Chapter Twenty-One
On Sunday morning, I wake up to a text from Max, asking if he can come over before D&D today so we can catch up on homework together. It’s the first text he’s sent since before he moved away. Honestly, I wasn’t sure he even had my number anymore.
I’m shocked by how elated I am at the idea of spending more time together. Last month I was dreading his visits with my entire essence, and now I’m counting down the minutes until I can do homework? What is happening to me?
“Hazel, stop tapping your foot like that.” Kelsey glares at me from across the dining room table. “You’re making the table shake and I can’t line up my stickers right.”
We’re sitting together while she works on her latest sticker book craft and I (pretend to) read for my English class while I actually watch the clock on my phone. I force myself to stop and shake out my limbs.
“Sorry.”
“Why are you so twitchy?”
“Just bored. Wait until you’re in high school and then you’ll understand.”
“It’s because Max is coming,” she says without looking up. She’s too busy placing her stickers just so to form a unicorn.
“No, it’s not. And how do you know that?”
“Mom told me. She said they might take me to Aunt Mary’s house early today since you’d have a friend over. Your friend who’s a boy.” She waggles her eyebrows.
There’s a short knock on the front door and then I hear it creak open.
“Hello?” Max’s voice calls from the hall.
I stand, but not before Kelsey has flown out of her seat and toward the front door. I hurry after her.
“Hiii!” she says and beams up at him. Today he’s wearing a black Weezer shirt and his book bag is slung over one shoulder. My tension releases as soon as I lay eyes on him.
“Hey. That’s a nice way to be greeted.” He smiles down at her, and she stands even taller.
“That’s because I’m way nicer than Hazel.”
I sigh. “You’re not way nicer—just nosy.”
He crouches down so he’s eye level with Kelsey. “Is she in one of her grouchy moods?” he asks in a stage whisper.
“When is she not?”
The two of them laugh and I cross my arms over my chest. “You know I can hear you two, right?”
Kelsey looks over her shoulder. “We know! We just don’t care.”
Max snorts. “You’re way more fun than you were when I used to hang out over here.”
“I don’t think that’s how I’d describe it,” I mutter.
“Maybe Hazel should go to our aunt’s house tonight instead and we can hang out here together,” Kelsey says conspiratorially.
Max’s shoulders shake in silent laughter, and he meets my gaze over the top of Kelsey’s head.
His expression is so relaxed that I can barely associate it with the downcast, miserable guy standing in this same hallway back in August. He looks so much like my childhood friend that it takes my breath away.
“Did I hear—oh, Max!” Mom walks into the hall, looking frazzled. “I thought I heard the door open. Sorry, there’s so much going on between work and volunteering and this campaign that I can barely keep my head screwed on tight.”
“No problem.” Max straightens. “Thanks for letting me come over early. And, uh, sorry if I ever acted rude or anything before. I was just…going through some things.”
She blinks in surprise. “Of course, it’s already forgotten. We’re always glad to have you here.”
I gawk at Max. That was unexpected.
Mom pats Kelsey on the shoulder. “Are you ready?”
“Do I have to go?” she asks with a lingering glance at Max. I might be watching her form a crush on him right before my eyes.
“Well, Aunt Mary did mention something about making homemade ice cream and having a sundae party with the cousins, but if that doesn’t sound fun, then—”
“We’re making our own ice cream?”
Mom winks at me and hustles Kelsey toward the door.
“How quickly I’m forgotten,” Max says as he follows me back into the dining room.
“As if anything can compete with sundae parties. Much better than homework.” I nod toward his book bag.
“Truth.”
We both pull out our laptops and settle into a rhythm.
I keep my eyes strictly on my screen, though it’s hard to focus knowing Max is right across from me.
I’m hyperaware of his every sigh and shift of weight.
Could he be paying attention to what I’m doing too?
Or is he actually working like a good student?
I can’t tell, but I try to be as still and quiet as possible just in case.
We’re like that for fifteen minutes before he stretches and pulls out a water bottle.
I take the opportunity to ask something that’s been on my mind.
“So…what was going on with my mom back there?”
He shrugs and takes a drink of water. “It just felt like something I should do. You know, clear the air and all that. Especially if I’m going to be coming over here all the time.”
A smile spreads across my face. “Is that your plan?”
“Yeah. If you’re okay with it.”
“Hmm.” I tap my finger on my chin. “I’m not sure. Are you going to insist on us watching Lord of the Rings movies whenever we have free time?”
“That depends on whether you’ll listen when I tell you about Christopher Lee.”
“I won’t. But that’s because I already know all the lore. You forget how many times we watched those movies back in the day.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything.”
Our eyes meet and the warmth of his gaze sends fire sparking down my veins. Then he grins. “Did I ever tell you that Viggo actually broke his toes when he kicked that helmet in The Two Towers?”
“I will throw this laptop at your head.”
He chuckles and holds up his hands in defense. “All right, all right, back to work.”
By the time the rest of our group arrives, Max and I have plowed through a mountain of homework. As happy as I am to see everyone, especially Zoinks with his big doggy grin, my anxiety for tonight quickly rises. I should have done more to prepare.
Last week we had to cancel our session because Felix was sick, which gave me a much-needed reprieve from figuring out how to handle this campaign, but I still haven’t done anything about it.
I could blame my packed schedule, but really I’ve been procrastinating.
That backstory and added mystery from Li and Felix really threw me.
I can’t work out how to incorporate everything smoothly, but I also don’t want to tell them they have to change it.
I start the game again where we left off last time, with their characters exploring the city and throwing out miscellaneous suggestions of what they’d like to do next. I have no real plan for them.
But, when in doubt, throw a monster in their path.
“Ha!” Max yells after successfully attacking the harpies, our latest monster, once again. “I do thirteen points of damage.”
His yelling gets Zoinks worked up. The dog puts his paws on the dining room table and barks loudly.
“Thank you, my thoughts exactly!” Max calls to him.
Zoinks trots to Max for pets, then goes around to each of the rest of us for scratches and attention, which we happily give. I love having Zoinks here. Not only is he incredibly adorable, but playing with him kills a lot of time and keeps people from fully realizing how dumb this campaign is.
“Now you know why Zelda—and Zoinks—is such an extrovert,” Nova says, almost aggravated, as she gives Zoinks a kiss on the head. Her turn is next, so she has her ranger throw a dagger at a harpy for more damage.
“Li, what would you like to do?” I ask gently when Nova’s finished. She hasn’t said much since we started playing. Usually she’s so enthusiastic.
“Um…” She frowns and flips through pages of the manual in front of her. “I’m not sure. I guess Axolotl needs healing, right? I could do that.”
“If you want to,” I reply.
“I kind of wish I would have chosen another class,” she says after healing him. She picks at the food Mom made for everyone tonight. “I guess I didn’t realize how much fighting there was in D&D. Max, you were smart to pick fighter as your class.”
“I’m thrilled to be in a party with two druids,” Max tells her. “That means two people who could heal me when I almost kill myself for the fifth time this session.” He laughs, but her returning smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
Sure enough, Max finishes off the harpies after a couple more rounds but gets down to his last hit points and needs to be healed once again.
“There are certainly a lot of monsters descending on this city,” Nova says to the group when everyone is dusted off and ready to continue on. “What do you think it means?”
That I’m a boring Dungeon Master, I think to myself and squeeze my dice behind the screen.
“Maybe there’s something here they want?” Felix says.
“Or something is drawing them here?” Nova replies.
“Do we see anyone around we could ask about these things?” Li asks me.
“Um…” My foot is shaking under the table. “You’re on a main thoroughfare in the city, so there are many established businesses surrounding you. However, when the harpies came, the people on the roads ran for cover and the business owners all locked their doors and hid away.”
“It’s impossible to get information in this place,” Felix complains, and Li nods back at him.
“We just have to know how to ask,” Max says. “Is the road we’re on slanted?”
“Yes.” I have no idea why he’s asking, but I can’t keep shutting everyone down or they really are going to abandon the game.
“Perfect.” He leans forward toward the other players. “What we need is to talk to someone in charge. The city has now had three major encounters in a row and we’re the ones who keep saving the day. We deserve answers and compensation for all this death-defying work.”
“It wouldn’t be so death-defying if you didn’t keep charging into battle,” Felix says with a shake of his head.
“Well then, I wouldn’t be doing a good job role-playing because that’s exactly what Axolotl and his axes would do. So, here’s my thought. We start walking up this road—”
“Until we come to whoever lives at the top of it,” Nova finishes. “Brilliant. Rich and powerful people always live on top of hills.”
Everyone nods their agreement and turns back to me. I don’t know who lives at the top of this hill, but I better figure it out pronto.
“Right. Okay, you all walk up the road for twenty minutes. During that time you pass only a few people, who avert their gazes and hurry past you. Eventually you see a large structure at the top of the hill. It’s a…
” I roll a d20 in my hands mindlessly and try to pull something together.
“It’s a citadel. Two guards are posted at the entrance. ”
“We go up to the first and ask what’s been happening in the city lately,” Li says immediately.
I clear my throat. “The city is being overrun by foul beasts, day and night,” I tell them in the deeper voice of the guard. “We used to be on the streets constantly, battling them back, but our ranks were diminished and now our leader doesn’t send us out.”
Nova frowns. “But if the city is under siege, why did you have a musical festival only days ago?”
I cringe. It’s literally painful discovering in real time how bad I am at this.
“Uh…well…” I look down at the table and back up. “Our ruler thought that it would be a good idea. To bring more people to the area.”
“More people to be slaughtered, it sounds like,” Felix says.
“And to support the local businesses,” I continue. “That’s why he planned the festival for outside the city. And to give the remaining townspeople something to look forward to. They have so little.”
“And they’d have even less if it wasn’t for us,” Max retorts, but at least the group looks mollified by the answers.
“Do you know if any other elves have come here for refuge?” Li asks my guard. “Or any information about a blight in the lands to the east of here? We’re searching for information.”
“No other elves have come, or at least they haven’t made themselves known to me,” I reply in my deep voice.
Li droops a bit and my stomach twists in guilt. I hate seeing her this way, but I don’t even know why this city is under siege (except that encounters with monsters are easier for me to throw together).
“Zelda steps into the guard’s personal space and growls,” Nova says and pats Zoinks on the head.
His tongue flops out into a huge grin and we all laugh.
He couldn’t intimidate a mouse. “You don’t seem like the kind of man who has a lot of answers, and since that’s all we need right now, I think we’re done with you. We want to speak to your ruler.”
If I wanted to, I could refuse to take them, or make the party persuade my character to do their bidding, but I don’t have the heart to do that. I’ve already given them enough pushback.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry to interrupt, but your dog is precious! Can I pet him?”
We look up to find Melanie standing in the doorway to the dining room. The rest of Mom and Dad’s group walks up the basement stairs, and it’s clear the night is done. We didn’t accomplish very much other than fighting, but the party didn’t revolt against me, so that’s something.
Li is especially quiet as everyone packs up and heads out. She doesn’t even laugh when Zoinks stands on his hind legs to give Max a lick on the cheek.
“Doing okay?” I ask her quietly.
“Yep. See you tomorrow.” She waves, but my stomach clenches at her monotone. I’m letting her down as DM, that much is clear. Felix is quick to her side. The two walk out, talking in hushed voices, and I’m left in the doorway with my worries and self-doubt.