Free Reset (Book 2): Salvation by Jacqueline Druga Page A

captured the female audience.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Jason smiled. “All marketing, make up, hair designers and so forth. I was not all that before the network found me.”
    “Well, I’m looking at you now at your worse and you’re still pretty cute.” She winked. “You can sing, too. Oh my God, can you sing well.”
    “Thanks.”
    “The song got a message out more than the words.”
    “Okay. Okay. I get it. You were bored. But you wanted to see what I did. I preached and sang the word of God. And while we’re critiquing …”
    Nora groaned. “You didn’t laugh.”
    “Not saying you weren’t funny before all this, it’s just that your routine isn’t funny now. I mean I can see how the Starbucks rant would have been funny when there was a Starbucks.”
    “That’s true. Part of being a good comedian is making people laugh at things they can relate to. It’s hard to relate to an overcrowded Starbucks when we’re the last people around. Although whenever I did a Starbucks bit, I killed it. People laughed.”
    “I bet.”
    “So I’ll just work on new material. I have a captured audience.”
    “I look forward to it.” Jason dealt the cards. “Ready?”
    “Ready.” Without showing reaction, Nora turned over her cards. She looked at them and laid one card down. “I’ll take one.”
    “One? Wow. Okay. I’ll take three.” Jason dealt out the replacement cards. “Go on.”
    “I’ll bet … one Cheez It.” She put the small cheese cracker in the middle of the table.
    “For a person who got only one card, you aren’t confident. I’ll see your Cheez It with a Pretzel and raise you one Raisinette.”
    “You realize if you lose you have to put one of those in your mouth.”
    Jason touched the chocolate covered raisin. “It’s still soft.”
    “Ok, I’ll add a peanut butter cracker.” She pushed it forward.
    “Call it. What do you have?”
    “Pair of kings.”
    “Pair of kings? If you had a pair of kings why did you only take one card?”
“To psych you out.”
    “Didn’t work. Three Jacks.”
    Nora groaned as Jason gloated and swept the goodies his way. He stared at them. “Because you put it down there. I choose the Cheez It.” He handed the tiny orange cracker to her.
    “Amazing it looks fresh.”
    “No, it’s discolored. Eat it.”
    Nora cringed. Under the rules of the game, she had to put it in her mouth, chew it or try to chew it once and then after an obvious taste of it, spit it out. No investigating was required. “Here. Goes. I used to love these.”
    Jason watched.
    Nora placed the cracker in her mouth, fought to get one bite, cringed, gagged a little then spit it out in the cup. “Taste like cardboard.”
    Jason laughed and handed her the deck. “Your deal.”
    Nora proceeded to shuffle the cards. “So … I got a joke. First in the new line up. Let me know what you think.”
    “Go on. I’m excited.”
    “What did the nuclear war survivor say to her boyfriend?”
    “Nuclear war survivor?”
    “Yeah, relatable material. We’re in a like dystopian world, so end of the world jokes.”
    “Oh my God. Okay, I’m game. What did she say to her boyfriend?”
    Nora dealt out the cards. “You’re the bomb.”
    “That’s terrible.”
    “No it’s not. You smiled.”
    “No, I didn’t.’ Jason shook his head. “And I’m good.”
    “No cards?”
    “Nope.”
    “I’ll take four.”
    “Four huh?” Jason raised an eyebrow.
    Nora gave herself four cards. “Go on.”
    “Five raisinettes.”
    “Wow. Starting high. I’ll take them with five cheese crackers and raise you one Twinkie.”
    “I fold.”
    “You fold? You can’t fold. If you fold I win the hand and you have to eat something.”
    “I fold.”
    “Fine. I had nothing.” She tossed her cards down and lifted the raisin. “And because I’m nice.” She handed it to him. “This is for you. Chomp.”
    “After that bad joke, I suppose this will be less painful.” He placed it in his mouth, paused and his