change of pace

stares

chapter three

My alarm clock started blaring at 6:45AM. I quickly rolled out of bed to get a move on with getting ready. I showered last night to get the grime of dirty clothes off me. I never know what to do with my hair, so I slicked it back a low half up half down with a white scrunchie I had on the vanity and pulled some hair out from the front. I put a light purple eyeshadow on my eyes and a little mascara. I decided to do all of my laundry quickly last night so I had some nice clean clothes. I pulled out some dark gray high waisted pants and a tight blue shirt. I grabbed my same old pair of sneakers and quickly tied them. Trying not to put too much, I sprayed a little perfume on.

Rushing to the kitchen to grab something to eat, I saw my dad sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey, Dad. I'm having a friend over tonight to work on a project if that's okay." I said quickly making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and pouring a glass of juice.
"That's fine. So...you've made some friends?" He asked now getting up and walking towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, I joined a club as well! So I might not be coming home until later now. Probably when you leave for work." I mentioned now munching down my sandwich.
"That's all good, Jess. Just be careful. You know, with everything going on."
"Of course, Dad." I said and he placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Well, don't be late for school. I'm heading to bed to catch some sleep for tonight." Dad said smiling at me.
"Goodnight Dad." I said before quickly downing my juice.

My watch said 7:20. I grabbed my backpack and started at the door when I heard the screech of tires pull up to the front. I jogged over to his beat up little van.

"Good morning, sunshine! I even got here a little early. Proud of me?" Eddie says as I begin opening the door. He's wearing ripped black jeans and a Motörhead band tee with the sleeves cut off to compensate for the summer air still lingering.
"I'm surprised. It's good to see Eddie Munson keeps up to his promises." I said buckling my seatbelt. I noticed the back looked a lot cleaner. Smelled better too. He probably cleaned it when he got home.
"Well anything for you, after all, you are apart of Hellfire now." He said shifting the car into gear and starting to drive.
"Did you sleep?"
"Gotta be honest with you, not really. Threw around some ideas for the campaign before eventually crashing out at mehhh 5 or so."
"Oh my god, I'm sorry."
"No, don't worry about it. If anything, it inspired me." Eddie said flashing a smile at me. I smiled back. There was a sense of awkwardness in our conversations, but at the same time a slight spark.

We pulled up to school and saw the rush of students still had yet to arrive. There were some here and there, but luckily not the same ones we saw yesterday after school. Eddie noticed me scouting out everyone here.

"You okay?" He said pulling his backpack out from the back.
"Oh, I'm fine. Where are we starting this...character sheet?" I asked trying to remember what it was called. He smirked.
"Mhmm, a character sheet. Your lifeline of information on yourself during the campaign." He pulled out a box of dice from his backpack. "We will be using these too, follow me."

As we walked to the Hellfire room, I noticed people staring. I guess that's what he deals with on a daily basis, but it's weird not to feel invisible for once. Eddie unlocked the doors and held the door open for me. I cautiously walked to the light switch to find it and turn it on, which consisted of me pressing my hands on the wall hoping to find it. I heard the click and the light went on to see Eddie smiling at me having been the one to press it. We began to the table and he pulled out a chair for me before pulling out one for himself and sitting.

"I have some books here for you to pull some inspiration from, and I can walk you through the steps. Here's an old character sheet from last campaign as an example." Eddie says pulling out a paper from a binder covered in stickers. This was his thing, but he still had a very awkward persona then I usually see him with.

The character sheet looked simple. But the numbers confused me. I examined the abilities, type, and weapons. We looked through a book that explained the different types of categories, and Eddie was sure to explain them all in vivid detail and recommend what would best fit me. We decided on a paladin half-elf, basic understanding and abilities, but still able to do some damage. Eddie pulled out his dice and let me roll as he wrote down each number appeared on the dice, and explained to me what each ability meant. He pulled out a box that was on the table and opened it to reveal tiny little statues.

"You can pick one of these to represent you, or of course make one. But that takes more time." Eddie said lining up each one he had tucked away in the box.
"Um...maybe, this one?" I said holding up one with long hair and a sword. He smiled at me.
"I think that one is just perfect." He grabbed it and put into a separate box that was full of other little papers. He took my character sheet and tucked it in the box as well.
"I think we have ourselves a campaign!" Eddie said standing up with his hands in the air, almost like he was praising.
"So when do we start?"
"Well, I need to find a few more members. And I will of course introduce you to our current Hellfire members. So, approximately next week. But first, you are going to help me make the map and layouts tonight." Eddie said pushing his chair in and stacking up the books and boxes neatly.
"Oh, yes. After that thing you have to do." I said quietly. Probably a meetup with the other members. His facial expression changed to a little worried.
"Yes, but it won't take long. Because we have ourselves a night of busy busy busy. You, my dear, are going to help bring this journey to life in a visual way to guide us all through the possible torture that may arise." He says winking at me.

We walked out of the room and he locked the doors. I stood close to him noticing more students have arrived as we were close the first bell ringing. He glanced at me before putting his keys away and starting to walk. We made up some casual conversation, but the more I talked to him the more peoples eyes stared directly down at me. Eddie followed me to my locker and I started putting away some of my books. He leaned against the locker, fidgeting with his fingers waiting for me.

"Hey, I know I'm not exactly the most liked and...that can cause some issues. So if you don't want me to walk around with you, I understand." His tone was sympathetic. He noticed me looking around at everyone when we got here. I shut my locker.
"Come on. We're gonna be late for class." I said pulling him to walk with me and he smiled.