Word: uncanny

   

uncanny

\ uhn-KAN-ee \  , adjective;

1. Having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.

2. Mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house.

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             Jake’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he stared at the screen.  Ben just smiled smugly at his friends determination.  Jake was putting all he had into what he was doing, but it was making no difference at all.  Ben was still winning, just like every other time they played.  After the current game ended, Jake almost threw his controller down in frustration.  It was his game, so how did he keep losing? 

                “Problem?”  Ben asked, watching his friend struggle to not throw something. 

                “No.  I’ll just get you next time.” He vowed.

                “Yeah, sure you will.  Kind of like you were going to beat he the last five times we played.”

                “I just need to practice more, that’s all.”

                “You just keep telling yourself that.  Maybe someday you’ll even believe it.” 

                “You’ll see, it’ll happen.”

                “Not in a million years.  Face it, man, you suck.”

                “I do not!”  Jake said defensively.  He really didn’t.  In fact, he was considered a very good player and usually won online matched.  It was just that Ben was simply better.  And not by a small amount either.  While both were experienced gamers with years of experience, Ben just had that certain talent that Jake lacked.  A fact that Ben never stopped rubbing in Jake’s face, even after ten years of playing together.  “Let’s go again, and I’ll prove it to you.  I’ve been working on a secret move that I’ve been saving for a special occasion.  I guess I’ll show you before it’s really called for though.”

                “Uh huh.  You know, and trick you may have I probably already know, right?”

                “Not this one.  I guarantee it.”  Jake said, triumphantly.  They started up a new game and Ben got off to an immediate advantage.  Ben’s brows once again furrowed in concentration as he set himself up for his last ditch effort.

                “Hey, this looks like fun, can I play?”  Said a small voice from behind them.  Both guys stopped playing instantly, their concentration ripped from the screen by the sudden presence of Jake’s ten year old sister, Amy.

                “How does she do that?”  Ben whispered to Jake, referring to the girl’s uncanny ability to sneak up on people.

                “Didn’t I tell you?  She’s part ninja.  I swear she got switched at birth or something.”

                “I can hear you, you know.”  Amy said.  She was still smiling, knowing that they probably did that on purpose. 

                “Does it matter?” Jake said.

                “Not really.  I just thought I’d let you know.”  She said, giving a quick, pseudo innocent smile.

                “Gee, such a good little sister.”  Jake said mockingly.

                “Aren’t I just?”  She said.

                “Hey can we get back to the game now?”  Ben said, having seen enough of the sibling’s antics for one day.

                “I want to play.”  Amy said, running around the couch and planting herself between her brother and his friend.

                “Sorry, sis, no can do.  This is a guys’ game.  Besides, it’s only for two players.”

                “What, so just cause I’m a girl means I can’t play?”  She looked at Jake, and squinted up at him.  Jake couldn’t refuse his sister when she got like this.  Besides, it wasn’t like she knew how to play, and would probably get bored soon enough.

                “Ok fine, you can play.”  He said, offering her his controller.

                “Nah, I’ll step out.”  Ben said, “It’s no fun beating a little squirt like this.”  He said, handing the girl the controller.  She let the squirt comment slide, joyfully taking the controller.  Jake gave her the list of controls, just enough to get her up and going anyway.  She would have to find out the rest on her own.  He was a good brother, but not that good.

                As the game got under way, Amy strove to get the hang of the game.  It wasn’t enough to beat her brother, but by the end she was giving him a surprising amount of trouble.  When she wanted to play again, the same thing happened.  By the end, she was definitely playing better than she had been at the beginning.  Jake looked at his sister as she smiled up at him while setting up another round. 

                The trend kept on going as they played.  Ben couldn’t help but notice the family resemblance.  Both got the same exact look on their faces when they were concentrating.  However, even he was surprised when he saw how quickly the young girl was picking up on all the little tricks the game offered, and steadily got better.  She might even win soon if things kept going as they had.  A fact that was reinforced by the fact that the tenth round the two had played ended up in a draw.  As did the next three rounds, but by increasingly narrow margins.  Amy was slowly but steadily pulling ahead of her brother.

                “Geeze kid, have you played this before?”  Ben asked between rounds.

                “Nope.  This is my first time.”  She said.  He didn’t quite believe her though.  He looked to Jake, who was apparently just as stunned at his sister’s abnormal skill gain.  If his reaction was any indication, this really was her first time playing.

                “Ever play any other games like this then?” Ben asked, wanting to find out the source of her rapid progress.

                “Nope.  The only games I’ve ever played were the games mom and dad get me.  And those are all boring games about cooking and raising animals and stuff.”

                “It’s true.  You should see her game collection.  There’s so much pink there, I swear it looks like it’s been covered in bubblegum or something. 

                “So then, what’s the deal with this?  You going easy on her or something?”  Ben asked Jake.

                “Maybe a little.” He admitted.  He had been going easy on her a bit, intending to be nice to his sister.

                “Don’t do that.” She said, staring at him.

                “Ok, fine.  I’ll play for real now.”  He said.  He didn’t want to admit it, but at the rate she’d been going, even that may not be able to stop her for much longer.  They started a new game, this one ending up in a distressingly narrow win for Jake.  The next round once again ended in a draw.  The next few rounds ended in the same way, but she was still pulling ahead by small amounts.

                Ben watched the next round intently.  He wanted to see if there was any trick to it.  But there wasn’t.  In this round, she was actually beating her brother.  Not by much, but she was going to win.  And he swore she was getting a little better as she played. 

                “You sure you’ve never played before?”  He asked once the match ended in her first victory.

                “Nope.  I do sometimes watch him play though,” She said, pointing to Jake, “Maybe that has something to do with it.” She said smugly, clearly enjoying her victory. 

                “Don’t get too cocky kid.  I still have a few tricks to play.”  Jake said.  Being beaten by Ben was bad enough.  He’d never live it down if Amy started beating him as well.  However, each time they played, she won by a larger and larger amount.  Finally, Ben made his move. 

                “Ok move over loser.”  He said, shoving Jake away as he stared dumbly at the screen, which showed a very decisive loss on his part.  “This is getting embarrassing.  Let me show you how it’s done.”  He took Jake’s controller and started another match.  Ben managed to win, but not by as much as he thought he would.  When Amy insisted on another round, she closed the gap even more.  And, after only ten matches, Ben had finally met his.  Somehow Amy had managed to beat him.  He wasn’t even holding back on the ten year old.  The two guys simply stared at the screen, dumbfounded at Amy’s win.  Somehow both of the experienced gamers had lost to a ten year rookie.  She just looked at them, giggling all the while.

                “Hey thanks, maybe mom and dad will get me some real games when they see what I can do.”  She said, dropping the controller and running off happily to find her parents. 

                “Ok, so we never tell anyone about this. Ever.”  Jake said.

                “Agreed.”  Ben said. 

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I admit it, I had some fun with this one, could you tell?  There are just some words that I have more fun with than others, and this is one of them.  But I guess that's the point of this little endeavor, isn't it?