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It’s 4am and you’re counting the minutes until you can go home. Nothing else in your life makes time drag slower than working the overnight shift at the casino. Most of the patrons during that time are regulars who don’t know how to quit. Sunk cost fallacy and all that. It’s depressing to watch.
But it pays the bills, so you grin and bear it. Well, not so much grin as attempt to suppress your resting bitch face. Emphasis on attempt. You’ve been scolded approximately eight times in the past month for “having an attitude” with the patrons.
That’s why you were transferred from dealing blackjack to working the roulette table. Unfortunately, you hadn’t been able to curb your competitive nature even when you were working. As a blackjack dealer, you could sometimes be a sore loser. And a sore winner. Which obviously wasn’t good for business.
Honestly, the only reason you haven’t been fired yet is because the general manager is your aunt’s girlfriend. But she made it clear when you transferred over to roulette that you’re on thin ice.
The place is currently pretty quiet save a handful of people at the slot machines. Until you hear something tapping on the floor heading towards your table.
You look up to find a security guard leading a girl about your age to you. She has sunglasses on, which you would normally judge someone for wearing indoors in the middle of the night, but the cane she’s holding makes it clear that she’s blind.
“Here you are, miss,” the security guard says when they reach you. She thanks him and he leaves.
Before you can even open your mouth to greet her, the girl announces, “I’m putting it all on red!” and slams a hundred dollar bill on the table.
If anyone else had done that, you would probably be annoyed. But something about her eagerness and the way she’s grinning in your general direction amuses you. It makes you want to mess with her, even though you know you really shouldn’t.
Your eyes flick to her walking cane.
“What if I lie to you about the outcome,” you say.
You’re bluffing of course. Even if you had something to gain from deceiving her, you would get fired immediately thanks to the ever-present surveillance cameras. But she doesn’t need to know that.
“What if I’m just pretending to be blind for an easy lawsuit,” she retorts. “But since you’re so concerned about me getting scammed—”
“I never said I was—”
“But since you’re so concerned about me getting scammed, I can still make out basic colors. I am legally blind.”
“Oh.”
You dutifully take the money and count out her chips. As you slide them across the table, you can’t help wondering why you’ve never seen her before.
Casual casino-goers don’t normally come in during this time, but she doesn’t strike you as a frequent visitor. And placing all of her money on an outside bet is more of a beginner thing to do.
You’re almost tempted to ask if she comes here often, as cliché of a pickup line as it is. But you think better of it, since she would probably just laugh at you instead of giving an answer. She’s definitely attractive, but not enough that you’d be willing to risk the humiliation. At least not yet.
“Good luck,” you say, spinning the wheel and then the ball.
“Don’t need it,” she replies. “Luck doesn’t matter.”
That’s just about the most offensive thing you’ve ever heard in your life. Seriously, who does this chick think she is?
“Whatever you say, blind girl.”
“My name is not blind girl! It’s Terezi.”
“Okay. Whatever you say, Terezi.”
“Hm.” She taps a finger against the side of her nose in thought. “What about you?” she asks.
“What about me?”
“Your name! What is it?” She leans forward onto the table as if she’s expecting some juicy secret to be shared with her. You can’t tell if she’s genuinely that interested or if she’s just being facetious. Either way, it makes your face burn.
The roulette ball landing in the wheel saves you from having to answer. You glance over at it. “Looks like you got thirteen. Not red.”
Terezi frowns and leans back. “Oh well.”
As she turns to leave, you blurt out, “My name is Vriska, by the way!”
Her face lights up. “Until next time, Vriska.”
She’s gone before you can work out what exactly that’s supposed to mean.
It turns out that you don’t have to wait very long, because she returns one week later. You haven’t stopped thinking about your interaction with her during that time, and her sudden presence renders you at a loss for words.
“You’re back,” is all you can think to say.
“Yes,” she answers with a smile. “I missed the sound of your voice.”
Now you’re really speechless. You desperately hope she can’t pick up on how your mouth gapes open like a stupid fish.
Unfazed by your lack of response, Terezi pulls out a hundred dollars. “Betting everything on red!” she says when she sets it down.
“You sure do like red, don’t you,” you muse as you pass her chips over.
“I love red! It is the best color there is.”
Remembering what she said last time, you refrain from wishing her luck again. Despite her enthusiasm, when it lands on black, she doesn’t seem bothered at all.
“That’s too bad,” she shrugs.
“Wait, don’t you want to do another round?” you ask.
Terezi smirks. “Aw, you want me to stay longer?”
You actually do. For how shortly you’ve known her, she’s the best thing to come out of working at this place. Which isn’t a high bar to clear, but still. You can’t seem to figure out what her deal is, no matter how hard you’ve tried. There’s just something magnetic about her that you can’t put your finger on. But there’s no way you’d ever tell her any of that.
“What? No, I’m just doing my job. You know, promoting business.”
Terezi doesn’t look convinced. “I’m sure you are. But I have to get going, so I’ll see you later, Vriska.” And then she’s gone again.
But true to her word, she does come back. For about the next month and a half, Terezi comes in every week to bet on red. She loses every time.
It becomes practically a routine. You even start to look forward to working on those days.
“So Terezi, do you think today’s the day you finally win?”
“No clue. And quite frankly, I don’t really care.”
You groan in exasperation. “Oh, don’t give me that! You have to care a little bit. Why else would you keep coming back?”
But she only smiles. “Who knows? So are you gonna spin the wheel or not?”
“Not until you give me a straight answer,” you respond.
She hesitates, which you weren’t expecting. “You seem happier,” she admits reluctantly.
You can only stare. “What?”
Terezi sighs. “I first came in here on a whim. I wasn’t expecting much, but when I met you… I could tell you weren’t very happy. Something in me wanted to see if I could change that.”
For a moment, you forget how to breathe.
“That’s it?” you ask.
“That’s it,” she says.
“You don’t mind throwing away a hundred bucks every week?” you ask her skeptically.
“No price is too high for the chance to see you,” Terezi replies.
You awkwardly clear your throat. “In that case, you should treat me to a drink once you win,” you say, trying—and probably failing—to keep the hopefulness out of your voice.
“I don’t drink. How about dinner?”
“Deal.”
The anticipation you feel as the wheel spins is so thick it’s palpable. You’ve never wanted a patron to win as badly as you do in this moment. And when the ball lands on red, you consider yourself to be just as much of a winner as she is.