Young Writers Society

Evaline drummed her fingers along her leg, thinking about his question and wondering which option would be the most strategic. Then she remembered that James immediately caught on that she was lying about herself all those days ago. Would she be able to decipher his lies as well?

"Yes," she answered firmly. "We reveal the lie every round. But let's set some other ground rules, too. You can reveal as much information as you want about your truths and lie afterwards, but the other person can only ask two questions per round. Sound good?"

James hummed and nodded, thinking through the rules. That seemed doable. Besides, this was only one conversation out of, hopefully, more to come. It was just a game.

"Sure. You go first."

Evaline nodded and looked up towards the sky, thinking and squinting like the words were up there somewhere. Although this was all her idea, she still wanted to be careful what to reveal.

"Okay," she said after a few moments, sitting up straight. "Here goes."

She looked at James, keeping her expression neutral. "I like to read. I like to draw. I like to play the piano." She paused to let out the faintest smile, approving of her answers. "Which one is the lie?"

James took in a deep breath and shifted by the fire. He watched Evaline's expression carefully as she listed the truths and the lie, studying her. She was trying, this time, to win, in a way. The stakes weren't very high, and this wasn't exactly a game where there were winners, but still, he wanted to try.

He already knew that she could draw, but as she listed the other things, he wondered if it was something she enjoyed doing. All of the things listed sounded like they had the potential of being relaxing, but she'd never mentioned reading or playing the piano.

Drawing was something she was good at, but he wondered if that was because she wanted to be or because she had to be. He only knew a part of her power - she could see into people's memories - and even though she said she didn't use it as much, he could see the potential uses for it. In a war, there were probably things that were forgotten, but would be important to remember, with just a little help. Information, people, places, codes...

He decided to make an educated guess. She was going to reveal the lie afterward, but he hoped he was right.

"You like to draw. That's the lie."

Evaline studied James back, wondering about his logic of deduction. She was sure he'd assume that she liked drawing, but it seemed that she underestimated him.

"That's right," she said flatly, somehow feeling defeated even though there were no real winners of this game. "I can draw, but it doesn't mean I like it."

She was prepared to give more details, but since he guessed right in the first round, a stubborn sense of competitiveness washed over her, and she decided to not give any more free information.

If he wanted to know more about her answers this round, he'd have to ask with his two questions.

James held back a grin, trying to stay present with the truth of Eve's statements instead of getting caught up in the intentional lack of an explanation that she gave. He decided to pick his first question carefully

"Why don't you like drawing?"

Evaline sighed, looking at the warm dancing fire in front of them as she tried to think of the simplest explanation. If she hadn't suggested this game, James was bound to find out the answer to this question anyways. At least this way, she could limit what information to share without feeling pressured.

"I didn't choose to pick up drawing as a hobby. I was forced to do it because it pairs with my power." She shrugged. "It's not like I hate it. If I need to, I'll draw. But I don't really draw for myself or for fun."

James nodded, satisfied with that much information for now. He could ask more about that later. What he wanted to know more about at the moment was -

"How long have you been playing the piano?"

Evaline was pleasantly surprised he decided to ask about her piano skills instead.

"Also a long time," she said, letting out a small smile. "I think I started when I was six. My friend's mother taught me. I sometimes even sneaked in the school's music room if I wanted to play when she was too busy."

Her smile faded as she remembered what happened next. "But then my parents found out. It was too 'distracting,' they said. They somehow managed to get the pianos locked up." She paused. "I was sixteen. I haven't played since then."

She looked back up at James, realizing that she blurted out a whole lot of information. "Anyways," she said quickly, fidgeting with her hands. "I guess it's my turn again."

James tilted his head to the side. Again? Oh, that was right. If James guessed correctly, she'd go again, which gave him all the more motivatoin to keep guessing right.

"Whenever you're ready," he said, still suppressing a smile.

Evaline nodded, looking up at the dusk sky again as she thought of what to say. This time, she had to be more strategic. Perhaps he guessed right last time because he knew she could draw. She'd have to think of something new.

"Okay," she said, drawing her attention back towards him and leaning a little closer. "I know how to dance. I know how to garden. I know how to bake."

She looked at him expectedly.

James studied Evaline again, trying to think critically about her answers. He still didn't know much about her and her background, where she came from, and what experiences she might've had, especially before the war.

The problem with listing skills that she knew how to do was that she didn't specify how well she knew how to do them. Someone could know how to dance, but not dance particularly well. Someone could know how to garden but at a very intermediate level and never actually bear fruit. Knowing was different than doing, and knowing was different than succeeding. He wasn't sure how technical Evaline was getting with her responses.

He pursed his lips ever so slightly.

Evaline lived underground with an artificial sun. He didn't know exactly how that worked - but would gardening be possible there? That seemed the least likely, especially since she seemed pretty foreign to plants and nature. Gardening wasn't as extensive as farming, but still.

He didn't want to get this one wrong.

He tried to picture Evaline dancing or baking. Both were difficult to picture.

He sighed.

"You know how to garden," he guessed.

Evaline paused for dramatic effect, not reacting just to keep James on the edge. Finally, she bursted into a smug smile.

"I do know how to garden," she said in a manner-of-fact tone. "So your guess is wrong."

It was stupid, but she felt triumphant over winning.

"I only ever dealt with flowers," she added, deciding to give a little more information. "I may not be a forager like you, but I can put together a nice bouquet."

James closed his eyes and shook his head. Well. It was a blind guessing game. He would have more chances.

"Oh, sure, sure," he said, half-rolling his eyes as he looked at her. "You have to tell me which one was the lie now."

Evaline opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself before she could reveal which one was the lie.

"Well, there are two options left. Which one do you think it is?" she asked instead, smirking.