An awkward hour passed until they finally reached some hotel on the outskirts of Waterbury. As soon as they booked the room, Noella said she was going out. They knew she was still mad at them for breaking the window, but she couldn't stay mad at them forever.
She took that girl Bek with her because she wanted to make cupcakes. What was up with her?
Ten minutes later, Bek came back with what she needed, but Noella didn't come back with her.
"So what do we d--" Arizona started to ask, but Griffin cut her off before she was even done with the question. "Strip poker."
Everyone looked at him dubiously. "I'm sure you all know how to play poker, all that we added-- or rather removed-- are your clothes."
"Let's do this!" Larkin yelled.
They sat in circle, and Griffin dealt the cards.
"Hey you!" Misa called at Bek's brother, Tilden. "Want to play?"
He shrugged. "Sure, what the hell?" He sat with them.
"Place your bets, everyone," Griffin said, dealing his last card.
Larkin was the first to do that. "I bet my pants!"
"Are you sure?" Arizona asked him.
"Fuck yeah!" he replied.
"Fine," she countered. "I'll bet my shirt."
Half an hour later, they were all semi-undressed except Griffin. He only decided to play because he knew he'd win. Larkin, on the other hand, was losing badly. He just bought back his pants, and they were all he had left.
Bek came out of the kitchen with a tray. "Who wants cupca-- whoa..."
"Take it off!" Kai screamed.
Larkin stood up. "Screw you." He dropped his pants and left the room.
Bek's hands trembled so much she almost dropped the platter of cupcakes. "I did not need to see that," she mumbled.
Everyone else got up and put on what clothes they didn't have on. Then they had the nerve to go snatch Bek's cupcakes. She didn't think they deserved them, but she wasn't going to say anything about it.
After the game, Linn, Ritter and Alazne went out to restock on weapons and ammunition. Vladis eventually went to give Larkin his clothes, and he came back to the 'living room' again.
"I think we should try a ritual," Misa declared. She opened the big black book to a random page. "Alright, Summoning Spirits. That sounds okay." She started reading through the page while everyone listened eagerly-- most of them, anyway-- to what she had to say. When she finally broke the silence, it was with, "What the fuck is this shit?"
"Let me see that." Arizona grabbed The Book. "Alright, seriously, what the fuck?"
Kai approached them. "You guys don't know anything." She pointed at some words. "I know where to find one of those. And those. And those."
"I bet you're doing it wrong," Griffin said. "I think we should split up and see if anyone can find anything."
Arizona shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
"We'll group," Vladis suggested. "By random?"
Kai turned to Bek and pointed. "You. Choose. Group us."
Bek blinked. "Wha-what?"
"Split us into groups. Simple."
Bek hesitated. "Uhm. You and you and you," she said pointing to Arizona, Kai, Dayle and Destin. "And, uh, you, and you two." She pointed at Zion, Exie, Sawyer and Larkin. "Hmm. You, you, you." She pointed at Erastus, Griffin, Misa and Tilden. "And I'll go with you two." She gestured at Vladis and Jet.
