Now, it's halftime. If there was a very long line in front of the ladies' rooms before, it's even longer now.
Between columns, the Geek's found Sama, the weakest of the Bulls' cheerleaders. She's Japanese...and she's performing less than most of her squad tonight. The Geek's probing into why that is.
Sama explains that her family thinks that she's a freak, for wanting to cheer for a sports team in Illinois. They've always wanted her to cheer for a Chinese sports team. She also confesses that she has a crush on one of the Bulls, and that she doesn't know how to confess this.
Behind them, Caroline stops, while walking past. She surveys the Geek from behind, with an almost-admiring blue eye. Alas, she only scoffs, and keeps going.
"You should talk to him," the Geek tells her. "You should find out how to contact him, and then talk to him. You don't have to tell him a lot; just the first stuff that comes to mind."
She nods. "What if they won't let me?"
The Geek shrugs. "Any guy worth approaching is worth dying for, isn't he? Besides, you're a cute Japanese beauty. Who'd want to kill you? Besides a Chinese girl, I mean?"
Not too far away, Caroline slows, as she's heard part of the conversation. Alas, she closes her eyes tightly, and moves on.
On impulse, and all of a sudden, Sama kisses both of the Geek's cheeks. "Thank you, Ted-sahn! With luck, I will NOT regret having met you!" She turns, and starts to leave.
"Wait!"
She stops, and turns around, confused. "Yes?"
He approaches her. "This...is going to sound like the weirdest request ever, but... Can I have your panties?"
She studies him.
"You can... You can put on new ones when you get home, I just... I'd just like the ones you're wearing." He shrugs. "Please?"
Still confused, she turns around, and starts taking them off...while leaving her cheer uniform on. In moments like these, the Geek's never been gladder that the Bulls' cheerleaders' outfits have open backs. Also, when she bends over, the Geek can see most of her thighs, and her thigh gap. Hell, when she bends over to some extremities, he catches a peek at her camel toe...which becomes a bit more macabre, after she gets the panties off.
She turns around, wipes her brow, and offers him her panties. He smiles, and takes them. She smiles, flaps her hair, waves, and rushes back to the squad. Halftime will be over soon.
The Geek lingers, and surveys the panties in his hands. In a way, they resemble a deflated balloon. The Geek's...not sure how he feels about thinking of them that way...
An hour and a half later, give or take a few minutes, the game is over. The fans who leave are much quieter now, than they were when they arrived at the game. That's because the Grizzlies won.
At least the Bulls are better sports. They have to leave while tolerating a bunch of trash getting thrown at them...but of course, you can't kill the spirit of a sportsman; not with a thousand Lennonsbane knives. (Lennon wasn't a sportsman; that was just a metaphor.)
Caroline's had more than one too many beers. She sits next to a trash can, and vomits into it many times, before her family's limo comes for her. Lucky her; she lives in the Castle LaSalle, just outside of Ottawa, in a nicer part of it; THE nicer part, if some would daresay so. Caroline's mother's maiden name was LaSalle.
Alas, the limo driver doesn't seem very reverent of her, while helping her into the limo. He fetches a vomit bucket from the trunk, and slides it in with her. He also slides in a dozen more just like it.
The Geek sits on a set of steps...with Sama's undies stretched out over his head. They don't stink as much as they did. The Geek's still trying to decide whether to wash them, or to leave them like this. I mean let's face it; she was in the middle of a Bulls game when she took them off...
The hours pass. The stadium gets quiet. A breeze blows across the grounds. A wolf howls...and it sounds close. Now the Geek KNOWS he's been here too long.
An eerie feeling creeps over him. He peels the panties off from over his eyes, to see what's going on...
It sits between his thighs. It looks like a small rock. He can't tell from here...so he puts on his legendarily geeky glasses, and surveys the rock.
Hmm; it's a yellow beryl. Funny; the Geek's pretty sure that if it were here when he sat down, he would've seen it. Where he comes from, jewelry is pretty hard to miss...as are girls' panties...
Spontaneously, the gem lights up with bright yellow light, nearly blinding the Geek. This effect is nearly doubled, via the glass in his glasses.
Nearby, a portal opens. From it, bright yellow light shines. The Geek shouts, as he falls into it. Behind him, the portal seals itself, trapping him inside.
In his absence, raccoons scurry up and down the stairs, in search of discarded stadium food...and the trash. If they can tell that the Geek was here five minutes ago, they don't show it.