Parties by Pharaoh

“Pumpkin I’m...” A swirl of ethereal smoke parted as Doctor Byron Orpheus appeared in his living room. “...oh, my word!”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” Came the cheer from the crowd. Triana applauded as a tall, slender serving girl placed a silver ceremonial medalion around the shocked necromancer’s neck.

“Oh, this is...I, uh...that is...” Doctor Orpheus sputtered. “Pumpkin, did you do this?!”

“Kinda...” Triana smiled sheepishly. “I used a service.”

“Why, there are people here I haven’t seen in years!” Opheus looked around him in awe. “There’s Stephen Strange! I haven’t seen him since college!” He waved. “Pumpkin, this is amazing!”

“Glad you like it,” Triana excused herself as her dad was still in shock.

“Success, huh?” Kim said.

“Yeah, I just feel guilty about taking credit for it,” Triana answered.

“I’m about to put the moves on Kim,” Hank boasted.

“So do it, already,” Dean glared at him. “You keep telling me that, and never do anything!”

“Yeah, well I’m really gonna,” Hank said. “You’re gonna see me use the moves

that got me kicked out of the Taj Mahal.”

The boys stayed still.

“So aren’t you gonna go after Triana?” Hank prompted.

“You just said you were going after Kim!” Dean argued.

“So?” Hank pushed Dean.

“So?” Dean pushed him back. Both boys started slap fighting each other.

“Boys.”

A serving girl was standing near them, looking stern. Both brothers tried to look cool, since the waitress was pretty and looked close to their age.

“Are you fighting over girls?” the waitress asked.

“No,” the boys said together.

The serving girl got a little smile on her face. “No?” she asked. “It’s too bad, because I have just the thing for girl troubles.”

“Seriously?” Dean leaned forward, looking ridiculously eager. “You could help me with Triana?”

The girl edged back, a little surprised by the reaction. “Sure.”

Dean leaned in, equally ridiculous. “And with Kim?!”

“Yes!” The girl looked irritated. “Try one of these,” she held out her serving tray. “The red ones.”

Dean peered at the tray of pastries. Hank immediately snatched one of two red ones and ate it. He reached for the other one, but Dean grabbed it.

“What do they do?” Dean asked.

The girl smiled. “They’ll give you bravery,” she said. Peering over Dean’s shoulder, she added “it looks like it worked for Hank.”

“How did you know his n...” Dean started, but the waitress had merged with the crowd of guests. Dean chased after Hank.

“Oh my,” the waitress said. “I suppose the brothers must have found new interests.”

Nancy and Drew turned their heads, spotting Hank and Dean talking to Kim and Triana.

“Well, we don’t really have any interest in them,” Drew said.

“Not any more,” Nancy finished.

“And why should you,” the waitress leaned in between the twins and lowered her voice confidentially. “You two are so beautiful,” she breathed, “it just makes me wonder what’s so special about those girls?”

“Special about them?” Nancy echoed.

“Why would they be special?” Drew asked.

“Well,” the waitress had a little smile, “I suppose something must be, for the boys to forget about you two.”

The serving girl moved on, leaving the twins alone with their thoughts.

“Yeah, the decor is really something, but it doesn’t compare with your sense of style,” Hank was saying to Kim. “You really know how to set stuff off with a little bright color against the dark.”

“Wow,” Kim smiled. “I didn’t know you could tell.”

Hank stretched, posing. “It’s just a little thing I do.”

Triana leaned over to Dean. “Did Hank try the open bar?”

“Th-the what?” Dean stammered. He couldn’t believe how easily Hank was talking to Kim. “Uh, you know, I think you could totally have done a better job with the decorations, too.”

“Huh?” Triana looked confused.

“I mean, uh...” Dean rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Dean just means that if you’d handled it personally, you’d have been able to one-up the professionals,” Hank put a hand on Triana’s shoulder, making Dean fume.

“No way,” Triana laughed nervously. “The service really nailed it.”

Dean put his free arm around Kim. “Nah, I think I’ve got the best looking pieces in the house right here.”

Both girls giggled, surprised by the change in Hank’s personality. Dean popped the red pastry in his mouth and chewed furiously.

“Somethin’ wrong, Dean-o?” Hank looked at his brother’s angry expression.

“Mphthgfuewr,” Dean’s mouth was full.

“Say, your dad probably has a lot of catching up to do,” Hank turned to Triana. “Maybe the four of us should go somewhere quieter to give him some room.”

“...sure...” Triana still wondered what Hank had been drinking. “Dean, you okay with that?”

Dean nodded, trying not to choke.

Hank led the quartet out of the main compound and into the lab. A couple of slender figures followed quietly behind.