Roll Reversal

“Happy birthday to me.” Samantha Baxter sighs at her reflection in the ladies’ room mirror.

It is Halloween, and her birthday, but she is stuck at work at the museum chaperoning a bunch of middle aged men gathering to play Dungeon & Dragons; thrilling. Not that she minds old style pen & paper role playing games; in fact it is one of her favorite hobbies. What bothers Samantha is that playing D&D on her twenty-second birthday, and in a costume no less, only confirms how much of a social misfit she really is.

Samantha took the part-time job at the medieval arms & armor museum performing menial labors and giving guiding tours when she couldn’t get enough hours from her college placement job shelving books at the main library. It is now her senior year at a private liberal arts college in Worcester, MA, where she is finishing up a BA in medieval history. Though college has been very enjoyable, money has always been tight, and Samantha has racked up a great deal of debt.

Her boss, the director of the armory museum, asked Samantha if she could do him a favorite and work late on Halloween night. The good natured Samantha of course volunteered when she saw the desperation on her boss’ face when no one else agreed to help him out. She knew that he wanted to spend time with his kids on Halloween, and so she had to say yes; she didn’t even bother to tell him it was her birthday.

This isn’t any birthday, however, but her last birthday at college, which only highlights her dread at graduating in seven months. A history major is hardly a job magnet, and with her debt Samantha knows graduate school is out of the question. The thought of returning home to Bridgeport, CT, and a life of minimal wage employment at Wal-Mart, haunts her.

Not that the memories from Bridgeport are all together bad. Samantha is the fourth of five children of a lower-middle class family. Though her father and mother love her and are good parents, they were always busy with her siblings and making ends meet. The eldest, a brother, is the hardworking one that is following in the footsteps of their machinist father. The second son is the smart one, who graduated with honors a few years ago with an engineering degree and immediately found a good job. The third child is the good looking wild sister that always demanded the most attention. The youngest, another brother, is slightly mentally handicapped and requires much aid. Samantha has always been the one to get the least attention, which usually didn’t bother her much, knowing her parents had so much to deal with. Besides, she has always been on the introvert side, shunning parties in favor of her beloved books.

A solid A-/B+ student throughout school, Samantha was always well behaved but had a difficult time fitting in during her teenage years where popularity, beauty and social skills are the most revered traits. During this time she turned more and more to her favorite hobby, reading fantasy novels, which lead to her major social outlet, role playing games. The freedom of college was a welcome change, one in which Samantha has greatly enjoyed. During her first week on campus she joined the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and she was in geek heaven. Though never one to have a large circle of friends, she has been able to find a small cadre of likeminded nerds, whose definition of a wild party is playing World of Warcraft.

Samantha’s romantic history is even bleaker than her finances. Her plain features including dull brown eyes, large nose, unstylish thick brunette hair and thoroughly uninspiring 30A-28-29, 5’3” figure hardly catches anyone’s eyes, whether male or female. While in high school she had her first and last boyfriend, which lasted a week. During her sophomore year at college she experimented with a lesbian relationship, but that lasted only a few months. Her total experience of kissing a guy once and some heavy petting while fully clothed with another woman, means she is still a virgin. After these experiences, and never having had a strong sex drive to begin with, Samantha has given up on romance and has focused on her studies and hobbies.

Throughout her early years her father tried to encourage Samantha to be more physically active, but being uncoordinated, near-sighted, having asthma and never known for a great constitution, she had a hard time of it. His instance on her joining the high school swim team during her freshman year ended in a particular disaster. She did enjoy her father’s backpacking excursions, however, and was finally able to appease him when she took up judo at a local dojo during her sophomore year of high school.

Though certainly not skilled in the martial arts, Samantha developed an interest and enjoyment in them. While at college she continued to train in judo and at the end of last semester received her 1st kyu, brown belt, rank. Her judo teacher, a Japanese national, also holds a menkyo in Kodai-ryū Aiki-bujutsu, a classical koryū (old school) weapons system. She began training in the system two years ago learning the ryūha’s curriculum of the basics in kenjutsu (sword), battōjutsu (sword drawing), jōjutsu (4’ staff), naginatajutsu (halberd), tantōjutsu (knife) and taijutsu (unarmed). From her Japanese martial background Samantha has joined in with the SCA’s fencing practice, and occasionally even trying out their heavy combat play.

In a few months, however, her college life will soon come to an end, along with her studies, hobbies and friends. All the most likely outcomes after graduation will certainly mean college will probably have been the best time of her life. Looking over her costume in the mirror Samantha again mutters. “Happy birthday.”