Break for Lunch
It was the final round of the biggest poker tournament that there has ever been. Two players left: Dennovian D. Dackton, a Squirrel, and Laborious L. Laquancho, an Opossum. Both these two had made their way through the tournament, taking out some of the most established professional poker players in the forest on their quest to the title.
Dennovian and Laborious were well into their final heads-up match and both player’s stacks were equal. They had been going like this for hours. Dennovian would win one hand then Laborious would win another. Dennovian would 4 hands in a row and then Laborious would win 4 hands in a row. Laborious would win 3 in a row, Dennovian would win 2, then Laborious would win another 1 then Dennovian would win 2 in a row and they were back to even again. After hundreds of mathematical combinations, the two found themselves, once again, with equal chip counts and equal wins just as they had started the match.
"Should we break for lunch?" Dennovian looked up and asked Laborious.
Even though he was hungry, Laborious knew better than to just say yes to this request. He's involved in a battle of wills and minds with the person making this suggestion and this could all be part of a bigger plan. Laborious carefully considered his response:
"Um, I don't know, what did you want to do for lunch?" He replied, cautiously.
Dennovian was thrown off, his request had been innocent and straightforward. The two players had been competing for so long at such a high-level Dennovian assumed, that Laborious must have been as famished as he was. But now that Laborious answered with a question, Dennovian knew that they would not be breaking for lunch anytime soon.
"What about hoagies?" Came a suggestion from the dealer, a Badger, who was an integral part of this whole situation but seldom thought of as a participant, "I'm pretty hungry too."
Dennovian and Laborious looked at each other then looked at the dealer. This was a new wrinkle in the whole situation. Up until now, it was the two of them versus each other, but now it was the two of them looking at the dealer, wondering what his angle on this whole thing is.
"It's just... It's been a long time and you're back to even, figured it was a good time for some lunch," the dealer continued.
"Did you put him up to this?" Laborious accused Dennovian.
"Put him up to what?" Dennovian shot back, "I didn't put him up to nothing, I was trying to help you out."
"Help me out?" Laborious shouted as he stood up, angry, "I don't need any help, I'm burying you! I've got you right where I want you?"
"Burying me! HA! That's fresh," Laborious replied, laughing, "Maybe you're just too chicken to admit that you're toast!"
"Toast sounds good too..." The dealer squeaked quietly, "Anything really I'm... I'm very hungry."
"Deal the cards! We're ending this right now!" Dennovian yelled.
"Bring it on! You're about to get cooked!" Laborious agreed.
"Cooked..." The dealer whimpered under his breath as he began dealing the cards on what has become the longest-running poker championship in history. Stretching into its 3rd day there have been no breaks in the action. All three participants have been consuming water. At press time the chip counts are tied with neither player on a winning streak. The dealer, is still hungry, though he was observed nibbling from a bag of chips that was snuck into him by a concerned fan.