Devin was upset.
Around this time, he would
be joining his friends over at Club Metro for “Gaydar.”
Maybe he would toss a few drinks down before chatting up with the nearest
cutie. Such was the Queer As Folk lifestyle for Devin.
Instead, he was stuck at the
With all of the little
“additions,” there was much to do. And Devin was having a hard time convincing
his “regulars” to incorporate the urban atmosphere. Some could barely dance to
trance with the aid of crystal.
“Whaddya
mean you don’t play hip hop?!” Devin growled into the phone. “It’s too beneath you?! Listen, you pretentious Eurotrash cock,
you’re my deejay and you are going to play whatever I fucking- Hello? Hello?”
Across the room, Devin saw
his original plans, crumpled in rage. A faint glimmer of the ice room peaked
out of the garbage can. Devin fumed a little bit more. He’s just an intern, he seethed. How dare they choose his complex, complicated, convoluted idea over
mine?! I have more experience in this business and I know what the people want!
Above all, Mr. In2ition was
not online. He was probably busy out on the town doing everything that Devin
wanted to do.
“I can suggest some good
deejays if you want,” said Blair, as he cautiously slid the door open and peeped
his head into the room. The southern drawl was starting to get on Devin’s
nerves.
“No, it’s okay,” Devin said,
holding his hands to his head. “It’s just a small hill to climb.” Much more like a steep
mountain.
“I just wanted to let you
know that it’s a pleasure to work with you,” Blair said, nervously. “I’ve
always been a big fan of your work.”
This came completely out of
left field. “Really?” Devin said dumbfounded.
“Yeah,” Blair said, a little
bit flustered. “You helped create somethin’ really
great with all these parties. You brought together men from all over the nation
who never thought that there was no one else like them, and for three days, you
give them paradise, a place where they can be themselves and have a great
time.”
Devin never thought of his
position like that before. “Where I come from, they still have that struggle,”
Blair said. “There are men and women who dance with eah
other in the shadows, on the downe low, because their
love is still forbidden and morally wrong to a community that should know
better by now.”
Blair looked directly at
Devin, his dark brown eyes almost pleading. “All I want to do is create a
paradise fo’ them so that
they can feel like they belong, y’know?”
Devin heard could see the
gleam in Blair’s eyes. It made him almost week in the knees and he had no idea
what to say to all that.
“I’m glad you feel that
way,” Devin finally mustered, still feeling like an idiot.
Blair nodded. “Well, I’ve
got to get back to work,” he said. He flashed a pearly smile at Devin. “Heaven
doesn’t plan itself, y’know?” He turned around,
revealing how well he fit in his cotton purple dress shirt.
“So,” Devin asked, “which
one of my parties was your favorite?”
“I really liked White Party
2001,” Blair said, “The one where you had Chi Chi La
Rue decked out as an angelic diva, but it could’ve used a little flavor, if you know what I mean.” He
smiled and closed the sliding door behind him.
Flavor. I’ll show you flavor, Devin growled. “Flavor” was costing him his
clientele. But the familiar jingle of an IM box from Mr. In2ition calmed
Devin’s nerves.
Across town,
Without Ranma
around, Akane didn’t have to play dress-up. She
didn’t put on make-up. She tied her sort dark black hair in the back, and threw
on one of Ranma’s dark button-down shirts along with
jeans. She also ordered a bottle of beer which she swallowed down easily to the
shock of her hosts.
“Akane,
I didn’t know you drank beer!” said Ranko, who was as
dolled up as the Chinese whores in the surrounding posters.
Akane put the bottle down and a cigarette. “There’s a lot
that you don’t know about me.”
Ranko looked dumbfounded at Akane
for a quick second. Then, she changed the subject. “So, isn’t the food good
here, Aka-chan?”
Akane shrugged. “It’s okay,” Akane
replied. “It’s not as good as the Nekohaten.” Bret
quietly held back the rage as he forked $200 on his credit card for the meal.
“Ah yes,” Ranko replied. “Shampoo’s grandmother made the best ramen
in the world, if only I didn’t get sick of ramen when I was in the college
dorms.” Good, roll with it. “So, have you stayed in touch with Shampoo?”
Akane lit another cigarette and diverged
her eyes from the cute girl with the fire tattoo at the nearby bar back to Ranko. “Nah. Shampoo doesn’t
write,” Akane replied. “Just like Ryoga.
I heard she was in
“She must have had a hard
time with you marrying Ranma,” Ranko
said. She picked up one of the $20 syrupy soy sauce noodles that could have
been easily whipped up in a
Sure, she did. Akane looked down quietly. Shampoo never
really wanted Ranma. Her grandmother, fearing that
her granddaughter could be a lesbian, wanted her to pursue Ranma
as much as possible. Eventually, Shampoo grew bored with Ranma
and the never-ending chase. Akane’s marriage to Ranma had set Shampoo free. Akane
remembered Shampoo singing happily as she packed her bags for some university
in
Poor delusional Ranko was blinded by her rose-colored glasses.
“Is there a problem between you and Ranma?” Ranko asked. She squeezed
Bret’s hand tighter.
“How many of those
cosmopolitans have you had?” Akane exclaimed, finally
noticing the two empty glasses next to Ranko’s
half-filled pink girly drink.
“It’s just nerves,” Ranko replied. She tossed the drink down and promised
herself that she would get back to Akane and Ranma’s issues after she got Akane
a little bit more drunk. And after this banging headache left
Ranko’s head. “Bret’s parents are flying in
from
Akane dropped her chopsticks. “Don’t tell me that you
haven’t met his parents yet! And you’re planning the wedding!” As dysfunctional
as her relationship was, Akane knew that Branko had a catch. Akane could
not believe that she had almost forgotten this juicy detail. Ranko had mentioned that Bret’s parents were coming to help
Ranko with the wedding plans…and to meet Ranko for the first time.
“Well, the wedding happened
so fast,” Bret said. “When I know that I’ve met “the one,” I didn’t really care
about what my parents thought.” He finished his beer.
Akane feared that Bret and Ranko
would once again tell their epic love story. And then, she would actually have
to drink. Fortunately, Bret didn’t.
“And It doesn’t matter,”
Bret said. “I love her. And her parents will love her too.” Akane could not believe the crap that was coming out of
Bret’s mouth. Maybe he got to the tequila shot before she didi.
“So, you and Ranma are free to do as you please till the wedding,” Ranko said. “You guys can take up the sights and enjoy what
“As for me, I’m going to
try to win your parents over,” .Ranko said. “Even
if it means I have to pull the submissive daughter-in-law crap.”
“My mom will adore you,”
Bret smiled. He placed his hand over Ranko’s. Ranko smiled back. Then, she pursed her lips as she eyed a
coconut flavored martini. She had no idea what she was going to do.
Akane lit another cigarette, wondering how long she would
have to put up with this crap.