Arthur stared at his reflection in the mirror and adjusted his tie. Jason and the others were meeting him downstairs in the tavern shortly and he wanted to look just right for the occasion. However, he was finding it quite difficult to manage since his hands wouldn’t stop shaking and his stomach felt like it was doing summersaults.

After a few more moments of fidgeting with the tie, he finally just gave up and left it how it was. He stood back a few paces to admire his reflection in the mirror and frowned. "Maybe I should just call the whole night off," he thought to himself, as he brushed the hair from his eyes with his fingertips.

No, he decided finally, he was going to go through with it. This was, after all, a new place and a new start for him and his chance to fit in with the other blokes. He did wonder, though, if Jason was serious when he told Arthur tonight was all about, quote, "getting him laid". Surly it was just an excuse for them all to get together for a boy’s night out – have a few beers, have a few laughs, maybe even meet a nice girl or two. Well, he’d just go along and see what happened. Hopefully this wasn’t some sort of elaborate prank like the ones his mates back in Swanbourne used to pull on him.

Arthur stuck out his chin and studied his reflection in the mirror one last time. "You can do this, Arthur," he told himself. "You’re a nice chap and a handsome bloke and the ladies are going to love you." Unfortunately, his stomach obviously didn’t get the message, and he quickly covered his mouth and ran to the loo – just in time before losing his lunch.

Feeling much better afterwards, Arthur managed to clean himself up and do a quick change of clothes and then headed downstairs to meet the others. He was determined not to let anything keep him from going through with their plans. Yes, this was going to be a fun night – even if it killed him.