"Oh, really? That's too bad, man. Yeah, you take care. Bye."
Gavin slips his phone back into his pocket. "Sorry, guys, but Chad can't make it. He got called into work."
Angela sighs and flips the cover of her notebook closed, creating a sudden gust of wind which ruffled her brown, frizzy hair. "Well, there goes the cleric. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going into that dungeon without our primary healer."
Christi frowns as she picks her character sheet off of the floor, where it had been blown due to the puff of air from Angela's notebook. "More importantly, we don't want Chad to miss out on the adventure. Right?"
Angela carefully slides the paper containing the stats of her dark elf rogue behind the front cover of her notebook. "Yeah, sure. Where does Chad work again?"
Gavin joins the rest of you back at the table. He pushes some errant strands of long-ish brown hair out of his face as he closes his laptop. You can tell by his expression that he was looking forward to finally killing Erathop, dragon of the Deep Mine. "Food Mart. Apparently someone didn't show up for work, so he has to go and fill in for them."
You sigh dejectedly. This tended to happen more than it should. Now that you and your friends had gotten older and graduated, the adult world was making things more and more difficult for you guys to meet up consistently. At this rate the world of Agerton would never be saved from the Council of Necromancy.
You fold up your DM screen and close your laptop, catching a glimpse of one of the cool monsters you were going to have the party fight. Oh well.
Angela stands up and stretches. She hadn't been sitting long, but you suspect the movement was just to make the many bangles hanging from her slender wrists jangle as much as possible. "Well, I guess I'll go home and see if I can find a way to kill an entire evening. I mean, we're calling it a night since the cleric can't make it, right?"
Christi shrugs. "I'd hate to admit it, but going into the Deep Mines without Chad would be suicide. Also, he'd totally kill us for leaving him out of the fight with Erathop."
Gavin smirks. "Well the joke's on him. We'd already be dead."
You stand up, GM screen in hand. "I'd hate to see you guys leave so soon. We barely ever get together to game anymore. How about a different game?"
One of Gavin's eyebrows rises incredulously. "Really? It'll take most the night just to make new characters."
"I mean NOT a roleplaying game."
A bright smile spreads across Christi's round face. "Oh! I'd be up for a board game. What do you have?"
That stops you. You'd never been much of a board gamer. It'd all been RPGs and the occasional LARP.
"I think I might have Parcheesi sitting around here somewhere..."
Angela picks up her bag. "Yeah, no. I'm out."
You suddenly remember a cardboard box in the basement. You'd found it when you moved in, left behind by the previous owner, and read the rules. You'd found it interesting if nonsensical. Funny how you'd completely forgotten about it until just this moment.
"Hold up! Just give me once second!" You quickly make your way out of the room.
You find the unmarked and unremarkable box in among some boxes you'd yet to unpack since moving in a couple years ago and bring it back down to the basement, where your friends, including Angela, are waiting for you.
Angela puts and impatient hand to her curvy hip. "I came to slay a dragon, not play Parcheesi."
You grin as you remove the lid of the box. "This isn't Parcheesi."
Inside are several miniature, white drawing boards and a stack of black, fine tipped, dry-erase markers.
Christi pulls out one of the drawing boards. "What are these for?"
You explain the rules to the three of them. "Each of us picks another person in the group to draw. We then take turns changing our drawings and the person we drew has to guess what we changed. If they can't guess you get a point and they lose their turn."
Christi laughs. "Oh no! I'm terrible at drawing!"
Gavin shrugs. "I don't know. It sounds like fun. I'd be willing to try. I've got nothing else to do."
Christi nods in agreement. "Yeah, sure. I'll go for it."
Angela frowns at the box of drawing boards. You pull one out of the box and waggle it at her. "Come on, Angela. It'll be fun!"
She sighs and takes the drawing board from you. "It isn't slaying a dragon, but at least it's not Parcheesi. Alright, I'm in."
You each take a board and marker and sit in a circle around the table. "First thing we do is we each pick a person to draw. Remember, just because somebody picked you doesn't mean you have to pick them back. We're not in pairs. Who wants to pick first?"
Gavin nudges you with his foot under the table. "You're the host. You go, hombre."
"Sure, okay."
You look between your three friends. There's Angela, who's tall, thin, some might say sexy. What she's doing hanging out with you nerds is beyond you. She's of African descent, but her skin is fairly light, hinting of a mixed racial heritage. Her hair is light brown and kinked beyond belief. Her heavily-bangled arms jangle with each movement and she looks at you with restrained impatience.
Gavin sits across from you. He's a pretty average guy. You'd known him since high school and, though you haven't told him, he's filled out a bit since then. He isn't fat for sure, but his stomach is a little softer than it used to be. His hair is dark in contrast with his pasty complexion and is a little long for a guy's and he's continuously swiping it out of his eyes. He's glancing between the three of you, as if trying to decide who it would be easier to draw.
Across form Angela sits Christi. She's easily the shortest of the three of you. She tends to hide her curvy body with a wide array of scarves and jackets. Like Gavin, she couldn't really be called fat, but couldn't company to Angela's slim form. While not as pasty as Gavin, she's still fairly pale, though the hints of makeup on her eyes and cheeks help to give her face color. There is a stud piercing in one of her nostrils, and another under her lower lip, as well as a few earrings in each of her ears. She looks in your direction politely, but doesn't make eye contact.
You eventually choose...