she was stern

Her face was carved of stone. Immovable frowning, she barely managed to spit, "1...2..."
So sure, so positive, her seriousness eeked out and filled the room with a stifling air. Pressure increased and so heat followed suit; nonchalance folded and left the playing table. She took over the game and changed the rules. She wasn't playing for money she was playing to win. She had all the cards on her side: the mud-covered rug, the hand printed walls, and the ten little messy fingers with the worries face attached. He decided to cut his losses and take what winnings he had left.
The child ran out of the dirty room and hid, deperately, from his mother.