The frat house was alive with activity now. The upperclassmen were scurrying around with last minute party preparations, and others had finally started trickling back in from their costume run. Ryan had to admit, this group of kids really went all out with their costumes. The kitchen seemed to be the locus of activity, so he waited for a lull in the foot traffic and and then slipped inside.
Naturally, the party preparations continued here. Students were getting a punch bowl ready, prepping more snack trays, and ah, there was Victor! The head of the frat was standing in the corner on his cell phone, speaking in sharp, hushed tones.
The senior had decided to dress as a vampire tonight. He had an immaculate looking suit on, complete with a cape. Victor must have taken a moment from this whirlwind of activity to step out and put some makeup on. He as looking positively pale.
Ryan started to make his way across the kitchen towards Victor. His eyes lit up when he saw Ryan approach, and he stood up a bit straighter.
"Hey there sir!" He held the phone back from his head, covering up the mouthpiece. "Our DJ bailed at the last second, I'm trying to see if we can get our backup buy to come in short notice."
"Oh, uh-" Sir? "I was just-" Ryan coughed into his hand. "Where should the pledges wait-"
Victor took a step back. "Look, can we talk in a minute Dr. Reed? I really need to get this sorted out." He suddenly held the phone closer to his head again, "Hello? Yes? Hey, this is Victor!"
Ryan watched Victor walk off to a more quiet part of the kitchen. Something weird was going on tonight. Maybe this was some prank everyone was in on? Hopefully someone would let him in on the joke soon.
"Man, I really need to relax," Ryan muttered to himself. He reached down, rubbing the pipe in his pocket. His surprisingly sturdy jacket pocket. Without really thinking about it, he reflexively found himself walking outside.
The kitchen led into TFU's back yard. It was a nice green space that could be used for everything from small pickup sports games to, well, parties like this one. He spotted the keg from earlier. Right, those things usually needed to be kept on ice, and it was hard to make too much of a mess when it was already outside. A group of frat boys was lifting it into a plastic trash can.
Ryan drifted closer to watch. Oh wow, that was just one of apparently three different kegs the frat had acquired for the party. One he could understand, but three? He really needed to have a talk with Victor about responsible party hosting.
A familiar face was working one one of the other kegs. Clint was fidgeting with the pump, making sure the beer was flowing through the hose correctly. He had changed since the two of them had talked. It looked like he had decided to go with the classic wolfman look. He had applied some fake sideburns on his face, switched into a torn up flannel shirt, and had clipped a tail onto his pants.
"How are you getting your tail to move like that?" Ryan pointed down at Clint's costume.
Clint stood up, "Oh hey professor. How's my favorite faculty advisor?" He looked behind himself, wiggling his rear a bit. "Oh you know how we get around Halloween."
"Right..." Ryan watched skeptically.
"Hey, can I get you a beer? We just got this bad boy flowing." He tapped the keg.
Man, a beer would be excellent right about now. Ryan opened his mouth to accept the offer, but then suddenly shook his head. "I can't while chaperoning. You know that." The words came out effortlessly.
Clint shot him a sympathetic grin. "Just had to ask." He kept smiling, "You can smoke though, right?"
"Heck yeah." Ryan reached into his pocket, pulling out his pipe and his tin of tobacco. "I was just about to actually." Wait, his tin?
"You know you can swear here, right? Nobody cares." Clint laughed.
Ryan shook his head again, "You're not supposed to do that around students either."
Clint stepped forward, patting him on the back. "Well look at Mr. Goody Two Shoes." He raised an eyebrow, looking down at Ryan's pipe, "So you don't want me to go get the good stuff?"
The good stuff...? Oh! Right. Clint was, how to put this, a bit of a delinquent. But the kind with benefits.
Ryan paused for a moment. He wasn't sure why he didn't want to drink beer, and this was a bit more serious. It was also a bit harder for some student to snap with a camera phone though. "Sure." He finally smiled, "Can't have beer, but gotta unwind somehow." He started walking over towards Clint.
"Woah, hey, you stay here. I don't want a teacher knowing where my stash is." He held up a hand playfully. "I'll be right back."
"Hey, I'm not-" Ryan started to yell after Clint. He dropped his shoulders, muttering, "...a teacher."
He watched Clint's tail swish back and forth as he ran off. He must really be having to shake his rear to get it to wag that much. These kids took Halloween way too seriously.
Hey wait, that was it! They were just giving him a hard time about his costume. Acting in character and all that. Ugh, he could have picked a better outfit if he had known everyone was going to be so serious about it. Then again, considering some of the alternative costumes at the store, maybe he got off easy.
Of course... that didn't explain why he was just standing there without a beer.
Ryan pushed that thought aside and started to half-fill his pipe with tobacco. It was mostly just there to hide the smell. He learned long ago that he had to be a bit more discrete if he didn't want to spend a semester hearing "Dr. Weed" jokes.
"Clint!" Ryan waved, watching his hookup return, "Well if it isn't my favorite wolfman. Are your ears going to come in soon?"
The frat boy laughed, walking back outside. "Workin' on it sir." He turned his head, showing off some remarkably good prosthetic work. He couldn't imagine the kid having enough patience to actually stand in front of a mirror and put on pointy rubber ears.
"Come on, I get to give you a hard time too." Ryan smiled.
Clint pulled a small metal tin from his pocket, "Hopefully you'll start having a more chill time. This one's a little stronger than usual, take it easy."
Ryan shook Clint's hand, palming the tin. "You're a good cub Clint. What do I owe you?"
"Cub?" Clint tilted his head in a very canine manner.
"Cub, kid, same difference." Ryan laughed softly, "You're a wolfman, right?" He glanced around, "So..." Let's see, what would a professor say, "I don't hand out grades in exchange for-" He gripped the new tin tighter, "-favors."
Clint gave Ryan a toothy grin, "I'm not even in your chemistry class Dr. Reed." He glanced back at the frat house, "All I want is, you know..." He gestured at the party vaguely, "Your discretion."
Ryan gave Clint an understanding nod, "That I can do." He chuckled, "Now go on and party. Can't have someone with your nose around when I light up."
Clint laughed, "I didn't think you'd be so into all this sir. You really should have dressed up." He grinned, going back to the others around the kegs.
"Har har," Ryan shot Clint a look. He walked a few paces away from the kegs, getting the rest of his pipe ready. He was focused on the task at hand, not finding it odd how practiced he was with this particular set of actions. If anything, he was making a mental note to buy some lotion. His hands were looking a little dried out and wrinkly.
Ryan pulled out a matchbook with the school's logo on it out of his jacket pocket. He struck a match, trying to get his pipe to light. It was a little windy though, and- "Frick!" He swore as the match went out. Well, his version of swearing anyways.
He pulled out a second match, giving it another go. He wasn't paying much attention to the back yard he was standing in. Everyone's costumes started looking a bit more convincing as time passed. His jeans shifted into a bland pair of khakis, and his sneakers became a pair of worn loafers.
Finally Ryan managed to get his pipe going. He gave it a good puff, immediately feeling himself relax. Mhmm, that's the ticket. He really should go easier on Clint. He was lucky to find the one dealer on campus who didn't need a passing CHEM 102 grade. He was right though, this blend was a little strong. Ryan let the calm fuzziness wash over him as he stood in the yard, idly scratching his chin. His stubble was continuing to grow out, showing the makings of a proper salt and pepper beard.
Not that Ryan was paying it any particular attention. He gave his pipe another satisfied puff. He'd finish this off and then go find the pledges. Or watch the party. Or whatever it was he should be doing right now.