Date:         Wed, 8 Oct 1997 23:33:05 -0400
From: "Dustin S. Klein" <PPFB@AOL.COM>
Subject:      INT: Writers Party - The Arrival

    Dustin groaned and looked around the sandy beach.  A
moment ago he was face down on a bar, a bottle of rum in
his hand and a ballgame on the screen above him.  Now he
was in a pair of plaid shorts, wearing a polka dot shirt he'd
never seen before and holding a pina colada in a tall glass.

    "Where the hell am I?" he muttered to himself.  "What's
going on?"  Suddenly, he spied a short-skirted knockout
skipping his way with a half-dozen odd figures in tow.

    "I know you," Dustin mumbled.  "You're that crazy
country girl that nearly got me killed down around the
Mason-Dixon line."

    Daisy Mae gave him a hug.  "That's me," she said
cheerfully.  "Good to see you made it."

    "Made it where?" Dustin said, then took a sip of
the pina colada.  It tasted sweet and syrupy, and
Dustin spat it on the ground.  "And do you have
anything harder than this?"

    Suddenly, Judy popped out of the hazy menagerie
and Dustin recognized her immediately, despite his
slightly inebriated state.

    "What's the matter, Dustin?  You didn't used to
drink like this."

    Dustin gave her a weak smile.  "Madness," he
said.  "Just kind of hit me a few weeks ago.  It'll
go away soon.  It's only virtual alcohol.  How
about that stronger drink?"

    Judy slapped the pina colada out of Dustin's
hand and grabbed his arm.  "I don't think so,
buster."  She dropped a stick in his hand and
grinned.

    Dustin stared at it.  "What's this for?"

    Daisy Mae snatched up his other arm.  "To
write in the sand, silly.  Now, you're coming with
us, the party's already begun.  We're just waiting
for more guests to arrive."

     Dustin mumbled a couple profanities under
his breath.

    Daisy Mae shot Dustin a wink and a smile.
"Lighten up, buster!" she said.  "Just wait
and see.  This is, after all, a party."

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