Linh’s Lucky Pokies Win at Lunch (Part 2)

Sushi With Linh

Lunch with Linh had a certainty about the food we were going to eat and as Linh also knew of a sushi shop just down the road where we could sit and eat, it sounded like a good plan. Making our trek down King Street Linh lit himself up a smoke. As he paused on the road so as to cease the wind blowing out the light I didn’t think him to be ostentatious at all but he did try to portray that smooth and in control whilst being oblivious to the surrounding look.

Heading down to the sushi shop on Imad Street we bought ourselves a fair meal to eat and then sat down with our sushi rolls inside the store. Figuring that it would be best to eat there instead of walking too far for a location we ate our food as I revealed the humorous portion of my ordeal regarding Xavier.

Unraveling the story I watched Linh wait in anticipation of my words and when I noted the first time he awkwardly touched me to propel me forward in a crowd, he cringed. When I added later in my story that I was invited up to his hotel room Linh almost lost his food as he noted “I hate people like that, did you tell him to get fucked, did you bash him”.

As we conversed some more on that topic Linh shared the same disdain as others but in a more contrived method. We joked about how he would be my older lover and sarcasm ensued as Linh also noted he had an older lover. “Great, why don’t we hook the both of them up on a blind date” I joked, “They sound like they have so much in common”. As the grievance continued and the witticism persevered we finished off what food we had and headed out in search of some more adventure.

Killing Time at the Pub

Having half an hour on our hands before we were entitled to head back to work Linh wanted us to head somewhere in search of diversion. Heading in the direction of work we stopped off at a small pub on King Street. “Let’s step in here” Linh persisted, “We’ll kill some time and play the Pokies”. Sounding like a fair idea we made our way into the gaming room where I myself didn’t feel the need to play the Pokies whereas Linh threw in a sporting five dollars.

Seemingly, the pokies was a waste of money but it was a good chance to sit back, relax and kill some time. The pokies room was relatively small as was the pub but surprisingly, out of the fifteen pokies there, three of them were the pyramid game. This enticed me somewhat to grab two dollars out of my wallet and give it a chance but I knew that I had to get change and so, procrastination was on my side.

Linh sat there betting small denominations with his five dollars, coming up with some little wins now and again. Nevertheless, as Linh got down to his last couple of credits he used the gambling feature wisely to his favor in which he would bet big and win when it mattered to keep afloat. However, like all good things, his money was lost after a couple of minutes, increasing his winnings only by one dollar.

Grabbing some more money out of his proffering wallet I thought he was pushing it when he threw in another five dollars and started betting 5 credits per line. I would have otherwise he had a gambling problem just like Keith but considering it was his third time playing the pokies, I didn’t suspect as much. This money quickly flew out of his grasp as he was now ten dollars out of pocket but still with the unconcerned and unperturbed look on his face.

Free Spins

Thinking that we were going to head back to work Linh walked over to another pokies machine which didn’t look at all like it was worth putting money in, let alone paying out. I thought the gambling bug had bitten his brain when he placed a further ten dollars into this two center machine. Gambling away with small amounts again it did look like a game of simplex proportions as it gave him small amounts and lost him small amounts. However, the break came when Linh spun what seemed to be one scatter and for some reason, it locked onto that line and spun the other four again for free.

Surprised as we were, I was more surprised when two scatters appeared on consecutive lines and as a small tune whistled in the background I knew he had won himself some free spins, ten to be exact. This was the start of his good fortune as his first free spin won him back into ten dollars. Linh sat there surprised and elated that he had won himself free spins, oblivious until I informed him. What happened next shocked the both of us and brought a great surprise to a day that would have otherwise been a waste of money.

The lines were spinning so quickly that I was oblivious to what Linh’s next win was until I really stopped to have a look. I was caught up in the guy behind us taking a gander at our having won ten free spins and it seemed his interest in the machine and the grin on his face showed that he knew the machine would pay out. When glancing at the machine, the five top lines of the pokies machine were all dollar signs, the highest win you could muster.

The next three lines across under this were all jacks and there was a scatter marked on the bottom line. Standing there in amazement as the machine was letting out a large tune, we watched as the tally of earnings kept rising. Taking a look at how much Linh could win and noticing that it was also a two cent machine I couldn’t make out whether it was $200 or $2000. Everyone in the room had now looked at the winning machine as we stood around watching the money rise.

Ending around 11100 credits Linh still couldn’t relent as he had a couple more spins to go. Still, he kept winning money upon money and as his free spins stopped he was up to around $225. “I’ll go get the lady behind the counter now” I remarked not wanting Linh to get too carried away with gambling. Agreeing to my request I made my way to the bar attendant and as she was talking to her lady friend I asked “Do I come to you if I’ve won money on the pokies”.

Nodding her head she asked me “You didn’t win a heap of money with that two dollars you requested”, believing that I was the one who had won the money. Making her way to the pokies I told her of the winnings and as she had Linh write his details in their books she was amazed on how we won so much money with only a couple of dollars to spare. What’s more, it was all in our lunch break and thanks to Linh’s fortunate passing the pub on the way to work, his fate won him a plentiful amount of bounty.

Grabbing his $220 he stood in shock and elated surprise to his winnings. The assistant was jokingly asking us for a small commission of his earnings in which if it was me I would have given her something anyway but I think Linh was too fortunate to think. Heading back to work Linh noted how he would shout me out to lunch when next we did go out. He still couldn’t believe how much he had won, his little free fortune on par with what money he got from work.

That was surely to be glutton for conversation with the friends in his section as we headed back to work and parted our ways for the rest of the workday. Every now and again he came down to my section so we could have a little chat in which he would share his surprise of having won again. What a great little surprise for Linh and a boon for the pages in these memoirs that live up to the expectations of eccentricity going hand in hand with soap-opera deliverance.

Seriously, so much things have happened in my life that would bid you to think “That can’t possibly be true, how could so much stuff happen in this guys life where everyday something unbelievable pops up”. I’m going to love reading back in these pages of years to come. To sit here and watch the small wonders unfold that finally created the man I am longing to be.

Zenia at the Door

Heading up the elevator and back to work I was granted a small favor by sighting Zenia at the entry door to our office. I’ll have any little chance meeting that falls in our favor as I want to spark conversation with her, such allurement. Trying to swipe her card and paying no heed to where she was swiping, it looked funny as she was a touch off center. Finally looking to the contraption she swiped her card properly and as she opened the door I remarked “You finally got it right”.

Taking a glance back she let out a smile and held the door for me as we shared another word or two. This was to be our first and defining little hint of conversation, our initiation if you would. Heading back to our work office I said hello to Najla in which we kept up appearances. At one stage in the afternoon Kelsey came back from court and initiated a conversation beginning with me and including Najla.

Kelsey seemingly has taken a shine to my constantly helping her out with errands and being pleasant to her requests. Kelsey was being pleasant and inviting back towards me and I could just see in her pleasant eyes and those of Tatiana and Zenia who all hung out, they appreciated me. Even though Zenia is a couple of years older than me and hot I still believe she harbors a small like for me.

Just like Kelsey wants to get to know me a little because she can see a flare of originality in me, so to are these thoughts with Zenia and Tatiana. To tell you the truth and not to sound condescending, I feel that each of them have some sort of favor for me as I do for each of them. When I began working at HIH I loved the thought of sitting in view of Kelsey because she had a great body and I appreciated her good looks and her looking like she was the quiet type, down to earth.

Nowadays I respect her enough just to have them as passing thoughts but as I think that Zenia is good looking and take it no further, I feel they hold the same abidance of me. Tatiana at one stage I thought was trying to show herself off to me because she gathered I held these thoughts inside of me but as I didn’t look too interested for fear of being recognized, it seems she’s stopped now.

An Errand for Jana

Whilst I was photocopying files for Kelsey through the second half of the day I was approached by Jana to run an errand for her. Being in good sorts, she came over in her fanciful merriment, a touch of playful warmth about her. Jana asked if I could hand deliver a brief for her which was on for hearing the next day or day after. Prankish Jana was full of sarcasm herself as she blended in well with the raillery of our conversation.

Anyway, concluding the basis of my photocopying I prepared myself for an outing, one of Jana’s errands. Heading off to Martin Place I was blessed with some fresh air and a calm sunny day to accompany me for my small journey. Mind you, these chambers were a tad hard to find but once there I headed up to the highest level in the building, I think it was level 12. Whence the elevator doors did open I was engulfed with the beauty and modern realism of the office.

The Reception area was extravagant with elegance and as I handed over the brief I took a glance out the window. Expectant of my elevator I did enjoy the splendor of the view where it was just like Centrepoint only lower to the ground. It was a shame that I had to leave back such hospitable premises but I did so and headed back to work for the rest of my day.

Xavier Again

The conclusive segment to my day at work would have to be the final conversation with Xavier. I’m not sure as to what time he called but it was half an hour after coming back from work. Again, he was without a good opening as he struggled to maintain conversation in his attempt to reveal his insignia. What I remember of this boring conversation in which was barely held together was that Xavier wanted to have lunch with me again.

In fact, I was almost sickened when he made me read between the lines as he uttered “I would really love to see you again”, emphasizing the word ‘Love’. That coupled with his earlier exploits to note that I was doing something incredible to him in which he couldn’t explain made me think “Okay, loser! It’s time to say bye-bye to the loser” but I am too nice for my own good.

As much as I wanted to tell Xavier straight out that I knew what he was getting at and didn’t want him to play his fancying games anymore I was nice enough or naïve enough not to say anything. That’s why Xavier is still around, because I don’t have the guts to tell him to get lost. I’m the sort of person that thinks about other people’s feelings and don’t want to hurt someone intentionally. I have to start being the person who doesn’t give a shit, the shadow of my former self.

Train Home

When the day had concluded Najla and I made our way to the station together, chatting away about my little experiences and our day gone. There was nothing special about our little walk to the station and I don’t even think there was anything special about my trip back home on the express train other than knowing Xavier wouldn’t be on there. All that I remember about my trip back home is that I had my usual nap until Glenfield in which I was sitting relatively by myself. The only person to keep me company was a lady a couple of years older than me that to my knowledge had good legs on her.

Anyway, that is where I’m going to have to leave it now as the time is 2:37 p.m. and I have to get myself to the hairdressers to get this mane cut. I’m thinking of heading to the place at Bradbury shops in hopes that they won’t charge me a dear penny just to shave my undercut. When I get back home you can expect that I will be free to experience more glamorous and informative depiction within these pages. Until the, adios amigos and may the forceful be with you…