I left Zara's side when I noticed that she was starting to get comfortable, but when I found her again, she was in a deep cards game with Harley and Ryley.

I didn't have to ask to know what they were playing.

Bluff. The notorious card game that Harley was obsessed with. She had played against and beaten everyone in this room at least once, which was why she claimed to be the best of the best. She always wanted new competition, so I wasn't surprised that she had challenged Zara, and I wasn't surprised that there was a crowd watching.

The game was simple enough, all the cards in the deck were dispersed equally between the players and the objective was to get rid of all your cards as fast as you could before the other player. It was a game of deception, where a player states the rank of their card before placing it upside down on the deck, but the trick was that the cards had to either go in ascending order or descending order based on their rank. If any player thought another player was lying and placed the wrong card because they didn't have the correct one, they called the other player out by shouting 'bluff.' If that player was indeed lying, they took the entire deck, but if the player was telling the truth, the caller had to take the whole deck.

"Ace," Harley said, placing her card face down.

Zara looked at her with narrowed eyes but placed a card face down, "King."

"Queen," Ryley said as she placed her card. The minimum number of players for the game was three, so Harley usually asked Ryley to play as the third.

"Jack," Harley said as she placed her card.

Zara narrowed her eyes further, "was that really a Jack?"

"You can go ahead and check."

Zara let out a short, dramatic laugh but played it safe and placed a card down rather than calling 'bluff', "10."

"9," Ryley played.

"10," Harley threw her card down.

Zara sucked in a breath, "I have my doubts."

"Then act on your doubts," Harley challenged.

At this point, Harley only had two cards left while Zara had what looked to be about fifteen and Ryley had the rest of the deck. She never was good at the game. If Zara called a 'bluff,' she could either turn the game around or doom herself further.

"Ryley, call 'bluff'," Zara instructed.

Ryley laughed, "Why would I do that?"

"Because you already have most of the deck," Zara reasoned. "What's a couple more?"

I laughed at that, I couldn't help myself.

Ryley refused to call it and Zara took a deep breath before declaring, "bluff!" She took the risk and slapped the deck, keeping her eyes on Harley. Slowly, she turned the card over.

It wasn't a 10.

"Yes!" Zara and everyone watching exclaimed at the same time Harley shouted, "No!"

Harley had been the reigning champion for far too long, and the fact that she was finally about to lose was a pleasure to watch. She groaned but took the whole deck of cards.

"How's that deck feel, Harley?" Zara asked, teasing her. "Is it heavy enough for you?"

"Shut up," Harley shook her head, an unwanted smile spreading across her lips.

"This would have been your satisfaction if you had called 'bluff', Ryley," Zara said.

"Are you always this competitive?" Ryley asked.

"Yes," she looked at me then. "I'm pretty sure I am."

"7," Harley started the deck.

"6," Zara followed.

"5," then Ryley.

They continued playing but when Zara had two cards left this time, Harley, desperate, called a 'bluff' on her, but when she flipped the card over it was the same one Zara had called, meaning Harley got the whole deck for calling out a 'false bluff.'

"It's already over, I've lost," Harley said solemnly. "Once Zara closes, the game is over."

"About time," my father commented, receiving a look from Harley.

"7," Zara said, placing her second last card face down.

"8," Ryley played.

"7," Harley sighed.

Zara threw her last card on the deck, and since that was her last card and she was the first one to exhaust all her cards, even if that was a bluff she had already won. "Boom, I beat you."

Everyone watching congratulated Zara and offered witty comments in Harley's direction. Since Harley had fewer cards than Ryley, she came second place, but she was nothing if not always first, up until now, at least.

"It's beginner's luck," Harley said. "Next time, the outcome will be different."

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Zara asked, lowering her voice.

"That's exactly what you hear," Harley affirmed, similarly lowering her voice.

"Shall we go again then?"

"We shall," Harley replied. "And let's add a wager. How about five bucks?"

"Deal," Zara shook her hand and they began reshuffling the deck to have a rematch.

****

The party was going well, everyone believed Zara to be our distant cousin, although I still couldn't believe my mother had created an entire family tree just to explain our (fake) relation to Zara.

The sun had almost completely set and when I noticed everyone wearing their jerseys outside, I realised that Zara didn't have any clothes other than the ones I had bought for her before she was discharged from the hospital.

I stepped into the house just as Harley leapt to her feet and declared, "the title has returned to its rightful owner!"

Zara dropped her thick deck of cards and said, "you got lucky."

"Luck is for beginners," Harley said then did a quick stretch.

"How am I always last in this game," Ryley asked herself, dropping her pile of cards.

"Quick question, are you a sore loser?" Harley asked Zara.

"Depends," Zara began, "are you a sore winner."

Harley considered this for a second before saying, "yes," and danced around Zara.

"Hey, I didn't do this when you won," Zara laughed.

"And that was your choice," Harley grinned then ran around the house shouting. "I'm the champion again!"

"Your sister is so competitive," Zara told me when I approached her to help pack away the cards.

"Reminds me of someone," I quipped, grinning when she shot me a glare. Once the cards were packed, I asked, "By the way, would you like a jersey?"

"Yes please," she answered. "That game was so tense that I was starting to get hot, but now that I've lost the cold has started seeping in."

I chuckled at that, "come on."

She followed me up the stairs and to my old room which was now used as a spare room. Even though I didn't live with my parents anymore, I had still left some of my clothes.

"Take your pick," I told her, gesturing to the jerseys inside the wardrobe.

Zara stepped forward and scoped the few clothes and jerseys before grabbing a plain black hoodie. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"By the way," Zara began, "can I borrow five bucks?"