A quick glance and she wondered who to pass the note to. The warning the note had given her ringing in her head, bothering her, Brooke was torn between wanting to be happy as a girl and wanting to return to the way she had been before she'd began the questionnaire. Looking down at the folded piece of paper, she wondered what would happen if she tore it up and toying with the idea, she sighed and set it aside, deciding to wait for the end of class.
Fifty minutes later, the end of period bell rang, signalling the end of geography. In front of the class Mrs Sharp was reminding everyone about the test next Monday, but Brooke, like everyone else, wasn't really paying attention. As others talked about what their plans for the weekend were, Brooke hastily glanced about the classroom as she collected her backpack. Thinking about her next class, then how she'd be back at the local junior high for the rest of the day, she acted before she could change her mind. Slinging her pack onto her back, to which someone behind her snapped, "Watch it, baby," she ignored their comment, used to because of the fact of how small and young she looked, and moving down the aisle, she flicked the note on a students desk when she wasn't looking.
April, not seeing that the note had been tossed onto her note, busy chatting with her friend about their plans for the weekend, started scooping up the stuff on the desk. Finding the folded up piece of paper on her desk, she grimaced at the thought that someone had passed her a note. Telling Bonnie, "Uh huh. I'll definitely be there, she glanced about and tossed the note onto another students desk, who merely gave it a passing glance before passing it on.
The noise level starting to grow as students hurried out of the class and their next class, the note bounced from desk to desk before being tossed onto the floor up near Mrs Sharp's desk. Several students, all jocks, starting to jostle and heckle another, someone they thought was a dweeb because of his glasses and hand-me-down clothes, they shoved at him, calling out, "Watch where you place you clown feet," and laughing, one of them knocked his books from his hands. Laughing some more, the three jocks pushed him as he leaned down to pick up his stuff, hoping that he'd fall over. When it became apparent he wouldn't, and that their behaviour was earning them a disapproving stare from Mrs Sharp, they high-fived each other and rudely shoved passed the student they were heckling.
Brody, used to this, hastily scooped up his books, as well as the note, and jammed them all under one arm. Wishing, not for the first time, his parents could afford to at least buy him a backpack, pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger. Hurrying to his next class, he slumped down in the back of the class, sorted his stuff a bit, found the appropriate notebook for English and as his best friend Josh took the seat next to him, Brody asked, "You and Steve still coming over to my place after school," to which Josh answered in the affirmative.
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Hours later, the final bell of the day having rung fifteen minutes earlier, the three friends were heading for Brody's house. Having managed to duck Michael and his crony-jock friends, Josh, Brody and Steve were now talking about their plans, which included several hours of DnD, a number of movies Steve was bringing and a new video game Josh had gotten recently. When Steve asked, "You're certain your mom and dad aren't going to be home for the weekend?" for the umpteenth time, Brody grinned and told him, "Relax. My dad is going camping with a bunch of his drinking buddies, my mom is working all weekend and will be at my aunt Sharon's house because it is closer, they both work in the same factory and it allows them to carpool together, and my sister is spending the weekend with her doofus friends," and turning the corner, the three friends entered the trailer park and started toward the two trailers set next to each other that was Brody's home.
The door unlocked, which Brody was used to as it hadn't been fixed since his dad had kicked it in when drunk one evening and unable to figure out how the key fit in the lock, Brody dumped his stuff on the kitchen table and headed for his bedroom. Collecting his DnD stuff, he headed back for the kitchen. There, he found Josh and Steve already unpacking their stuff and scooping up his school stuff, the note slipping out in the process, he glanced about before setting his school stuff on the counter next to his sister's school stuff. Going back to the table, he began searching his role-playing stuff for his character sheet, a female warrior who was also a dethroned princess, but stopped when Steve scooped up the note and asked, "What's this?" before starting to unfold the note.
Unsure, Brody glanced at the bit of paper and shrugged. Telling the other seventeen year old, "I dunno," he continued searching for his character sheet.
Across the table, Josh guffawed, “It’s a juicy love letter from you girlfriend,” and making a sickeningly love-struck face, he exclaimed, “Oh, Stevie. I made a mistake when I rejected you when you asked me out. It doesn’t matter I’m two years younger. I must have you.”
Embarrassed, Steve muttered, “Dude, shut up,” and looking at the piece of paper, he ignored Josh, who was now making kissy faces.
Brody, finally finding his character, started to arrange his dice and asked, “Are we going to play? Or just goof off, like last time,” whilst reaching behind him to grab the pencil he’d left on the counter with his school stuff.
Rather then answering, Josh getting making faces at Steve, who was staring at the note, a troubled look on his face. After moment, Steve asked, “What the hell is this,” and clearing his throat, he read aloud, ‘To Brody, Steve and Josh, my new friends. The three of you like playing fantasy tabletop role-playing D6 games. So, how about we play a little game. It will be well worth your time and fun. Shall we play?’
“It doesn’t say that,” Josh retorted and reaching across the table, he pulled the note out of Steve’s hands before the other realised what was happening.
Silently reading it, confirming that it did say what his friend had read, Josh eventually handed it to Brody, commenting, “It says it is signed a friend. None of us gave it to either one of us. Do any of you have another friend we don’t know about?” as he did so.
Both Steve and Brody shaking their heads, Brody read the note. Looking at his friends, he said, “This is a joke, right?” to which the other two answered in the negative. Glancing back at the note, thinking about what was printed, searching for some hidden clue, he eventually asked, “So, what do you think? You think someone is having us on? Someone that wants to make us look bad?”
“I think we should try it,” Steve replied and getting a look from Josh, he quickly added, “I mean, what can it hurt. If we don’t like it, we’ll stop and ignore it. Plus, we shan’t put anything really on it that nobody already knows. We could pretend it’s another DnD session.”
Brody, having gone back to the note, wondered if maybe they should. Their normal DnD quest was nearly at an end and most times they wound up fooling around and cracking jokes within a couple hours. Glancing at Josh, he shrugged, laid the note on the table and said, “Up to you. I really don’t care one way or another, so long as we either play DnD or play the game the note is offering,” and a moment, he added, “Though I am a little fuzzy on how a piece of paper could produce a game.”
“Same way it produced those words,” Steve volunteered and nodding at the note, he explained, “When I opened it, the piece of paper was at first blank. Then, those words formed.”
Josh, eyeing the note, muttered, “First rule of spell casting is that you understand the magick item. You don’t just start fucking around with it.”
A quick nod in agreement and Brody said, “Well, we already know that it’s a blank piece of paper that can write on itself. It was sent from some friend we didn’t know we had. And it is offering to play a game it guarantees to be fun and worth out time. Anything I am missing?”
His two friends shaking their heads, the three eyed the note a moment longer before Steve started to reach for it. Picking it up, he glanced at Josh, then Brody, and then said, “Moment of truth, adventurers. Shall we try this game? Or shall we fold up the paper and go with our normal session of DnD? Because, either way, I’m cool with whatever we choose to do. So long as we do something instead of sitting here for the rest of the evening.”
Brody and Josh looking at each other, not saying anything until Brody finally stated, “Whatever we do, I’m cool with. In DnD, we’ll probably get a little further on our quest, which is close to ending, before the whole thing dissolves into us goofing about. The game the piece of paper is offering might be a fun alternative,” to which Josh nodded.
Glances exchanging between the three, with, again, nothing being said, Steve, Brody and Josh eventually nodded, knowing automatically what each would say. A grin spreading over Steve’s face, he laid the note flat on the table and, after a moment of thought, wrote on the paper, ‘Sure,’ then sat back and waited to see what would happen next, as he two friends since primary school stared at the note, wondering the same thing.