Clannad and Clannad After Story

Never have I ever seen anything quite as beautiful as Clannad. It’s based off a visual novel of the same name by Key and very loyally follows the content within it. Much like many anime that are out there the main characters are mostly students in high school. The central theme of the story I would say would be growing up. Over the time it took for me to watch it I grew to love every single one of the characters. Unlike many anime that I’ve seen this one’s characters are dynamic and grow with the events that happen within the show. Along with the story and the characters the soundtrack fits the show perfectly. Even the extra content created is beautiful and creates their own sense of closure within themselves.

I grew to love Tomoya Okazaki, the protagonist of the entire series and a slacker. He has a strong habit of cutting class and ignoring lectures because he would rather waste his time than learn. Throughout the school he is known as a delinquent and he very regularly pulls pranks and jokes on his friends and fellow students. Tomoya meets Nagisa Furuwaka on one of his walks. She is the main heroine of the story and is a repeat senior at her school because she spent a lot of her time sick her first senior year. She has poor self-esteem and self-confidence, but things change when Tomoya begins speaking to her (and he speaks his mind quite bluntly at times). He helps her achieve her dream of reviving the drama club and all throughout they make many new friends. You also get to meet dozens of other colorful characters that all have great importance to the series. Tomoya helps Fuko Ibiki, a shy girl that at first is very timid around him as well as stubborn, get all the people in the school to go to her big sister’s wedding. He helps Kotomi Ichinose, a quiet genius that is at first awkward at socializing, learn how to socialize and deal with old scars. Each of these characters and many more grow and find a way into your heart. Tomoya grows from his childhood into manhood quite well through the whole series, and many of the other characters follow similarly.

The series explores friendship, family, and love very thoroughly. Each of the characters have their share of loss as well as gain. All of the grow in their own way. There are fights. There is romance. The humor is fantastic, not many shows have got me laughing as heartily as Clannad. There were times where I would be excited over the cuteness of several of the characters. There were also times were I would cry at the beautiful, the happy, and the sad. It is very stimulating in every aspect of the word, but it is not overwhelming. The series is most definitely emotional, but not in a way the leaves you exhausted and depressed, and more in a way that leaves you satisfied and happy.

If anyone were to ask me what my favorite anime was I would say “Clannad hands down” and then recommend it highly. I have never felt this good after finishing any other anime series.

Short Story Series: Tyler

“Tyler Emmin, can you educate the class on the history of the Civil War?” The question had caught Tyler “T” Emmin off guard. Once again he had been caught staring at the brunette beauty Crystal Vaine, but this time it was by a teacher.

He blushed as the class laughed at him. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Mr. Mora, the history teacher, rolled his eyes. “Once again lost in the clouds and all you have to say is sorry. Next time, you’re going to have a talk with me after class. Now pay attention.”

Not that there ever was a talk, he just said that to try and get his students to pay attention, nobody ever had to talk with him after class unless they did something other than stare at beautiful women.

T listened to Mr. Mora drone on some more about Gettysburg before he began to space out again. He had a dream the other night, a dream about Crystal and him together in a relationship and it was beautiful. Of course in real life she probably didn’t even know T existed. Not very many people noticed him. T was shorter than the average sixteen year-old and didn’t fit in with the cliques in the high school. Even some outsiders treated him as an outsider. He did have a few important friends, one being his best friend since childhood: Tara Jenkins.

After class T walked to the cafeteria where he’d meet up with Tara and the Kents: Frank and Rachel. They all knew about his crush on Crystal.

As she sat at the dinner table, Rachel asked. “So, T, have you asked Crystal out yet?”

T blushed and shook his head. “No.”

Tara looked accusingly at T. “I still don’t get why you like her. She’s just a rich preppy girl, not even your type.”

T shrugged. “She’s pretty?”

Tara smacked her own forehead with the palm of her hand. “Right, because that means anything.”

T frowned. She didn’t have to be so rude about it. “I talked with her once.”

Tara began fixing her hair. “Yeah, I know. ‘She was really nice’. Of course you couldn’t say anything back to her, so it’s more like she talked to you not with you.”

Rachel smacked the table lightly. “Hey, you don’t have to be so mean about it. Yeah, he’s head over heels over her and there’s no real reason for it, but you don’t have to be so mean.”

Tara just glared at Rachel for a while. They began to stare each other down for a while until Rachel blinked.

Rachel then laughed. “You beat me every time.”

T then stood up. His heart pounded in his chest. “I’m going to ask her out.”

Frank glanced up at T. “Are you sure, dude? You look like you’re going to have a heart attack. I’m pretty sure the embarrassment might kill you.”

T quickly nodded. “Yeah. I got this. I’m sick and tired of losing chances to ask her out. She’s right over there, I’m right here, and I’m going over there to ask her.”

T took one step after the other each one seemed to take longer than the last. He tried to keep his breathing calm and his heart from pounding its way out of his chest. He felt the blood rush up to his head and he knew that some people were staring at him. Somehow he made it to the table that Crystal was sitting at although she was talking with her friends. T then tapped her shoulder and when she turned to him he lost his breath.

Crystal looked at him expectantly. “Yes?”

T then exhaled. “WouldyouliketogowithmetoRene’sDinerfordinner? Tonight?”

She blinked, then smiled after a little while. “No thank you, I’m not really interested in you. I don’t think it would work out anyways.”

T was shocked by the calm denial she performed. The cold denial. All those feelings washed away except the embarrassment and that hit him so hard he passed out.

When he came to Tara was sitting next to his bed in the nurse’s office. She smiled when she noticed him wake up. “Well, that could have been worse.”

T looked at her weird. “How so?”

Tara hugged him. “You could’ve passed out before getting denied by Crystal. By the way, real graceful way to ask her out.”

T blushed but he hugged her back. “Shut up.”

Tara looked him in the eyes with her vibrant green eyes. “You are OK, right?”

T’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Good.”

He looked down for a moment and then looked Tara back in the eyes. “Uh, Tara? How would you like to have dinner with me at Rene’s Diner tonight?”

She nearly tackled him. “I’d love to.”

Short Story Series: Yvette

The call had happened. The news had arrived. Yvette slowly hung up the phone after she got the message. The world around her slowed down and gravity seemed to get heavier. She slid down the wall into a seated position and curled up into a ball. The call was from her doctor. The news was she was going to die in July from an acute blood poisoning that no hospital could cure.

She had tried every possible way she could. Doctors tried every cure and experiment known to science. Reiki masters tried every healing method they knew. Hypnosis. Everything. Nobody could do anything. She was helpless. She was only nineteen and had recently graduated high school. She was going to go to Yale. Now, in one month, she was going to the grave.

None of her family knew what was happening to her; she didn’t want them to until she knew that there was nothing she could do. Now, the only thing she could do was cry. “I don’t want to die.”

Mom had gone shopping, but she’d be back in a couple of hours. Dad was at work and would be home a few hours after Mom. All Yvette wanted to do was wrap her arms around them and cry and tell them everything. The comfort they could give her was better than the cold comfort of the doctors telling her that her death would be painless and would probably happen in her sleep.

Yvette trembled at the thought of her parent’s reactions when she tells them. She knew they would try to find her a cure, but she already knew there wasn’t one. She’d tell them of course, but there’s no way they’d listen; she’s only a child fresh to the adult world how could she know? The only reason they didn’t know was because she lied to them about where she was going and asked the doctor, who was a friend of hers not to tell anyone.

There was a sound at the door and Mother came through. “Hello, Yvette. Oh, what’s wrong, dear?”

Yvette looked at her mother with teary eyes. “Mom, I need to tell you something. It’s really, really important. You’re going to want to sit down though.”

Mother put down the bags in her hands. “OK. Lets go to the kitchen.”

When Mom sat down Yvette let out a short sob. “Mom, y-you know all those times I said I went to Kelly’s house? Not all of those visits were true. I was going to the doctors and stuff. I-I am dying.”

Mother’s jaw dropped and then quickly closed up. “No, no you’re not. You can’t be, you’re too young. You can’t die. This has to be a lie.”

Yvette hugged herself. “It’s true. I didn’t want to tell you two because I didn’t know if I could cure it or not, but I have one month and nobody can do anything. I don’t want to die!”

Yvette embraced her mother in tears. Mom returned the embrace. “You’re going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Yvette sobbed. “No!”

They held each other for the next few minutes. Mom denying and comforting. Yvette crying. The only words going through Yvette’s mind were “This is not fair”.

After a while Mom suggested that they bring in the groceries before the food goes bad from the heat, just to take their mind off of death for a while. After unpacking and putting away the groceries, Mom called Dad and told him about what happened, shortly after he came home. Yvette was terrified. She didn’t want to explain this to anyone, especially her parents. It wasn’t fair for her to keep this a secret anymore though. The same reaction came from Dad, but angrier and far more terrifying.

Dad called the hospital and heard the news from them. He slammed the phone after the hospital hung up on him, and defeated he slid down the wall into a seated position. Yvette and Mom joined him.

“What are we going to do?” He breathed. “I can’t lose you, my only child, my daughter.”

He broke down in tears and nobody said anything for quite some time. Yvette, Mom, and Dad all held each other crying.

Finally, Yvette spoke up. “There’s nothing that can be done. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you anything until now. I love you. Mom. Dad. I love you.”

Her voice broke up and for a while she couldn’t speak. “I-I’m going to die. I don’t want to. I want to live. But I’m going to die.”

Short Story Series: Ross

This was it, the day that he’d win it all. Ross smiled and walked to the mailbox. Within this mailbox would be a check written out to Ross’ name for 8 million dollars that he won from the lottery. Of course taxes were taken off, but the leftover amount of money was still so sizable that anyone could retire off of it. After walking into his house and opening the letter, Ross did a little dance. He nearly screamed like a little girl too.

His first ever lottery ticket and he won! How much more lucky could he get? Oh the things he could get with this money. First, he’d have to put the check in his bank account. With that thought he got into his old jalopy of a car and drove to the bank. The first thing to change would be his car. He had always been eyeing that Porsche 911, so that’s what he would get. What would be next though? Ross realized he was getting ahead of himself and put his mind to one thing at a time.

In the bank, the line was fortunately small and he knew the teller very well. She had at one point been Ross’ girlfriend, after they broke up they slowly reformed their friendship.

Alice noticed the size of the check. “That’s quite a lot, did you get lucky or something?”

Ross grinned a wolfish grin. “Yep.”

She handed him back a deposit slip. “It’ll be a week or two before you can actually use all of the money. Tomorrow you’ll be able to use about $5000 of the money.”

Ross was shocked. “A week or two? Why can’t I use it now?”

She smiled. “It takes a while for big checks like this one to completely transfer over. You’ll be able to use about half of the money in a week though.”

Ross wanted to use the money now. “Oh, OK. Uh, have a good one Alice.”

“Good bye, Ross.”

Ross drove back home in a trance. He won the lottery, but he couldn’t use the money right away. When he made it home, he rested his head against the wheel with his hands still grasping it. Luckiest day of his life and he couldn’t do anything with his luck until next week. “Just my kind of luck.”

College seemed a bit silly now that he had enough money he could retire. Mom and Dad wouldn’t be happy though if he told them he wasn’t going to go to college. A part of him still really wanted to give it a try anyways. Then the thought of being a debt free college student came to mind and he smiled. In one and a half semesters, he’d be graduated from high school and on to college. First, he wanted that car.

Then another dilemma came to Ross’ mind. Who should he tell about the money? His best friends would know. His parents  would find out anyways if he went and bought the Porsche. Should something this big be kept secret? Or should he tell those he knew the best? He had an hour to figure out if he should tell his parents or not, because they both would come home at the same time.

He stepped out of his car and went to his room to listen to rock ‘n’ roll and think. When his parents got home, they called him down for dinner. They had picked up pizza on their way home. At dinner, Ross listened to his parents talk and tried to figure out if he should tell them and how.

Dad looked at Ross. “Are you alright, son? You seem a bit lost today.”

Ross blinked. “Oh, yeah sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Did something interesting happen today at school?”

Ross coughed. “Well, actually. Um, not at school, but here. I, um, I won the lottery.”

Silence.

Ross continued. “It was a lot of money. Uh, and I went to the bank today and put it in my account. I, um, I need help with it though.”

Dad smiled. “You certainly are a lucky one aren’t ya? We’ll help you with it. What exactly do you need help with?”

Paul Davis’ Story

The pain and anger I felt at those words, hit me so hard for a while I could only see red. I wanted to hunt down the man or men responsible for the explosions and kill them. I have never felt hate and rage so strong at anything, it was overwhelming. My wife and child were both murdered.

The nurse looked at me sadly and then left the room. I let out a savage yell that was so loud two other nurses came running in to see what was wrong.

I recovered, but it took me a couple months. I did the only thing I could think to do: return to work. In my absence things changed. Both of our interns had left and a new one, Alexis took their place. Jake looked like he put on a couple of years and hugged me when he saw me, telling me that I was missed and he’s glad I’m fine. I decided to give the radio station a new direction and proposed it to the Boss.

“Hey, Boss, I’ve got an idea. Jenna inspired me to do it actually, and I would like your permission to do through with it.”

The Boss tilted his head curiously. “Yeah? What is it?”

I coughed. “Well, for most of my life with her, she was a pillar of hope for me. She’s the one that pulled me through all the troubled times I’ve had and she kept telling me to ‘never give up’ and I thought, maybe I could continue that using the radio station. There may not be much hope left for the United States, but there’s still hope that we can be united and have law. I’m not about to let some murdering organization keep that dream from happening. I want to keep the hope for our future alive.”

The Boss smiled. “You got it, Paul. Go for it. If anyone can do this it’s you. Just don’t embarrass me OK?”

I nodded. “Got it.”

When I made it to the mics, Jake shook my hand. “It’s good to have you back, Paul, I’m sorry about what happened.”

I smiled sadly. “It’s not your fault, Jake. You ready to begin this show?”

He looked at me incredulously and all those years faded away. “Ready? I was born ready.”

I laughed. “Good lets do this.”

“And we’re on the air. Hello folks, this is Jake here and can we have a welcome back cheer for Paul Davis?” Jake waited a few moments. “I can’t hear you.”

“Jake, of course you can’t hear them.”

Jake hushed me. “Alright folks, it’s time for the Paul Davis Show!”

I smiled and lightly punched Jake’s shoulder. “Yeah, you heard right folks, I’m back, and boy do I have something for you…”

That’s how I began my campaign for order and unity. My campaign for hope. I didn’t experience any more explosions or shootings. I didn’t find another girl. I didn’t fight in any wars. I did, however, give the people the hope they needed to survive this and create a new and better order.

Cashback

What would you do if you were able to stop time? Ben uses his time stopping for his artistic talent. Wait. That’s not the main point of this beautiful drama. Directed and written by Sean Ellis, Cashback is an excellent story about a young man who just experienced a terrible break-up and has developed insomnia because of it. In order to kill time he gets a night shift job in a grocery store and to pass the time there he develops this ability to stop time and observe the naked beauty of the women who shop there and draw every single one of them.

Ben Willis is a college art student with extraordinary talent, and with an artistic fascination with the female body. His break up hit him so hard that he could not sleep, after he gets the job at the grocery store he begins to interact with the wide spectrum of characters that he has to work with. He has a womanizing and overly competitive manager. A trickster pair of best friends that pass their time by doing some of the craziest stuff. And a few others, but most importantly, he meets Sharon Pintey the only female co-worker who he begins to develop a crush on, but cannot figure out how to let her know.

Every so often you get flashbacks to Ben’s previous crushes and the reasons as to why he has his fascination with the beauty of the female form. The story of the movie is very well put together and while it does indeed have its predictable moments these moments are forgiven by the creative license taken with the movie. The humor throughout the movie is often a little over the top, but so are most of the supporting characters.

Yes, this movie does in fact have nudity, but that is not the entirety of what the movie revolves around.

This still isn’t one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, but it is very well put together and I’ll give it a 8/10.

Cashback

Paul Davis’ Story

I was on my way to work when suddenly there was a roaring sound and my car flipped over. For a moment I thought I was dreaming still, but reality hit me when the car hit the ground. Pain spiked across my chest and neck as whiplash twisted my neck in ways it shouldn’t and the seat belt tightened against me. I lost my breath and began to see spots. Only one phrase went through my head: what happened? It took me several minutes to gather myself, but I noticed that my left side felt a lot hotter than my right, and I turned my head to face that side only to see the remains of a building and several flaming cars. Sirens, I could hear sirens in the distance. My seat belt pinched uncomfortably against my chest and I fumbled to free myself from its grasp. Bad choice. Pain surged anew when I landed on my back on the ceiling of my car. I spent the next several minute laying there analyzing the situation I was in.

“What on earth happened?” I said aloud, not that I expected to get an answer right away.

There was no way that the Knights could have extended their reach this far. No way. Some sirens got closer and others got farther away. Did this happen in other places? A splash of water hit me as firefighters began to do their jobs. Soon, I was extracted from the remains of my car and rolled into an ambulance.

“Sir, can you tell me your name?” A concerned female voice asked. I couldn’t see who it was because my neck wouldn’t move, because of the brace they put it in.

“Paul Davis,” my voice sounded a little hoarse.

I was then bombarded with a bunch of questions dealing with my address, phone number, and some medical questions. I answered them all by the time that I arrived in the hospital. Again the question. “What happened?” It felt like somebody else was speaking using my mouth, but I knew I was the one asking the question.

“Sir, you were in an explosion.” An explosion? That’s what happened?

My brain sluggishly put two and two together and by the time I made it to the room I was supposed to be in I figured it out. Then other questions haunted me. How many people died? Were there other explosions or was the one I was in the only one? How did they get here? Why? The explosion seemed completely random, almost as if there were no purpose. Why Meredith, New Hampshire of all the places to bomb? It’s only a tourist town.

The doctors put me through some tests and came to the conclusion that I had a minor concussion and a few dozen contusions all over my body and major whiplash. They decided to put me under watch just in case the injuries I sustained were worse than believed. From what I heard only three other people survived the same explosion and one of them wasn’t going to make it through the night. I called into work and told Vic, our other intern, to tell the Boss I was in the explosion today and would not be able to show up to work. After that, I turned on the television to the news.

“And recently today, in Meredith, Concord, Plymouth, and other towns and cities there have been dozens of bombings all over. From reports we’ve received from the police and other emergency response personnel, the explosions probably originated from the Knights of Discord. Casualties are very high and damage is reaching the millions-” I turned it off. Dozens of explosions. Deaths and damage. Right here, in my home and my state. There’s nowhere in the United States that’s safe from the Knights. When I get out of here, I’m taking Jenna and we’re leaving the country. I don’t know where, but I want to live someplace safe with my wife and child.

“Mr. Davis?” A nurse peeked into my room from the entrance.

“Yes?”

She timidly entered the room. “Sir, we tried calling the number you gave us, but the line was dead. Um, and we checked the address, and that’s one of, um, the locations that were bombed. When the ambulances arrived, um, they found your wife, but she, uh, she was dead.”

Anything else she had to say was lost to me. After those last three words came out of her mouth, my pain and emotions exploded and everything around me became insignificant. The pain was so powerful, I could only stare with ungodly disbelief at the ceiling as if that could reverse time and undo everything that just happened. There was nothing more I wanted to do than go back in time and back to home and save her.

Vane and Havoc

After I told her that her father had been killed, Leah went into a bit of a catatonic state. I knew the feeling, my own father had been murdered, but fortunately she was spared the sight of it unlike myself. We left Freeport and traveled north a ways before turning west towards Lourghn. I made sure our tracks were covered, but if the assassins had magic at their hands they might be able to find us anyways. If they have magic they’d have hunted us down already and you’d be fighting them every night all night. True.

I wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, but she has an uncanny ability to tell if somebody is lying to her, probably part of her ability as a Weaver, because it’s harder to lie to most of them. Yes, and you know why. I know that it’s because of the natural power and knowledge of magic that they contain. That wisdom is given to them at an early age, but their true power doesn’t manifest until puberty hits them, and she’s maybe a couple years away. If that. I promised I’d protect her, my heir, and that I will do. Yes, I know and while I don’t agree with you on that promise, I will support it.

Whenever I spoke with her the next few days she didn’t respond. The poor girl had lost so much so soon; she didn’t even get a chance to finish her painting. I wanted to tell her about her power. I wanted to tell her that she will eventually become on of the most powerful people in these realms. Weavers are magic, they contain it and live and breath it. Weavers have the knowledge of a specific type of magic and the power to use it to perfection, with some training. A disciplined Weaver is a force to be reckoned with, not even I have the power to defeat one with just my own skill. Yes, but with me you’re even more powerful. Shut up. You can’t deny the responsibility you gained when you earned my power, you know that some day you will have to use it again. Not today, not until the Apocalypse is freed, or when the Balance needs resetting.

We arrived at Lourghn, my first home, the great city that it now is was only a small town when I was born in it. In the center of it stands the statue of Aridios “Ironblade” Airstrider, my best friend, may he rest in peace. He’s honored as the greatest human hero to have been born ever, and he was even if they embellished his history a bit. If it wasn’t for his bravery and kindness and his ability to unite people under a belief, most of the places that exist now would never have existed.

“Vane, you’re crying,” these were the first words I had heard come out of Leah’s mouth since we left Freeport. You’re getting nostalgic.

I smiled. “These are good tears. Tears of remembrance and homecoming.”

She looked around the city’s grounds. “This is your home?”

“I was born here. My best friend lived and died for this town.”

Leah looked me in the eye. “Will we be safe here?”

I bowed my head. “Only for a couple days, then we need to move on. You remember the rules I told you right?”

She nodded. “Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t tell anyone where I’m from. If I have to talk to someone only let them know my first name. And keep in sight of you.”

“Good memory.”

Paul Davis’ Story

After his announcement, news stations all over began to talk about how the government declared Vincent DeMoore as their most wanted criminal and a threat to society as a whole. Shortly after that declaration, rumors of fights between Knights of Discord all over the states and government establishments spread all over. For all I know, the world might as well have blown up then and there. I tried to preach safety and order, but the more I did so, the more things seemed to go crazy. I was struggling against some overwhelming force and I wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.

Within a month I spoke about how the Knights of Discord gained the Dakotas as territories and the US Military was being forced back. The worst part was the reports of troops firing upon innocent civilians not knowing the difference between them and the Knights. Naturally, the government and military got all the blame, and I couldn’t help but agree that they should have been more careful, but I also had no idea what was happening over there despite all the reports I was receiving and talking about. Many of our listeners had varying opinions on the Knights still, some loved them, others feared, and many still had no idea what to think. I knew I was in the third crowd.

One day, after work my wife and I decided to take a walk in our favorite park.

I started our conversation there with. “I read a letter from a woman who lost her sister and husband to the military. I wanted to talk about it, but I couldn’t find a good way to begin. The letter was so powerful, sad, and angry. I hope she finds some peace somehow.”

Jenna gripped my hand tightly. “She will. It seems like the world has gone crazy, but it just hasn’t hit us yet. We still have children playing in the playground over there, and kids in the skateboard arena having fun. Life here hasn’t changed much, but I can’t help but feel that is going to change.” She put her free hand on her stomach. “I hope things don’t change so badly that it ruins this one’s future.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure our child has a perfect life. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing bad happens here.”

We kissed a long and beautiful kiss. Every emotion I had, positive and negative, rose into my heart. I felt angry at the Knights for their timing and their destructive means. I was angry at the government for not serving the people like it should have, therefor preventing the Knights from existing in the first place. I wanted a safe place for my wife and child to live, and it began to feel like the world was turning hostile against us. I would do anything to make sure that would happen, even move out of the states.

Robert White: Trouble’s Brewing

What happened last night? This thought ran through my head as I sipped from a glass of cold water in my living room. The party I went to last night was the only thing on my mind. The bloody image of my dead best friend was the last thing I remembered before I panicked and ran. God, so much blood. Did I kill him? I hope not. I need to remember.

The first thing I remember was when I was getting ready to go to the Volcano, a night club, for a good time with my two best friends, Kevin and Alex. We were just out to celebrate our graduation. I was going to be a forensics specialist, Kev was going to go for a graduate’s degree in Biotechnology, and Alex, poor Alex, was going to begin to pursue his dream as a business owner. This headache is killing me and this Tylenol is not cutting it at all, but I need to remember last night. Why did I drink so much last night?

I only have so much time before the police come knocking at my door to haul me off to jail for something I may not have done. I left more than enough evidence behind to get me to the top of the list of suspects. I’ve been drunk before, I’m not a violent drunk, but I’ve never been blackout drunk before and who knows how I am then.

Ok, so first thing I remember at the club. We had taken a cab to the Volcano, and good lord were the lights to that place beautiful and annoying at the same time. Who would have know florescent lights could look so good and still bother the hell out of you?

“This is the place,” was what Alex had said as he paid the cabby after we got out. “Ready for a good night fellas?”

I grinned. “Are the lights always this bad?”

Kevin laughed. “Don’t worry about them, once we’re inside it’ll be different.”

“Yeah, then I have to deal with strobe lights and loud music. I’m impressed that there isn’t even a loud thumping sound from out here.”

Alex led us into the club and man it was loud. The sound of techno and the noise of loud conversations pounded and buzzed in my ears. It was Kevin and Alex’s ideal party location, but I wasn’t thrilled, at least not yet. I searched around for a good spot to sit and found one at a bar on the other side of the club. We all went there. It was there we started drinking.

Alex ordered the first round of drinks for us. “Here’s to a successful life in crime fighting, getting a graduate’s, and ruling the capitalist world,” was his toast to us when the drinks arrived.

Kevin leaned over towards me and pointed to a pretty auburn-haired woman at the other side of the bar. “Ever since we’ve gotten here that babe’s had her eye on you. Why don’t you go talk to her and then bring her over here to join us?”

I shook my head. “Nah, she’s probably looking at you or Alex. There’s no way someone as good looking as her would be interested in a guy like me.”

Kevin put his hand on my shoulder. “Dude, she’s not looking at me and definitely not ugly over here.” Alex punched his shoulder for that. “Don’t be a downer on yourself, you’re a better looking guy than you think, and you’re pretty damn smart.”

Alex then had an idea. “You know what? Lets get a couple more drinks in ya before you go talk with the lovely lady. That’ll loosen you up.”

I certainly caved under that peer pressure and eventually did talk with her. I don’t remember her name, and something tells me she had something to do with Alex’s murder. Maybe she saw what happened and remembers. I still don’t remember anything after that.

I got up from my sofa and walked into the bathroom to splash my face with some cool water when I heard a loud pounding at the door. My heart skipped a beat.