Candy's Adventure with D&D
I’m so screwed. I whimper when Armin comes up to me and asks me to come over to play D&D with him.
Sims, Mario, Assassin’s Creed, and Zombie Butt kicking games I know, but D&D? Nope I’m so screwed. I mean yeah I've heard of it, but I don’t play many games that are geared towards groups. I've told Armin I’ll come because he’s a great guy and I love spending time with him, but now I’ll be dreading this for the rest of the school day. I see a shock of blue hair and I run after Alexy. He can save me for sure! That’s what best friends are for. I catch up to him and claim his arm in a vice like grip. He flinches from me.
“Jeez Candy, what’s with the plastic Barbie smile? It’s freaky. And is your eye twitching?” He huffs. I drag him into the basement where I know no one will over hear us.
“So you know I love Armin right? Great friend and all, but I wanna strangle him right now. This is all his fault. So tell me what do you know about D&D?” My grimace racks up a notch. Alexy stares at me for all of two point five seconds before bursting out into laughter. I half-heartedly smack him and protest his laughter.
“Help me!” I whine. I make my eyes wide and jut out my bottom lip. The I’m just about to cry look gets my Dad every time so why not Alexy? They both love me right? He looks up at me and his face drops.
“Don’t cry Candy! I’ll help, please just don’t cry!” He exclaims loudly waving and flapping his arms every which way. Footsteps sound on the stairs.
“HEY you leave Candy alone you-!” Kentin bursts in, but stops when he sees Alexy and me standing there looking at him. He flushes and mutters,
“Great, it’s you.”
“Uh, Kentin, what are you doing?” I wonder aloud. He looks at me and says,
“I thought someone was harassing you.” I glower darkly and mutter,
“Yeah D&D is. I mean besides a fantasy game what is it?”
“It’s a game that teaches social, math, reading, teamwork, and problem solving skills. It has different locations you can play at including Dragonlance, Ravensloft, and Dark Sun. You have a Dungeon Master who is like the Narrator of a show. The Master controls the monsters and the story line. Then you have players that choose their ‘hero’ to battle monsters and they get to choose who they join up and fight with and how their character reacts to a certain situation. No one really loses at D&D because the goal isn’t to win or lose it’s to have fun. The game can go on indefinitely and your character grows thru each game session. The game is about the story and not really about much else. Each session has a different goal you have to met to get to victory. Sometimes they are simple sometimes hard. You defeat monsters to gain experience points , treasures, and to just generally advance and strengthen your character.” Alexy and I stare blankly at Kentin after he finishes talking. I slowly let go of my death grip in Alexy and advance towards Kentin. I grasp onto him and glare,
“Tell me more. I have to be prepared for tonight’s game at Armin’s.” Kentin gulps at the look on my face and continues trying to explain to me how the game works, about the characters, and what the game is all about.
Before heading to Armin’s house I drag Kentin and Alexy with me to the dollar shop and purchase some D&D things. I grab a player’s handbook and a monster manual just to be on the safe side. I think I have a pretty good grip on this whole game now, but the real test comes when I start to play it. I pick up the ten different dice I’ll need to play the game as well. I also pick up a D&D miniatures booster pack and a pack of character sheets. I also grab a new notebook to take notes and things in. I have plenty of pens with me. I just like to keep things all in one place if I can help it. I have graph paper so there’s no need to get any of that. I take everything out of the wrappings and boxes just to be on the safe side. I quickly bend pages and rough up the books and things to make them appear less new. After that we all go to Armin and Alexy’s house. Armin had mentioned that we would all start with level one characters so everyone would be at an equal footing. I was glad. It meant I could pull of not having known anything before hand. It wasn’t that I was afraid that Armin would like me less if he knew, I just didn't want Armin’s wrath to be faced towards me. He would have a fit if he knew I didn't know anything about D&D before today.
Armin happily greeted us at the door and I smiled brightly at him. As annoying as his game obsession could be sometimes (he did tend to over do his indignity at people not knowing certain things about games) I did enjoy his company and being able to discuss gaming things with him. Games just weren't an obsession of mine, merely a hobby. For Armin it was lifestyle and it made it hard to bear sometimes. He informed us that we were the last to arrive. When Alexy and Kentin went further into the house arguing he wiggled his eyebrows at me while pointing towards their backs. I had to stifle a giggle behind my hand. He started talking to me about my progress in Dead Island while he lead me to the basement where we were going to play. I told him I had gotten stuck at the generator because of the boss monster and that I kept dying. He laughed and then proceed to give me some tips to beat that level. Dead Island became a bit harder to play by yourself in the later chapters after all. When we got down to the basement all the guys from school were there along with Violette and Kim. I was surprised to see them there and I quickly went to say hi to them. These two were my favorite girls at school besides Rosa. I like Iris too, but lately we haven’t done much together. The girls and chatter and Violette quietly asks me about how to play the game. I give her a quick rundown of what I know and share my newly bought things with her. Everyone else seems to have their own set. Lysander waved at me and I waved back at him and continued explaining the game. Armin plopped down next to me, thankfully after I had finished explaining. He grinned and me a nudged me with his elbow.
“Psst Candy! Look at Kentin and Alexy!” I look up and see their heads close together whispering. They keep darting looks our way. I shake my head as Kentin goes red in the face in anger. I roll my eyes and whisper back to Armin,
“They’re talking about one of us Armin. I mean look at Kentin’s face. He’s gonna pop a blood vessel. Whatever it is they’re talking about Kentin doesn't like it.” Armin’s face falls for a second before turning more towards me and sticking his tongue out at me. I huff at him and steal some of his chips. He exclaims unhappily and it is my turn to stick my tongue out at him.
“Go and get me a drink Armin, pretty please?” I turn wide eyes on him. He starts to shake his head and I say,
“I’d ask Alexy, but he seems busy don’t cha think?” Nodding my head towards Alexy and Kentin who are glaring at each other by now. A devious smirk crosses his face as he jumps up and drops the bag of chips in my lap.
“And make it a diet!” I call after him as he runs off. I glance around the room and feel a smile come to face as Nathaniel and Castiel glare at each other, and Lysander is scribbling in his notebook. Kentin and Alexy are arguing now and I take a moment to pursue the board. It seems daunting at first glance, but I think I’ll be able to make it smoothly through my first game at the very least. And who knows maybe this will become a regular thing. That would be fun. Just hanging out together and playing a fantasy game that has brought people together before. I laugh as Armin comes back with his arms full of drinks and drops one on Kentin by pretending to hand it to Alexy. I swear Armin is so mean sometimes. I giggle when he high fives me as he hands me my soda.
“That was mean” I comment when he settles back next to me and grabs a handful of chips. He shrugs and waits for Alexy and Kentin to come back. I snort into my drink when Kentin comes back in a pair of olive
green jeans and a chambray button up shirt and olive green puffer vest. He doesn't look happy, but the look of bliss on Alexy’s face is so cute. I secretly high five Armin under the table and we share a look. I know Kentin doesn't actually mind since green is his favorite color and because Alexy just handed him a plate of fresh baked cookies. Armin and I nod to each other for a job well done.Neither of us really needs to talk when it comes to Alexy. After a few more minutes Armin starts the game, he being the Dungeon Master. The game goes on for so long we end up having to crash in his basement and continue it in the morning. Of course we probably could have finished the game if Nathaniel and Castiel hadn't decided to flip the board when one of the jumped the other and started a betting pool on who was going to win this latest fight. Needless to say I won a lot of money on that fight. I had bet that Armin and Alexy’s parents would come down to see what all the noise was about. I was right. It was a fun night playing D&D and I actually enjoyed myself and the game once it all got started. I can’t wait to do this again. Hopefully it’ll be next weekend. I think I could actually become a huge fan of the game since it’s brought us all together a little closer. And getting to spend time with Armin where he’s relaxed and in his element? That was so worth the stress I had to go through early in the day to prepare. So, so worth it.