Every town in the USA has a Bob's Diner. It might not be named that exactly, but they all feature greasy, home-style food, ketchup and mustard bottles flanking the napkin holder on every table, and very unsanitary glass sugar dispensers instead of little packets. Bob's Diners always have 'regulars' that spend as much time at the diner as they do at home; farmers, truckers, retired veterans, strippers; all manner of people gathered to drink coffee, tea, or soft drinks and chat about the weather, or the ball game, or local events.

"Hi Alex!" the tiny waitress squealed as he walked into his favorite diner.

"Hi Alisha," he said, somewhat less enthusiastically than her.

"Your table's open," she pointed to the only large table in the diner, "I'll bring the coffee."

"Thanks," he said as he began threading his way between smaller tables.

"Hi Alisha," JJ said, disappointed that she had ignored him as they came in together.

"Oh, hi JJ."

"What is it," JJ demanded when they reached the table, "why doesn't she seem to notice me? She's all twitterpated around you."

Alex chuckled, "It's because I don't chase her. I'm a 'mystery' because I don't hit on her or flirt with her. You should try it some time."

"Wait, you're telling me that I should chase her by ignoring her? That doesn't make any sense."

He just shrugged as she arrived with a handful of coffee mugs, a bowl full of creamer cups, and a fresh pot of coffee. She poured Alex's coffee first, of course, and then left the pot on the table, so JJ had to fill his own cup, giving a dirty look to her back as she retreated to the kitchen, completely oblivious to him.

The door jingled as Tony came in, looking very dapper in his black suit and maroon tie. A closer inspection of the tie revealed a pattern only slightly lighter in color than the background. It appeared to be somewhat odd looking angels with wings and halos. In reality the angels were penises, winged and haloed, flitting across his tie.

"Hello gorgeous," he winked as Alisha, who blushed and giggled.

"See? Even him," JJ scoffed disbelievingly. 

"Heya sweetie," Kris greeted the waitress with Karen close behind her. Alisha blew them a kiss.

JJ groaned and put his head in his hands.

"What's wrong, JJ?" Shannon put a hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Nothing," he said, straightening up, "nothing at all."

"Are you still pining over Alisha?" Tony asked with an sympathetic expression.

"She pays attention to everyone but me."

"Maybe that's because she likes you," Tony suggested

"What? How does that make any sense?"

"What did I just tell you?" Alex reminded him.

"You said to try ignoring her... oh! I get it now!"

"Now don't just go up and ask her out," Tony said, "that would ruin the game."

"Then what should I do?"

"Ignore her. Completely."

"How does that work?"

"If she thinks that her ignoring you has changed your mind, then she'll have to do something to get your attention again."

"Do you think that will really work?"

"Well there's only one way to find out, isn't there? What do you have to lose?"

As soon as everyone got their coffee (or other beverage of preference) doctored and perfect, they set about talking about their role-playing session. There was much ridicule for JJ, having ruined the entire storyline of their game by killing the NPC that was supposed to give them vital information.

"Remember," Tony said, "with this new game I want you all to play characters that are completely different than your usual type."

"I'm not sure how to do that," Kris said uncertainly, "I am a Witch in real life after all."

"Well you usually play a mage or some kind of cerebral character, right? This is a sci-fi game, so you would want to make a character that's distrustful of smart and successful people. How about a conspiracy nut?"

"Ooh! I can do that. It might be fun!"

"I suppose I should play a luddite," Karen said unhappily, "that's hard for a programmer."

"Not necessarily," Tony said, "how about someone that's just incompetent with computers and electronics. No matter what you do, it always ends up going wrong."

"That could be fun! Especially if my character thinks that she is good with computers."

"Oh I love the way you think!" Tony's eyes glowed with appreciation.

"I think I should still play a medic," Shannon said. "I know that's my usual schtick, but just hear me out. What if my medic is secretly a sadist that loves causing pain? Sure I can heal you, but it might hurt a little bit in the process."

"I love you guys," Tony looked like he was about to cry happy tears.

"What's the opposite of a paladin?" Alex asked.

"How about a master manipulator," Tony suggested.

"But I'm not good at manipulating people. How can I play a character that is?"

"With some coaching from the game master, of course."

Alisha showed up with a coffee pot to refill those who needed it. Unsurprisingly she started with Alex, who thanked her as she topped him off. JJ just pushed his cup in her general direction and ignored her as she filled his cup. He didn't even thank her, which made him twitch.

"Excellent job," Tony praised him when she had gone, "that's what I'm talking about."

"Quiet a minute," Alex said, squinting at the TV mounted in the corner.

"These meteors have gone undetected until today," the buxom news reporter was saying. "Scientists at NASA believe that these may be extremely rare extra-solar objects. That means that they do not come from the asteroid belt or the Kuiper Belt, but instead have traveled trillions of miles from another solar system entirely.

"The opportunity to study objects from outside of our solar system simply never happens, according to experts. NASA and the European Space Agency are working together with Space-X to send a probe to study the objects before they leave our solar system."

"What's that all about?" JJ asked.

"That's amazing!" Karen exclaimed, "do you have any idea how rare it is for an object from outside of our solar system to make it to another solar system, let alone our solar system?"

"Uh, no."

"Once," she said, " it's only happened once before that we know of. And that one was already on it's way out by the time it was discovered, so we didn't get a chance to study it."

"So? What's the big deal?"

"Allow me," Alex piped in, "It's important to geeks and scientists. It means nothing to us."

"Okay. I get it."

"You're all invited," Kris announced, "to my coven's Samhain (SOW-won) ritual on Halloween night. We're having a potluck silent supper and a masquerade ball. It's going to be epic!"

"I'm on duty at the hospital that night," Shannon said, "otherwise I'd love to be there!"

"I'm there," Karen said, excitement shining in her eyes.

"Count me in," Tony said, "I've never been to a Wiccan ritual, and a masquerade ball sounds like too much fun to pass up."

"Sorry," JJ said, "Alex and I have already volunteered to hand out candy for the VFW."

"Excuse me," a man at the next table said, "did you say that you were handing out Halloween candy for the VFW?"

"Yes I did."

"Would you mind terribly if I joined you?"

"I suppose that would be okay. As long as you're not a pedophile or serial killer."

"No worries about that," he chuckled, "I'm a veteran too."

"Alex Wolfe, Sergeant, First Infantry Division" he stood up and shook the other man's hand.

"Jimmy Jasper. Call me JJ," He shook hands next, "corporal."

"Johnny Walker," the man introduced himself, "Texas Ranger."

They all looked at him suspiciously, not sure how to react.

"It's a joke," he said, "my name really is John Walker. Lieutenant. I was in the Big Red One too."

"Pull up a chair, Lieutenant."

"John, please. I haven't been a lieutenant in more than a decade."

"So what do you do now?" 

"He's a professor," Karen spoke up, "I thought I remembered your name. You're the professor of Mechanical Engineering at K-State, right?"

"I didn't know that I was famous," he said, "I am a professor of Mechanical Engineering, yes."

"I'm Computer Science," she said, "but I was thinking about Mechanical Engineering."

They all sat and talked well into the night. JJ continued to successfully ignore Alisha, which he began to enjoy more and more. John seemed to fit in well, including expressing an interest in joining their roleplaying sessions. All in all, it was a great night.