D & D = Deadly Dull
I didn’t think people still played this game. I didn’t think people I knew played this game. I didn’t think I would be bored out of my frickin’ mind while people I knew played this game.
Let me set the stage: New Year’s Eve. Reggie’s house. The “kids” living room (just a room off the garage that Reggie and her brothers hang out in with a big screen television, Xbox and Playstation, and tons of crap on the floor that no one picks up because it’s, well, Reggie and her brothers.) Reggie invites me over for a celebration. Awesome, I think, having never been anywhere on New Year’s Eve, let alone an actual party. I show up in my black skirt with the lace pockets on the back and my good black sweater and I actually blew dry my hair instead of letting it air dry. I have on a pair of Lucie’s dangly chandelier earrings with the fake beads that look like emeralds which look really good on her because she has red hair, and I even shaved my legs, not that you can tell because I am wearing black tights.
“Good evening, Sylvie,” I say to Reggie’s mom when she opens the door, because that’s what she wants us to call her.
“Good evening, Miss Shanley,” she responds very nicely. “The guests are all in the kids’ room. Go right on in.”
I don’t know what I was expecting: Champagne and caviar and a live band? No, no, and where the hell would you put them? I guess I thought it would be sort of classy with streamers and some balloons or I don’t know, some music maybe and not Halo in the background.
“Meg’s playing!” Reggie yells as soon as I walk in. She pats the seat next to her. She is wearing a blue LA Dodgers sweatshirt and a pair of white cords and her hair is in 2 braids, like she’s Pippi Longstocking or something. The entire room is filled with boys, which sounds like it should be kind of fun since Reggie and I are the only girls but these are nerd boys, boys who play D&D on New Year’s Eve. Not very socially “ept” if you know what I mean.
Billy moves his chair closer to me as I start to sit down so I am practically sitting in his lap. “Hey Meg,” he says. “You look nice. Is that like cashmere?”
Reggie pushes him away from me. “It’s wool, dumb ass. Roll 2 d6.”
“I don’t know how to play,” I say. I’m staring at a big blank map that is covered in squares. There are a bunch of little figurines on it, like an elf and a troll and a wizard and they’re all carrying weapons of some kind but not guns which probably would make this game go a lot faster.
Reggie’s oldest brother Scott is in college and he’s the dungeon master. He’s got a whole bunch of books open in front of him and he’s telling us a story.
“You strike the giant but he doesn’t fall. Oh no! He slashes at you…” Scott makes big slashing movements in the air. “And opens a big gash in your side.”
“Do we have any healing potions?” One of Scott’s friends asks the table. “Anyone?”
“I have bull strength.”
Scott lifts a finger. “You can go to a healing room.”
I am bored already. I whisper to Reg, “Are we doing anything else tonight?”
“Like what?” she whispers back.
“I don’t know. Are we watching movies or playing any music…?”
“Do you want to put on music? You know where we keep the CDs.”
I sit and watch them for a couple more minutes. Someone else rolls some weird 20 sided dice. Another person counts squares by fives. Billy pulls out his own books and challenges Scott. The little figurines don’t do much but sit there.
“Are we doing anything at midnight?” I ask, hoping we will at least watch the Times Square thingie.
Reggie shrugs. “Sylvie’s got Champagne, I think.” She pokes her brother. “Does Mom have Champagne for midnight?”
“Scott was supposed to buy it,” Billy says.
Please let Scott have bought a case of Champagne. Please, please, please.
“Scottie, did you get the booze for tonight?”
Scott looks up from his books and frowns. “I was setting this up. When would I have had time for that?”
I groan to myself. This is gonna be a long night.
Let me set the stage: New Year’s Eve. Reggie’s house. The “kids” living room (just a room off the garage that Reggie and her brothers hang out in with a big screen television, Xbox and Playstation, and tons of crap on the floor that no one picks up because it’s, well, Reggie and her brothers.) Reggie invites me over for a celebration. Awesome, I think, having never been anywhere on New Year’s Eve, let alone an actual party. I show up in my black skirt with the lace pockets on the back and my good black sweater and I actually blew dry my hair instead of letting it air dry. I have on a pair of Lucie’s dangly chandelier earrings with the fake beads that look like emeralds which look really good on her because she has red hair, and I even shaved my legs, not that you can tell because I am wearing black tights.
“Good evening, Sylvie,” I say to Reggie’s mom when she opens the door, because that’s what she wants us to call her.
“Good evening, Miss Shanley,” she responds very nicely. “The guests are all in the kids’ room. Go right on in.”
I don’t know what I was expecting: Champagne and caviar and a live band? No, no, and where the hell would you put them? I guess I thought it would be sort of classy with streamers and some balloons or I don’t know, some music maybe and not Halo in the background.
“Meg’s playing!” Reggie yells as soon as I walk in. She pats the seat next to her. She is wearing a blue LA Dodgers sweatshirt and a pair of white cords and her hair is in 2 braids, like she’s Pippi Longstocking or something. The entire room is filled with boys, which sounds like it should be kind of fun since Reggie and I are the only girls but these are nerd boys, boys who play D&D on New Year’s Eve. Not very socially “ept” if you know what I mean.
Billy moves his chair closer to me as I start to sit down so I am practically sitting in his lap. “Hey Meg,” he says. “You look nice. Is that like cashmere?”
Reggie pushes him away from me. “It’s wool, dumb ass. Roll 2 d6.”
“I don’t know how to play,” I say. I’m staring at a big blank map that is covered in squares. There are a bunch of little figurines on it, like an elf and a troll and a wizard and they’re all carrying weapons of some kind but not guns which probably would make this game go a lot faster.
Reggie’s oldest brother Scott is in college and he’s the dungeon master. He’s got a whole bunch of books open in front of him and he’s telling us a story.
“You strike the giant but he doesn’t fall. Oh no! He slashes at you…” Scott makes big slashing movements in the air. “And opens a big gash in your side.”
“Do we have any healing potions?” One of Scott’s friends asks the table. “Anyone?”
“I have bull strength.”
Scott lifts a finger. “You can go to a healing room.”
I am bored already. I whisper to Reg, “Are we doing anything else tonight?”
“Like what?” she whispers back.
“I don’t know. Are we watching movies or playing any music…?”
“Do you want to put on music? You know where we keep the CDs.”
I sit and watch them for a couple more minutes. Someone else rolls some weird 20 sided dice. Another person counts squares by fives. Billy pulls out his own books and challenges Scott. The little figurines don’t do much but sit there.
“Are we doing anything at midnight?” I ask, hoping we will at least watch the Times Square thingie.
Reggie shrugs. “Sylvie’s got Champagne, I think.” She pokes her brother. “Does Mom have Champagne for midnight?”
“Scott was supposed to buy it,” Billy says.
Please let Scott have bought a case of Champagne. Please, please, please.
“Scottie, did you get the booze for tonight?”
Scott looks up from his books and frowns. “I was setting this up. When would I have had time for that?”
I groan to myself. This is gonna be a long night.
posted by Meg @ 3:08 PM
1 Comments:
Reg, it was New Year's Frickin Eve! If you were gonna play a game, couldn't it have been something like Pictionary or Cranium or charades where you get up and move around?
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