But the peace lasted exactly ten seconds. Maya rolled a five, landed squarely on Elias’s second marble near the center, and with a delighted clack , sent it tumbling back to the Base. "Aggravation!" she cheered.
"Yeah," Maya agreed, leaning forward. "But the board doesn't change. The shortcuts are still there. You just have to roll again. If you stay in the Base because you're mad about being bumped, you’ve already lost." aggravation
Elias grunted, his eyes fixed on his blue marble, currently sitting three spaces away from his 'Home' row. He had been playing conservatively, avoiding risks, while Maya played like a chaotic whirlwind. But the peace lasted exactly ten seconds
Maya stopped laughing, her hand hovering over the board. "Eli, it’s the name of the game. If I don’t bump you, you win. If I bump you, we both keep playing." "Yeah," Maya agreed, leaning forward
The board was a landscape of polished wood and precarious marble stacks, and for Elias, it was a minefield. Aggravation wasn’t just the name of the game; it was the precise emotion tightening his chest every time his younger sister, Maya, picked up the dice.
