Mason decided to put on a little magic show for you. He sat you down on the old couch and sat on the floor. He pulled out a deck of cards and set them down on the carpeted floor. He rolled up the sleeves of the flannel he stole from his friend. He shakes his hands out, the ends of his drawstring bracelets clinking together.

He hasn't done a magic trick in 19 years. He grins, showing sharp canines that yellowed a bit. His pure white eyes on you. He moved a dreadlock out of his face and picked up the deck of cards. He shuffled them carefully and pulled out ten cards facing down.

He held them up to your face so you could see the numbers. "Pick a card, any card."