I guess I really had been away from the dojo a lot. I had no idea that they’d started having bonfires at night. When Morgan and I arrived home, we heard them before we saw them. Jane and Sam's voices rising over the falling night, wafting onto the street like a siren's song.

It literally stopped me in my tracks. "Wow," I said.

“They’re pretty good, huh?” Morgan said.

“I’ll say.”

When we entered the courtyard, we found some sitting in a circle around a small bonfire, others milling about chatting while Jane played guitar accompanied by Sam doing impromptu percussion on the wooden box he sat on. It was like high school all over again.

Before I made friends with those girls back then, I had no idea that a lot of the kids used to get together for bush parties on the weekend, gathering out in the woods with a bonfire, music, and underage drinking. The first time they took me I was blown away. The scene Morgan and I walked into brought back a flood of memories, including my first time being drunk and, not coincidentally, my first time throwing up in the bushes.

Sigrid was the first to notice us, the moment we stepped through the gate. She must’ve been watching for our return. “They’re back!”

“Yeah!” shouted Galahad, jumping up and pumping his fists. “Drinks! Drinks! Drinks!”

Morgan laughed. “Yeah, yeah, just gimme a second.” She turned to me and grabbed the sleeve of my jacket. “Thanks for dinner, Daniel. It was really great.”

“I enjoyed it too,” I said. I was acutely aware of many sets of eyes on us. “So, uh...”

“Yes,” she said. “Me too.” She flashed me a warm smile, then let go of my sleeve and reached back to undo the bun in her hair and tie it up in a more relaxed, playful ponytail. In an instant the sweet, elegant woman Jeckyl I’d been out with transformed into a raucous, party girl Hyde.

“Alright nerds,” Morgan said, “who said you could start without me?” She sauntered into the fray, then pulled out her Alchemy forge and set up a bar beside Byron’s Artifice forge, which had already cranked out an array of glasses in various sizes and shapes, ready to be filled with as many sundry beverages.

She was a bartender, after all.

A line formed in front of her forge. It wasn't that they hadn't had drinks before, it's just that when Morgan put her Mixology skill and Alchemy power to good use, she could whip up anything you could want, alcoholic or non. Someone threw some fresh logs on the glowing coals and a roaring bonfire blazed up. The slower song Jane and Sam were playing had ended, and they started into a more upbeat number to match the mood. I caught Sigrid’s eye and she patted the bench beside her, so I joined her.

“So?” she said.

“Thank you,” was all I said.

She eyed me appraisingly, then smiled. “Good.”

I looked around. The group’s energy had been cranked up a few notches when we joined. Everywhere I looked, people were laughing, talking, and enjoying the comeraderie of close friends.

“Who knew all it took was Morgan to make this a real party,” I said.

“Dummy,” Sigrid said, nudging me with her shoulder. “This is for you.”

“Me? Why?”

She leaned against me and rested her head on my shoulder. “Because we missed you, dumdum.”

Chika came over and handed me a glass of something red. “Here. Morgan said to give you this.” I thanked her, then she grunted and stomped away.

I looked over at the bar and saw Morgan watching me. She winked, and I raised the glass to her and took a sip. It was as I expected: a bloody caesar, nice and spicy, just the way I like it. Apparently she had been paying attention when we’d played the “what’s your favorite” game at dinner.

To think, using an Alchemy forge to make clamato juice. Criminally delicious.

The song ended. “Jane, you have such a nice voice,” Kay said. “Were you in a band back home?”

Jane shook her head. “Nah.”

Sigrid laughed. “What she isn’t telling you, Kay, is that she has been in several, just never as a permanent member.”

“True story,” Jane said, tuning her guitar.

“And what she would never tell you, but that I happened to discover completely by accident–”

Jane’s head snapped over, metaphorical daggers shooting from her eyes. “What’s this now?”

Sigrid laughed some more. “Is that our girl Jane here had a hush hush secret gig at a bar in one of the swankier hotels in Yorkville.”

“How do you...?” Jane said.

“I was meeting someone for a drink. We were supposed to meet in the hotel bar, but when I got there I found my friend waiting outside. The bar was too packed to get in. They were all there for the lounge singer, this sexy devil with an angel’s voice crooning out sultry bossa nova covers and jazz classics.”

Jane’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you knew about that and never told me.”

“I can’t believe you never told me!” Sigrid snapped back, but then her voice softened. “Also, I could tell you didn’t want anyone to know. I mean, it was pretty obvious from the mask you wore and the name on the billing — Every Sunday Night: The Anonymous Singer – and from the fact that you never told me, that you clearly didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Whoah whoah, back up a second,” Bruce said. “A mask? Like Batman?”

“As awesome as that would be, it wasn’t really a mask,” Sigrid said. “More of a black lacy veil attached to a little hat that she wore over a platinum blonde wig in this cute little bob cut. All you could see was the bottom part of her face framed by this sharp angle of silver-white hair and the brrrrright red lipstick. She couldn't hide from me, though, I'd know that vixen anywhere.”

“It wasn’t that bright,” Jane said, looking down as she kept pretending to fiddle with the already-tuned guitar.

“It went with the shimmering sequins on her oh-so-short little black dress, and the black tights, and the black heels, and—”

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“Oh please god tell me she wore the gloves too,” Andy said.

“Yes. Black gloves that went up past her elbow.”

“Sounds like you were like a real live Jessica Rabbit on the stage, Jane,” Nina said. “Only you hid that gorgeous red hair of yours.”

"I'd pay to see that," Lancelot said.

That was a mental image to click save on if ever there was one.

“Laugh all you want,” Jane said, although nobody was laughing. “But it was just one night a week and I made a killing on tips. And...” Jane’s voice trailed off and she looked down at her feet.

We were all staring at Jane. I think it was the first time any of us saw her not finish a sentence. The uncharacteristic meekness was jarring.

Sigrid stepped in. “And?” she prompted gently.

“And,” Jane continued reluctantly, “it got me a part on a TV show.”

“That’s how you landed that?” Sigrid said, looking shocked, but not as shocked as the rest of us. Not that I was surprised. If Jane wanted a job in show business, it was only a matter of how soon she’d get it.

“Really? Which show?” Sam said.

“You haven’t heard of it,” Jane said. “It was just some stupid new reality series.”

“Has it aired yet? What's it called? What’s it about?” Nina said.

“I only just landed the role a week before we all...and now I’m here.” She plucked five notes on her guitar. Shave and a hair cut.

"Can I tell them?" Sigrid said.

Jane smirked. "Why not? You've told them everything else."

"It was a talent show," Sigrid said.

"You mean like Canadian Idol or something?" Nina said. "A singing contest?"

"Sort of. It involved singing, dancing, acting, even directing and choreography. It was called The Total Package."

"Sounds about right," I blurted out without thinking, sparking a few chuckles around the group.

Then Jane called out to me, her usual perkiness back at full force. “Hey Danny boy, welcome back stranger. Been a while. Are you gonna sing with me or what?”

“Yeah,” Sigrid said. “Sing for us, Daniel.”

“Play Freebird!” Bruce hollered.

“I think we’d all rather just listen to Jane and Sam,” I said.

“I think we’d all rather you stop assuming what we want,” Jane said.

“Come on, Daniel,” Morgan shouted from the bar. “Sing for us.” We made eye contact and she nodded encouragingly.

“Fiiiiine,” I said.

“Wahoo!” Jane said, passing the guitar to Sam and scooching over on her narrow seat to make some room before patting the space beside her invitingly, copying Sigrid.

Sigrid clutched my arm and shook her head. "No. Mine."

"Hey now, Siggy, don't be greedy," Jane said. "Unless you plan on singing with us too..."

Sigrid grunted and let go of my arm. "I hate that you know me so well, evil vixen. Off you go then," she said, nudging me away.

I got up and went over to join Jane. There was barely any room on the seat so in order to sit there without touching Jane I ended up with one cheek hanging off the edge.

Jane glanced down at how I was sitting, then she grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. "Come on, I don't bite." I felt the unsettling sensation of her hips rubbing against mine as she wriggled a bit and settled in next to me. Now we weren't just touching, she was pressed against my side as tightly as Sigrid had been moments before.

“What song?" Jane said. "We need a good duet.”

“Anything but that one from Grease,” Chika said, and beside her Kenji shuddered and nodded his agreement.

“Our parents sing that to each other every anniversary,” he said. “It’s so cringe.”

“You’re the one that I want,” Sam sang.

A bunch of us joined in with: “Ooh ooh ooh, honey.”

“Stooooooop!” Chika shrieked, covering her ears.

“What about the Elton John one?” Nina said.

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart?” Jane said.

“Yeah. Who’d he sing that with again?”

“Kiki Dee,” Wayne said without missing a beat.

“Nope. Can’t do it,” I said. “The fact that she was named Kiki earns it an automatic veto.”

“Ah, Kiki. When shall you ambush us next?” Jane said.

“That chick is, like, obsessed with you,” Sigrid said.

“Another one?” Arthur said. “Who’s this Kiki, anyway?”

“Daniel’s stalker,” Jane said, rubbing her shoulder on my arm.

“She’s not—” I said.

“Oh right,” Arthur said. “That girl with the big...”

“That’s the one,” Byron said, earning him a glare from his wife.

“Did you notice her whole crew is all men?” Kay said, making no effort to hide her distaste.

“I know, right? With all that fresh meat around her, why is she after this guy?” Sigrid said.

“She’s not after me, she is literally out to kill me,” I said.

“And we don’t like her because...?” Morgan said, which everyone but me found hilarious. “Actually, we saw her earlier tonight. She was out with some rugged hunk straight off the cover of a josei romance manga.”

“Yeah? How’d that go?” Sigrid said.

“He totally checked me out,” Morgan said, running her hands down her sides the way she’d done in front of Troy in the restaurant. Then she told everyone the story.

“That’s my big sister,” Arthur said in a tone that suggested resignation more than anything.

“Sounds like an eventful date,” Jane said, turning her head to look at me. An awkward moment of silence followed.

“All the more reason to sing!” Sigrid said. “But what song?”

“I know,” Sam said. “And no vetoes.” Then he played a riff on the guitar. Doo doo doo doodle-oo doo. Jane didn’t miss a beat, joining him with snapping fingers.

"Aw yeah," she said. "Under Pressure."

"Wait, isn't that Ice Ice Baby?" Chika said.

"Yeah, our parents like that one too," Kenji said.

Sam groaned. "Sounds like you're due for some more music history education, Chika," he said, and then it was Chika's turn to groan.

"What's the point if I can't even listen to the music you're talking about?" the teenager moaned.

Jane poked me in the arm. "So? You good with this one?"

“Okay," I said, "but I call dibs on Bowie’s lines."

“You sure?” Jane said. “Freddy’s got the bigger part.”

“Exactly. Besides, I do not have that range.”

“Coward,” Jane said. “Fine.”

I can’t tell you if we were any good, but people seemed to enjoy it. They snapped their fingers at appropriate times, at least. Even jumped in for a few let me outs. Jane was able to do the very difficult vocal parts without breaking a sweat.

“Where’d you get that guitar anyway?” I said.

“Reward Tokens,” Jane said. “There’s all sorts of comfort items from back home there now.”

"Oh? I haven't really used it for anything but potions." I immediately opened my Reward Shop and started scrolling.

“Oh shit, I should’ve known better than to mention the G-A-M-E to this guy,” Jane said with a patented eyeroll, earning a few chuckles.

Okay, that was fair, but I earned just as many chuckles and she changed her tune when the harmonica I bought appeared in my hand and I closed the store. I’d always wanted to play the harmonica but never learned. Time to test the Music skill. I played a blues riff that ended with a nice smooth bend. Nice.

After that, we started taking requests.

Now, I’ve always hated those people who monopolize parties with their music. You know the ones. There’s always someone who’ll stop all conversation by whipping out a guitar and starting to sing. And no, it’s not because I was jealous. Okay, maybe a bit.

But sitting there in a big circle around a warm fire surrounded by people I genuinely liked and who seemed for some inexplicable reason to genuinely like me too, playing real music, following Jane and Sam’s lead when needed and having them seamlessly follow me when it was my turn to lead, earning applause, well, let’s just say that this was one of those rare times when I did not feel like I was just along for the ride. I didn’t even mind that there were so many people looking at me, in fact, I barely noticed.

I was, for that brief time at least, happy. Completely present and caught up in the moment.

Was this how normal people felt? That would explain a lot.

But I still hated people who monopolized the conversation, so after a few songs when Bruce bellowed out “play Freebird!” again, I took that as my cue to put down the harmonica and graciously step out of the spotlight before I overstayed my welcome.

I stood up, still feeling Jane's residual warmth in my side. So this was what it was like to feel content. It almost felt like if I looked up I'd see the lights of the Goodyear blimp saying Daniel's a pimp. This had been a good day. I didn't want to do anything that would risk ruining it.

But you know, sometimes things happen completely out of our control, and there's not a dang thing we can do about it.