4 April 2005Charles and I arrived a few minutes later than Lori had asked but since I was under the impression the actual trivia didn't start until nearly an hour later, I was sure it would be fine. She looked angry, at first, but then very quickly shifted to a smile and came over to meet us. "Matteson! You brought a friend," she said, looking Charles over. "Yeah, I mentioned that. Sorry we're late." "Did you?" She waved her hand as she turned and started walking toward the table. "Doesn't matter, we still have time to eat and get some drinks first, right?" "What is she, a gym teacher?" Charles whispered to me as we started to walk. I smacked him. "It's more distinct than John," I whispered back. He looked like he was thinking about that for a moment. "Yeah, alright." "What are you guys whispering about back there?" she asked as she got to the table. "Nothing important," I said. She looked at us for a moment as if sizing up that answer. The guy at the table stood from behind her and extended a hand. "The famous Matteson, I presume?" he asked. I nodded and shook his hand. "So it would seem." Lori lightened up and introduced us to Mark, who had just shaken my hand, as well as Beth and Bob, and I introduced Charles, before we all took our seats. As we all talked and ate and drank, Charles got into the idea of calling me Matteson and seemed to hit it off well with Bob. By the time trivia started, the two of them were cracking jokes while the rest of us tried to handle the questions. Lori started to lean against me and I had my arm around her when I wasn't the one writing. We were actually doing pretty well when a question about the difference between naiads and dryads came up. Charles, by now a few drinks in and on a roll with Bob, decided to tell his new friend about nymphs showing up at my house over the weekend. Lori sat bolt upright and stared at him, then at me. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked around at the table, with everyone stopped and looking confused. "Nymphs?" Mark asked. "Like...the water spirits?" "Yeah, Matteson," Charles started, "he...has he not-" "It's not something I lead with, Charles," I hissed. "What's this about them showing up at your house?" Lori asked, her eyes boring into my skull. "Those are fake, though," Beth said, looking around for support. "Right?" Bob and Mark nodded. "It was a prank, from a...friend. Thought he was helping me out. I sent them home," I answered, quietly. "He's clearly a bit drunk and confused," Bob said, slapping Charles on the back. Charles laughed, and Beth and Mark waved the situation off and started writing the answer to the new question that came up. "I don't think I like this friend very much," Lori whispered. I shrugged. "I don't think we'll be seeing much of him for a while, anyway," I said. She scowled, then took a deep breath. She smiled as she turned back to the others. I glared at Charles, who mouthed an apology and then turned his gaze away to knock back some more beer. "How was I supposed to know you didn't tell 'em you see shit?" Charles yelled, slightly slurring, as I drove him home.
"Seriously? Think about how literally everyone reacts when they first hear it," I said. "I thought you liked the attention!" "Oh yeah. The years of mockery and the way so many people avoid me is definitely the highlight of this ability." "Does Lori at least know?" "Why would she?" "John! You're dating this girl and didn't tell her you see ghosts?" "We aren't officially dating, and it's hardly relevant!" "Look, man. If you do see what you say you see, it's always relevant." "You're drunk." "And I'm right! You need to tell her if this is gonna be a Thing." I sat quietly for a moment, then turned up the radio. He rolled his eyes and leaned on his window to watch the lights the rest of the way to his place.
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23 March 2005"Why are we sitting in an Applebee's, anyway?" Kastor asked. He's a 4-foot tall faun that I met when I was a kid, and had never really been able to get out of my life since. He was sitting across from me in the booth while I waited for Lori to show up. I'd offered her a ride, but she said she had some other stuff to do first and would meet me here.
"Because white girls like Applebee's," I muttered, looking through the menu and trying not to draw attention to myself. Kastor hopped up and smelled the food as a waitress walked by, then scowled. "I don't think I like Applebee's. Why don't you take me anywhere fun?" "I don't take you anywhere at all. You just kinda show up." "And it's a good thing I do! Where would you be without me?" "I should be so lucky to find out." He gave a sarcastic laugh as I looked up and saw Lori checking with the hostess. I waved, and she started walking over. Kastor scampered over the table and sat down next to me. "Must you stay?" I hissed. "And miss whatever this is?" I sighed, and then smiled as I got out of the booth to greet her. We were having a nice time talking and deciding what to order, and I found that Kastor was much more quiet than I expected. It was nice, made it easier to ignore him. She called me Matteson, and when I asked why she showed me that that's how she had listed me in her phone. "Everyone knows a dozen Johns," she said, putting the phone away. "I think this makes you more distinct." "I suppose I can take distinct," I chuckled. "Better than what some people call me." When I slipped out to use the bathroom, he came with me. I glanced over at him as I entered the room, and noticed his eyes were darting around a lot and his ears were down like a frightened dog's. I looked around the bathroom to make sure we were alone, then made my way to the urinal. "What's your issue, Kastor?" "Her," he said, looking back as though she was going to come bursting through the door. "Something's off about her. Did you see the way she looked at me?" "I have serious doubts she was looking at you. You know people like me are rare." "I mean, sure, statistically, but there are an awful lot of humans out there..." "So you don't like her because you think she gave you a weird look?" He sidled over to me, and leaned his back against mine. "That is incredibly uncomfortable while I'm doing this." "So stop." I groaned and rolled my eyes. "But no, listen. Something is...off about her. You didn't notice?" "I'll bite," I said, zipping my pants and flushing. I pushed him aside and went to the sink. "The ripples she leaves in the Realm are different than anyone else I've seen." "Yes! Yes, that!" "But so are everyone else's. It's almost like a signature." I started washing my hands. "The differences in hers are more pronounced than other people I know, but that's it. It's not like they read as inhuman." "Well I don't think you should be dating her," he said, crossing his arms. "I'm not taking dating advice from a faun." I turned off the water, grabbed some paper towels, and turned to face him while I dried my hands. "You lot are known for a very different romantic lifestyle than I'm interested in." "You can't believe everything you hear about us!" "So you don't go frolic with nymphs when you're not bugging me?" He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it and waved his hands around as he looked for the words. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay! So you can believe some of what you hear about us. But don't go buying into stereotypes all willy-nilly on me!" he yelled, pointing. "Noted. Look, I'm going back to my date. If you have a problem with her, just leave. We can talk later." "I could introduce you to some of those nymphs, you know." "Good night, Kastor," I said, before heading for the door and back to the table. He did not follow. 18 March 2005The plan last night was bar hopping. We couldn't decide which Saint Patrick's Day party to go to, but knew that the one at the Lube would be ending early to make room for Karaoke. So the plan was to pregame at Our Gang's to meet Tony, then head over to the Lube until they were done, and finish out the night at Chestnut Street Cafe. If Chestnut wasn't working for us we could always wander over to the Zoo.
The beginning of the plan went great. We all enjoyed the atmosphere and drink deals at Our Gang's and Tony got us some food and we were good and ready for the larger party downtown when we made our way out. We had all walked so we wouldn't have to deal with a designated driver, which was almost always me, so by the time we got to the Lube we were ready for more drinks and snacks. We'd been there maybe an hour when a woman about our age asked Mandy if she could sit with us while she waited for her friends to show up. Her name was Lori, and it came up as we were all talking that she was interested in mythology. I leaned into that a bit, and pretty soon the two of us were discussing the role of saints as a sort of modern pantheon and everyone else was tuning us out. We talked for hours. The conversation drifted into the question of where one draws the line between folklore and mythology (I felt it was a matter of faith investment, she argued it had more to do with practical application) and the rise of neopaganism and the sudden appearance of ghosthunting shows and we decided to stay put when the rest of the group went to Chestnut because, after all, Lori couldn't leave yet. The karaoke started and we got to talking about our tastes in music and we each picked a song for the other to sing on the understanding we would find out what they were when we were called up. She liked the classics so I gave her a Beatles song; she picked Violent Femmes for me. By the time we decided her friends weren't coming, we'd exchanged numbers and made arrangements to see each other again in a few days, after we'd recovered from St. Pat's. I walked her out to her cab and then wandered home. On the way I saw a pair of ravens that almost seemed like they were watching me. I yelled up to them that this had been the best St. Pat's I'd ever had, even if I had no idea where my friends were, and they cocked their heads as if listening but didn't seem terribly interested. I could've sworn one of them was a little bit blue, but seeing as I passed out on my porch I can't honestly say I trust that part of the memory. |
AuthorThe blog of John Matteson. Boost on TopWebFictionTall Tales: Volume Two now available
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