The Planet X Society Chapter 5 "The Gathering pt. 5"
"Dammit Dammit Dammit!" snarled Gabe when he looked at his watch and saw that he was already thirty minutes late for the meeting.
His flight out of Chicago had been delayed by over four hours thanks to a mechanical failure in the plane. Fortunately the clerk had gotten him standby status on a flight to Vegas with an alternate airline and it was touch and go for a while, but luckily someone didn't show up and so he was allowed onto the plane. He'd seen several people from the Planet X Society at the airport in Chicago but had watched them leave when their flights took off. Heather and Shelly seemed like a pair of really cool chicks and he was hoping to get to know them better once he finally got to Vegas. Big John was a fun guy and definitely lived up to his name. Kim and Nicki didn't appear to care too much for him.
"Can't like everyone I suppose," he said when they rushed off to their gate abruptly even though they still had over an hour until their flight left.
But he finally made it to Vegas and was now rushing to get ready for the big meeting. As ready as he could get without having his luggage since the airline accidentally shipped it to Vermont. All he had was his carry on bag and unfortunately, many of his personal care items had been confiscated by airport security. He couldn't understand why his toothpaste had been taken, as well as his cologne and deodorant.
The great first impression he had wanted to make with everyone was probably shot now that he didn't have the clothes he'd planned on wearing. After the big meeting and dinner, everyone was going to a happening club and he was most certainly not dressed for it.
"The worst that can happen is that they'll pull out machetes and hack me to pieces. After that, nothing really seems so bad," he said to himself as he left his room and headed for the meeting.
As soon as he walked into the Shadow Bar, he recognized dozens of people right away. James and Marie from Colorado were sitting down while Kenny waved his arms in the air as he told them a story about watching two gay guys in a slap fight. Tiffany, Valeria, Melanie, and Kim stood watching one of the bartenders flip around bottles as he made them drinks.
"Hey everyone!" said Gabe loudly.
"Gabe!" yelled out several people at once.
"I told them you had been delayed. Glad to see you made it," said Big John.
John was, well, big, but he had such a positive aura about him that Gabe really didn't seem to notice just how big he was.
"Damn glad to be here," said Gabe.
"Just like I told you buddy, first round is on me. So what are you having?" asked Samuel as he walked up to Gabe with his hand out.
"A Bud Light sounds damn good right now. Thanks man," said Gabe as he shook Samuel's hand.
"Look at that, Arylen finally arrived and she actually lives here in Vegas. Funny how you two showed up just a minute apart," said Big John.
"Hah! Dude, if the two of us had hooked up, we'd still be hooking up. I'm no minute man," said Gabe with a laugh.
"With the two of you finally showing up, there's fifty people that made it," said Samuel as he handed Gabe his beer.
"Thanks dude, I really need this," said Gabe before taking a long drink.
"You're welcome. I'm not just celebrating being here either, my agent called me when I was at the airport and told me that my novel is going to crack the New York Times Bestsellers list," said Samuel gleefully.
"Fuck, that's awesome! Congrats!" said Gabe.
Gabe walked around the bar, introducing himself to everyone from the group. Just about all of them had their digital cameras or camera phones out taking pictures, which made Gabe semi-upset since he had unfortunately put his camera in his suitcase which was now somewhere in Vermont.
"Don't worry, I'll email you all of the pictures I take," said Carrie.
"There sure are a lot of people from Kentucky here," said Gabe while talking with Carrie, George, Tammi, JP, and Heather.
"Yeah, who would have ever thought that," said George after taking a swig from his beer.
Nicki surprised Gabe by buying him a beer when he went up to say hi to Jake and Andrew who were standing beside her.
"I hope we didn't come off as being rude when we left you at the airport, but Kim just started her period and wanted me to go with her to the bathroom," said Nicki in a low whisper.
"Hey, no problem, things happen," said Gabe, relieved that it wasn't something he had said that had driven them off.
"Just call me Maverick so that you don't confuse me with the Mike from California," said Mike who was from Maryland.
"Uh, okay, Maverick," replied Gabe.
"There are four guys here named James. Two that go by James, Creagh, and JP. Also there are two guys named John, Big John and just John," said Maverick.
"Well, I'm glad you told me," said Gabe as he politely angled his way back over to Heather.
Everybody was so friendly and got along well with one another, except for Andrea and Brad. Gabe noticed how the two, while polite to the people that came over to talk to them, sat away from the rest of the crowd. Gabe figured they were probably just too into each other.
When nine O'clock arrived, the group walked to Hyakumi, a Japanese restaurant there at the hotel. Gabe sat at a table with Heather, Shelly, Arylen, Big John, Tracie, Samuel, and Allison. He was kind of shocked that Allison had flown all the way from Malaysia to be there. She lived in Malaysia because her company sent her to run the office there.
"If my job didn't pay so well, I'd quit and move back to the US in a heartbeat. I hate how everybody stares at me, especially the men, when I'm out shopping or walking around," she said.
The conversation at the table was great. No single person dominated and everyone had their turn in the spotlight. Gabe felt that he and Heather were really hitting it off, but he couldn't help but notice how Nicki was giving him the eye from the table next to them. It surprised him since she was taller than he was and he wasn't used to having taller women that looked as beautiful as her dig him.
He overheard snippets of the conversation at her table and most of it was Megan talking about what a psycho fuck Reaper69 was. Except for Samuel and Shelly, none of the others at his table had gotten into any serious arguments with the guy, so the topic of Reaper69 didn't really come up while they talked.
"Everybody! Hello, everyone, I have something really special for all of you," announced Arylen after she stood on the seat of her chair.
She was actually quite short, with straightened black hair with lines of blue and red in it and light mocha colored skin.
Everyone quieted down so that they could find out what the surprise from Arylen was going to be.
"As some of you know, my father owns a vineyard and I had him bottle some special wine just for this occasion," she said.
A pair of waiters came out of the kitchen bearing large trays loaded with wine glasses as another pair of waiters opened bottles of the special wine for each table and filled the glasses until everyone had a full wine glass. Gabe saw Debbie sneak a sip in before Arylen had made her toast.
"I just want to thank Megan for coming up with this grand idea and everyone who made it here. Here's to a magnificent, fun filled, three days with the best people from not only Planet X but on the whole damn planet," she said and then raised her drink in the air.
"Cheers!" said several people as Gabe and the group at his table clinked their glasses together before taking a sip of the special wine.
'Yep, this is going to be an awesome time,' thought Gabe as Heather reached over and casually brushed her finger against his hand while Nicki gave him a wink.
His flight out of Chicago had been delayed by over four hours thanks to a mechanical failure in the plane. Fortunately the clerk had gotten him standby status on a flight to Vegas with an alternate airline and it was touch and go for a while, but luckily someone didn't show up and so he was allowed onto the plane. He'd seen several people from the Planet X Society at the airport in Chicago but had watched them leave when their flights took off. Heather and Shelly seemed like a pair of really cool chicks and he was hoping to get to know them better once he finally got to Vegas. Big John was a fun guy and definitely lived up to his name. Kim and Nicki didn't appear to care too much for him.
"Can't like everyone I suppose," he said when they rushed off to their gate abruptly even though they still had over an hour until their flight left.
But he finally made it to Vegas and was now rushing to get ready for the big meeting. As ready as he could get without having his luggage since the airline accidentally shipped it to Vermont. All he had was his carry on bag and unfortunately, many of his personal care items had been confiscated by airport security. He couldn't understand why his toothpaste had been taken, as well as his cologne and deodorant.
The great first impression he had wanted to make with everyone was probably shot now that he didn't have the clothes he'd planned on wearing. After the big meeting and dinner, everyone was going to a happening club and he was most certainly not dressed for it.
"The worst that can happen is that they'll pull out machetes and hack me to pieces. After that, nothing really seems so bad," he said to himself as he left his room and headed for the meeting.
As soon as he walked into the Shadow Bar, he recognized dozens of people right away. James and Marie from Colorado were sitting down while Kenny waved his arms in the air as he told them a story about watching two gay guys in a slap fight. Tiffany, Valeria, Melanie, and Kim stood watching one of the bartenders flip around bottles as he made them drinks.
"Hey everyone!" said Gabe loudly.
"Gabe!" yelled out several people at once.
"I told them you had been delayed. Glad to see you made it," said Big John.
John was, well, big, but he had such a positive aura about him that Gabe really didn't seem to notice just how big he was.
"Damn glad to be here," said Gabe.
"Just like I told you buddy, first round is on me. So what are you having?" asked Samuel as he walked up to Gabe with his hand out.
"A Bud Light sounds damn good right now. Thanks man," said Gabe as he shook Samuel's hand.
"Look at that, Arylen finally arrived and she actually lives here in Vegas. Funny how you two showed up just a minute apart," said Big John.
"Hah! Dude, if the two of us had hooked up, we'd still be hooking up. I'm no minute man," said Gabe with a laugh.
"With the two of you finally showing up, there's fifty people that made it," said Samuel as he handed Gabe his beer.
"Thanks dude, I really need this," said Gabe before taking a long drink.
"You're welcome. I'm not just celebrating being here either, my agent called me when I was at the airport and told me that my novel is going to crack the New York Times Bestsellers list," said Samuel gleefully.
"Fuck, that's awesome! Congrats!" said Gabe.
Gabe walked around the bar, introducing himself to everyone from the group. Just about all of them had their digital cameras or camera phones out taking pictures, which made Gabe semi-upset since he had unfortunately put his camera in his suitcase which was now somewhere in Vermont.
"Don't worry, I'll email you all of the pictures I take," said Carrie.
"There sure are a lot of people from Kentucky here," said Gabe while talking with Carrie, George, Tammi, JP, and Heather.
"Yeah, who would have ever thought that," said George after taking a swig from his beer.
Nicki surprised Gabe by buying him a beer when he went up to say hi to Jake and Andrew who were standing beside her.
"I hope we didn't come off as being rude when we left you at the airport, but Kim just started her period and wanted me to go with her to the bathroom," said Nicki in a low whisper.
"Hey, no problem, things happen," said Gabe, relieved that it wasn't something he had said that had driven them off.
"Just call me Maverick so that you don't confuse me with the Mike from California," said Mike who was from Maryland.
"Uh, okay, Maverick," replied Gabe.
"There are four guys here named James. Two that go by James, Creagh, and JP. Also there are two guys named John, Big John and just John," said Maverick.
"Well, I'm glad you told me," said Gabe as he politely angled his way back over to Heather.
Everybody was so friendly and got along well with one another, except for Andrea and Brad. Gabe noticed how the two, while polite to the people that came over to talk to them, sat away from the rest of the crowd. Gabe figured they were probably just too into each other.
When nine O'clock arrived, the group walked to Hyakumi, a Japanese restaurant there at the hotel. Gabe sat at a table with Heather, Shelly, Arylen, Big John, Tracie, Samuel, and Allison. He was kind of shocked that Allison had flown all the way from Malaysia to be there. She lived in Malaysia because her company sent her to run the office there.
"If my job didn't pay so well, I'd quit and move back to the US in a heartbeat. I hate how everybody stares at me, especially the men, when I'm out shopping or walking around," she said.
The conversation at the table was great. No single person dominated and everyone had their turn in the spotlight. Gabe felt that he and Heather were really hitting it off, but he couldn't help but notice how Nicki was giving him the eye from the table next to them. It surprised him since she was taller than he was and he wasn't used to having taller women that looked as beautiful as her dig him.
He overheard snippets of the conversation at her table and most of it was Megan talking about what a psycho fuck Reaper69 was. Except for Samuel and Shelly, none of the others at his table had gotten into any serious arguments with the guy, so the topic of Reaper69 didn't really come up while they talked.
"Everybody! Hello, everyone, I have something really special for all of you," announced Arylen after she stood on the seat of her chair.
She was actually quite short, with straightened black hair with lines of blue and red in it and light mocha colored skin.
Everyone quieted down so that they could find out what the surprise from Arylen was going to be.
"As some of you know, my father owns a vineyard and I had him bottle some special wine just for this occasion," she said.
A pair of waiters came out of the kitchen bearing large trays loaded with wine glasses as another pair of waiters opened bottles of the special wine for each table and filled the glasses until everyone had a full wine glass. Gabe saw Debbie sneak a sip in before Arylen had made her toast.
"I just want to thank Megan for coming up with this grand idea and everyone who made it here. Here's to a magnificent, fun filled, three days with the best people from not only Planet X but on the whole damn planet," she said and then raised her drink in the air.
"Cheers!" said several people as Gabe and the group at his table clinked their glasses together before taking a sip of the special wine.
'Yep, this is going to be an awesome time,' thought Gabe as Heather reached over and casually brushed her finger against his hand while Nicki gave him a wink.