Read The If Game for Free Online

the wooden handle the door swung inwards.
    Stephen looked cautiously through the gap. He saw the garden he’d expected. It was large and green and seemed full of people, all talking. They were sitting round a big table spread with food. But as he looked, the talking died down and all heads were turned towards him. He was acutely embarrassed.
    He said, ‘I’m sorry. I just wanted to know what was here.’ He half expected to be told to go away quickly, or even to be told he had no business to open a door into an unknown garden. Instead of this, a woman got up from the table and came towards him. She was smiling.
    â€˜Well, come in, now you’re here,’ she said. Her hand was on his shoulder and she was pushing him towards the table. ‘Just in time. Chris hasn’t cut the cake yet.’
    Stephen saw now that on the table there was a large iced cake, with candles. Behind it was a small boy with curly brown hair. He said, ‘I’m going to cut it now!’ and flourished a knife. A voice called out, ‘Blow out the candles first!’
    The boy took a deep breath and blew. All the candles but one went out. Someone leaned forward and pinched it so that the little flame disappeared.
    â€˜Now cut it!’ someone said.
    â€˜But you must wish!’ a woman said.
    The boy said, ‘I’m going to.’
    â€˜You mustn’t tell us what it is,’ another voice said.
    The boy, Chris, said, ‘Shan’t tell anyone.’ He plunged the knife into the cake, but to cut a slice was more than he could manage. The woman who had told him to wish was beside him, and she held his hand and guided the knife so that the pieces of cake, which were more like mounds of crumbs than slices, could be piled on a plate.
    Stephen expected that at any moment someone would realize that he had no right to be there. But the woman who had pushed him towards the table, handed the plate to him as he approached where they were standing. ‘Go on, it’s good,’ she said, and Stephen, not knowing how to refuse, took the smallest slice he could see. She was right. It was good.
    â€˜I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in,’ he said, his mouth full of cake.
    â€˜You didn’t barge in. Didn’t you get the invitation?’ she asked, also through a mouthful of crumbs. He didn’t know how to answer that. Of course he hadn’t had an invitation to the birthday of someone he’d never met before. He looked round at the other guests to see if there could be anyone there whom he knew, who might have invited him. But they were all strangers. Not only strangers, but something about the way they spoke made him think that they were not English. They had a curious accent which he couldn’t name, and yet they talked as if English were their native tongue. American perhaps?
    â€˜I know Chris asked for you to come,’ the woman said.
    Stephen felt acutely uncomfortable. Here he was again, with people who seemed to know him, though he had no idea who they were. He said, ‘I think there’s been a mistake. I didn’t really mean to come to his party
    But she interrupted him. ‘Just because you didn’t like what Rose said the other day? You shouldn’t hold it against Chris. It wasn’t anything to do with him.’
    More confusing than ever. Stephen said, ‘Who’s Rose?’
    The woman stared. ‘Rose. You know Rose,’ she said.
    â€˜No. I don’t. Look! It’s all a mistake. I shouldn’t have come in here. I don’t know any of you. I don’t know Rose and I’ve never seen you before.’
    â€˜There’s no need to take it like that. Calm down, won’t you?’ the woman said.
    â€˜I’m quite calm,’ Stephen said. It wasn’t true. He was angry and frightened. He didn’t know what was going on. It seemed as if there were people around who were out to confuse him, to pretend that