“That’s not—” I shake my head. “Anyway, when we’re here, we aren’t representing color guard or percussion or clarinets. We’re not band members at all.” I glance around at them. “We’re just five people who are going to role-play some characters, fight some monsters, and hopefully have a good time.”
“And eat nachos,” Max adds and gestures to the stove.“The ground beef should be almost ready, so grab a plate and make what you’d like.”
If my speech didn’t dissolve the tension in the air, the mention of food does the trick. Felix makes a beeline for it and soon everyone is crunching on big plates of nachos.
Felix adjusts his glasses. “Thanks for accepting me into the group, Hazel.”
“Yeah, thank you,” Li says with a head bob. “Although I haven’t played before, so don’t be too hard on me.”
“None of us have played before,” I say. “Which either makes this group a great choice or a total nightmare. But we won’t know until we try. So…shall we?”
They exchange nervous looks before following me into the dining room.
Chapter Fifteen
Everyone finds a seat at the table, Max and Felix sitting on my right side, Li and Nova on my left, and me at the head. They turn to me expectantly and I swallow tightly from behind the DM screen, a trifold plastic barrier sitting in front of me on the table. The reality of being a Dungeon Master—and possibly making a huge fool of myself—looms larger than ever in my mind.
“Okay, well…welcome. Thanks for coming. Nova and Li, I know you both have characters already created. Maybe we should start by having you introduce them to us?”
Li slides deeper into her chair like she can disappear, but Nova leans forward eagerly. “I’dloveto. You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this or how long I’ve harassed Hazel to get us here. Thank you all for agreeing to play.” She puts her palms on the table. “Okay, I’m playing a gnome ranger named Stump. She’s a total introvert and hates mostpeople and crowds. She’d much rather be tromping through the wilderness than having a conversation, but she’ll make exceptions for a few people.”
“She sounds like someone I know,” I interrupt with a wink at her.
“Yes, she and Imightshare a few characteristics. But she does have a love in her life, and that’s the animal companion she can have as a ranger. Zelda is a very large dog, and Stump travels by riding on his back since she’s so small.”
“Zelda?” Felix asks with raised eyebrows.
“It was my choice for our family dog’s name, but my parents overruled me. I was very into the game.”
“I didn’t realize rangers could have animal companions,” Li says, her eyes bright with excitement. “That sounds so cool.”
“Do you want to explain why you’ve loved this character build for so long?” I ask.
Nova grins. “Because Zelda is based on my real-life dog, Zoinks. Don’t judge that name either—my parents are big Scooby-Doo fans.” She pulls out her cell phone and passes it around so the others can see a photo of Zoinks. Nova loves her dog more than any human, including her parents, and I can’t blame her. Zoinks may very well be the cutest dog in the history of dogs.
Li squeals so loud when she sees the picture that my ears ring. “Your dog is so fluffy!”
“He’s an Old English sheepdog, which means my family spends half our lives brushing him, but it’s worth it.” Nova’s expression softens like it only does for Zoinks.
“Can you bring him to our games?” Li looks betweenNova and me like we’re her parents and she’s asking for extra birthday presents.
“I…um…” Nova glances at me for help.
“Well, I guess I’ll need to double-check with my parents, but they’ve always loved Zoinks, so I can’t imagine they’ll mind. Do you think he’d be okay here?”
She chuckles. “He’d be beside himself with happiness. And beside all of you because he’d need constant petting—he loves new people. And smells.”
“I love dogs,” Felix says.
“It’s decided, then,” Max says with a nod. “Our campaign is already better than everyone else’s since we have a dog companion. And a real one at that.”
Everything’s a competition with him, but I have to agree. Having Zoinks here for future games will be so fun. Plus, no one can be angry or fighting with him here. He’ll be like our D&D therapy dog.
“I guess I can go next, then?” Li asks tentatively.
She pivots between anxiety and excitement so quickly. I hope she can gain more confidence before this year is out.
When we nod encouragingly, she shifts in her seat and pulls out a notebook. “So, when I was here for the section dinner with Hazel, we all made D&D characters, and I made an elf druid named Ellywich.”
