I took a small sip through the plastic straw.

The sharp fizz settled the worst of my stomachache right away.

Rachel pulled a brand-new deck of playing cards out of her grocery bag.

The blue paper box was crisp and wrapped in tight clear plastic.

“We wore the other ones out completely,” she said.

She peeled off the plastic and dropped it into the small gray trash can.

I watched her shuffle the stiff new cards.

Her hands moved fast, bridging the halves perfectly every time without dropping a single card.