"I'd rather not go through the trouble." Even though it was possible to get somebody as his date and just wave it off as nothing and just go home, that couldn't be guaranteed. If he wanted to run that risk, he would have signed up. It was simple.

But it was also a lot of trouble to get his name removed if the organizers wouldn't claim responsibility. If not them, then who?

"What would I be expected to do if I went?" he asked. It was possible to simply experiment with the idea. He'd hate to leave somebody sitting there all night, it was true.