Chapter 16: Good Game
Allen belonged to the latter category. After one shot, the reds were all scattered.
Scarlett observed the balls on the table and then bent down. The thigh-high slits of her dress caused her some trouble; she was extra careful not to risk any accidental exposure.
She bent over to find a good position, and her chest almost touched the table. She bent her left arm and used her left hand to fix a position for the cue and her right hand to hold the cue on its back.
She didn’t grab the cue tightly because that would decrease the speed of the shot; she didn’t weigh down the tip of the cue either because that would shake the target of the shot.
After she thought she was perfectly ready, she squinted her eyes and struck promptly and with confidence. It was smooth and straight– a perfect shot, and the ball went right in.
“Good job!” Allen was an experienced player, but he was impressed. He couldn’t help but praise Scarlett for her excellent performance.
Everyone in the snooker hall stopped talking and came to the center with a glass of wine to enjoy the game. Scarlett lifted up her chin and gestured to Allen to play his shot.Property © 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.
To win a snooker game or make a large “break,” the number of times the player pots the black ball is key. When planning their shots around the black ball, most players pay attention to two points.
One, they must clear the obstacles along the way for the black ball to get into the two top pockets. Two, they must keep the white ball at a certain angle to the black ball. The red ball often traps the black ball and the pink ball. After potting the red ball, the best place for the cue ball to stay is beside the blue ball at the bottom of the table. In this way, after potting the blue ball, they can easily pot the red ball again in the next shot and accumulate points.
A good player should equip himself with excellent skills and a positive and calm mindset. It is not rare for even an outstanding snooker player to lose a game because of his nervousness and anxiety when encountering a superior player or an unfamiliar opponent. So in the process of playing, it is pretty important to stay positive and calm.
As an experienced amateur player, Scarlett took many risks; she was also very competitive. She was good at backward spins, so she played a few bold shots to score high points in order to win.
On the other hand, Nelson played the game more conservatively. He didn’t know his opponent well, and he didn’t want to embarrass himself by losing. So, he decided he wouldn’t take too many risks in this game.
One-shot after another, the game kept raging on. After all the balls except the black one had rolled into the pockets, the scores were tied.
The referee decided that they would have to flip a coin to decide who would get the first chance to shoot the black ball that would ultimately break the tie. But everybody knows that the first to shoot is the automatic winner. So it was just a matter of luck at this point.
The referee flipped a coin. It was tails. Scarlett gotta shoot first. She bent over, adjusted to a perfect position, and shot her shot. The black ball hit the edge and bounced back opposite to jump into the pocket perfectly.
Scarlett had won.
She threw the cue to the waiter. Allen walked over and held out his hand. “Allen Nelson. Good game!”
Scarlett smiled back and shook his hand. “Scarlett Morris. Nice to meet you.”
Beautiful ladies are always welcome at a place like Mystic Night Garden, and a unique, beautiful, and talented woman like Scarlett was even more likable.
Within an hour, Scarlett had already had great fun with Chuck’s friends. She had extraordinary social skills and a tremendous capacity for drink. Everyone was impressed.
***
Chuck took Scarlett to the car. He stared at her: the woman stank of alcohol. Usually, when he would take women to a bar, they would snuggle in his arms and wouldn’t drink without his explicit encouragement. Scarlett, however, needed no encouragement from a man. She did whatever she wanted.
Chuck couldn’t drive her home because he was still living with his family in Sandler’s main house. In fact, he even had a fiancée at home. His fiancée was not an easy woman to deal with: especially not when her tempers flared.
Chuck browsed his contact list to see if anyone could put her up for a night. His eyes fell on the name: Francis. He decided Francis would be the one.
His uncle, Francis Sandler, 35 years old successful and “experienced” businessman, would not be interested in this naive little girl. Most importantly, Francis was busy all the time. He had no time to deal with his father’s criticism.
“Hey, Uncle Francis. This is Chuck. I have a friend who got really drunk tonight…Can you… can you accommodate her for a night?” Chuck was afraid that Uncle Francis would dismiss his request outright, so he tried to sound as humble as possible.
This was not the first time Francis had received a call from his nephew at midnight asking for help. Since Chuck hadn’t caused him much trouble, he agreed to put up with his friend sleeping at his house for the night.
When Chuck stood in front of him holding a drunk but still dazzling girl, he recognized her immediately. It was the second time he had seen her tonight.
He noticed, within these few hours, her limp, straight hair was now arranged across her back in soft, wavy curls.
“Explain.” Francis pointed to Scarlett, who was hanging on to Chuck’s neck. Chuck rushed to clarify.
“She’s my bro, you know, just a good buddy. Scarlett Morris. I know it doesn’t look nice, but nothing is going on between us. I took her to Mystic Night Garden to play snooker, and she won the game. And after that…you know…my friends would never let a sexy snooker gal stay sober, never. And this crazy woman drank a lot!”