Chapter 101: Chick, Chicken, Chickadee
** Harper **
The group reservation was in the stadium’s Champions Lounge, a luxurious club right behind the home plate. The game was yet to start in about another hour, though the pre-game party was already set up with a full bar and music and plenty of table entertainment. The crowd was just starting to gather as Chelsea led the way straight through the lounge and ordered their drinks familiarly with the bartender.
"You vibe like this is your home," Harper commented with an impressed smile.
"It would be amazing if this is my home, I’ll totally live here," Chelsea declared. "You know this is the main perk that lured me to accept the job offer from Voyage Bank, right? Nothing compares to watching the whole game fifty feet from the home plate. I can never go back to those cheap seats in the far back that we used to get in college anymore!"
"You two went to college together?" Eli asked, catching on the backstory.
"Oh, right, Chelsea and I were roommates for our junior and senior years," Harper explained before turning back to Chelsea. "Eli went to Davenshire University too. A couple of years above us."
"Really? It’s an alumni reunion right here then." Chelsea gestured in the general direction of the crowd slowly growing denser in the club. "So many of us are from DU — our company loves local hires. It’s kind of awkwardly funny how I keep running into college acquaintances that I don’t remember the names of anymore at almost every work party ... So don’t be surprised if you see some familiar faces too once everyone gets here."
Harper was idly wondering who they might run into today when their drinks arrived. The bartender flashed Chelsea a flirty look, though herself and Eli received a separate "welcome to the club" smile. "First time at our lounge?" The guy pointed at a far corner of the room. "You should check out our new facepainting station and photo booth over there. A special addition for the team spirit this weekend."
"Oooo, facepainting station? I’d love that." Harper was fully in game mode now, and her interest was immediately piqued. "It’s been so long since I did silly drawings. Who wants to try it?"