Chapter II:
A tornado entered the house, rummaging through drawers for discarded pens. So many discarded pens. At least, you would think before the quiet would reveal a group of teens focused on their sheets of loose leaf. 'The Kids'—Mike, Dustin, Will, Lucas, Erica, and Eleven residing in the kitchen.
Will chose to work from the kitchen countertop, glancing at his friends' progress now and again. Lucas, with two sheets in front of him. Dustin grinned wide as he read through Robin's written translations, or she just jotted down the information she was told to be necessary on a separate sheet. Because Eddie wrote like a doctor who had not slept in at least sixty-four days. Erica grinned to herself, a look that would cause an older brother concern at any other time of his sister's existence. Eleven and Mike huddled together, working at their creations. Mike leaned over to explain how this worked, or that worked, so Eleven could best optimize her character.
The rest resided in the living room. Steve and Robin had a current claim on the couch. While Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle occupied the area around Mr. Wheeler's chair. With these five, you might notice a lesser amount of enthusiasm. Well, four, Argyle could always find some way to be enthusiastic. Leave it to him to always have optimism. It was this optimism that ultimately got Jonathan to agree to play. Not Nancy, who wanted a few hours or days to act normal, for once. After reading through the first book of notes, Robin became genuinely intrigued at whatever role Dustin insisted, with Erica's agreement, to take part in, and Steve, well, Steve, he just wanted to hang out with friends. Not wallow alone in a large house.
...
Mike suggested moving the game to the living room. What harm could it do? It wasn't like his dad was here to glare in silence. Nancy agreed as long as there was a manageable mess to clean up. She didn't regret the suggestion, just watched Robin's odd method of organization in confused awe. How did Robin get through school?
...
"So, was this how you expected to spend your Friday afternoon," asked Steve.
Robin looked to Steve, brow lifted. "No, sitting on the Wheeler's living room floor, cramming for what feels like an oral exam." She continued to organize the notes she began making on top of Eddie's notes. "This was not how I pictured my Friday, but, hey, it could be worse. I could be stuck at home with my parents, listening to my dad's tectonic plate theories about what happened, and being forced to lie…." Robin tailed, following the annotations in a notebook to one of the few books in a pile she created.
She flipped to the page, jotting the underlined information down on the empty notepad Nancy found for her.
"So, no Vicki again today," asked Steve, doing his best to keep the question under his breath. Not noticing the curious look Nancy gave from her father's armchair.
Robin glanced at Steve with a look that said, 'really? Right here, right now.' Steve only shrugged. "No, she wasn't there today. She hasn't been since our first visit."
"Then why are you, you know, still going," asked Steve. He glanced over her shoulder, reading Robin's notes on Eddie's material. "Not that helping out is a bad thing… Can I look at that again?"
"Not gonna lie, I originally went back, thinking, you know, she might be there again," Robin whispered. "But, I've genuinely enjoyed it." She handed Steve a torn sheet of paper with her notes and rewrites of the revisions created by Eddie for a class called Barbarian.
Nancy and Jonathan looked over a torn page of Robin's legible handwriting, annotating the information fed to her by the boys, along with more of Eddie's revisions. Robin thought it would be easier for the two to share this information on the Fighter instead of writing a duplicate for the couple.
Jonathan glanced in the direction of Nancy's intense focus. He sat in the seat, Nancy on the arm. "Are they like a couple now or something," he asked under his breath.
Nancy never broke eye contact with the two best friends. "No, they are."
"Platonic, with a capital P," finished Robin from her seat.
Lucas' long frame broke the view forcing Nancy to focus back on her sheet. She continued to add some stats and backstory notes.
He bent down to Robin, handing a page over. "I didn't…." Lucas paused, trying to find the words, "it didn't feel right to not include Max, so I made her a character… is that okay?"
Robin looked at the sheet. At first glance, and from what she remembered reading about thirty, maybe forty minutes ago, it looked like Lucas had created a Monk, titled it with 'Zoomer.' "Sure, I don't see why not. We'll figure out how to include her."
Lucas smiled, "cool, I'm almost finished with mine."
"Yeah? Cool, hey," Robin reached for a handful of notecards. Nancy had let her raid her room for highlighters and colored pens. To the surprise of Mike, Jonathan, and Steve. Nancy, never just let someone into her room. "Hey, write like the basics of your character on this, maybe bullet point a little of your backstory, too, yeah? Tell the others to do the same."
He nodded, returning to his spot in the kitchen.
Robin tossed three note cards toward Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle. Flicking another at Steve's face. "You guys do the same, basic info and some backstory bullet points."
"Watch the face, Robin, geeze," grumbled Steve.
Robin laughed, continuing to color-code her information and take notes.
"Heh, sweet. Kick-ass little dude," spoke Argyle to no one as he admired his handy work. He reached across, dragging a blank card from the floor.
...
With the help of Eleven and Will, Erica rolled out a gridded map atop the carpet. This way, everyone could see the playing space. Eleven smiled, excited to play for the first time, only ever hearing about the game from the boys.
Dustin, Lucas, and Mike gathered all the figures and other game pieces they could find in the basement.
Nancy was off in the Kitchen with Jonathan, Argyle, and Steve. She had just gotten off the phone ordering four pizzas for everyone. Steve pocketed a list of drinks and snacks, preparing for a grocery run. Jonathan and Argyle agreed to pick up the Pizzas.
Still in the living room, Robin had commandeered a TV tray and began sorting her game area, lining up everyone's note cards and the notepad filled with world references, which Eddie had noted from a series of books called 'The Dragonlance Chronicles.
This game included five humans, a dwarf, an elf, two half-elves, a gnome, and something Eddie called a changeling.
There were two Fighters, Nancy and Jonathan. Because Eddie had decided to throw everything to the wind, Will suggested Argyle play as a Druid. Mike had gone with a Paladin, a class he had not played for a while, and Eddie's notes on subclasses caught his eye. Lucas decided on a Ranger to go with Max's Monk. Erica chose to stick with what she was good at, the Rogue, with plans to play it differently this time. Still running on the highs of excitement, Dustin decided to give Eddie's creation of an Artificer a go. Eleven chose to be a Rogue. Will found Eddie's idea of a Sorcerer fascinating. And Steve, well, Steve decided to be a Barbarian.
Robin looked at the notes. This would be chaos, but a fun type of chaos, nonetheless.
"Are you ready all-powerful Dungeon Master," asked Nancy? She straightened some of Robin's piles and then lifted the small table with her, placing it in the perfect position in front of the lone armchair.
The taller girl rubbed the back of her neck. "Prepared, yes, ready," Robin laughed, "no, the Upside-Down was less stressful than this."
Nancy laughed. She looked in the direction of all 'the kids' "You'll do fine. I can't wait," Nancy nudged her with a smile.
"Oh!" Robin perked. She gripped softly at Nancy's forearm. "Do you have a Boombox around here somewhere?"
Nancy paused. "Yes, I… um… I'll go find it." She turned in the direction of the stairs. One of their rooms had to have a Boombox.
The others looked at Robin, confusion written all over their faces. Robin only smiled as she set up her binder border. "You'll see," she said to no one.
...
Plates of eaten and uneaten pizza lay across the coffee table. Cans of half-drunk Coke, Pepsi, Crush, and even Tab were scattered about the place. One box of pizza, unopened, rested atop the kitchen counter alone. The group sat on the couch and atop the floor, focusing on Robin.
Robin sat calmly in the armchair, cleared her throat, and flung her hands forward. "We start our adventure at midday in the outskirts of the remote village of Oakhurst, the sun still soft from its midmorning glow…" trails Robin. She surveys her friends, and with a smile, she continues, "Erica, what are you and El doing as you walk along the dirt road surrounded by farmland." The group turned their attention to Erica as she opened her mouth to speak.