He whined again, sliding his hands across the desk as he spun his chair in a circle.

          Cinder turned her chair towards his digital image, she did not need to hide her glare. "Thorne, under the circumstances, I've been shockingly nice."

          "Pfft." He rolled his eyes, swinging a single playing card that he held loosely in his hand, as if it was all he needed to prove a point.

Here we go again.

          "I'm not your mother. I'm not obligated to do anything to make you feel better." Cinder held up her hands. He was really starting to get under he skin.

          "You can't just comm someone, tell them that they're wrong without any proof, and then hang up on them twice!" Thorne replied, swinging the card behind him for the dramatic effect he must've come up with in his head.

          Cinder gaped at his idiocy. "You were the one to comm me!" She pointed her arm at him, "You've never even read the rules!"

           "House rules are the real rules." He retorted.

          "No. House rules are rules made by someone who wasn't born with enough oxygen. Please note the words that fall out of your mouth the next time you call me, it's a danger hazard to others when you throw them on the ground for others to trip on." She inwardly cringed. The game could be played both ways, and they were both house rules.

Thorne put both his hands on his desk. It made the comm flicker for a moment. "Even Scarlet agrees that you can't use back to back doubles."

"Please place your finger in the 'end communication' button."

"No! Scarlet wrote down the rules for me, and as proof, I learned from multiple others while in prison."

While in prison. She had the upper hand if his excuse for the truth was learned while in captivity.

"I swear, if you call me one more time just to start a fight, I will block you. The effects of your prolonged stupidity is unbelievable! Keep calling and the taste of blood in your mouth may be an intended side effect caused by our next encounter."

"Best friends can't block eachoth—"

He was interrupted by the ring of another call. It was Kai, and Thorne was interrupting their usual comm time.

     Cinder pressed the mute button on Thorne for the third time, smiling as Kai's face as it flickered into view. He had called her almost everyday, always making time to talk with each other's chaotic schedules.