I reached to press the doorbell, then paused, staring at where my right finger should have been.

There was no finger. Not even a hand. Just a stub at the wrist.

I rolled my eyes, chided myself for the force of habit, and I used my left hand to ring the doorbell.

My stomach churned as I waited. Maybe this is a bad idea, I thought. I don't know a thing about Dungeons and Dragons.

The door opened, and it all came back to me why I came. Standing in the doorway was Laura, a beautiful high school senior with long, wavy brown hair, green eyes, a warm smile and...

And a prosthetic left leg?

She noticed my staring. "Yep. It's a real fake leg."

I shook my head and blushed. "Sorry. It's just... when I met you the other day, you wore pants and... today you're wearing shorts and... I didn't know you... uh..."

"Could wear shorts?" Laura asked with a grin. "Or that I'm also a member of the dismembered society?"

I laughed. "Yeah, that one." I'd only met Laura a few days ago, and I'd immediately thought she was cool. But now, she was a thousand times cooler. "It's nice to know I'm not alone."

"That's right, I know exactly what it--" she patted her prosthetic leg "--doesn't feel like."

"Wow, I need to pick up all of these jokes about missing limbs."

"They'll come with time." She opened the door wider. "Come in; we're about to get started."

I stepped into the house and smelled cheap pizza. Star Wars posters and collectables were placed everywhere. I passed a bookcase that was full of all sorts of fantasy and science fiction novels.

Laura led me downstairs to the game room. I could tell a lot of care went into this room. A large table in the center was made of well-polished mahogany. Two TV monitors were placed on the walls, and a surround-sound speaker system was installed.

Three people around the table noticed my arrival.

"You know my cousin Jesse from school, don't you?" Laura asked, pointing to the girl in the corner with red makeup covering her whole face, and curved horns jutting out of her head.

I nodded and waved politely, but truth be told, I didn't recognize Jesse at all. And how could I, with that weird costume and makeup on?

Jesse waved with a subtle curl of her fingers, rested her chin under one of her fists, and smiled up at me. "I never thought I'd see the day when Jake Nelson would play Dungeons and Dragons."

I blushed. "Maybe this was a mistake. I'm not really into this kind of stuff. I should go."

"Oh, nonsense." Laura grabbed my arm. "You're not into Dungeons and Dragons because you've never tried it. Give it a shot, for me, please?" She fluttered her eyelashes at me with obvious exaggeration.

Although her act was excessive, her attractive eyes and contagious smile still pulled at my heartstrings. "Alright," I said. "I'll stay."

"Great!" Laura pointed to the others around the table. "And this is Sam, and my uncle Gary."

Sam looked about 12 years old, wore a red hoodie, spiky black hair, and he had an eager grin. Gary was overweight, had bushy black beard, glasses, and a Stranger Things ball cap. "Nice to meet you." Gary stood and extended a hand.

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I stared down at his hand, wishing that, at least once, someone would offer their left hand first. Gary noticed my hesitation, glanced down at my stub of a right hand, and quickly switched to his left hand, which I shook.

"Sorry," Gary said. "I didn't know--"

"It's okay," I said. "I'm still getting used to it, too."

"Dad, didn't you hear about Jake's car accident?" Jesse asked. "How the school's star quarterback and pitcher lost his hand in a freak accident?" Gary shook his head. "Well, it's all people talked about at school for a while."

I felt my breath freeze in my chest. Jesse had simply stated the facts, but those facts stung me to the core. Staring down at my stub, I tried to hold on to the memory of throwing a football and a baseball. Like trying to replay an interrupted dream, it never was as good as the real thing.

Laura seemed to notice my discomfort. "Anyways..." she said. "Enough about accidents. Let's play!"

"Great!" Gary said. "We could use another player on the team."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, who knows what monsters Malcolm will throw at us."

"Who's Malcolm?" I asked.

"The Dungeon Master," Laura said. "He'll be here soon."

I approached the table and failed to see any type of board that you'd typically find with a board game. All the players had a collection of dice, papers, and tablets in front of them. "So, how do you play?" I asked as I sat down.

Laura swung her prosthetic leg around a chair next to me and sat down. "We play as characters in a fantasy world," she said. "And the Dungeon Master tells us what happens."

I frowned. I'd never heard of any board game like that.

"It'll make more sense as we start playing," Sam said. "First, you need to create your character."

"How do I do that?" I asked.

Gary handed over a book, paper, and a pencil. "You'll need to read the player's handbook and fill thi--"

Laura put her hand out to cut off her uncle. "No, no, no. There's an app for that."

Gary snorted. "You kids and your apps. Back in my day--"

Jesse and Sam groaned in unison while Laura helped me download an app on my phone. Once it was ready, I opened a Create a New Character section. It gave a list of races for me to choose, such as dwarves, humans, and elves.

"Oh, so this is like the Lord of the Rings." I said.

Laura nodded. "Yeah."

I wouldn't consider myself a nerd, but I definitely liked the Lord of the Rings movies. "So I could be a warrior, like Aragorn?"

"Yes," Laura said.

"Except I'm already playing a ranger," Sam said.

Gary scoffed. "Yeah you're a ranger, but you're nothing like Aragorn."

"You're right," Sam said. "My characters cooler."

"What's your character like?" I asked.

"Well..." Sam started.

"He's Batman," Laura said.

"Really?" I asked. "Superheroes are in this game?"

"I'm not Batman," Sam said. "I'm a fantasy-based vigilante."

"Your character's name is Wruce Bayne!" Gary said.

"Hey!" Sam said with a smirk. "Don't reveal my secret identity!"

"We could really use a tank," Jesse said. "Maybe Jake could play as a barbarian or a fighter."

"Oh!" Sam began searching something on his phone. "I made a really cool rune knight that Jake can play as. Let me find it."

I couldn't help but stare at Jesse's fake horns and bright red makeup covering her face. "Do I need to dress up like my character?" I asked, a knot forming in my stomach.

Everyone chuckled.

"No," Gary said. "Jesse is the only one here who dresses up."

I tried to not to show it, but I was super relieved to hear that.

"I just love to really get into the game," Jesse said with a smile.

"What are you supposed to be?" I asked. "I don't remember seeing anything like that in Lord of the Rings."

"I'm a tiefling. Half human, half devil."

"Don't get on her bad side," Laura said. "Or she'll hellish rebuke you."

Gary and Jesse laughed, and I chuckled politely while trying to hide my utter confusion.

"Here it is!" Sam said. "Ander, the human rune knight. He's got an awesome backstory, and he's easy to manage for a first timer. I'll send the character to your app."

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Sam ran upstairs.

"Malcolm's finally here," Gary said. "I hope he does well."

"That's right," Jesse said. "This is his first time DM-ing. I'll think he'll do fine. He's a better method actor than me. Never drops the accent. Not once!"

Malcolm entered the game room with a modest smile. He had a tall, slender figure, short black hair, pointy elf ear attachments, and an ancient-looking robe with a black cape that reached his ankles. He reminded me of one of the guys I saw swallow a sword at a renaissance festival a couple years ago.

"Greetings." Malcom sat at the head of the table. "I see we have a new player in our midst."

I waved. "I'm Jake. This is my first time playing."

"Splendid. I'll make certain you have an... unforgettable experience."

For some reason, that only made me nervous.

"Have you already created your character?" Malcom asked.

I glanced at the app on my phone and saw the new character Sam had sent me. "Yeah. Looks like I'm a human fighter named Ander."

"Very well." Malcolm organized a few things behind a screen, laced his fingers, and smiled at us. "Then let us begin."