text: "Anna, I know you consider me a friend, but there's no time like the present, so here it goes. I've loved you since I first saw you; you're beautiful, funny, and one of the smartest demons I've ever met. Do you think we could be more than just friends?" Aiden, the demon said as he was sucked away from his conversation and transported to the summoning bureau. "Are you serious?" Aiden was enraged. A summoning bureau demon clerk has a case file for Aiden to review. "It appears that we have three teens who were curious by something they read on the internet and were successful in summoning a demon. You were chosen for summoning duties in a random lottery," said the demon clerk. "They encourage you to vote, and then you start getting summoned all the time," Aiden says angrily to the clerk. "I'm sorry, that's how it works," the clerk said as she pressed a button, sending Aiden to the human realm. He enters the bedroom, surrounded by candles and pentagrams, with three emo teenage girls. The summoning of a demon is extremely unpleasant for the demon, and Aiden howls in agony. The three emo teenagers screamed and left the room in terror. Once a demon enters the human realm, they have to stay there for 24 hours, meaning that Aiden will not get an answer to his question until the end of that time. Demons have regular lives, just as humans; they have relationships, go to the laundromat, and even attend school. The school curriculum consists primarily of horror films and other propaganda depicting humans negatively; there is little doubt that history, tradition, and experience contribute to demons' negative views against humans, and vice versa. Aiden quickly becomes invisible, as he has been taught in school. This is his third summons in two months, and he's fed up and ready to take it out on some humans. To make matters worse, Aiden glances around the room and notices a bottle of holy water, a crucifix, and a Bible. "Wonderful, an exorcism," Aiden thought to himself. An exorcism is one of the worst summonses a demon can receive; it's torment. Aiden sees the emo teen's younger sister and instantly takes control of her body. He employs some of the school-taught tactics, such as rotating her head 360 degrees, gushing puke, and, of course, turning crucifixes upside down. He's been on enough summonings to know what's going to happen next: the family will freak out, they'll call the priest, and then they'll make with the holy water, the Latin, the power of Christ compels you, blah, blah, blah. Aiden liked frightening this family, but his thoughts are with Anna; he loves her. As Aiden predicted, the priest arrived a few hours later, and the exorcism began, over 18 hours of suffering for a demon. His time ran out, and he was forced to return to the demon realm. As soon as he got back, he dashed to Anna to hear her response. Anna was surprised to see him when he arrives. "Has it really been 24 hours, Aiden?" she asked. "Yes, my love, I couldn't wait to see you again," Aiden said. "Oh, that's nice," Anna said, playing it nonchalantly. "So, do you have nothing to say about my admission?" Aiden asked. "About that," Anna continued, "we're such good friends; I wouldn't want to mess things up with a romance," Aiden was devastated. The love of his life has friend-zoned him. Aiden plunged into profound despair after being rejected by Anna; he didn't care about anything. Aiden was surrounded by pizza boxes, empty beer bottles, and the stench of his own filth a few weeks later. He was abruptly summoned back to the summoning bureau, where the same clerk was sitting behind the desk. "Okay, we have a religious zealot who believes a demon will aid him in smiting people who have wronged him. I guess he's in for a surprise," the clerk said, trying to make light of the situation. Aiden aggressively ignores her. "Whatever, just push the button." Despite the agony, Aiden couldn't muster enough strength to roar, only a wince. He didn't care, and he was going to make it known that he didn't care. "Finally, I will no longer be overlooked, not with the might of a demon on my side," the religious zealot declares, surrounded by torches and pentagrams. Aiden calmly walks right past the zealot and out the door. "Hey, where are you going? Aren't you going to assist me in exacting vengeance on those who have treated me unfairly?" The zealot said, perplexed. Aiden keeps walking, so depressed and enraged that he doesn't care if he's visible. He wanders the human realm's streets, alone and dejected. This summoning occurs in New York City; therefore, a demon that was visible to humans was no big deal; just another eccentric on the subway. In fact, Aiden sat next to a human on the L train, and it didn't phase them in the slightest. "How's it going, buddy?" The human asked. Aiden chose to ignore him. "Hey, I get it, but I told my shrink I would talk to 10 new people this week, and I've already started with you, so what do you say? My name's Arthur." "Aiden," he said. "So, tell me, what's bugging you?" Arthur asked. "I don't want to talk about it," an enraged Aiden said. "Look, no matter what happened, things get better. For example, take me, my wife cheated on me, left me, took my children, and now I pay HER alimony. If you only take one piece of advice from me, it's this: don't skimp on the lawyer," Arthur stated. "Yeah, I've had no luck with love either; it's not worth it," Aiden said. "Oh, a fresh wound, you sound exactly like me six months ago. Let me guess: you're depressed, you don't want to do your job, and you're always angry," Arthur said. "You get it; there's no point in putting yourself out there; all you get in the end is hurt," Aiden said. "I'm not sure about that. People will tell you that there are other fish in the sea, but that's nonsense. However, the only way to get out of your funk is to have some fun. If the right one comes along, the right one comes along; there's no pressure; you simply have to let it happen," Arthur said. Aiden commented, "You sound like a damn fortune cookie." "Heck, I got tonight off; why don't you be my wingman? We'll meet some people, drink some cocktails, and forget about our exes," Arthur said. "I don't think so; all I want is to be alone," Aiden responded. "Come on, what else you got going on? Chicks like the bulked-up bad-boy type, I need you, man," Arthur stated. "All right," Aiden said, "I'll have one drink." That night, Arthur and Aiden went to a bar and met some delightful people; they sang karaoke, played bar trivia, and Aiden even got so drunk that he did a coyote ugly dance on the bar; much to the horror and fright of most of the patrons. The bottom line is that Arthur helped him forget about Anna while also demonstrating to him that not all humans are as evil as demons are taught in school. Aiden's summons had expired by the morning, and he was returned to the summoning bureau, where the same clerk sat behind the counter. Aiden remembered how he had treated her the previous two times he had been there. "Hey, it's you. I apologize for the past couple of summons; I was in a bad mood at the time, and it wasn't ideal timing. I should not have taken my frustrations out on you," Aiden said. "No problem, I get that all the time; no one enjoys summoning duty; at least you apologized," the clerk said. "My name is Aiden. You're always pleasant in this difficult job; I just wanted to express my appreciation," Aiden said. "My name is Jackie. I get off in a half-hour; maybe you could tell me more about how you appreciate me while you buy me a drink." Aiden smiles.