Rock All Night

61




Derek’s and my cabin was nice and cozy. Nothing fancy, but there was a queen-size bed in the bedroom, a den with chairs upholstered in a print only old people could love, and a kitchen with a refrigerator and stove-top. Derek and I stashed the groceries in our fridge, and then Killian and Ryan came on over after they’d got situated.

“Well, are we ready?” Killian asked gleefully, and pulled out a clear Ziploc bag, the type you might store sandwiches in. It was filled with dried-out mushrooms with long, skinny stems and flattened brown caps. “Pour the orange juice, will you, Derek?”

I watched nervously as Killian apportioned the mushrooms into three tiny piles on the countertop. Two were almost twice as big as the third.

“Why aren’t they the same size?” I asked.

“That,” Killian said, pointing at the small pile, “is for you. It’s a regular portion. As experienced cosmonauts of the infinite mind, I decided to give myself and Derek a double portion – but I can give you a bit more, if you – ”


“No no no, that’s fine,” I interrupted him. “Regular is fine.”

Ryan watched me with concern as I picked up one of the mushrooms and inspected it. It was light as a feather, felt like handmade paper you can buy in stationary stores, and smelled like ass. I made a face.

“You can still back out if you want to,” Ryan said.

“No she can’t, I already gave her the bloody interview,” Killian said.

“Killian – ” Ryan warned.

The guitarist sighed. “Of course you don’t have to if you really don’t want to, luv… but you did promise.”

I looked over at Derek for reassurance.

“You’re going to be fine. It’s gonna be awesome,” he smiled.

I looked at him for a few seconds more… and then nodded hesitantly. “Okay.”

“Alright, then, bottoms up!” Killian said, and began stuffing the mushrooms in his mouth and chewing them, followed by a few swigs of orange juice.

I followed suit, and almost gagged. They tasted like musty dirt, and were as chewy as cardboard. “Ugh, this is gross.”

“Drink the OJ,” Derek said through a mouthful of shrooms, and passed me a glass.

I finally got them down. Then I looked around. “I don’t see anything.”

Both Killian and Derek laughed.

“It takes a while to kick in,” Derek explained.

“Oh,” I said, embarrassed. “How long?”

“Twenty to thirty minutes.”

“Oh.”

“Let’s move the party outdoors, shall we?” Killian suggested.

“What are we going to do outdoors?”

“We’re going for a walk.”

“Why?!”

“Well, we have to have something to look at, don’t we?”

“Why can’t we look at stuff in here?”

Derek grinned and put his arm around my shoulders. “You’ll see. You’ll want to be outside, that’s half the fun.”

“…okay,” I grumbled, and felt the last vestiges of control slip away from me as we walked out of the cabin.