Shindig at Eight

[amadeuuus]

After their failed Friday drinking plan, Fran planned to set up a party at their flat.
---

“Ah, Erik!”

That bubbly over-enthusiastic voice called me from a distance, recognizing it, I immediately changed my direction to follow her voice, what a convenience, since I’ve been meaning to talk with her during this lunch hour.

There they were, occupying the table near the window, with Natalya ardently waving at me, while her older sister still focused on her phone. “Hey.” I greeted back.

“Oh, hey there Erik.” Sofiya finally noticed my presence. “Please, sit down.”

“Thank you.” I sat on the chair opposite of her as I slowly put down my tray. “I didn’t know that you would be here Sofiya.”

“I’m having break so I think maybe I’ll go here.” She threw a glance at Natalya. “You know, making my little sister here actually eat.”

“Hey that’s not fair! I eat my lunch even without you here Sonechka!”

“Nyet! I don’t think eating one bagel counts as lunch.”

“Eh? But-but you don’t even eat lunch!”

“I already ate before I get here…”

Natalya pouted with a “hmph” and then sulked on her chair, folded her arms on her chest, seeing her 180° transformation made me chuckle which almost made choked on my soup.

“So, Erik, what happened after you and Fran got kidnapped yesterday?” Sofiya asked, half-focused, still busy texting on her phone.

“Hm?” I murmured in the middle of swallowing my beef soup.

“Yes! What happened yesterday? Please, please do tell us!” Natalya joined in the conversation. As she finally sprung back again to life, seemingly as upbeat as before.

“Well, do you want the short or the long version of the story?”

“Is it long?” Natalya asked curiously.

“Hmm, you can say that.” I said in-between slurping my soup.

“Then, then! To make a long story short…” As she put her hands on the table and then moved her body slightly towards me, oh yeah, here it comes. “You need to make it feel... in-sec-ure, insecure!”

She seemed to be proud of herself, as she crossed her arms, and started doing one of those crazy-kitten-smile.

“Now, now, Natasha. Let Erik tell his story, will you?” Sofiya interjected.

“Sorry, I read it on my phone last night and I couldn’t resist it!” She raised her hand in an apologetic manner.

I imagined her web browser must be full with tabs and bookmarks of pun websites, and she might even have a note app where she would copy-pasted every pun that she could find, and then recited them, all night long.

That would be quite terrifying to be honest.

“Well, where should I begin?” I wiped my mouth with a nearby tissue.

“From when we are separated, after we left.” Sofiya replied while slowly slurping on her coffee.

“Okay, so after you two dropped off from the tram, the four of us just sat there, I sat in-between of Ela and Fran, all of us rarely making a sound, even Fran just sat there, looking out of the window, yes Fran, Fran was silent for the whole ride!”

The both of them laughed.

“That is hard to imagine, yes.” Sofiya covered her mouth, still recovering from the laughter.

“And then what happened after you get to school?” Natalya asked impatiently.

“Well, they just wanted us to help them with the festival preparation, you know making booths, thing like that.” I slurp down the rest of my soup with one sip. “And then after we have finished doing our labour, Ela just lectured us on our ‘sly attempt’ at going into that bar, how drinking is bad, how we were still using school uniform, how it would ruin the school reputation, etcetera, etcetera.” I picked up my glass and slowly drank my orange juice. “You know, things along the line of that.”

“Right, right, I see.” Sofiya leaned back on her chair and crossed her arms. “It must be hard for you then, forced working like that.”

“Honestly, I don’t really mind with that, but Fran didn’t really want to help, so they basically just kept dragging them along the way.” I recalled on how things were working out back there. “I think Ela actually put a lot of work for them, and they done them all half-heartedly.”

“Haha, yes, yes, it is usual for him to act like that.” Sofiya snickered. “It was his idea after all, so maybe he deserves it.”

Well, going out drinking was an endearing idea, but doing it immediately after school, with school uniforms on… well, it wasn’t a very bright idea now that I thought about it.

“But the way they take you with them, I just cannot accept it Erik!” Natalya pouted, trying to sound as upset as she could. “We are supposed to be have fun together! And they just come and ruin everything!”

“Well, we did get caught with our pants down back there, I think what Ela and Irene did were pretty reasonable.” I explained on her.

“But… we didn’t get naked back there… and I was wearing skirt, right Sonechka?”

“I think Erik means we are caught while we are about to go to the bar.” Sofiya explained patiently to her sister.

“Oh right! But still… I will not accept them acting like that!” Natalya picked up a fork that she used for lunch and hold up her hand, pointing the fork into the ceiling.

“And yes, I’m agree with Natasha here.” Sofiya said as she tried to made her sister put down the fork. “That was rude you know? Forcing you to come with them, I wonder if that is an average behaviour in here.”

“Well, maybe it was average for them.” I said as I slowly drank my juice. Ela was a part of the student council, was it? I thought so, she seemed to held some kind of authority in this place, and Irene is… Irene.

Natalya chuckled. “Maybe you can say that they are girls with MEAN behaviour!” Natalya was back at it again, maybe my theory might ring true after all.

As I put down my glass, I could see a disgruntled Fran from a distance, I guess Natalya saw them too, as she called on their name.

“Oh my god! You wouldn’t believe what I have to put up with yesterday!” Fran exaggeratedly raised their voice, as they sat down on the chair beside me. “Ela and that little imp, I swear to god, I would-”

“No, we actually believe it, Erik just told us.” Sofiya said nonchalantly, drinking her coffee.

Fran looked at me with a glance that probably said: “What the hell, Erik? You just ruined my chance to talk about my long and painful suffering.”

“Well then, now that the story is out of the way.” They said as they pulled a flask out of their jacket, and then drinking its content in big gulps. “I have a surprise for you guys and gals in here.” They said as if they were holding a megaphone, and announcing it to a large group of people.

“Let me guess-”

“Yes! I invite you all to have a party at my place, seven sharp tonight!” Fran launched into a self-contained euphoria, cutting Sofiya right in the middle of her sentence. Natalya actually applauded after hearing their announcement.

“That is… not expected.” Sofiya muttered.

Fran then sat down, putting their hands together at around their mouth level, steepling their fingers. “So, you will all come right?”

“I don’t know Fran, this all just seem like a… what do you call it… ah, yes, a reprise of yesterday’s plan.” Sofiya said as she sipped on her coffee.

“No, no, like I said before! It’s a surprise, we are going to do it at my flat, what could possibly go wrong?”

“Well…” Natalya finally opened her mouth. “I guess it really is a SUREPRISE! Right, Miss Fran?”

“It is… a surprise… dear.” Fran giggled nervously.

“No, no! It is a play on surprise and reprise that Sonechka said! You will understand if you write it!” Natalya explained enthusiastically.

Okay, I guess my theory was true after all.

“Hey Fran.” I called their name.

“Yeah, Hun?”

“You sure it will be fine?”

“1000% sure! Like I said, what could possibly go wrong?”

“You also said that before.” I replied.

“Did I?”

“Well, the point is essentially the same.” I looked at them straight in their eyes. “I don’t want to get into any trouble you know?”

“Aw, come on! Context matters, dear.” They looked at me before they threw a glance at Natalya. “It’s to compensate for yesterday's problem, come on, just come over, this will be fun!”

I looked at them with a sharp glare, as if saying: “I won’t fall for another one of your half-baked plans.”

“Come on! At least let me redeem myself.” They replied my glare, with one of those pitiful looks in their eyes.

“Fine, fine.” I averted my gaze, and continued to slurping down my juice.

“I know you got it in you!” Fran giggled. “Now, now ladies.” Fran alternately glancing between the two Volkova twins. “You two will also come, yes?”
Before Natalya could open her mouth -probably to enthusiastically agree- Sofiya looked at her, slightly raising one of her hands, which immediately stopped Natalya dead on their track.

“We will see.” Sofiya answered.

“Splendid!” They smiled, clasping both of their hands, just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

“We better get going, Natasha.” Sofiya offered a hand for Natalya. “See you guys.” She quickly added, waving her other hand.

“Oh okay, goodbye Miss. Fran! Goodbye Erik…” Natalya shouted as her sister escorted her outside of the cafeteria.

“Yeah, see you two tonight!” I yelled back.

“Well, should we go now?” Fran stood up, and drank something from their flask. “A preparation for the boring classes if you may say.” They replied to my curious glance.

I drank my orange juice in one big gulp, and then stood up to follow them.
---

“Alright, I’ll be on my way then.” I said as I hung up the phone.

It was just seven past a few minutes, they said their flat was just a few minutes walks from school, a little evening walk wouldn’t hurt, sightseeing would be nice actually.

If my leg wanted to cooperate, that was! Fortunately, it wasn’t as fussy as it usually would, “still manageable” I repeated that mantra in my head, as I made my way through the schoolyard with a reasonable pace, walking toward the front gate.

"Going on a date Mr. Wilhelm?"

I immediately recognized that slightly muffled voice, as Lena passed by from behind me.

"Hello to you too, Lena." I noticed the small backpack that she was carrying on her back. "Where are you going?"

"Hm, funny. You haven't answered my question either." She stated while she folded her arms.

"I thought that was rhetorical."

"Well... maybe it was, but I'm genuinely curious by now."

I sighed. "Yes, I'm going out."

"...On a date??"

"No! Why are you so nosey about it?"

She let out a dry chuckle. "You haven't heard about the rumours, huh?"

"What rumours?"

"Rumours about you... going out with Fran."

My face was frozen with a dumbstruck expression when I heard her. Maybe my jaw would literally drop if it was possible.

"Excuse me? Who would say something like that?"

"Your captor yesterday, duh."
"But Ela would never say something like that!" Well, I didn't think she was the type to say something like that.

She shrugged. "That's a bold statement, but it's obviously not me, so it's either she or her trusty partner.”

I swore to god, that little imp, I would...

“It could also be that green haired student council vice-president, heck, it could also be Fran themselves, who knows, Erik. What I want to know is the truth." She stated nonchalantly. "Based from this response of yours, so… that means you're going to go out with them?" She resumed to her usual folded-arms-plus-analytical-glare pose.

"No, of course not!"

"So where are you going then?"

"I'm going to hang out, with Natalya and-"

"Where though?"

"At... a bar... yeah, a bar."

"What bar?"

"Sylvester's Saloon…"

"And you're going there all alone?"

"Yeah... they all already in there, they rode a cab together."

"Why didn’t you go together then? Wouldn’t it be cheaper?"

"Because... I was late?"

"Late? But it's not even eight yet. What kind of people think seven is late for drinking? Do Russians think that seven is already late for drinking?"

Damn, what an inquirer, she really was worthy to run the school's paper.

"Fine, I give up. I'm about to go to Fran's place right now." Before she could reply I quickly added. "But don't get the wrong idea, there's also Natalya and her sister in there, so there's like four of us in there."

She nodded. "I see, I see."

"Can you please don't tell Ela or Irene about this?"

"Do I look like a gossipmonger to you Erik?" She looked at me with a look that… well, let’s just say that it immediately convinced me. As I watched her slowly walking away from me. Asking her wouldn’t hurt, I guess.

“Hey! Would you like to join us?” I shouted at her.

“No! I have gastroparesis!”

Gastropare-what?

"Hey! where are you going!?" She strayed further and further from the main pathway.

"Stress-relieving!" She yelled from a distance. "Have fun with your Saturday night debauchery!"

"You too!" I shouted back at her.

Wait, did she say debauchery?

“She is quite a character.” I muttered under my breath.

Not long before I made my way outside of the school gates, I looked around to see if someone was following me, maybe I was in a watchlist right now, and Ela probably sent a spy (read: Irene) to follow me around, the thought of that made me chuckled a bit. No, they wouldn’t go as far as that.

This was Saturday night after all, weren’t they have they own business to attend to? Like relaxation, for example, well from the look of it, maybe their relaxation came from attending another “business”. I wondered what Lena meant by “stress-relieving” though, I remembered our talk before that… disastrous interview, about werewolves and that Halloween stuff. Maybe, just maybe, she was about to investigate it? No, that would be ridiculous, someone like Irene would probably do that, but Lena? No…

That was another mystery for another day then.

As I made my way through the city streets, it really was a lovely night, the sky is clear but the stars were missing, as usual. Even back at Basel, maybe that was the case with every city in this modern age. I took another glance at the sky, I could still vividly recall, those time when I stepped outside of the tent, just during the dawn, hundred lights adorned the sky, slowly shying away from the sun, and there he was, drinking his pitch-black coffee. A view that I probably won’t ever see again.

Come on Erik, that was just another distant dream at point. Even if there were things to be seen above me, I should have focused more on the ground; focusing at my own footing, this life of mine… I was walking on thin ice after all.

And who cared about the stars anyway, there were already things that shone brighter in these alleyways, various cafés with their bright neon lights, attractive lights that invited tourists and locals alike, to spend their night either by drinking or dancing, it was quite a sight though, couples young and old seemingly without a care in the world, maybe that was the power of Saturday night.

I wondered were there any St. Dymphna’s students in there, among the crowds and the cafés enjoying their Saturday night, took off their uniform and enjoy their night, like how those “normal” people would, Fran and the twins would probably fit in this category, but how about the rest? Lena with her questionable method of “stress-relieving” came to mind, maybe if she took off her mask? How about Katja? Sure, she would attract some curious glances, but I’d doubt that she would have a hard time blending in just because of an eyepatch. How about Anna? How would she react on this kind of social interaction? Maybe there were some St. D’s students there somewhere, among those people, and I just didn’t know it.

To be fair, I didn't know them close enough to deduced anything. The only person that I truly knew was… well, me. How about me then? Could I enjoy myself like there was nothing wrong with me? Just like the good old days?

Just as these thoughts passed my head, my leg started to acting up a bit, here I was contemplating about things, yet I had an appointment for a supposed lively party, maybe I should try to loosen up a bit, this was my first week after all, there was no use on getting so anxious about things.
At least their place was near, according to their directions, it was supposed to be right around this corner… and there it was, a moderate building, not as big as any other flats that I’ve seen, but definitely bigger than a small motel, might be the right choice for their pocket. The location was pretty strategic too, even if you weren’t a student of St. D’s, there were cafés and restaurants near, there was also a supermarket near the place. I wondered were there any other St. D’s students that lived in here.

Room two-o-four, it was just a hallway and a turn from the lift to reach their room. I could hear some ruckus inside their room as I knocked on their door.

“It’s me, Erik!”

“Comin’!” They shouted, so I waited outside and in less than a minute, they finally opened the door. “I said come in! what are you waiting for?” They gestured me to go in.

As I stepped inside, I could see the entirety of their room, where should I even begin? The room was quite spacious, the furniture arrangement was a lot like that of a hotel room, with the bed directly opposite of the television, a simple desk sat beside the bed, with a desk chair near; complete with stack of books and various items that resided on the desk. Adjacent of the desk was a wardrobe which mounted on the same wall where the door was.

And as I looked further into their room, I could see a dining table with a pair of wooden chairs, and near them was a simple kitchen with a sink and a pair of simple stoves and lots of drawer right below the counter. And next to the kitchen was a medium sized refrigerator, and above them was a large window where I could see the beautiful night view outside. I could see a closed door just slightly to the right of the kitchen, which I assumed was the toilet.

“As you can see, the place is a lil’ bit dirty, but make yourself at home!” They said as they plunged themselves into their bed, continued watching their T.V.

Oh, right. I forgot to mentioned how much of a shipwreck their room was, I could even confidently say that my room back at Basel was as clean as a new pin if you compared it to theirs.

“I think our definition of ‘a little bit dirty’ is different.” I said as I continued looking around.

“Oh, come on! It is usual for a growing teenage person to have their room dirty!” They replied as they flicked through the channels on the T.V.

Yeah, right. Perfectly normal. Can of beers littered on every corner, various clothes and a bizarre amount of magazine scattered everywhere, with various subject ranging from automotive to… oh god, is that what I thought it was?

And to added it all up, an obscene amount of bottle, ranging from isotonic drinks to alcohol, with various brands and types, all lined on the dining table. If I didn’t know the owner of this room, I would probably assume that someone just exploded into a fit of violence, attempted to thrash this room, and scared the owner away.

But here was the owner, lying prone on their bed, flipping through the cable. But then again going on a violent rampage and thrashed their own room might be one the things that they loved to do on their free time, well, not their free time, on their bad days perhaps. I certainly wouldn’t know.

I got startled when Fran loudly exclaimed as they threw the remote away, it got stuck in their pillow. “Nothing’s good on the tube today. I guess you could say that it’s a literal idiot box, eh?” They giggled as they stretched themselves.

“Are you gonna just stand there or what?” As they stood up and elbowed my arm, and promptly made their way into the fridge. “Never been to a handsome gal’s room before?”

“Sorry, I was just amazed by how neat your room is.”

“Geez, alright, alright, I’m sorry.” They said as they brought back two can of beer. “I fell asleep after I come home from school, and I woke up shortly before you called me, so I got no time to clean it up.” They set aside their clothes from the desk chair, hurling them into their bed. “I haven’t even bathed yet.”

Well, their appearance clearly spoke for themselves. Their hair was pretty messy, typical of those who just woke up, they wore this loose tangerine t-shirt with the word “Jebiga!” childishly written on it, in which judged from the wrinkles on the shirt, they probably just picked randomly from one of those clothes laying around. At least they wore a presentable light grey pair of joggers, well… presentable at least on their standard.

“Here.” They offered one.

“Thanks.” The can hissed when I opened it.

“Cheers!” They said as they opened their can and immediately drank its content in one big continuous gulp. “Aaah! You see? Life just doesn’t get any better than this!” They exaggeratedly held their arms up, like one of those victorious warriors poses.

“Hey, take it easy, the night is still young, you know?” I sat down on their desk chair, slowly sipping my cold beer.

“Oh shaddup! Saturday night is best time to get drunk! You-no, WE, don’t have anything to do tomorrow, so we are free to drink our burden away!” They carefreely said before jumping back into their bed. “Or I guess you could say BEERDEN!” They quickly added.

“Your pun is as horrible, if not worse than her, you know?” As I leaned myself on their comfortable desk chair, my brain started to remember something. “By the way, have you called them?”

“Eh, they will come on their own, they already know the place.”

“They have been here before?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I couldn't imagine how they would react after seeing their room, Sofiya would probably disgusted and say something along the line of “Was this place attacked by the Red Army?” while Natalya would probably busy with picking up the magazines that scattered on the floor, and probably even asking Fran about… that magazine…

“Do you have anything else to drink?” I asked, looking at my now empty can of beer on my hand, still hesitant about the idea of drinking too much beer this early.

“Sure, just check my fridge.” They pointed at the general direction of their kitchen.

I rose from my chair and made my way there, occasionally stumbled across a piece of cloth or some disheveled magazines.
Walls of canned beers greeted me as I opened their fridge, along with some snacks and sweets, and there were some leftovers lurking in the corner from god-knows-when.

“There is nothing but beer here!” I yelled at them. “Just what kind of life are you leading here?!”

“A girl’s bachelor life of course!” They yelled back. “Also, different tastes with different brands Erik! They’re technically different drinks!”

“I don’t want another beer!”

“Well, there’s orange juice in there, I think, try to look closer!”

Was it true? I navigated further into their fridge, setting aside dozens of beer cans, and I think that was a leftover Schweinsbraten back there. Oh, sure, there was a medium sized box of orange juice inside.

“I found it!” I held up my hand, showed it to them.

They moved a little to peek. “Good job!” And they immediately stood up and rushed to me, taking the juice box with them. “Now, who would like some shandy?”

“Goddamnit, hey!”

As I was struggling to retain back that juice box, they just casually strutted around and opened a drawer under the kitchen counter, and I was amazed to see what was inside of it.

“Now, where is that Schneider Weisse?” They stuck a hand inside the drawer, fumbling around between the various almost neatly lined alcoholic drinks, the bottles let out some faint clinking noises as their response.

“You used your allowance for these?” I crouched; moved closer so I could get near them, as I pulled out a bottle of vodka. “Bajikah?”

“Oh, I brought that from home.” They glanced at the bottle in my hand. “Along with this bad boy.”

They pulled off another bottle, this one was unlabeled and has a slightly yellowish amber tint to it.

“Is that brandy?”

“Well, it is… but the accurate answer would be rakija.” They looked at the bottle, seemingly proud of it. “This one is homemade, Dragovic family style!” They leaned closer to me, moving their head closer to my ear. “You won’t get anything like this somewhere else…” They softly whispered to me.

I chuckled, as I stood up and straighten myself. “Nice trick Fran.”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked.” They continued their search inside the drawer. “And to answer your question, yes, I bought the other ones, my old folks gave me quite a lot every month.” It seemed like they got devoured more and more into the drawer as time went on. “More than enough for my rent and for some other things in fact.”

“I see, must have got you spoiled then.” I quietly picked up the juice box from the floor near them.

They replied with a dry chuckle. “Ugh, where did I put that fucking thing?! I swear it’s gotta be here somewhere!” Cue in the intense clinking of the bottles as they collided with each other.

“Here it is!” Suddenly they jumped back to life, carrying a bottle of beer on one hand while the other smacked the drawer close.

“Congrats.” I muttered while I walked away with a glass full of orange juice; making my way back to the desk chair.

“How rude! Stealing from a gentleperson that hosted a free party for you!” They pointed their bottle at me. “You’re gonna need to be disciplined by a shot of bacon vodka mixed with ranch salad dressing!”

“Hey, you told me to ‘make yourself at home’.” I leaned my back at their desk chair, slowly sipping my juice. “And I told you already, it’s still too early to get drunk.”

“Come on! It’s shandy, 50/50 mix of two good stuff!” They said as they poured beer and the juice together, before promptly stirring them with a spoon. “What kind of people don’t like shandy?”

“You mean panaché?”

“What?”

“That drink of orange and beer, you actually need a lemon soda for that.”

“Well. This is the Dragovic’s family special recipe!”

Special recipe my ass, more like mixing two things that slightly resembled the required ingredients.

They slurped a big amount of it. “You want some?”

“Maybe later Fran, maybe later.”

“You just wanted to stay sober before they arrive, aren’t you?” They sat on the edge of their bed.

“Well, that is partly true.” I took another sip from my glass.

“Huh, good to know that you still got some dignity on you.”

“Hey, don’t compare our dignity.” I smiled. “I’m sure it won’t be fair for you.”

“Hmph.” Was the only thing that they muttered, before they quickly downed their drink in three big gulps. Heh, felt nice I could tease them back from time to time.

I checked the time on my phone before quickly returned it to my pocket, 19:48, it was getting pretty late, what took them so long anyway?

“I know what you’re thinking right now.” Fran said after picking up another can of beer from their fridge. “Where are they? What took them so long???” They said in a melodramatic tone, like on one of those cheap soap opera on T.V.

I wheezed. “Yeah, that was pretty close actually.”

“You know, I’m actually surprised that you didn't come here with Natalya.” They looked at me preemptively. “But I figured that you’re still just a new student anyway, so you probably aren’t that confident yet.”

I crossed my arms. “Well, I actually wanted to. But I thought maybe she would come with Sofiya.”

“And. Even if I wanted to pick her up, I don’t even know which one is her room.” I quickly added, before they could reply.

“Hm hm, why don’t you call her then?” They crawled into their bed, now sitting cross-legged in it.

“I don’t have her number yet…”

“Ah, fair enough.” They crawled toward the desk in front of me, opened one of the drawers and then handed their phone to me. “Why don’t you call her now?”

“Why don’t you do it?” I handed it back at them.

“Ha! so you really are afraid after all.”

“What? Of course not!”

“Then why don’t you call her?”

I sighed. “Alright, fine…” I fished out my own phone from my pocket. “But, if I were to do it, I’d rather use my own phone.”

“Huh, that’s a better idea actually.” They tapped on their screen, and then promptly showed me her phone number.

“You sure this is the right number?”

“Of course, what else might it be?”

“You’re not secretly giving me Irene’s number, aren’t you?”

“I’m not! Even though… yeah, I gotta admit that’s a good idea.”
I smirked. I pressed the dial button and then immediately greeted by that familiar ringing tones, it won’t take long before someone picked it up on the other side.

“Zdravstvujtye?” A familiar voice answered me, it was Sofiya’s.

“Hey, it’s me Erik.”

“Oh Erik, sorry. I didn’t recognized your number, so I think it was someone else.”

“It’s fine, it’s my first time calling anyway.”

“So, what’s up?” I noticed there was a classical piece, sparsely playing in the background

“I, uh, I just want to ask, are you going to come here?”

“Going to? -wait, wait, are you in Fran’s place now?”

“Yes, I’m in their flat now.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry, we can’t come! I already tried to call Fran this afternoon but his phone was dead.” I think she walked outside from whatever building she was in, because the classical music was soon replaced with a faint noise of traffic and footsteps. “I thought that you wouldn’t come there, Erik.”

“I was tempted I guess.” I replied, trying to cover up my disappointment. “Can I talk with Natalya then?” At least I could talk with her and asked her about it…

“Hmm… I’m sorry Erik, but Natasha is not available now.” …Or maybe not.

I heard another set of footsteps, I guess she went back into the building? The classical music suddenly stopped, and I could hear someone faintly muttered something. “I need to go Erik. I will tell Natalya to call you later.” And with that she hung up on me.

“How was it?” Fran immediately asked while I put my phone on their desk, near the gigantic stack of books.

“Well, you had your fun, weren’t you?” I took off my glasses with my right hand and then rubbed my eyes with the other.

“What do you mean?” They looked at me, confused.

“The number that you gave me was Sofiya’s wasn’t it?”

“No, it’s not.” They denied, tried to look as innocent as they could.

“Then why she was the one who answered it then?”

“Well, how the fuck am I supposed to know? Do I look like someone with psychic ability?” They reached into their own phone, opening their list of contacts, and then showed it to me. “Look at the name, it’s Natalya’s!” Well, they were right, the number was Natalya’s. “Gee, I’m not that cruel, you know?”

“Well, I’m sorry then.” I put on my glasses back on.

“Heh.” They smirked. “What did she say?”

“They won’t come, she also said that she tried to call you this afternoon.”

“Oh yeah, I turned off my phone this afternoon, before hitting the hay. Why won’t they come though?”

“Well, she didn’t tell.” I shrugged. “They abruptly hung up in the end.”

“Oh, I see, I see.” They rolled out of their bed, and went into the fridge. “They are sometime like that in these past few weeks. I’m actually surprised that they took up my offer yesterday.” And they returned with two cans of beer. “Maybe they’re on a date with two other twins, gangster twins perhaps, like maybe the Russian version of the Kray twins, and that’s why they can’t tell us.”

I giggled when I heard their remark, and then they offered me another can.

“Another one before you leave?” They said.

“What? Are you kicking me out?”

“Huh? You aren’t going to leave?” They looked at me a little bit surprised.

“Why would I?” I asked, with the same surprised expression plastered on my face.

“Well, isn't your main goal of coming here was to meet her? They sat on their bed. “You know, so you can have little tête-à-tête with Natalya?”

Well, that was partially true, I went here so I could get to know them better, well, it was primarily Natalya, but in the end, I guess just hanging out with Fran wasn’t so bad after all, they aren’t as nosy as usual tonight.

“I mean it’s okay if you want to leave.” They looked at me with a sharp gaze, but their eyes were slightly wistful. “I’m already used to drinking alone in my room, on almost every weekend even…”

Damn, that’s gotta one of the most thinly-veiled reverse psychology attempt that I’ve ever seen.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stay.” I hold up my hands, pretended like I was in defeat.

“You sure?” They immediately smirked, ha, I knew it was all an act. “You’ll accompany ol’ uncle Fran here even without your crush?”

“Yeah, sure.” I said as I picked my beer from their right hand.

“But you do like Natalya, huh?” They opened their beer, and sipped it.

“What does that have to do with me accompanying you?” I also sipped mine in return.

“Come on, just tell me. Won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

Yeah, right. Entrusting something to Fran without them divulging it would be the equivalent of finding the holy grail in my backyard. But when I thought about it, they have talked a lot of bullshit in the past, so what would make people believe that this one was true?

“Okay, yes, I confess, there happy now?”

“Ha! I knew it!” They clapped their hands enthusiastically, almost rolling in their bed.

“Yeah, yeah, was it that obvious or something?”

“Well, it’s either Natalya or Anna, or it could also those two French girls, or maybe even Lena or Katja.”

“So, basically every girl that I’ve interacted so far? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Well, you never know.” They shrugged. “What I now surely know is that you like Natalya!”

“Congrats!” I applauded, as out of time as possible.

“Geez, you’re no fun.” They threw their empty can at me; I could successfully dodge it in time as the can flew and hit their wardrobe behind me.
In that brief moment they already went off to their fridge and returned with another can in their hand.

“Will you calm down already? That’s your fourth can, right? Not counting your shandy before.”

“Eh, it’s fine.” They shrugged, immediately drank their beer and aahh-ed in delight. “Don’t worry about me, worry about you instead.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know.” They laid down on their bed, still sipping the beer. “Like this is your first week and all, I mean, can you adapt correctly with this new environment or stuff like that?”

“Do you really want to know?” I glanced at them, putting my can into the desk near my chair.

“Sure, just pour your heart out, I’m all ears.” They got up, and then sitting cross legged in their bed, facing me.

“I mean, I think I’ve settled in just fine, I don’t really have any significant problem so far, everyone that I’ve met seem friendly, I even made some friends along the way… Yeah Fran, you’re included.” I added shortly before they were about to open their mouth.

“Yeah, even though I did encounter some communication problem, I think with enough time I can steadily overcome them.” I smiled sheepishly, remembering my encounters with Isolda and my attempts at communicating with Anna. “Oh, you did witness me doing it, right?”

“Yup, and I gotta admit, that was a good move on your part.” They smirked. “Thanks for the tips, when the sandwich trick fail, I’ll always use the note passing trick. I’ll surely use that the next time I want to know someone.” They giggled, but they promptly stopped themselves shortly afterward. “No, seriously though that is such an optimistic view on life, glad to know that you’re enjoying your time here.”

“Thanks.” I thought it was funny now when I harked back to how anxious I was about the prospect of moving here, maybe the reality started to sink in on me, cause this was just how it was, another year of high school, that grim room that I occupied has become somewhat of a second home for me. I guess you could call every place home after you already familiar enough with it.

“Do you miss your hometown then?” They put their hands behind their head, returned to laid themselves in bed, now staring into the ceiling.

“Yes, of course, I miss my friends, my relatives, my house, even my messy room… just looking back at all the times that I’ve spent and all the experiences that I went through there.” I followed their lead, so I leaned my back and also stared into ceiling, the dirty, cobwebs-ridden ceiling.
“And when you return, will they all be the same then?”

I sighed. “Of course it won’t…”

It wasn’t only the place or even the people that I’ve missed, because it was only natural for me, the places that I have grown accustomed to could easily be replaced by another, and sooner or later, I would find other people to fill the blanks that has been left behind by the people from my past life, even if it would only for temporary. But the thing that I’ve missed most was myself, the person, no. That version of me that I have left behind, because I knew that I would never be that person ever again.

Heh, I guess I wasn’t so sure about my own self after all. I knew that I shouldn’t dwell on these things, on things that have been taken away from me. But I just couldn’t help myself, I just couldn’t look away that easily.

“And why do you ask anyway?” I ended my musing and asked them in return.

They sat right up, once again facing me. “Well, my point being, that things… uh…” It was visible that they were struggling to find the words that they were about to say, one hand was covering their lips, while the other moved around, chaotically. Their head looked down, averting their gaze from me. “Y-you know what, just… just forget it, I don’t have any larger point in mind.” They finally gave up, and plunged their body in bed. “I’m just making conservation I guess…”

An awkward silence ensued, I didn’t know how to respond to that, I could hear Fran silently muttered “hm” to themselves, and before I could say anything, they already rose back again, now directly facing me. “You’re lucky, you know that?” They bowed their head down, their eyes were locked at their toes.

“At least you have a place that you're looking forward to return to." They silently muttered, even though I could tell it was directed at me. I just nervously looked at them, in silence, our eyes were staring at each other, theirs were silently moving from side to side. And before I could say anything, they already jumped off from their bed, walking into the kitchen counter.

“Damn, things got gloomy fast.” They returned, chugging down on a bottle of the beer that they were previously looking for. "This was supposed to be a party, goddamnit! Man, good job for ruining the mood."

“Well, you’re the one who started it.” I was left speechless by this sudden mood whiplash, the speech that I’ve been brewing for the past eight minutes suddenly disappeared. “I mean, if you-”

“No! Shush!” They exclaimed. “I don’t want to hear anything about it, just pretend that never happened.” They handed me their bottle, well, almost like throwing it to me, in fact. “Here, drink that!” I looked at the label on the bottle, Schneider Weisse Tap 6.

“Let’s play something, hmm, what do people usually play during this kind of party?”

“I don’t know, you’re the party people.” There was a sweet malty aroma when I tried to smell it, you know what, fuck it, I took a gulp of the wheat beer, it was… mostly interesting, it left behind a quite sour aftertaste. “This was nice Fran.” I stood up from my chair, and gave the bottle back at them.

“The price was nice too.” They chugged down the bottle again. “Truth or dare! Yeah! How about that? Wait, no, that would be a bad idea.” They sat down in their bed, erratically rubbing their eyes, before stood up again shortly afterwards.

"You know what will cheer things up?” They staggered to the T.V. table, turning on their laptop that I didn’t even realize was there. “Some good music!"

"Oh, I didn't know that you're into music."

They pouted. "Just because I'm not wearing earphones all the time, doesn't mean I don't have any musical taste, Wilhelm."

I grinned. “So, do you have any CDs or something?”

“CDs?” They blew a raspberry at me. “Please Erik, mp3s are the way to go now.” They said as they tinkering their laptop, and by tinkering, I meant tried to put in the sound jack of the nearby speaker into the correct hole.

“Let me help you with that.” I moved forward to take over the duty. “You sure it’s okay to play this at night?”

“Nah, it’ll be fine.” They slurred those lines, before they slipped away, crouching on the kitchen counter drawer again, and they returned with two bottles of different alcoholic drinks.

“Now, now.” They forcefully thrust those bottles at me, I struggled to keep a firm grasp as they both almost fell straight into the floor, they were face deep in their laptop, probably picking “party” songs.

"I welcome you to the greatest shindig the world has ever conceived!" They shouted at the top of their lungs.

My heart jumped when I heard a sudden loud noise coming from the speakers.

It's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up.
It's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up.
It's dare.
…

Ugh.

That was the seventh time I vomited on their toilet, which meant there went all of my dinner, as I flushed it away, I immediately went to the washstand near the toilet to wash up my face, and then I picked another tissue to wipe out my mouth, I picked another one to cleaned up my glasses.

I stepped outside of their bathroom, struggling to keep up my balance, at least the headache wasn't as bad,or so I told myself.

When I put on my glasses, I could see Fran, wiggling their body left and right in some kind of improvised zigzagging dance move, singing, or at least attempted to, sing along to the song.

"And if the double decker buuuus, crashes intoo uuuuuus, to die by your side issucha heavenly way todieeeee, and if the tenton truuuck, killed the both ofuuuus, to die by your siiiiide, well the pleasure, the privilege ismineee...
O there is a light that never goes out there is a light that never go s out, there is a light that never goes out there is a light that never goes out thereis a na nan na na na na, na na na na nana na na na, nanana na nana nana hum hum hum hm hm hmhmhm-aah!"

In a flash, they slipped on a bottle of Killepitsch that we drank a while ago, they writhed in pain as I went down to help them.

“Oh, you’re back already…” They staggered while they tried to stand upright. “How are you, feeling better already?”

Before I could answer, I felt that same queasiness again and something was rising fast in my throat, I rushed back into their bathroom, and vomited again on their toilet.

O lord, why hast thou forsaken us?

They followed me to the bathroom. “There, there.” They softly whispered, patting my right shoulder. “Still feeling sick, huh?”

“The headache wasn’t as bad, at least.” I tried to smiled reassuringly.

“How’s your heart?”

“My heart?” I put my hand on my left chest. “It’s fine… I guess?”

"There's no palpitations in your heart or something like that right?"

"What?" I double and triple checked on it. “I don’t think so…?”

“Oh wait, you’re not… oh yeah, sorry, I’ve mistaken you for someone else.”

I almost said “You’re drunk.” And then I remembered that yeah, we were drunk.

I soared into the sink near the kitchen counter, gargled some water before drinking straight from it.

This has got to be the best water I had in my entire life.

“Here.” They offered me a glass of… something. “Have some orange juice.”

“Thanks.” I took the glass from them, peering at its content. “You sure this isn’t another shandy?”

“No, of course not.” As I drank it, I noticed another full glass at the counter. “Oh yeah, that’s my shandy.”

I almost spat it out, but then I realized that I would make things messy and that I don’t live inside a comedy flick. So, I slowly put down their half-empty glass of shandy and picked up my glass of orange juice, in which I drank it all in a whiz.

I noticed that they were boiling some water in their kettle. “What’s that for?” I pointed at the steaming kettle.

“I’m making some latte, well not like those art lattes that you find at a café but it helps.”

“Sure, sure, thanks.” I sat on the chair near the dining table.

I reached down my pocket, looking for my phone, 23.37, I checked the time. Well, I was definitely screwed, I put down my head in my hands, trying to fight the lingering headache.

It wasn’t long before the kettle whistled, and I couldn’t even hear it clearly, mainly because of the blaring speaker, playing some rock song with a distinct riff about some guy walking in the park and constantly not knowing stuff.

I looked at Fran, they still searching something on their fridge, oh no, what kind of crazy drink are they gonna made next? I hope it wasn’t some kind of beer latte, or could it be that bacon vod- and it turned out that they were just looking for a box of milk. And they did just that, they pulled out a jar of instant coffee, poured some hot water into two separate cups, added some tablespoon of both the sugar and coffee, and then poured the milk, before stirring it together.

I’m actually quite amazed that they still able to pull off such feat while drunk, they must have done this a lot of time before.

“Here.” They handed a cup to me.

“Thanks.” It actually tasted quite good.

“It’s getting late, huh?” They said in between sipping. “You can crash here if you want.” They smirked. “Or you can sleep in the bath if you want.”


“No, I think I’ll go back.” I drank my latte in one big gulp, and then stood up, putting the cup on the sink. “With Ela in our tail like that, I think she
would probably get suspicious.”

“Well, great then. That was just a gesture of hospitality after all.” They chuckled. “Well, let’s get going, shall we?”

So I lit a fire
Isn't it good-

They abruptly turned off the speaker, and then opened their wardrobe, picking up a bomber jacket inside.

“Where are you going?”

They looked at me, bewildered. As if saying: “Are you stupid? Of course taking you home.” Oh wait, they actually did say that.

“Wait? Aren’t you drunk?”

“Well, a little bit woozy.” They said zipping their jacket. “But we’ll manage, you’ll see.”

“Are you out of your goddamn head? Drunk driving is dangerous!”

“Said someone who looks like he’s about to keel over and die.” They picked up a helmet from beneath their desk.

“Well, at least call me a cab or something.”

“Do you bring any money?” I checked the pockets on my jeans and on my chambray shirt. “I don’t think so.” They replied with a smug.

“Well, you could pay for it, I’ll change it next Monday.”

“Nope, gotta save every penny that I have.”

“For booze?”

“Well, that is one of my needs.” They embraced my shoulder. “Come on, don’t be such a worrywart! It’ll be fine. I’m a certified drunk driver!”
That didn’t sound reassuring at all.

They killed the light, and then locked the door, before promptly pushing me through the hallway. We passed room 201, where there was a loud rock music playing from inside.

“Wow, you’re right about playing loud music.”

They pressed the button on the lift. “Oh, that room? He’s literally playing in there.”

I listened closely, and sure, I might not be a music expert, but I could hear that they were fumbling and missing some notes here and there.

“He’s been training like that for months, saying that he’s going to play on the gala, wait, I think he said something about school contest.” The lift dinged, and opened its mouth. “At least he got better than last month.” As we stepped into the lift.

“You seem pretty close to this guy.” I pressed the button for the ground floor.

“Did I hear jealousy just now?” They smiled, mischievously. “Kidding, that was just Thom from St. D’s.”

Heh, they just indirectly answered my previous question. “He sounds like a pretty cool guy.”

“Well, I can arrange a date for you two if you want.” They giggled. “Just make sure to invite me to the orgy, okay?”

Turning a conversation awkward? Checked. Yep, even with their “kindness”, this person next to me was still Fran.

We stepped outside of the elevator, and then immediately headed outside into the parking lot, between the row of cars, there sat a lonely Zundapp.

“Meet Kristin!” They exclaimed, in a voice like they were introducing their five years old child or their beloved family dog.

“Well… she is pretty.” I slowly stroked the smooth surface of its gas tank.

“Did you just assume its gender?” They glared at me, before broke down into a stupid grin. “Let’s go, what are you waiting for?” They rode and slowly turned Kristin around, and then started its engine, I gently climbed onto the backseat.

“Hold tight! Don’t fall asleep, alright?” They slid it into gear one. “Are you ready for some night flight?!” They exclaimed like a maniac.
Before I could answer, they already mowed down the twistgrip, it jumped in return, almost made us fell, as it reached the streets, they gradually sped it up. There were we, drove like a demon, like a pair of escapees on the run. May god have mercy on those pedestrians.

I shouted to them to slow down, but I guess they didn’t listen, or they did listen. But they changed the gear and increased the speed anyway. There were no red lights on the way which usually should be a convenience, but it wasn’t on this case, because that meant they would accelerate at every green light that they’ve passed.

We rode past the cafés that I’ve passed on my walk. There were still a lot of people there, doing… things, I couldn’t observe them properly since we were moving at a speed that probably only god knew, well, god and Fran, I guess you could say that we were moving at GODSPEED, …maybe this would be my defense mechanism from now on, to came up with puns at a life-threatening situation. Their voice broke me from my daydreaming -or should I say nightdreaming?- as they shouted something again to me, I shouted “what?” in return, but I didn’t think that they could hear it.

After a few minutes of driving like a lunatic, they finally stopped, rightfully so at the front gate, I was just glad that I could stood on solid ground again, I thought that ride alone might have sobered me up.

“So?” They finally turned down the deafening noise of its machine. “How was it?”

“That was an experience that truly drew us closer to god.” I slumped, gasping for air.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” They said, taking off their helmet. “Will you be alright if I left you here?”

“Yeah, I think.” I glanced at the gate. “Do you think they have locked the gate?”

“Just try to open it I guess, if it’s locked, well… you’re gonna need to shout for the night guard.”

“What if they questioned me though?”

“Hmm, just say that it’s your condition or something like that.” They giggled. “There is around 80% chance that he’ll buy it.”

I sighed. “Well, thank you for the ride.”

“Heh, thank you for volunteering yourself to get yourself thrashed with me.” They slyly smiled “I’ll forward for our next date~”

I’d really hope that nobody heard that.

“You know, it’s a shame that Natalya and Natasha couldn’t come.”

“You mean Sofiya? You called her name twice.”

They laughed. “Oh, right. I guess that’s just the booze kicking back in.”

“You sure you’ll be alright?” I looked at them intently.

They put their helmet on. “Eh, don’t worry, I’ve been through worse.” They started Kristin. “Beside we made it in one piece, right?”

“Guess you’re right.”

"And just a tip, don't pull a John Bonham okay?" They pointed at me.

"A what?"

"I-uh, nevermind, just... make sure you get back safely."

“Yeah, you too.”

“See ya on Monday!”

A two fingers salute and before I could reply, they already set off, went rabid on the streets, with one continuous blazing sound. Even though I was worried about them, I was honestly more worried about the pedestrians.

I pushed the gate open; breathed a sigh of relief because it was unlocked, well, lucky me I suppose, or maybe there was an exception for Saturday night? The rule of this place was still fuzzy for me, probably because I was just a lowly new transfer student after all, well that. And probably because I was drunk.

This would definitely mess myself, I silently thought, staggering along the main pathway, putting my hands in my pocket because of the cold gust of night wind, my right hand pulled out my phone, two pairs of zeroes greeted me, well, no wonder.

As I slowly made my way to the dorms, I think I saw some other students along the way near the pathway, probably. If the screws in my brain still intact. Were they also partying? Probably. Were they had a good time? Probably? I wouldn’t know, but I did I enjoy myself back there, at least I know that for sure, it wasn’t that bad I guess, they were actually quite nice. Ugh, my head. I couldn’t imagine the repercussion of my action tonight. But it would be fine… I guess?

When I reached the hallway of male dorm building, I could slowly feel my body increasingly unsteady, my vision was blurred and increasingly grainy, the heady headache took over me, every joint in my body joined in to screamed in unison, I felt very tired I that I blacked out right after that.
---

A distant noise called me out from my dead dreamless sleep. It was my phone, sitting on the desk right beside my bed, vibrating through the wood, creating a sound akin to that of a woodpecker, only more annoying.

I couldn’t find the strength but I felt obliged to answer it. So, I reached for the phone, luckily it was reachable within my arm length. I tried to look at the name, it was Ela. I froze up, did she catch me last night? The phone vibrated again, calling my attention. I guess there was only one way to find out.

Hoping for the best and embracing myself for the worst, I finally opened it. “Hey Erik! Are you awake?” Oh, it was just a text.

“I am now.” It took me two minutes just to properly typed that down.

The phone went silence, before it vibrated again in my palm.

“Awesome! Let’s hang out. Can I come over?”

“Yeah.” I haphazardly typed, anything to get her off my back, I guess.

The phone went silent again, yes. Finally, the peace, the tranquility, I stretched my back, and backsliding back to sleep. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, before opened them back up, staring into the ceiling. Huh? How strange, I could see the ceiling clearly, wait did I fell asleep with my glasses on? I touched my face. Yes, I did.

I sat back up on the edge of my bed, I could feel my entire body aching and dripping with sweat, I didn’t feel that nauseous compared to yesterday, but my throat was killing me, I needed to drink something, I was lucky that I have one of those sports water bottles that I brought every day on school, still three-quarter full on my studying desk. When I stood up and made my way there, I stumbled across my disheveled bed cover on the floor, along with my jeans, chambray shirt, and underpants… wait, my underpants? I observed the floor of my dorm and saw a trail of clothes, started with my shoes adjacent to the door and ended with my underwear near the foot of my bed.

Looking down at my body, I noticed that I was wearing nothing but socks on my feet. So that what happened after I blacked out, I sat on my desk chair, I guess I went with the more “freeing” option this time, eh? I chuckled. I picked out that bottle from my desk, and drank it all in 5 gulps. Much better now, even though the headache was still going strong, I guess I should sleep again, this was weekend after all, slacking off was an obligation.

I staggered and put my glasses on the desk beside my bed, I stretched myself, and then I dropped myself to bed, whoops, I squashed my phone in the process, I picked it up, and just held it in my hand, as golden slumbers filled my eyes, I drifted back to sleep…

…Until I heard a faint sound of footsteps, and someone knocked on the door.

“Erik! I’m coming in!”

Ela turned my door handle, entered my room, carrying a heavy looking shopping bag.

So there I was lying prone. Wearing just socks and a phone.

Ela heaved an audible gasp as her other hand covered her mouth.

I just looked at her dumbfoundedly, because apparently it took me eight long seconds for my brain to really process the weight of this situation, as I immediately snatched my bed cover from the floor in a last-ditch attempt to cover my body.

Silence ensued; this one was more than awkward. She just stood there, fixed me with her unwavering bewildered stare. I couldn’t find any words, they all overdue. Her lips quivered, probably trying to comprehend this hullabaloo.

After clearing her throat, she finally managed to utter something.

"Ah, Erik..." Was the only words that she muttered.

[amadeuuus]

Behind the scenes, commentaries, and extra stuffs:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mPSAU ... osC-E5iHMH