Pie-Eyed Pyramids (Madison)

[Matthew Cole]

Matt opened a bag of popcorn and emptied it into a bowl so everyone would be able to share it. A few of them from PD had gathered at one of their homes and it was something between a party and just hanging out, a kickback as some people called it...well they did about a decade or so ago anyway. It had started about 20 minutes ago so by now music was playing, everyone was chatting amongst themselves and each other and there was a good atmosphere in the air. "Who wants a beer?" The host, Detective Terry Camden, called out from by his fridge as he was there getting one for himself. "Me." Came an instant reply from one of the other detectives. Matt came back into the living room, "Here." he said putting the popcorn on a stand near the couch for everyone to reach. "Who wants a shot?" Someone else asked as he filled up a few shot glasses on the table, next to the bowl of potato chips."I'll take one." Matt replied, "Oh, we should play a drinking game." Matt suggested with a little touch of enthusiasm. "What?" Camden asked, not hearing from the kitchen. "We should play a drinking game." Matt repeated, looking around the room to see if anyone agreed. "Yeah. Who wants to play a drinking game?" Camden asked as he brought some beers in from the kitchen. "Oh we should play Pie-Eyed Pyramids." One of them suggested, referring to a made up drinking game a couple of them had played before. Tag: @zen2 . ~*~

[Deleted]

Madison stood to one side in the living room crowded with cops. She leant the small of her back against a side dresser and sipped at her lemonade politely wishing it was something stronger. But she had only just arrived, being kept late at work by some paperwork and didn't want to seem like a complete alcoholic the first second she walked in the door. It was bad form to head straight for the hard stuff. Even though, in her mind, it was the only stuff worth doing.

When she was given a golden opportunity, however, and Det. Cole called for whoever wanted shots, her drink was in the air as fast as anyone else's.

"Dear God, yes please." She responded, her voice getting lost in the affirmations from the police officers around her. She knew most of the men in the room - for there were barely any women - and laughed as they sang in unison for more of their preferred choice of libation. No one could say their precinct didn't work as a team...

"We should play a drinking game..." Came the next suggestion and Madison brightened up entirely. When someone suggested something called Pie Eyed Pyramids which she'd never heard of, it didn't diminish her enthusiasm. She had been playing drinking games with foreign military diplomats and hulking us marines since she was sixteen. Bring it on.

"I'm game." She said, a little louder over the crowd. "I have no idea what Pie-Eyed Pyramids is but I was a cheerleader for a semester and I like my chances." Her comment sent a spreading chuckle over the room. "Just fill me in on the rules..."

She raised her lemonade in both a salutation and a challenge.

Tag: Matthew Cole ,

[Matthew Cole]

Madison was the first to jump in with a yes to the idea of a drinking game, followed by one or two others. "Sorry guys but we wanna watch the hockey game, we've got money riding on it." Someone replied in a friendly voice as he and a group of others gathered around the tv.     A chuckle rippled through the room when Madison made her cheerleader comment. Matt chuckled himself then looked at Madison, "Don't worry Ellingham, it has nothing to do with gymnastics."  He told her with a grin, "It's a game I played when I was in collage...Don't tell my Mom." He joked. "We'll get to that in a second, let's get set up first." He said when she asked him to fill her in on the rules. Then he, Camden and one of the others made their way to the table and started to put as many shot glasses as they could find on it, "How many of us playing?" Matt asked as he took a head count then counted the glasses they had, "We need more glasses." Matt said enthusiastically. He and one of the others quickly scavenged for more shot glasses while Camden filled them all, and once they had finished the middle of the table was filled with about 40 or so glasses, and a bottle to refill them if need be. "Ok." Matt said with a smile once they were set up, "We go in a circle. You get to ask a person of your choice a question, if they answer you drink but if they refuse to answer then they have to drink. Once you drink you turn your glass over and start stacking your own pyramid. The aim is to get 10 glasses stacked." He began, explaining the game to those who hadn't played it before. "Which gets harder to do the drunker you get." Camden interjected with a smirk, "Yep, and knock the pyramid over at all and you have to do a shot. And you will need to rebuild, obviously." Matt added. "...That's it basically." He finished with a nonchalant grin. "Yeah, the rules aren't that comprehensive." One of them said with a very amused smile, "It's really just about the drinking." Camden jested. After all wasn't all drinking games about the drinking? "We kind of make it up as we go." But that was half the fun of it. "Now there is nothing saying we can't pick on a person and try and get them hammered, but it would be a lot fairer if we didn't." Matt said with a smile and a lighthearted shrug. "Especially if they are a lightweight like Matt here." Camden teased with a grin, putting an arm around Matt's shoulder in a half hug and patting him on the chest. Matt smirked and shook his head lightly, he was used to being ribbed by them for his personal 'drink but don't get drunk' rule. Heck he was used to being ribbed by them full stop! Matt looked at Madison with a lighthearted sigh, "Yeah, they are so gonna pick on us." He joked, though he was half serious too. Him being known for not drinking large amounts and Madison being a woman meant that they both would be perceived as easy targets (even if it was a false perception) and Matt kind of knew it. But it was all in good fun and what's the worst that could happen anyway?            Tag: @zen2 . Ooc: Hope this is ok, let me know if you want anything changed And I thought it might be better to have just a few people playing the the game, maybe 4 or so? That way we don't need to play a load of NPCs. Up to you. ~*~

[Deleted]

Madison nodded along as the men in the room explained the game. It sounded very typical of most drinking games - get each other as smashed as you possibly could and reveal as many interesting or embarrassing secrets about each other along the way. Pretty much the same basis for every drinking game since the invention of alcohol as far as Madison was concerned. Which meant she was so up for it!

When the rules were based on personal questions, Madison got a little worried about her ability to win. There were certain aspects and periods of her life that were not something she wanted to share. Not because they were painful and private - though they were - but more because she didn't want the people she worked with to look at her differently. She didn't want any woes-you expressions on anyone's faces in the office tomorrow. Luckily, the description of the rules went on to detail that you could refuse to answer a question - you just had to drink. Nice get out of jail free card there considering most of the people in the room had seen some horrors in the line of duty. And she was really good at drinking.

As the game got set up and the organizers started lining up the shot glasses, Madison snagged the comfort bucket armchair that had been pulled up to the table. Someone else could have the uncomfy dining chairs. She put her lemonade on the floor beneath her chair and pulled a small bowl of chips and dip near. An empty stomach would be a bad idea, she theorised, snagging a few before the glasses in front of her were filled. She tried to keep track of which ones were vodka and which were tequila (blegh) but they all muddled and she was only sure of half of them. Oh well, lucky dip it was.

Those that were brave enough to take a participating seat in the game - and who didn't have money riding on the hockey game - numbered four in total, including herself. She sat across from Detective Cole and two other guns and gangs officers had joined them - Morris and Daniels.

"You not joining us Camden?" Madison asked with a grin. "For all your brave talk, you appear to be sitting out." She raised her eyebrows in a cheeky - "are you a chicken?" - expression. Camden laughed in return.

"Someone has to keep you lot in line and I prefer watching Cole make a prat of himself than joining him in it."

"I can respect that." Madison nodded with pursed lips and then turned to face her opponents as Matt Cole spoke to her.

"Yeah, they are so gonna pick on us."

She waggled her brows at the man.

"Yeah? Let them try."

The game started out simple enough - very much like a game of "never have I ever". The questions were silly and unobtrusive - high school nicknames, ever cheated on a test, ever been to jail (risky question in a room full of cops). But by the time Morris had backed out with only half his pyramid built, the questions had become more personal.

"Detective Ellingham..." said Daniels, directed his question her way. "How and when was the flower lost?"

"Ooh challenge!" Madison said, holding up a finger. "That sounds like two questions to me." She pointed an accusatory finger at Daniels. "I'll answer but you only get one building block." She then sighed with dramatic and wispy effect. "It was beautiful. It was perfect..." She laid a hand on her chest, thoroughly milking it, and then seemed to snap back to reality with a frown on her face. "It was on a military base - unspecified location - in a fake bomb shelter. I was fifteen."

"Detective Cole." She snagged, as it was her turn to ask. "When was the last time you... were a one-man band...?" She asked with an evil grin and an innocent tone.

Tag: Matthew Cole ,
OOC: No, all sounded awesome to me. Hope the above is okay. Please forgive typos as I was typing quite quick. I'll come back an edit for them later.

[Matthew Cole]

Matt, Morris and Daniels grinned when Madison playfully teased Camden for choosing to sit out the game. "Someone has to keep you lot in line and I prefer watching Cole make a prat of himself than joining him in it."    Matt immediately put his arm out to the side pointing at Camden as he looked directly at Madison, "True! That's true!" He quipped playfully. But then they ALL liked to watch each other make a prat out of themself. The game soon got under way and it started with the simple stuff, but got an interesting reaction when one of them declined to answer the ever been to jail question. But 4 soon became 3 when Morris bailed out and it didn't take long for the line of questioning to get much more...personal. "Daniels." Matt muttered, half turning his head to the man when he asked Madison about her first time. It wasn't as if Matt was a prude at all, but to him that wasn't the kind of thing you ask a woman in front of a bunch of other men. But that being said she was fitting in just fine as one of the lads and didn't even appear to bat an eyelid at the questionm so there was no harm done. Though fifteen struck Matt as a little young, not that it was his business. But after the things he had witnessed on the job and in his neighborhood he wished kids could be kids and at least wait until they were 'legal'. But that stuff he had to deal with all the time and tonight he was here to have some fun and unplug for awhile. "It didn't take long for it to go down that road did it?" He knew it wouldn't take long for those kind of questions to come out of the artillery. They were often the quickest and easiest way to make things interesting and awkward to get people drinking.    He looked Madison in the eye when she said his name indicating her question was for him, a very slight smirk formed at one side of his mouth as he waited for it to come. He shook his head and chuckled, touching a hand to to his brow amused, but ever so slightly embarrassed when she asked, "Wow, ok. You wanna play it like that, huh? Alright." He said with a light smile. "Honestly, never." He answered. "Yeah right!" Morris teased. "No, he's a good catholic boy." Camden said rubbing Matt on the head teasing him, but half sticking up for him too.  "I'm protestant actually." He corrected, "But I went to catholic school when I was about 11 to 15." He looked back at Madison, "And they told me I would go blind or go to hell if I did that." He said lightheartedly, his voice cracking slightly with near laughter and an amusing amount of intensity, causing a half drunk Camden and Morris to start chuckling so hard. "...But I didn't have any control of the dreams I had about Sue Jenkins." He confessed. What teenage boy did have control over those kind of dreams? "Now I'm not a kid I obviously don't believe I would go blind." He smiled with a raisd brow. Then he gave a shrug, "But I have a let someone do it for you or don't do it at all outlook." He closed his eyes in a long blink, "...Which is why I am so frustrated." He joked, keeping the mood light and keeping any embarrassment at bay as much as he could. "You really need to find a girl." Daniels teased, shaking his head. "Speaking of, have you asked her out yet?" Camden asked Matt. "Not yet." He replied. "Matt here's found the future Mrs Cole you see, but he still hasn't plucked up the nerve to ask her out yet." Camden told Madison, explaining the teasing. "I'm going to ask her out I'm just not going to pounce on her straight away. Give the woman a chance to settle in, sheesh! Anyway we are going way off track here." He said diverting the focus back onto the game. He looked to Madison with a little smirk, "If you wanna go down that road, fine." He said,  "Who have you "dreamed" about from PD?" He asked Madison, with a wry grin in return. Two can play it that way. Tag: @zen2 . ~*~