“Trust us,” the guys answer in unison, like a well-practiced boy band.
Leon leads the way to the end of the line. “This will move fast. It’s bigger inside than it looks.”
He’s right. We only wait five minutes before we’re ushered inside, where it’s one giant, loud hive of activity. The air is thick with the delicious scent of sizzling carnitas, grilled peppers, and fresh lime. More neon signs flicker along the walls, and a giant projection screen above the bar flashes the words “TRIVIA NIGHT!” in bold letters.
Near the entrance, a whiteboard lists cheeky team names in dry-erase marker: “Quizzards of Oz,” “Nacho Average Team,” and “Ctrl Alt Delighted.”
“Hi, folks, doing trivia tonight?” the host asks, handing out menus as we head to a table in the back corner.
“We sure are,” Andy quips.
“Great. It’s a twenty-five-dollar buy-in with cash prizes for the top three teams. No phones allowed once the game starts.”
We nod and rattle off drink orders.
“I’ll have a house beer,” Leon says.
“Same,” Andy adds.
“Yeah, me too,” Derrick says.
Andy snorts. “Original.”
Derrick doesn’t take the bait and ignores him.
“I’ll have a Diet Coke. I’m the DD tonight,” Ted says.
“And you?” The host turns to me.
“I’m feeling fancy,” I say. “Gin and tonic, please.”
Leon nods approvingly. “Good choice.”
“I’ll grab those and let you think of a team name.” The host disappears toward the bar.
Leon raises his eyebrows at us. “All right, geniuses, any ideas?”
“What do you guys normally call yourselves?” I ask.
“Team 404,” Derrick chuckles.
I snort—404 is internet speak for “Page Not Found.”
Ted grimaces. “We need to update though. It’s too nerdy.”
Andy gestures around the booth. “We’re engineers. Half of us own Rubik’s cubes, the other half argue about which programming language is superior. The nerd ship sailed long ago.”
Derrick points at me. “Except Kaori. She’s too pretty to be a nerd.”
My cheeks warm, but I lift my chin. “Trust me, I qualify. I’m basically Amy Farrah Fowler fromBig Bang Theorywith better eyeliner. I enjoy running those stress simulations, and I squeal over planners and office supplies.”
Ted chuckles. “The fact you just said that makes you even cooler. You a fan?”
“Big fan,” I say.
“Guys.” Derrick waves a hand like he’s herding children. “TV talk later. Team name first.”
I tap my pencil against the table, thinking about boy bands from the early 2000s. A stroke of inspiration strikes me. “What about the G-Force Five?” The guys light up and high-five one another.
