At a loss for words

Before I tell you my story today, there’s some background information you need to know:

I am really incredible at Scrabble.

That said, my mother asked me this morning if I’d like to play Scrabble with her.

Naively flattered that my mom wanted to spend time with me, I agreed. Little did I know, all she really wanted to do was see if she could kick my ass.

See, my mom and I played Scrabble a couple of weeks ago, and it was brutal. I won by about 50 points. My mom has also heard many tales of my Scrabble skills, from Andrew and my brothers, who I defeat often and without remorse and who whine about my awesomeness every time I suggest a game.

After last week’s game, my defeated mother comforted herself.

Mom: Well, I won the 8^th grade Scrabble tournament.

Sam: Yeah, but I didn’t play in that tournament.

Mom: Well, I beat Sam Kellar. He was really smart.

Sam: Ha. You didn’t beat Sam Schott.

(No wonder she wanted to kick my ass.)

So my mom and I began our friendly game around 10 or so, and as the hours passed, the game became less friendly and more fierce. Each time I played a word my mom had never heard of, she rolled her eyes and laughed, which I interpreted as, “That’s not a word, but I’ll let you have it.”

The game was neck and neck the whole time, although every time my dad asked the score, my mom happened to be winning. I then had to say, “Well, Mom’s winning right now, but I was winning two minutes ago.”

My mom played QUOTA for 20-something points, which I followed with a 20-something EX, strategically using a Double Letter Score. Mom played FAIRY, I played JAM; Mom played VIBE, I played EH (which was met with an eye roll and a laugh).

As the game was winding down (and Dad had taken a permanent interest in the game, hovering over the board and glancing at our letters), Mom was at 275, and I was at 272. Mom had four letters left, while I had two. Mom played MOO for 11 points, putting her at 286 and down to one letter. So, my only chance at winning was to use both of my low-point letters and try to earn a decent amount of points. After scouring the board and seeing almost nothing, I took a chance. I added a D to SCOPE, also forming the (possible) word NID and the (possible) word DUM.

(I know, I know, it was the best I could do.)

Mom challenged, of course, after a debate over whether she had to select one of my questionable words to challenge or she could look up all three. After consulting Dad for a verdict, she picked one, and she picked the one I also would have picked: NID.

The Scrabble gods were not on my side, and NID was not listed in my New and Improved 4^th Edition Scrabble Dictionary. I gracefully accepted my defeat, surprised to see how excited Mom was to have beaten me. Until this point, I didn’t realize she was so invested in our fun little game.

After some taunting, she went to the bottom of the stairs to yell to Tyler and Trevor that they needed to take out the trash or something. She then asked what they were doing. Then, she said what she really wanted to say.

“Oh, also, I beat Sam in Scrabble!”

An hour later, Mom decided, in the middle of a TV show, to leave the couch, walk over to my room, interrupt my reading, and remind me that she’d just defeated me in Scrabble.

Yeah, yeah, you think you’re so smart, eh?!

Now, Tyler and I are considering playing a game, but Tyler doesn’t want to play unless Mom does. Mom, however, is declining our invitation, saying she doesn’t want to play me again, ever. She wants to bask in her win for the rest of our lives.

This should only further prove to you how awesome I am at Scrabble and how rare it is for me to be defeated.