Ethan regarded Kyle with morbid astonishment. He looked normal enough, for these times, with his red goatee and numerous facial piercings, but when you looked into his eyes there was this flat, blurry quality. And whenever he opened his mouth it made you wonder if his reality was shared between two terrestrial realms.

A waitress walked up to Kyle and handed him his bill.

“I already paid that,” Kyle said forcefully. “I gave it to the other girl.”

“What other girl?” she asked.

“The girl who took my money. Take it up with her.”

“What did she look like?”

“Short blond with a nice rack, pony tail. Take it up with her.”

“I’ll be right back,” the waitress said, walking away visibly upset.

Kyle said, “She’s trying to make me pay twice. I already paid $30 and she wants me to pay $60. Don’t open a tab here. They rip you off.”

“We pay drink by drink,” Ethan said, then flashed Pete a look that said, Get a load of this guy. Is he for real?

Pete smirked and said, “Tell us more about Eve’s reason to be here.”