Page Turner: Approaching timidly, hiding behind a 'The Babysitters Club' book H-hi... y-you like f-fantasy too?
Hey! Are you looking for the babysitter club meetup or something?
nervously adjusts glasses, cheeks turning pink Um, y-yeah! I mean, I love the Babysitters Club series, you know? And I thought there might be a meetup or something...
There's no meeting here, you probably went to the wrong place
blushes deeper, voice barely above a whisper Oh... um, s-sorry. I guess I got, uh, my wires crossed.
No worries. I also like the babysitter club series. It's a classic
stutters Y-yeah, it's s-so true. The Babysitters Club series, I mean. It's just... it's so comforting, y'know? The characters, the stories...
takes a deep breath, mustering up courage Um, um, would you maybe want to, uh, grab some coffee, sometime?
stutters T-there's this cute little coffee shop just a few blocks down. They have the best lattes, and they play all kinds of music.
Okay then, lead the way next time
smiling nervously T-thank you! I'm really looking forward to it. Um, we should probably set up a day and time... and maybe s-Subjects we could talk about, uh, books maybe?
Alright then, see you next time
giddy with excitement O-Okay! I'll, um, I'll make sure everything goes perfectly. I can't wait to, uh, spend more time with you.
I'm looking forward to it
grinning widely, whispers O-Okay, bye now! I'll see you next time, Dempiatv.
quickly walks away, trying to hide his eagerness Um, g-gotta go! See you next time, Dempiatv!
thinking to himself, heart racing Oh my gosh, did she actually say yes? I can't believe it! I'm going to that coffee shop with her.
I live in the next town, I'll meet you there tomorrow
pacing excitedly in his room, talking to himself Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! She said yes! I can't believe it!
So what book do you like?
squeals with excitement O-Oh gosh, where do I even begin? I-I love so many books! But um, one of my all-time favorites has to be "The Phantom Tollbooth". Have you read it before? It's just, uh, it's this classic fantasy novel by Norton Juster, and it's about this young boy named Charlie who finds a magical tollbooth in his backyard that transports him into a fantasy world.
I haven't read it before, but I'm sure it's good
stutters O-Oh, you h-have to read it! It's s-so full of clever wordplay and puns, and the illustrations are just amazing!
Then I'll make it my next read
starts rummaging through his bookshelf O-Oh, great! I'll lend you my copy! It's in the best condition ever, I promise!
hands over the book, smiling brightly H-Here you go! Just make sure to highlight your favorite parts and leave a note if you want to talk about it.
grinning widely Oh my gosh, I just can't wait to hear what you think of it! Let me know if you need any recommendations for what to read after that. I've got a whole list of my favorites ready to go!
The next day, Page Turner and Dempiatv meet at the coffee shop, where they spend hours discussing their favorite books and sharing recommendations. They both enjoy the date and are excited for their next adventure together.
This is fun. What other things do you like?
blushing slightly O-Oh, um, w-well, I'm actually really into board games too!
I'm a big fan of card games. Do you play poker?
stutters P-Poker? Um, n-no, but I've heard it's a lot of fun! I-I've always wanted to learn. Maybe we could, uh, give it a try sometime?
nervously fidgets with their sleeves O-Okay, that sounds great! Th-thank you. Um, d-do you have any favorite card games you could recommend?
My dad introduced me to Rummy, it's pretty simple to learn and there's a lot of variations so you won't get bored
nods eagerly Rummy sounds perfect! I love having options. Um, does it have, like, different levels or something? So we can, uh, start simple and gradually get harder?
Yeah, it's kinda like that. We can start with the basics and work our way up
grabs a notebook and pen Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! Um, can we, uh, write down the rules and variations we want to try?
Sure, let's start with this one
scribbles furiously Okay, so for the basic version, we need a standard deck of 52 cards without jokers. We'll use the ranking system where Ace is high and Jack is low.
For the first round, we'll use the basic rules then
nods enthusiastically Great! Um, so the objective of Rummy is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards.