The blue drinks make you immortal

After class, I thought I'd just poke my nose in to see who was at my Stammlokal and ran smack into the group I've begun thinking of as the Usual Suspects. Verbal immediately warned me that he was becoming some kind of drama catalyst and I'd better avoid him if I knew what was good for me. I was on the verge of taking his advice and skedaddling when a former employee of mine--who I'll call "NoTee"--ambushed me. We left on good terms and, since she's both an alumna of my alma mater and a grad student, it didn't feel too awkward to share a pitcher with her and her friends.

It soon came out that she was celebrating her birthday, so I snuck back to the salon only to find that the cupcakes had sold out! I threw myself on the mercy of Greg and he found a single-serving pineapple upside-down cake that he stuck a candle in. I then went to the bar and asked for "something festive". "And strong, right?" Sure! I lost track of what was going into it after the third or fourth bottle, but he must've finished off with curaçao, since nothing else short of industrial cleaner gives you that colour. The bartender then told me to send her for her birthday shot whenever she was ready.

The next step was to get a light from on of the US. Unfortunately, the candle blew out before it reached the table. I tried again, but this time she jumped on it before they had begun to sing, so McManus insisted that we relight and try one more time. Feeling that, having gotten her a cake, an umbrella drink, and a drunken chorus, my job was fully accomplished I slipped off home and to bed. She tried tempting me to stay by pointing out how entertaining she'd be after her cocktail, but I figured the kids didn't need a fogey like me dragging them down any long.