Another late log (Saturday night, Sunset)
Who: Tina, Katie, Kyle, Juice, Eva, Stephan, Dot, Gil
Where: Sunset
When: Sunday Night
Tina was in a good mood. She'd made it through a show without screwing up- and people seemed to like her. Now, to just get rid of that pesky lawyer problem, and she'd be able to do something... right?
Katie was settled at Tina's table, head down, looking sleepy.
Kyle was trying to learn to juggle with oranges. He was almost at three.
"You don't have to stay if you don't want to." said Tina, to Katie "You look really tired"
There was a red-haired guy hanging out at the bar. He was in flannel and jeans and he was halfway through a beer.
"S'okay. I'd rather be here than home," Katie said.
Juice was admiring Kyle's juggling skills.
"Tada! Three! Three oranges!" Kyle cheered, as he finally managed to juggle for about five seconds.
"Anything I can do to help you feel better?" asked Tina
"Rub my shoulders, maybe?" Katie asked.
Tina got up to do that. SInce she played the bass, her hands were actually kind of strong.
Katie plunked back down and made happy noises.
Tina smiled. A happy Katie was a good Katie
Gil was settled in at a table, drinking a Coke and busily making notes on a map.
Kyle grinned, and lost an orange. "Monkeyfuck."
Nica headed inside and made a beeline for Juice. "Heya, how's it going?"
"I can almost juggle!" Kyle said to Nica.
"I saw! THAT's pretty cool!" Nica said.
"Thanks! I'm practicing," Kyle said.
Eva headed in, looking around the place. She really didn't belong. She took a deep breath, and headed for the bar. "This is where you wanted me to meet you?" she said, to the redhead
"Yeah," Stephan said with a smile. "How're you tonight?"
Kyle answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Out of place." said Eva "Why does everyone look so... upset?"
"Anything else you want?" asked Tina, to Katie
"Kyle! Is there anything utterly earthshaking that I must be there for, tonight?" Dot was trying to decide if she wanted to come out, or not. There was this article she was reading...
"No, probably not," Kyle said.
"I'm not sure," Stephan said. "This whole town seemed moody all day. Not sure what's up."
"Mmn-nn." Katie seemed perfectly content. And faceplanted in the table.
"Hm. Then, maybe I will just stay home. I think I heard some muttering about being childless parents at dinner tonight," said Dot.
"Isn't that usually a good thing?" Kyle answered.
"Not when I'm sitting right there, it isn't! I think they miss me, and it's true that I never sleep as well over there," said Dot. "It must be all the you-know-what," she added, cheerfully.
"Kinky sex?" Kyle asked, bemused.
"Shhhhh! What if they're listening in?" Dot giggled. "Nah, I don't care. In fact, I bet they're happier knowing that THEY JUST FOUND OUT THAT MY BEST FRIENDS ARE GAY! I mean, happier if they knew that I wasn't running around getting into trouble." She dissolved in laughter and had to catch her breath.
"Would they -rather- you be hanging out with straight friends for kinky sex?" Kyle asked.
"'Cause we could dress Juice up like a guy, if you want to freak them out," Kyle added.
Eva eyed Kyle, and stepped away from the bar.
"Now how will you sucker a rich philanthropist into dying and leaving you his money that way?" Kyle said. Yes, he was doing this at the bar. While occasionally serving customers.
Stephan eyed Kyle, too, then Eva. "So, you wanna get a table?"
"That sounds like it could be something illegal." Eva said
"Oh, there's all kinds of ways of doing that!" Dot grinned. "There's all kinds of natural ways to induce death. If I ever wanted to turn the powers of the plant kingdom of eeeevil, it would be a snap."
Kyle always did his part to remind people that they were in a creepy goth club.
"Well, they had a Batman villian who did that - but she was a major flirt too," Kyle pointed out.
"Most people in real life are more subtle."
Katie stretched. "Thaaank you Tina."
Eva knew she didn't belong in the club. She was in a pastel dress- she looked more like she belonged in Sunday School.
"Anytime." Tina smiled "Anything else I can do for you?"
"The plant kingdom is evil enough as it is," Stepehan said amiably.
"I know! I actually wanted to make a costume like hers one Halloween, but my mom pointed out that dressing only in plants just makes you look like a whore," Dot said.
"Yeah. Most comic book villianesses look a little stripperific," Kyle agreed.
"Poisoning someone is a crime." Eva said "...and I really don't belong in this club, Stephan."
"You just have to not take it seriously," Stephan said. "But we could go somewhere else, if you like, I think I saw a steak house somewhere nearby ... "
"Maybe we could get some drinks and something to eat? Last night just seemed to go on forever," Katie said.
"I can't afford steak." Eva said
"Besides, I'm not really built to wear only plants like that. She's a lot more boobtastic," sighed Dot.
"This is true," Kyle agreed. "Maybe in a few years."
"I'll get it for you." Tina said "Um... coke to drink? Right?"
"I can afford ... " Stephan thought. " ... a couple of burgers, I think."
Katie nodded.
"Will you two be my henchpeople? I have to have at least a few I can count on," Dot said.
"Sure. We're technically already Master V's henchmen, so why not?" Kyle said.
"My budget allows me fourteen dollars, that is after the cover charge, to spend here tonight. I have an emergency fund, but I'd rather save that for my taxi."
"Um, what kind of food?" asked Tina
"Well, what would you like?" Katie asked.
"Well! How am I supposed to be able to count on your loyalty when you're already loyal to somebody else," pouted Dot. "That does not seem fair."
"Grapes, toast, maybe wings... so, I'll get wings. Is that okay?" Tina hoped it would be okay
Katie nodded. "That's good."
"So, the question remains," Stephan said with a little smile. "Here, or no?"
"Ok." Tina nodded "I'll be right back."
"Well, you could pay us more," Kyle offered. "Or you could come here to negotiate in person."
Eva sighed. "Here, I suppose... I think I should have worn something a bit darker though..."
Juice nodded.
Tina headed to the bar, to order stuff for her and Katie.
"Hey, Tina, what can I get you?" Kyle asked.
"Wings, and a coke, and a grape soda." Tina said "Yeah, I think... yeah."
"About that...is Juice working too? I was hoping he could come by later and 'rescue' me. That way i can hang out here and keep the parents happy, AND I can come see you guys!" Dot covered the phone for a minute and said something muffled to someone. "In fact, I gotta go real soon. They wanna play cards."
"It's okay. Very Spring-y. They make good wings here," Stephan said.
"Ahhhh. Well, he's not working. He was watching me juggle. Want me to send him over to be your gay avenger?" Kyle offered.
"Sure! Maybe he can even hang out for a little bit!" Dot covered the phone again, said something else, then uncovered it. "ARGH. I gotta go, else they're gonna start me with negative points!"
"Alright. Later!" Kyle hung up. "Juice. Dot needs to be rescued from some sort of family card game cult."
"I'll try them." Eva said. She handed Stephan some cash "Don't take anything seriously, right?"
Tina waved to Gil.
"Eep - can you tell Mari to cover you so we can go get her?" Juice said.
Gil waved to Tina, finishing up his notemaking.
"Exactly. Goth clubs are mostly pretense," Stephan said. "So a good bit of weird that you see and hear is ... well ... just appearances and talk."
"Well... I don't know if I can leave. But go fetch Mari anyhow," Kyle suggested.
"Why would anyone want to pretend to be unhappy?" asked Eva "I'd rather pretend that everything was wonderful."
Kyle went to snag the wings from the kitchen, and presented them to Tina, then started filling up sodas.
"I think the whole idea of Goth is getting past that, though. Everything isn't wonderful. The world can be an ugly place. The whole idea is just, have fun with it. Find beauty in unlikely places."\
"That actually makes sense." Eva said "Should I be concerned that it makes sense to me?"
Juice went to do that, and came back a short time later with Mari
Tina grabbed the wings, and then realized she only had two hands. Maybe if the balanced the wings on her forearms as she carried the sodas...
Stephan smiled. "Nah. I'm just glad that something I said made sense. So, wings, then? What do you want to drink?"
"Hey, Mari -- can you do us a favor?" Kyle asked.
"They don't have sugary coffe drinks here, do they?" asked Eva "I think I'd like water, with lemon, if they have it."
"Don't know." Stephan looked behind the bar to see if there was any sign of an espresso maker.
"What's up?" Mari asked.
There was not.
"We need to go rescue Dot because her family is doing some sort of perverted card-related thing. Could you watch the bar until we get back?" Kyle asked.
Gil looked up, alarmed. "Yo, Tina. Lemme give you a hand with that." He went over to help carry stuff.
"Thanks." Tina smiled "I don't want to drop anything. Thanks."
"No sugary coffee drinks, probably," Stephan said.
"No problem. That looked a little precarious!" Gil carried stuff, helpfully. "Where are we going with this?"
"Over to Katie." Tina said "She worked really hard last night, so I'm trying to be nice... oh, how'd you like the band? I don't like metal, but it's music, you know?"
Gil followed along behind. "Oh, it was pretty good. A little loud for my tastes, but at least everybody was enjoying themselves up there."
Stephan waved at whomever was tending bar.
"I was really nervous." Tina said "And they're all nice... I just don't like the music."
Gil nodded. "Yeah. But, playing is the important part, right? At least they were all nice to you."
"Yeah." Tina said "Playing is what's most important. Music is one of the few non evil things I know how to do."
Gil frowned a little, at that. "One of the few NON-evil things? You, uh, you mean that you're more evil than good?" Oh, Kayla'd love that, if she knew.
"I'm good." Tina said "Remember? I gave up my evil ways."
"Yeah, I heard you say that..but you also just now said that you're more familiar with, um, evil things than good things. That's a little hard to unravel, dig?" Gil sighed. "That sounded bad. Sorry, Tina. I just am a little confused."
Katie looked up. "Hm?"
"...Yeah." Tina said "But I'm trying to learn good things though. Hey Katie!"
Gil nodded. "Good things are a noble goal to strive for. Katie! I have brought you food, because Tina was trying to carry too much stuff all by herself!" He set down the food he was carrying.
"Hi! Welcome back. And hi, Gil," Katie said, nodding and helping to take things.
Kyle headed out with Juice to his car.
"Hey Katie. What's going on?" Gil sat down for a minute.
"Not much. Just glad I'm not working today... and visiting Tina," Katie said.
Juice got in, after looking around a moment to make sure there wre no crazy Watchers lurking, and drove off with the Kyle
Gil nodded. "I saw you the other day. You looked pretty beat."
"No... I kinda fled." Katie looked embarrassed. "I think it was one of these goth kids... but... that's not much of a distinguishing characteristic, and I didn't -see- who did it, so... yeah."
Gil sighed. "man. I'm sorry. Want a hug? I can't really help too much, because it already happened, but ...hugs are good, right? I'm sure some Goth jerk is feeling REALLY guilty right now, anyway."
Tina bit her lip. "I'm sure they... feel really bad."
"Hope so. Tina yelled at the people who probably did it," Katie said, and gave Gil a hug.
Gil hugged Katie. "She did? Well, good for her!" Turning to Tina he said, "Good for you!"
"Uh... yeah." Tina smiled a bit "Let's not talk about that..."
Later, when wings and drinks had arrived, Stephan looked around the room a bit. "Not too crowded for a Saturday."
"I don't like big crowds." Eva said "So, did you find any detective agencies? I'm excited about possibly finding a job."
Gil nodded. "Okay, you've got it. I would come over and say hi, but the place was packed. Kayla showed up eventually, so that was cool. Anyway, I'm gonna let you kids get back to your food. Have fun!" He waved and headed back to his own table.
"Thanks, Gil," Katie said, and snagged a wing to chew on.
"So the homecoming apparently went by and the world didn't end," Katie said.
"That's really good." Tina said "Did they kill both Fannie and... I guess Mark would have gone with her, since I wasn't there."
Later, when wings and drinks had arrived, Stephan looked around the room a bit. "Not too crowded for a Saturday."
"I don't know, I wasn't there -- but Anna would know," Katie said.
"I don't like big crowds." Eva said "So, did you find any detective agencies? I'm excited about possibly finding a job."
"I'll ask her later." Tina said "As long as the world didn't end."
"Well, we're still here... so..." Katie grinned.
"Haven't had much of a look, yet," Stephan said. "It's the weekend, anyway ... job searches always go better on weekdays."
"Yeah" Tina smiled "We're still here."
"And in one piece," Katie agreed.
"In one piece." Tina said "...and I'm still worried about you when you aren't here."
"I know," Katie said, and shut up for a few moments.
"That's true." Eva said "And Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. I'll start on Monday."
Tina was quiet for a few moments too. "What's your favorite color?" she asked Katie
"Blue... no, yellow." Katie smiled briefly. "Actually, it's purple."
"Always a good plan," Stephan said, and munched a wing. "So, is California how you expected it to be?"
"Not really." Eva said "I expected more people to be self centered, less brunettes, and more scantily clad people. Instead... everyone is either gay, normal or both."
"Ok." Tina smiled "Purple. It's a nice color."
"Yeah, this town should have a rainbow flag flying over City Hall," Stephan said. "But it's not a ... bad ... place. It's off, though," he said. "I don't quite get what's wrong with it, but it's odd."
Dot scampered over to answer it.
"Hi!" Juice said. "Your ride is here."
"Hello! Is there a Dot which we can borrow in the house?" Kyle added.
Dot clapped. "Yay! Kidnappers! Parents! I am being borrowed! Carry on your card game without me somehow, 'kay? Bye!"
Kyle snagged Dot by the collar and tugged her outside.
Juice grinned. "Yay!"
"Eeeeeeeeek!" Dot allowed herself to be tugged outside, closing the door and grabbing her pack on the way out.
"When's your birthday?" Katie asked.
Outside, Dot hugged Juice and Kyle. "Thanks so much! I was losing anyway. Let's go! Go go go!"
Kyle 'dragged' her car-wards, amused.
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Juice got in, and started driving them towards the club
"June 17" Tina said "When's yours?"
"This place isn't that bad." Eva said "And the wings aren't bad."
"April 13th," Katie answered.
"I've been warned against the Cthul'wings, though," Stephan said.
"So, how bad was it?" Kyle asked Dot.
"The who?" Eva asked
"They're green, and hot enough to melt lead, or something," Stephan said.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad. They didn't give me negative points, but my parents have been playing rummy since before I was alive. So, they're pretty good. I don't know how, since it's not a game you should be good at, but what do I know?"
"So just boring?" Kyle said. "Or do you just not like to lose to them?"
"Why green? And why not call them extra spicy?" Eva didn't get it
Dot shook her head. "It was just fun, but they like to keep score. We once played a game that lasted a week. There were THOUSANDS of points. I don't mind losing to them, I just grumble to let them gloat a little."
"Ahh. Well, hopefully, we're slightly more interesting than scoring with your parents," Kyle suggested.
"No idea," Stephan said.
"I promise I'll try to remember it," Katie said, "but don't get angry if I don't, okay?"
"Yeah," Juice said, nodding in agreement.
"Well, yeah. Would I have asked for a daring night-time rescue if I didn't wanna be rescued?" Dot laughed. "You boys."
"You don't have to" said Tina "When's your Birthday? What do you want?"
"April 13th. I dunno, I don't really want anything, but it's cool to try to remember, y'know?" Katie said.
"Maybe," Kyle said. "If you were evil."
"That comes later, remember? I have to earn the right to dress myself in plants and vines and stuff," grinned Dot.
"I'll remember." said TIna
"Weird." Eva shrugged
"Agreed," Kyle said, and leaned over to kiss Juice's ear, just because.
"Are you sure you aren't gay?" Eva asked Stephan
Stephan burst out laughing. "Yes, I'm sure I'm not gay."
"Ok." Eva smiled
Dot sighed. "Thanks again, really!"
"Anyhow, there's no barfights in progress or anything," Kyle said, "but the food is better, and there's no cards. Except the weird guy who has Magic cards."
"I think we're going to be pretty good friends." Eva said, smiling
Dot nodded. "I like cards, though. I just was being difficult, I guess. I wasn't in a huge rush to go out, but I didn't wanna just sit at home and play cards tonight."
"Cool then," Kyle said.
Juice parked when they got there, so they could head on in
"I think so, too," Stephan said.
Dot trooped inside, settling at the bar.
Kyle trooped in and headed back behind the bar.
"Okay," Katie said. "So are they going to throw the lawyers out of town now that their plans are de-planned?"
"I hope so!" Tina said
Gil had fallen asleep over his map.
"Gil fell asleep." said Tina "Should we wake him up?"
Katie considered. "Probably should." She reached for a grape.
Tina headed over to Gil, and gently tapped him on the shoulder.
Gil mumbled something, but didn't wake up.
Tina shoved him a little "Wake up."
Katie chucked a grape at him.
"Eh? Wha? I don't wanna go to football practice." Gil muttered.
"You don't have to go to football practice, you have to go to CHEERLEADER practice. They're suiting up right now," Tina said, smirking.
"Oh dear christ! ack!" Gil sat up and shook his head.
Katie giggled.
"Eh? You mean I don't have to play football in a cheerleader's outfit? Whew. That was scary!" He looked around, sheepishly.
Tina giggled. "The padding would be in all the wrong places."
"And you don't have the figure for it," Katie added.
Gil laughed. "I could, uh, get tips from Juice, right? Seriously, thanks for waking me up."
"You were about to drool," Katie agreed.
Gil looked alarmed. "Really?"
"On your map," Katie confirmed.
"Oh man. That would have been terrible. Thanks again!" Gil carefully folded the map and put it away.
"What's on the map?" Tina asked.
"Is it where you bury the bodies?" Katie added.
"So, what would you like?" Kyle asked.
"Nope. It's a map I've been putting together for the desert trip. It's got, near as I can figure, all the strange weather notations I could find," Gil said.
Dot pondered for a second. "Um. The usual!"
"What strange weather notations?" Tina asked.
"Okay." Kyle put a rubber duck on the bar and stared at Dot expectantly.
"Well, there have been a couple hailstorms. Lots of this stuff is just really vague. I'm betting it's just fog or some sort of underground steam vent. I guess I'll just have to see," explained Gil.
Dot stared at the duck, the picked it up and squeaked it a couple times. "That's not the usual."
Kyle grinned. "I know. I've just had that behind the bar all day. Someone left it in the club last night."
Dot grinned. "Can ..can we keep it? It'll be a mascot or something!"
"If you want," Kyle said. "I'm pretty sure nobody's gonna claim it."
Dot beamed. "It'll be the best mascot ever. Besides, if i take it home, Ellie will just chew it up."
"Wait, we have hail?" Katie asked.
Kyle served up a soda while Dot was chatting.
"I didn't do it," Tina said.
"According to the stuff I've found. Remember, it's all pretty vague and most of it is described as 'anomalous weather events'. Gil shook his head. "That could be anything. There was one little eyewitness report that said it was hail, but that was it."
"Maybe it was demonic spider eggs," Katie offered.
"None of it seems to match up with any UFO sightings or anything, so I'm not sure it's going to go anywhere. It's worth a try, anyway. I've always wanted to get out in the desert anyhow." Gil sighed. "Demonic what? Oh, I hope not."
"Well, when did this happen?" Katie asked.
Juice is there, really- just unusually quiet.
"The last information I was able to find was from earlier this year. I didn't even know anything about this until my friends in CUFOS from back home sent me some stuff," Gil said.
Gil went on, "I'm not very interested in the weather stuff, personally. I just hope that it will lead me to something I can really use."
Katie nodded. "Well, it'd be nifty to find something that isn't trying to kill everyone."
Gil nodded. "I really am banking on the whole area being, like, a magnet for weird stuff. It can't hurt, right, that this place is so strange?"
"No, it can't hurt. Unless they probe your urethra," Katie said.
"So what should we call it?" Kyle asked.
Gil laughed. "I don't think they're gonna be interested in me personally."
"Well, that's good," Katie said.
Dot pondered. "Something fun."
"Snickerdoodle?" Kyle asked.
"Maybe! How about Saucy?" Dot suggested.
"Mother Ducker?" Juice suggested.
"Duck Off?" Kyle suggested.
"Ducka You Head?" Dot said.
"Shut Your Ducking Face?" Kyle said.
Dot considered. "Non, no. Boys, i think we're getting ahead of ourselves. We're thinking too big. We've gotta tighten it up."
"Quackers?" Kyle offered.
'Aw, i like that one," Juice said.
"Okay, we'll consider it," said Dot.
"Or maybe Quackstar... the rockstar duck." Kyle grinned.
"Hm...my vote is still for "Sauce". Or "Saucy". What else have we got?" Dot asked.
"JR Quackenstuff the third," Juice said.
"If we name him 'Saucy', can we draw little Chinese eyes on him?" Kyle asked.
"Duck Sauce! Oh, I get it," Juice said.
Dot nodded. "Little Chinese eyes are acceptable."
"Exactly!" Kyle said, grinning. "So we could name it Saucy, and give it little Chinese eyes and a little bikini."
Dot clapped. "Yes. Yes, perfect!"
"Use for what?" asled TIna, who had been really quiet
"That'd be awesome," Juice said.
"And this is a magnet for strange stuff." Tina confirmed
Gil nodded. "I thought so. And by 'use', I mean, 'use to help me find actual UFO evidence."
"Do you have a camcorder?" asked Tina
"You probably should," Katie agreed.
Gil nodded. "I sure do."
Tina still carried around paper- it had become habit when she couldn't talk. She scribbled something down for Gil "These are a couple of astrology books- they might help map the stars for you, so you don't misidentify anything. Now, the ladys teaching in anything but astrology are useless..."
"So, anyone got a marker?" Kyle asked.
Gil nodded, amused. "I'll keep that in mind. I'll compare the maps in there with the maps I already have."
Dot shook her head. "Not on me."
Kyle fished in the lost and found box. "Let's see... there's a pencil... a set of fake fangs... a pair of panties... a book on navigation... a highlighter -- no, that's not gonna work..."
"Well, you don't want to get any sort of astrological event and think it's a ufo." Tina said "I wish I could help more."
"Dude, someone lost their panties?" Juice asked.
Gil smiled. "You've been really helpful already. Thanks, Tina!"
Eva looked at her watch. "Oh dear. I need to go, Stephan. It's way past my bed time- have a good night, and I'll call you very soon."
"Apparently." Kyle held up a pair of lacy pink panties.
"Okay ... we'll go someplace less Gothy next time," Stephan said.
"Oh, and I need to start closing things up now... Juice, could you go make the announcement?" Kyle realized.
Eva blinked at the sight of pink panties at the bar. Blashphemy!
Dot chortled. "Someone must be without their superslut powers since they lost these."
"Really?" TIna asked
Gil nodded. "Of course! I hadn't thought to compare astrology charts with actual star charts. And you guys kept me from drooling on my map." He looked sheepishly at the ground.
"I still want to be friends." Tina said "And friends do nice things for each other, right? And you didn't want to mess up your map
"Will do!" Juice bounded over to turn off the music and make the call. "Attention boys, girls, and otherwise... the club is now closing for the evening. Grab you partners and/or your body parts and get on going out the door- thanks for your patronage, and come again."
Kyle put it back, making a face.
Gil nodded. "I know. We've never not been friends. Not exactly, anyway. But, um, I don't get over here very much, and, well..it's just been hard to know how to approach you, lately. Sorry."
"It's ok." Tina said "Just let Kayla know I want to be friends?... I'll see you next time, I guess. Club is closing."
"Yeah, there's weird stuff in the lost and found box," Kyle said.
Gil nodded. "I'll let her know, for sure. I'm sure I'll see you again. I hadn't realized it was so late. I've gotta get going!" He gathered up his stuff. "Night, ladies!"
Dot laughed. "Pink so isn't my color, so they're not mine."
"Goodnight." Tina waved, and started cleaning up
Eva hurried out.
Juice started cleaning stuff up, 'cause it was that time
Gil made his way on outside, and homeward.
Dot made herself useful by straightening chairs and such.
Where: Sunset
When: Sunday Night
Tina was in a good mood. She'd made it through a show without screwing up- and people seemed to like her. Now, to just get rid of that pesky lawyer problem, and she'd be able to do something... right?
Katie was settled at Tina's table, head down, looking sleepy.
Kyle was trying to learn to juggle with oranges. He was almost at three.
"You don't have to stay if you don't want to." said Tina, to Katie "You look really tired"
There was a red-haired guy hanging out at the bar. He was in flannel and jeans and he was halfway through a beer.
"S'okay. I'd rather be here than home," Katie said.
Juice was admiring Kyle's juggling skills.
"Tada! Three! Three oranges!" Kyle cheered, as he finally managed to juggle for about five seconds.
"Anything I can do to help you feel better?" asked Tina
"Rub my shoulders, maybe?" Katie asked.
Tina got up to do that. SInce she played the bass, her hands were actually kind of strong.
Katie plunked back down and made happy noises.
Tina smiled. A happy Katie was a good Katie
Gil was settled in at a table, drinking a Coke and busily making notes on a map.
Kyle grinned, and lost an orange. "Monkeyfuck."
Nica headed inside and made a beeline for Juice. "Heya, how's it going?"
"I can almost juggle!" Kyle said to Nica.
"I saw! THAT's pretty cool!" Nica said.
"Thanks! I'm practicing," Kyle said.
Eva headed in, looking around the place. She really didn't belong. She took a deep breath, and headed for the bar. "This is where you wanted me to meet you?" she said, to the redhead
"Yeah," Stephan said with a smile. "How're you tonight?"
Kyle answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Out of place." said Eva "Why does everyone look so... upset?"
"Anything else you want?" asked Tina, to Katie
"Kyle! Is there anything utterly earthshaking that I must be there for, tonight?" Dot was trying to decide if she wanted to come out, or not. There was this article she was reading...
"No, probably not," Kyle said.
"I'm not sure," Stephan said. "This whole town seemed moody all day. Not sure what's up."
"Mmn-nn." Katie seemed perfectly content. And faceplanted in the table.
"Hm. Then, maybe I will just stay home. I think I heard some muttering about being childless parents at dinner tonight," said Dot.
"Isn't that usually a good thing?" Kyle answered.
"Not when I'm sitting right there, it isn't! I think they miss me, and it's true that I never sleep as well over there," said Dot. "It must be all the you-know-what," she added, cheerfully.
"Kinky sex?" Kyle asked, bemused.
"Shhhhh! What if they're listening in?" Dot giggled. "Nah, I don't care. In fact, I bet they're happier knowing that THEY JUST FOUND OUT THAT MY BEST FRIENDS ARE GAY! I mean, happier if they knew that I wasn't running around getting into trouble." She dissolved in laughter and had to catch her breath.
"Would they -rather- you be hanging out with straight friends for kinky sex?" Kyle asked.
"'Cause we could dress Juice up like a guy, if you want to freak them out," Kyle added.
Eva eyed Kyle, and stepped away from the bar.
"Now how will you sucker a rich philanthropist into dying and leaving you his money that way?" Kyle said. Yes, he was doing this at the bar. While occasionally serving customers.
Stephan eyed Kyle, too, then Eva. "So, you wanna get a table?"
"That sounds like it could be something illegal." Eva said
"Oh, there's all kinds of ways of doing that!" Dot grinned. "There's all kinds of natural ways to induce death. If I ever wanted to turn the powers of the plant kingdom of eeeevil, it would be a snap."
Kyle always did his part to remind people that they were in a creepy goth club.
"Well, they had a Batman villian who did that - but she was a major flirt too," Kyle pointed out.
"Most people in real life are more subtle."
Katie stretched. "Thaaank you Tina."
Eva knew she didn't belong in the club. She was in a pastel dress- she looked more like she belonged in Sunday School.
"Anytime." Tina smiled "Anything else I can do for you?"
"The plant kingdom is evil enough as it is," Stepehan said amiably.
"I know! I actually wanted to make a costume like hers one Halloween, but my mom pointed out that dressing only in plants just makes you look like a whore," Dot said.
"Yeah. Most comic book villianesses look a little stripperific," Kyle agreed.
"Poisoning someone is a crime." Eva said "...and I really don't belong in this club, Stephan."
"You just have to not take it seriously," Stephan said. "But we could go somewhere else, if you like, I think I saw a steak house somewhere nearby ... "
"Maybe we could get some drinks and something to eat? Last night just seemed to go on forever," Katie said.
"I can't afford steak." Eva said
"Besides, I'm not really built to wear only plants like that. She's a lot more boobtastic," sighed Dot.
"This is true," Kyle agreed. "Maybe in a few years."
"I'll get it for you." Tina said "Um... coke to drink? Right?"
"I can afford ... " Stephan thought. " ... a couple of burgers, I think."
Katie nodded.
"Will you two be my henchpeople? I have to have at least a few I can count on," Dot said.
"Sure. We're technically already Master V's henchmen, so why not?" Kyle said.
"My budget allows me fourteen dollars, that is after the cover charge, to spend here tonight. I have an emergency fund, but I'd rather save that for my taxi."
"Um, what kind of food?" asked Tina
"Well, what would you like?" Katie asked.
"Well! How am I supposed to be able to count on your loyalty when you're already loyal to somebody else," pouted Dot. "That does not seem fair."
"Grapes, toast, maybe wings... so, I'll get wings. Is that okay?" Tina hoped it would be okay
Katie nodded. "That's good."
"So, the question remains," Stephan said with a little smile. "Here, or no?"
"Ok." Tina nodded "I'll be right back."
"Well, you could pay us more," Kyle offered. "Or you could come here to negotiate in person."
Eva sighed. "Here, I suppose... I think I should have worn something a bit darker though..."
Juice nodded.
Tina headed to the bar, to order stuff for her and Katie.
"Hey, Tina, what can I get you?" Kyle asked.
"Wings, and a coke, and a grape soda." Tina said "Yeah, I think... yeah."
"About that...is Juice working too? I was hoping he could come by later and 'rescue' me. That way i can hang out here and keep the parents happy, AND I can come see you guys!" Dot covered the phone for a minute and said something muffled to someone. "In fact, I gotta go real soon. They wanna play cards."
"It's okay. Very Spring-y. They make good wings here," Stephan said.
"Ahhhh. Well, he's not working. He was watching me juggle. Want me to send him over to be your gay avenger?" Kyle offered.
"Sure! Maybe he can even hang out for a little bit!" Dot covered the phone again, said something else, then uncovered it. "ARGH. I gotta go, else they're gonna start me with negative points!"
"Alright. Later!" Kyle hung up. "Juice. Dot needs to be rescued from some sort of family card game cult."
"I'll try them." Eva said. She handed Stephan some cash "Don't take anything seriously, right?"
Tina waved to Gil.
"Eep - can you tell Mari to cover you so we can go get her?" Juice said.
Gil waved to Tina, finishing up his notemaking.
"Exactly. Goth clubs are mostly pretense," Stephan said. "So a good bit of weird that you see and hear is ... well ... just appearances and talk."
"Well... I don't know if I can leave. But go fetch Mari anyhow," Kyle suggested.
"Why would anyone want to pretend to be unhappy?" asked Eva "I'd rather pretend that everything was wonderful."
Kyle went to snag the wings from the kitchen, and presented them to Tina, then started filling up sodas.
"I think the whole idea of Goth is getting past that, though. Everything isn't wonderful. The world can be an ugly place. The whole idea is just, have fun with it. Find beauty in unlikely places."\
"That actually makes sense." Eva said "Should I be concerned that it makes sense to me?"
Juice went to do that, and came back a short time later with Mari
Tina grabbed the wings, and then realized she only had two hands. Maybe if the balanced the wings on her forearms as she carried the sodas...
Stephan smiled. "Nah. I'm just glad that something I said made sense. So, wings, then? What do you want to drink?"
"Hey, Mari -- can you do us a favor?" Kyle asked.
"They don't have sugary coffe drinks here, do they?" asked Eva "I think I'd like water, with lemon, if they have it."
"Don't know." Stephan looked behind the bar to see if there was any sign of an espresso maker.
"What's up?" Mari asked.
There was not.
"We need to go rescue Dot because her family is doing some sort of perverted card-related thing. Could you watch the bar until we get back?" Kyle asked.
Gil looked up, alarmed. "Yo, Tina. Lemme give you a hand with that." He went over to help carry stuff.
"Thanks." Tina smiled "I don't want to drop anything. Thanks."
"No sugary coffee drinks, probably," Stephan said.
"No problem. That looked a little precarious!" Gil carried stuff, helpfully. "Where are we going with this?"
"Over to Katie." Tina said "She worked really hard last night, so I'm trying to be nice... oh, how'd you like the band? I don't like metal, but it's music, you know?"
Gil followed along behind. "Oh, it was pretty good. A little loud for my tastes, but at least everybody was enjoying themselves up there."
Stephan waved at whomever was tending bar.
"I was really nervous." Tina said "And they're all nice... I just don't like the music."
Gil nodded. "Yeah. But, playing is the important part, right? At least they were all nice to you."
"Yeah." Tina said "Playing is what's most important. Music is one of the few non evil things I know how to do."
Gil frowned a little, at that. "One of the few NON-evil things? You, uh, you mean that you're more evil than good?" Oh, Kayla'd love that, if she knew.
"I'm good." Tina said "Remember? I gave up my evil ways."
"Yeah, I heard you say that..but you also just now said that you're more familiar with, um, evil things than good things. That's a little hard to unravel, dig?" Gil sighed. "That sounded bad. Sorry, Tina. I just am a little confused."
Katie looked up. "Hm?"
"...Yeah." Tina said "But I'm trying to learn good things though. Hey Katie!"
Gil nodded. "Good things are a noble goal to strive for. Katie! I have brought you food, because Tina was trying to carry too much stuff all by herself!" He set down the food he was carrying.
"Hi! Welcome back. And hi, Gil," Katie said, nodding and helping to take things.
Kyle headed out with Juice to his car.
"Hey Katie. What's going on?" Gil sat down for a minute.
"Not much. Just glad I'm not working today... and visiting Tina," Katie said.
Juice got in, after looking around a moment to make sure there wre no crazy Watchers lurking, and drove off with the Kyle
Gil nodded. "I saw you the other day. You looked pretty beat."
"No... I kinda fled." Katie looked embarrassed. "I think it was one of these goth kids... but... that's not much of a distinguishing characteristic, and I didn't -see- who did it, so... yeah."
Gil sighed. "man. I'm sorry. Want a hug? I can't really help too much, because it already happened, but ...hugs are good, right? I'm sure some Goth jerk is feeling REALLY guilty right now, anyway."
Tina bit her lip. "I'm sure they... feel really bad."
"Hope so. Tina yelled at the people who probably did it," Katie said, and gave Gil a hug.
Gil hugged Katie. "She did? Well, good for her!" Turning to Tina he said, "Good for you!"
"Uh... yeah." Tina smiled a bit "Let's not talk about that..."
Later, when wings and drinks had arrived, Stephan looked around the room a bit. "Not too crowded for a Saturday."
"I don't like big crowds." Eva said "So, did you find any detective agencies? I'm excited about possibly finding a job."
Gil nodded. "Okay, you've got it. I would come over and say hi, but the place was packed. Kayla showed up eventually, so that was cool. Anyway, I'm gonna let you kids get back to your food. Have fun!" He waved and headed back to his own table.
"Thanks, Gil," Katie said, and snagged a wing to chew on.
"So the homecoming apparently went by and the world didn't end," Katie said.
"That's really good." Tina said "Did they kill both Fannie and... I guess Mark would have gone with her, since I wasn't there."
Later, when wings and drinks had arrived, Stephan looked around the room a bit. "Not too crowded for a Saturday."
"I don't know, I wasn't there -- but Anna would know," Katie said.
"I don't like big crowds." Eva said "So, did you find any detective agencies? I'm excited about possibly finding a job."
"I'll ask her later." Tina said "As long as the world didn't end."
"Well, we're still here... so..." Katie grinned.
"Haven't had much of a look, yet," Stephan said. "It's the weekend, anyway ... job searches always go better on weekdays."
"Yeah" Tina smiled "We're still here."
"And in one piece," Katie agreed.
"In one piece." Tina said "...and I'm still worried about you when you aren't here."
"I know," Katie said, and shut up for a few moments.
"That's true." Eva said "And Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. I'll start on Monday."
Tina was quiet for a few moments too. "What's your favorite color?" she asked Katie
"Blue... no, yellow." Katie smiled briefly. "Actually, it's purple."
"Always a good plan," Stephan said, and munched a wing. "So, is California how you expected it to be?"
"Not really." Eva said "I expected more people to be self centered, less brunettes, and more scantily clad people. Instead... everyone is either gay, normal or both."
"Ok." Tina smiled "Purple. It's a nice color."
"Yeah, this town should have a rainbow flag flying over City Hall," Stephan said. "But it's not a ... bad ... place. It's off, though," he said. "I don't quite get what's wrong with it, but it's odd."
Dot scampered over to answer it.
"Hi!" Juice said. "Your ride is here."
"Hello! Is there a Dot which we can borrow in the house?" Kyle added.
Dot clapped. "Yay! Kidnappers! Parents! I am being borrowed! Carry on your card game without me somehow, 'kay? Bye!"
Kyle snagged Dot by the collar and tugged her outside.
Juice grinned. "Yay!"
"Eeeeeeeeek!" Dot allowed herself to be tugged outside, closing the door and grabbing her pack on the way out.
"When's your birthday?" Katie asked.
Outside, Dot hugged Juice and Kyle. "Thanks so much! I was losing anyway. Let's go! Go go go!"
Kyle 'dragged' her car-wards, amused.
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Juice got in, and started driving them towards the club
"June 17" Tina said "When's yours?"
"This place isn't that bad." Eva said "And the wings aren't bad."
"April 13th," Katie answered.
"I've been warned against the Cthul'wings, though," Stephan said.
"So, how bad was it?" Kyle asked Dot.
"The who?" Eva asked
"They're green, and hot enough to melt lead, or something," Stephan said.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad. They didn't give me negative points, but my parents have been playing rummy since before I was alive. So, they're pretty good. I don't know how, since it's not a game you should be good at, but what do I know?"
"So just boring?" Kyle said. "Or do you just not like to lose to them?"
"Why green? And why not call them extra spicy?" Eva didn't get it
Dot shook her head. "It was just fun, but they like to keep score. We once played a game that lasted a week. There were THOUSANDS of points. I don't mind losing to them, I just grumble to let them gloat a little."
"Ahh. Well, hopefully, we're slightly more interesting than scoring with your parents," Kyle suggested.
"No idea," Stephan said.
"I promise I'll try to remember it," Katie said, "but don't get angry if I don't, okay?"
"Yeah," Juice said, nodding in agreement.
"Well, yeah. Would I have asked for a daring night-time rescue if I didn't wanna be rescued?" Dot laughed. "You boys."
"You don't have to" said Tina "When's your Birthday? What do you want?"
"April 13th. I dunno, I don't really want anything, but it's cool to try to remember, y'know?" Katie said.
"Maybe," Kyle said. "If you were evil."
"That comes later, remember? I have to earn the right to dress myself in plants and vines and stuff," grinned Dot.
"I'll remember." said TIna
"Weird." Eva shrugged
"Agreed," Kyle said, and leaned over to kiss Juice's ear, just because.
"Are you sure you aren't gay?" Eva asked Stephan
Stephan burst out laughing. "Yes, I'm sure I'm not gay."
"Ok." Eva smiled
Dot sighed. "Thanks again, really!"
"Anyhow, there's no barfights in progress or anything," Kyle said, "but the food is better, and there's no cards. Except the weird guy who has Magic cards."
"I think we're going to be pretty good friends." Eva said, smiling
Dot nodded. "I like cards, though. I just was being difficult, I guess. I wasn't in a huge rush to go out, but I didn't wanna just sit at home and play cards tonight."
"Cool then," Kyle said.
Juice parked when they got there, so they could head on in
"I think so, too," Stephan said.
Dot trooped inside, settling at the bar.
Kyle trooped in and headed back behind the bar.
"Okay," Katie said. "So are they going to throw the lawyers out of town now that their plans are de-planned?"
"I hope so!" Tina said
Gil had fallen asleep over his map.
"Gil fell asleep." said Tina "Should we wake him up?"
Katie considered. "Probably should." She reached for a grape.
Tina headed over to Gil, and gently tapped him on the shoulder.
Gil mumbled something, but didn't wake up.
Tina shoved him a little "Wake up."
Katie chucked a grape at him.
"Eh? Wha? I don't wanna go to football practice." Gil muttered.
"You don't have to go to football practice, you have to go to CHEERLEADER practice. They're suiting up right now," Tina said, smirking.
"Oh dear christ! ack!" Gil sat up and shook his head.
Katie giggled.
"Eh? You mean I don't have to play football in a cheerleader's outfit? Whew. That was scary!" He looked around, sheepishly.
Tina giggled. "The padding would be in all the wrong places."
"And you don't have the figure for it," Katie added.
Gil laughed. "I could, uh, get tips from Juice, right? Seriously, thanks for waking me up."
"You were about to drool," Katie agreed.
Gil looked alarmed. "Really?"
"On your map," Katie confirmed.
"Oh man. That would have been terrible. Thanks again!" Gil carefully folded the map and put it away.
"What's on the map?" Tina asked.
"Is it where you bury the bodies?" Katie added.
"So, what would you like?" Kyle asked.
"Nope. It's a map I've been putting together for the desert trip. It's got, near as I can figure, all the strange weather notations I could find," Gil said.
Dot pondered for a second. "Um. The usual!"
"What strange weather notations?" Tina asked.
"Okay." Kyle put a rubber duck on the bar and stared at Dot expectantly.
"Well, there have been a couple hailstorms. Lots of this stuff is just really vague. I'm betting it's just fog or some sort of underground steam vent. I guess I'll just have to see," explained Gil.
Dot stared at the duck, the picked it up and squeaked it a couple times. "That's not the usual."
Kyle grinned. "I know. I've just had that behind the bar all day. Someone left it in the club last night."
Dot grinned. "Can ..can we keep it? It'll be a mascot or something!"
"If you want," Kyle said. "I'm pretty sure nobody's gonna claim it."
Dot beamed. "It'll be the best mascot ever. Besides, if i take it home, Ellie will just chew it up."
"Wait, we have hail?" Katie asked.
Kyle served up a soda while Dot was chatting.
"I didn't do it," Tina said.
"According to the stuff I've found. Remember, it's all pretty vague and most of it is described as 'anomalous weather events'. Gil shook his head. "That could be anything. There was one little eyewitness report that said it was hail, but that was it."
"Maybe it was demonic spider eggs," Katie offered.
"None of it seems to match up with any UFO sightings or anything, so I'm not sure it's going to go anywhere. It's worth a try, anyway. I've always wanted to get out in the desert anyhow." Gil sighed. "Demonic what? Oh, I hope not."
"Well, when did this happen?" Katie asked.
Juice is there, really- just unusually quiet.
"The last information I was able to find was from earlier this year. I didn't even know anything about this until my friends in CUFOS from back home sent me some stuff," Gil said.
Gil went on, "I'm not very interested in the weather stuff, personally. I just hope that it will lead me to something I can really use."
Katie nodded. "Well, it'd be nifty to find something that isn't trying to kill everyone."
Gil nodded. "I really am banking on the whole area being, like, a magnet for weird stuff. It can't hurt, right, that this place is so strange?"
"No, it can't hurt. Unless they probe your urethra," Katie said.
"So what should we call it?" Kyle asked.
Gil laughed. "I don't think they're gonna be interested in me personally."
"Well, that's good," Katie said.
Dot pondered. "Something fun."
"Snickerdoodle?" Kyle asked.
"Maybe! How about Saucy?" Dot suggested.
"Mother Ducker?" Juice suggested.
"Duck Off?" Kyle suggested.
"Ducka You Head?" Dot said.
"Shut Your Ducking Face?" Kyle said.
Dot considered. "Non, no. Boys, i think we're getting ahead of ourselves. We're thinking too big. We've gotta tighten it up."
"Quackers?" Kyle offered.
'Aw, i like that one," Juice said.
"Okay, we'll consider it," said Dot.
"Or maybe Quackstar... the rockstar duck." Kyle grinned.
"Hm...my vote is still for "Sauce". Or "Saucy". What else have we got?" Dot asked.
"JR Quackenstuff the third," Juice said.
"If we name him 'Saucy', can we draw little Chinese eyes on him?" Kyle asked.
"Duck Sauce! Oh, I get it," Juice said.
Dot nodded. "Little Chinese eyes are acceptable."
"Exactly!" Kyle said, grinning. "So we could name it Saucy, and give it little Chinese eyes and a little bikini."
Dot clapped. "Yes. Yes, perfect!"
"Use for what?" asled TIna, who had been really quiet
"That'd be awesome," Juice said.
"And this is a magnet for strange stuff." Tina confirmed
Gil nodded. "I thought so. And by 'use', I mean, 'use to help me find actual UFO evidence."
"Do you have a camcorder?" asked Tina
"You probably should," Katie agreed.
Gil nodded. "I sure do."
Tina still carried around paper- it had become habit when she couldn't talk. She scribbled something down for Gil "These are a couple of astrology books- they might help map the stars for you, so you don't misidentify anything. Now, the ladys teaching in anything but astrology are useless..."
"So, anyone got a marker?" Kyle asked.
Gil nodded, amused. "I'll keep that in mind. I'll compare the maps in there with the maps I already have."
Dot shook her head. "Not on me."
Kyle fished in the lost and found box. "Let's see... there's a pencil... a set of fake fangs... a pair of panties... a book on navigation... a highlighter -- no, that's not gonna work..."
"Well, you don't want to get any sort of astrological event and think it's a ufo." Tina said "I wish I could help more."
"Dude, someone lost their panties?" Juice asked.
Gil smiled. "You've been really helpful already. Thanks, Tina!"
Eva looked at her watch. "Oh dear. I need to go, Stephan. It's way past my bed time- have a good night, and I'll call you very soon."
"Apparently." Kyle held up a pair of lacy pink panties.
"Okay ... we'll go someplace less Gothy next time," Stephan said.
"Oh, and I need to start closing things up now... Juice, could you go make the announcement?" Kyle realized.
Eva blinked at the sight of pink panties at the bar. Blashphemy!
Dot chortled. "Someone must be without their superslut powers since they lost these."
"Really?" TIna asked
Gil nodded. "Of course! I hadn't thought to compare astrology charts with actual star charts. And you guys kept me from drooling on my map." He looked sheepishly at the ground.
"I still want to be friends." Tina said "And friends do nice things for each other, right? And you didn't want to mess up your map
"Will do!" Juice bounded over to turn off the music and make the call. "Attention boys, girls, and otherwise... the club is now closing for the evening. Grab you partners and/or your body parts and get on going out the door- thanks for your patronage, and come again."
Kyle put it back, making a face.
Gil nodded. "I know. We've never not been friends. Not exactly, anyway. But, um, I don't get over here very much, and, well..it's just been hard to know how to approach you, lately. Sorry."
"It's ok." Tina said "Just let Kayla know I want to be friends?... I'll see you next time, I guess. Club is closing."
"Yeah, there's weird stuff in the lost and found box," Kyle said.
Gil nodded. "I'll let her know, for sure. I'm sure I'll see you again. I hadn't realized it was so late. I've gotta get going!" He gathered up his stuff. "Night, ladies!"
Dot laughed. "Pink so isn't my color, so they're not mine."
"Goodnight." Tina waved, and started cleaning up
Eva hurried out.
Juice started cleaning stuff up, 'cause it was that time
Gil made his way on outside, and homeward.
Dot made herself useful by straightening chairs and such.