Convention Dream, Hottie Homework Hotline, Steam Train Car

We were at a Science fiction convention, checking in, eating munchies in the pro hospitality suite, greeting some of our heroes, a little awed that we were in the same room with some of the all time Science Fiction greats. I didn’t even mind being treated like the new kid.

            Our Hotel Room turns into Math Homework Hotline. The blonde beauty doing her math homework needed some help. I wanted her to finish so we would have some time to take advantage of the hotel room while we had it to ourselves. So we had a common cause. Get her through her Calculus homework, fast. We finished and had just started to celebrate, when the suite door opened and some of our convention roomies came in to get ready for the masquerade.

            We broke off and helped one another into costumes for the Masque.

"Get a room!"  From our suite mates.

            I pointed out that it was our room. The five of us walked back to the convention.             The Masquerade contest was held in a semi outdoor amphitheater building near the convention. We stayed for the after party, waiting for the crowd to thin. Unfortunately we waited too long and the last shuttle had left.

            I asked everyone to wait while Mike and I go back to the hotel to get the car. The car was a converted steam engine, Telephone book burning, fuel oil burning, partly electric. The large iron wheels were covered in thick rubber and it had a bumper and lights mounted on its cow catcher.

            Taking the Steam car back to the Masque to pick up the rest of the group was a fun trip. No one on the streets could believe what they were seeing. A police car followed us all the way to the convention. I stoked the fire about half of the trip then stopped, thinking that would give us enough pressure to make it back to the hotel.

            There was not enough room for everyone, so we hooked up to our passenger car, which was parked in a nearby lot. When we pulled in front of the convention center, there were even more people waiting to ride with us. The girls had invited everyone who had to go back to the hotel to ride our "train". I expanded the passenger car (it telescoped out like one of those collapsing camp cups.) I was in the cupola driving the back end like a Hook and Ladder truck. We were a little worried about getting back to the hotel, we might not have made enough steam, and I wasn't there to stoke the boiler.

Fortunately the trip to the Hotel was mostly downhill, and we made it without trouble. It helped that the police cruiser went ahead of us and turned the lights in our favor. We thanked them when we arrived at the hotel, and then gave them a ride around the block. I showed one of them how to drive the back of the train and the other rode in the cab with Mike. It took us a bit to find a parking place for both parts of the train. Finally we had to de couple the two and collapse the passenger car to fit it into a normal sized parking space as there was only one bus space left. The Police officers stayed and helped push it back together. They got a call and had to leave just before I got out the giant spanner and tightened everything down.

"Sure, cut out for the hard part!" We wished them a safe evening and they promised to stop by tomorrow if they could.

            Mike and I wondered how many of the folks we gave a lift to were now hanging out in our suite. Neither of us had a lot of energy left after packing up the train. Mike called S on his cell phone to find out.

            "Like we're going to do anything different no matter what she tells us."

            "Fine, I'm not telling you what she says."

            I shrugged and headed into the hotel, stopping in the bar to pick up a couple of adult beverages for the remaining couple of us who drink.

            I woke up before finding out who was there. I'll have to call Mike and ask.

 

Ad astra per technica,

FF