Page 9 of Dungeons and Drama

“Perfect timing! Now you can meet everyone,” Lucas says when I approach. “This is John Turner.” A skinny white kid with short brown hair and a polo shirt looks up just long enough to nod. Lucas points next to him at a Latino boy with light brown eyes and skin. “And this is Anthony Santos. Guys, this is Riley, Joel’s daughter.”

“My night just got better. It’s good to meet you, Riley,” Anthony says. He gives me a grin. “I’m happy to show you around if you want.”

He actually winks at me then, but he’s so carefree and relaxed that I can only laugh. This is certainly an interesting group of boys. “I’ve already gotten the tour, but thanks for the offer.”

John sighs. “I was in the middle of casting Fireball.”

“Fine, roll your damage,” Lucas replies, and looks at me. “Sorry. John’s single-minded when it comes to gaming.”

“We’re at agamestore,” John replies while simultaneously skimming a page in the thick book in front of him. “What do you expect me to do—flirt with every girl who walks in like Anthony? You should be lurking around that weird bar down the street instead of sitting back here with us.”

“It’s eighteen and over. I already checked,” Anthony says with a laugh. He leans back and crosses his legs on the table. “And it’s calledcharm,thank you very much.”

“I’m just saying you could make polite conversation,” Lucas tells John, both of them ignoring Anthony as he flashes another grin my way. “Obviously you shouldn’t beflirting with anyone, unless you broke up with Jordan and failed to mention it.”

John huffs. “Not likely. Jordan is perfect. He’d never give me crap for taking our campaign seriously. Can we get on with it now?”

“Hold up.” Anthony sits up, his attention suddenly focused across the room. I spin, half expecting that angry customer to be storming back here. Instead, a willowy white girl walks in. She’s stunning. She has long red hair—though it looks dyed—and is wearing a purple lace top and dragonfly-wing earrings. I haven’t seen many people who stand out like her.

“I see she’s deigned to make an appearance today,” Lucas mutters.

“Late as always,” John adds.

Nathan’s entire expression changes when he sees her. His body lifts, his smile brightens, and he stops mid-instruction to say hello to her.

“Who is she?” I whisper to the guys.

“Thatwould be Sophia. She goes to North with Jordan,” Lucas says in an even tone.

Ah, that would explain why I’ve never seen her around school. We have two high schools in the area—Central Scottsville High School, where everyone who lives in town goes, and North Scottsville for the surrounding rural areas—and we don’t mix much except for the occasional sports matchup.

“She’s pretty,” I reply to Lucas.

“You aren’t the only one who thinks so.”

She whispers in Nathan’s ear and then comes over to us. “Hi, boys, happy to see me?”

They all wave half-heartedly. “I’d be happier if you were here at five o’clock when our game started instead of six-thirty,” Lucas says.

Sophia sniffs. “You know I have a hard time getting here.” She sits down and that’s when I realize she’s a gamer like the rest of them. She’s part of their D&D group.

She eyes me warily. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“We haven’t.” I wave. “I’m Riley. I work here.”

“You do? I guess I’ve missed a lot.”

“Yes, it would be helpful if you came in more than every fourth session,” Lucas replies. “It’s messing up the campaign.”

“Just pretend I’m asleep at the tavern or something.” She turns her focus back on me. “So, if you work here, why are you hanging out in the back room? Are you joining our game or something?”

“You should definitely join,” Anthony says, and pats the empty chair next to him.

“I was just introducing Riley to everyone,” Lucas says. “She’s Joel’s daughter, so she’s going to be here a lot.”

“Yeah, practically every night.” I grimace in a way that I hope is funny. “You all are going to get sick of me. Some more than others.” I nod in the direction of Nathan.

“Eh, don’t worry about him. He’ll come around to you eventually,” Lucas says.

---