Haunted Savannah

Chapter Thirteen: The Memellennial Falcons

Savannah passed a pleasant hour people watching in the park from the comfort of a bench, leaving only after her cup was drained of coffee and her fingers started to grow cold. By the time she meandered on back to her apartment, Kevin had already left, though the note he left on her refrigerator let her know that he’d replaced her doorbell. 

After reading the note, she popped her head outside to inspect the plastic button by the door. She hesitated a moment before giving it a quick test ring, even though she’d deeply prefer never to hear a doorbell again. It rang a simple two-tone chime which cut clear through the quiet of her apartment. She then went back inside to take a look at the plug-in chimer that the button by the door wirelessly connected to.

“Neat.” Savannah said, before bending down to adjust the chimer to as low a volume as it could go. If people really wanted to get her attention, they could knock.

She looked around her apartment, which had taken on an ephemeral quality with all the warm light flooding in from the large windows. She took a deep breath, savoring the peace and quiet, before letting go a long exhale. With that breath the tension she’d been holding on to for the last several days eased, her shoulders relaxing.

Then, she went to her windows and slowly wound the blinds shut, ready to have a good nap. After all, her mind needed to be sharp if she wanted to help the Memellennial Falcons reign victorious at trivia night. As she drifted off, she thought she heard the faint sound of the doorbell ringing… and ignored it. It was just her mind playing tricks on her, as it often did when she was in that place between waking and dreams.

The El-Rocko Lounge was a veritable hive of activity when Savannah slid in through one of the double doors. Small groups of people were seated together as waitresses in go-go getups buzzed back and forth, fetching drinks from the bar and snacks from the kitchen - though the Rocko’s offerings were not the standard pub grub one might expect. They knew their audience; the artsy students of the university were just as fond of eclectic food as they were for nostalgic favorites, and both their drinks and food offered a twist on the familiar. Kimchi hot dogs, bahn mi, and rich gravy and cheese curd covered fries - more commonly known as poutine - were fan favorites, and Savannah felt her stomach grumble at the smells that wafted from the back.

The decor of El-Rocko lounge was itself a modern twist on 70s glamour, with a long mirrored walls, glittering gold countertops and copper fixtures that only added to the eye-dazzling decadence of a space that might feel empty otherwise. What it lacked in tables and chairs, of which there were few, it made up for with space for people to dance, a photo booth, and Japanese pachinko games for that esoteric touch. The lounge even featured a small stage where bands regularly performed. 

Presently, the trivia hosts were getting set up, a pair of stout bouncers lifting a small table onto the stage for them. Julian, a beer-bellied hippy of a man who felt that his passing resemblance to The Dude was enough to keep him hip to the kids, brought two stools up onto the stage, positioning them behind the table. Pretty soon, the dude would pass from the pop-culture lexicon as ‘the kids’ of that era had mostly passed into adulthood.

Christina, wife of Julian and the co-host of their trivia game, was clicking a microphone on and off, tapping her finger lightly against it. Christina tilted her head, eyebrows knit together in mild frustration; the mic was on the fritz again, it seemed. Her black hair was trimmed into a bob with such sharp angles that Savannah was surprised it didn’t cut her as it fell in a long sheet against her cheek.

“Savvie, over here!” called a familiar baritone voice boomed over the crowd.

Savannah’s head turned in the direction of the voice, and she soon spotted Jordan, who was waving at her. She scooted past a few patrons, careful not to jostle them as they had drinks in hand, and installed herself in one of the wooden chairs across from her Jordan.

Marina had, miraculously, gotten to the lounge before Savannah did. This surprised the redhead, as Marina was perpetually late - but she tried not to let the surprise show on her face. Instead, she smiled at her two friends.

Marina, by way of greeting, waved at Savannah with her freehand, the other being occupied by the copper mug that she was sipping from. Her nails were painted in a lurid hot pink color today, with holographic rhinestones embedded in them that flashed in the light, only adding to the glitzy atmosphere. Marina quickly set her drink down, and leaned forward with a glint in her eye that told Savannah that her friend was excited about something.

“Jordan says you invited not just one, but two guys to trivia tonight.” Marina led off, her sly smile in place of the question Savannah knew her to be asking.

“One is that barista, Mario, from the Sentient Bean.” Savannah said, rolling her eyes a little as Marina clapped her hands. 

“The hot Spanish guy? Wicked.” Marina tittered.

“Oh, he is pretty tasty. I didn’t know you had it in you, girl.” Jordan agreed, reaching out to give Savannah a nudge on the shoulder. “Good for you.”

“He might ask if you want to model for his fashion show, Marina. I hope you don’t mind that I recommended you…” Savannah said, knowing this would only make Marina even more excited.

“Hell yes! I’ve always wanted to walk the catwalk. I hope he’s, you know, actually good at design though… some of these fashion students are… Mmm..” Marina hummed a bit, looking away as she took another sip of her drink.

Jordan laughed at this, then turned his gaze back to Savannah, “What about the ringer? You said his name as Cory, right?”

“Cory is, ah, just a friend. We grew up in the same town, his brother was my best friend.” Savannah said, shrugging a bit. It felt uncomfortable to call him just a friend, but she thought ‘just some guy she knows’ was kind of demeaning, and ‘surrogate brother’ wasn’t really accurate either. They were friends, right? Maybe not best friends, but still...friends.

Before Marina could inquire further, Jordan spared Savannah by asking, “Is he good with comics, games and all that…?”

Savannah saw Jordan circumspectly flick Marina’s thigh and give her a curt shake of his head ‘no,’ and pretended she hadn’t noticed - though she felt deeply grateful for Jordan’s efforts. While Jordan and his boyfriend Charlie knew about Shane’s passing, having caught her drinking alone the night she found out, she hadn’t really talked about it with anyone else. She would probably think of Shane on and off tonight, just by virtue of Cory being there, but having to explain the ‘was’ part of her previous statement was not something Savannah wanted to get into tonight. Marina was a good friend; Savannah would eventually tell her about Shane. But tonight was not the night for it. 

Tonight, the Memellennial Falcons needed to be on the ball. Their drinking funds depended on it.

“Yes, he assures me is the nerdiest nerd that ever walked the earth.” Savannah replied, looking up just in time to see said super nerd walking in through the door, with Mario coming in right on his heels.

“Speaking of.” she continued, raising a hand to flag the two nercomers down. Marina and Jordan both turned to look, and Marina pursed her lips like she wanted to whistle, but refrained, instead raising her drink back to her lips to disguise her ogling.

Mario’s eyes brightened when he spotted Savannah waving, and Cory’s mouth quirked up into his characteristic lopsided smile. Both young men tried to move in the same direction at the same time, and predictably bumped into each other. When they both arrived at the little booth where the other three were seated, they looked awkwardly at each other for a moment, before trying to greet the red head at the same time.

“Savan-” Cory started, though his quiet voice was quickly overtaken by Mario’s higher, lilting one.

“Anna, it’s good to see you.” Mario finished.

Savannah beamed up at both of them, and said, “I’m glad you guys could make it. Have a seat, let me introduce you.”

Mario took the seat next to Savannah, leaving Cory to grab an extra chair and pull it over. Mario crossed his long legs one over the other as Savannah introduced him, “Mario, this is my friend Marina that I was telling you about, and this is Jordan. Jordan, Marina, this is Mario, though I think you’ve both already met him.”

There was a round of handshaking as Cory settled into his newly claimed seat. Marina let him settle a moment, then delved into his introduction, keeping it just as simple, “And this is my friend Cory. Cory, this lovely lady is Marina, and then Jordan...and Mario.”

Cory was not the handshaking kind, and instead gave each of the others a nod in turn accompanied by a brief smile.

“Good evening.” he said, before looking over his shoulder for a waitress. “Anyone else need a drink, or should I head over to the bar?”

“I could use one,” Mario said, then he noticed that Savannah was also beverage-less.  “Let me buy you one too, Anna.”

If a person could stutter bodily, Cory did so - his beckoning hand pausing mid-raise before continuing its upward journey and making the familiar waving motion that all servers become subtly attuned to, and which many eventually learn to ignore. Luckily, the wait staff of the Rocko had not yet become so desensitized. The large number of young, attractive university students who wanted to make extra cash and would jump at the chance to work at one of the city’s hot spots certainly helped keep the servers from becoming complacent - if the knowledge that their tips would improve with the quality of their service wasn’t enough on its own.

A waitress in a short skirt and tall boots quickly made her way over to their table, her hips swaying just enough to draw the eye. 

“What can I do for you, sweetheart?” she asked, leaning a bit on the back of Cory’s chair as she gave first him, then the group a honey-sweet smile.

“I’ll take a Scorpion Tea, please.” Cory said, then motioned to Mario. 

Mario nodded, eyebrows lifting in slight surprise at Cory’s choice, before  saying, “I’ll have what he’s having. And put hers on my tab too.”

“A Black Lodge, please and thank you.” Savannah piped. She followed this up with a quick, “And, I’ll get the next round. I owe these guys for coming in as ringers tonight.”

She spoke just loud enough that the other teams could hear above the low din of conversation. Even though she wasn’t looking, she could tell that a few had heard her proclamation. In her mind, trivia competitions were as much about confidence as they were about knowing the subject matter at hand. She wasn’t above a little mild mental chicanery if her wallet depended on it.

As the waitress shimmied away to put their orders in at the bar, Cory gave Savannah an appraising look, taking in her slightly smug expression. He slowly smiled, as if he’d cottoned on to what she was up to. While he was looking at Savannah, Mario was in turn looking at Cory - studying his face in a way that the usually reserved young man probably would have found disconcerting if he had noticed. It was the kind of appraising look that might make one feel as if they were being measured. 

At the end of his deliberations, Mario must have felt that Cory measured up, because he said, “You haven’t modeled before have you?”