((A chapter in the FEATURED Voynich Shift series!))
Parker Raymond is at the beach?! Is this his chance at some fun in the sun or is there trouble in paradise? Jump in and join Parker in his latest adventure in the Voynich multiverse!
We're gonna ce...
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The Celebration
Part Three of Three
They were going to be late to the restaurant. Rena and Danny had taken over half an hour to get themselves ready on top of another half an hour telling the guys how to get ready. There was a loud fight between Danny and Josh over Parker wearing casual clothes. Danny had yelled, "The restaurant we are going to is nice, jeans and a t-shirt won't do!" while digging through Josh's closet. Josh tried disagreeing with her, but still had to give a dark blazer to Parker for the evening. Parker was also sent to the bathroom to fix his hair because Danny demanded that he, "look nice," and "match the rest of the group." At the time, Parker didn't pay any mind to what Danny was saying. He took the jacket gratefully and raked some gel through his hair without asking any questions. But when they were all finished dressing and walking towards the front door, Parker realized that all of them were, in fact, MATCHING. They were ALL wearing dark clothes.
It was then that Parker began to worry about what kind of "celebration" he was going to.
The drive wasn't long though. After a short ten minutes in Rena's silver hatchback, they had arrived at the restaurant. Parker still wondered about what he had gotten himself into, but he swept his feelings aside and followed the trio as they made their way up the flight of stairs that lead to Shacky's entrance.
Shacky's, despite its name, was actually a very classy restaurant. It sat right on the shoreline and had two piers extending out into the ocean. Lanterns and rope lights sparkled everywhere over everything and large, coastal paintings were hung over dimly-lit tables. The ambiance took away Parker's worries.
"We're going to be on the upper floor." Rena said over her shoulder. She steered the group towards another flight of stairs in the back of the building. "The Kent family rented out the upstairs party room for the night."
"That must've been expensive." Josh said incredulously; he was the first to ascend the stairs.
Parker watched the three people ahead of him climb the steps and began to feel nervous. What was he going to do if someone DID recognize him? How many people were going to be up there? Why did he have to do this again? Parker's internal hesitation didn't stop his feet from moving up the stairs. One. Two. Three.
The big oak door at the top swung open and Josh disappeared through it. Then Rena. Then Danny.
Parker's pace slowed. Seven. Eight. Nine.
He hadn't realized he had been counting stairs until there were none left to count. He found himself standing at the top with a room full of about forty or fifty people ahead of him... All wearing black.
He should've run.
"Parker! Parker, are you alright?" Danny, who had run off to greet someone the second they went in, returned with a concerned look on her face.
