Every college party has a guest who mistakes being tolerated for being the main attraction. He arrives with enough confidence for six people and enough self-awareness for half a houseplant. In Part VII of Joker Joker Deuce, the prospect of a party gives some already questionable personalities an opportunity to become everybody else’s problem.
If you enjoy scary stories for Halloween that find their monsters in familiar places, pull up a chair. There are no admission requirements beyond an appreciation for dark humor and the uneasy feeling that someone is taking things much too personally. You might also want to leave room between yourself and anyone who describes persistence as his best quality.
Julie could use an evening with her friends. College comes with enough pressure before you add money worries, unwanted attention, and conversations with people who consider leaving a personal insult. Sometimes a party sounds appealing simply because it offers the possibility of discussing something other than whatever has been grinding your nerves all week.
Fortunately, Marcus understands the assignment. His friendship with Julie brings warmth and humor to a chapter where other people seem determined to make basic human interaction an endurance sport. There is considerable comfort in having a friend who can hear that someone is bothering you without immediately appointing himself that person’s defense attorney.
Then there is Tori, whose opinions arrive fully dressed and ready to judge your outfit. She has the confidence to walk into a room as though everyone has been waiting for her, and she sees little reason to apologize for it. Between these friends, affection and insults share the same comfortable couch.
Their exchanges give Part VII the energy of people who know each other well enough to be entertaining without trying. You recognize the teasing, the impatience, and the occasional moment when a joke brushes against something serious. That familiarity makes you want these people to have a good night, which is an uncomfortable investment to make in a thriller.
Chad, meanwhile, has the social instincts of a shopping cart with one wheel facing sideways. He can move forward, but the journey will involve noise, resistance, and someone wondering why they ever touched the handle. His particular gift is treating every indication that he should back off as an invitation to develop a new approach.
Watching him work through a conversation is funny because you can practically hear the gears slipping. It is also irritating in a wonderfully recognizable way. Most of us have encountered someone who believes the right explanation can erase the fact that nobody asked him to keep talking.
Jeph brings a different kind of discomfort. His private version of events gives him a level of importance that reality has been reluctant to confirm. Spending time inside that perspective means watching ordinary frustrations acquire a weight that the people around him have no reason to anticipate.
That is where the suspense begins tightening. A brief interaction can occupy far more space in one person’s mind than another person could possibly know. Something forgotten in seconds by one person can become the centerpiece of someone else’s evening, complete with imagined motives and a grievance gathering strength.
Part VII lets humor carry you close enough to notice the danger. You can enjoy the banter while wondering whose expectations will survive contact with actual people. The party promises a gathering, but every guest brings a private idea of what the night should deliver.
Watch Joker Joker Deuce Part VII below and meet the expectations gathering around this party. Enjoy the friends, question the confidence, and pay attention to the people keeping score. Some guests bring considerably more baggage than anyone agreed to accommodate.
If you’d rather read it than watch it, here is the link where you can start from the beginning: Joker Joker Deuce Halloween Series Part I – A Monster Awakens
These scary stories for Halloween are based on the novel, Joker Joker Deuce! These are not the same stories you’ll find in the book. This is the prequel to who Jeph actually becomes when he hits full stride and starts learning more about himself than anyone wants to know…
Happy Halloween!
