Page 23 of In Between Darkness
“You’re sex on legs, Nala. He would fancy you in a bloody bin bag!” I encourage. “Plus, something tells me he’s going to care a lot more about what’s going on underneath your clothes,” I playfully remark, and she giggles.
“But seriously, which one?” she questions me while holding up two dresses, one short and black with a bow on the front and the other a dark green tight-fitted bodycon dress. I compare the two for a minute before replying.
“Definitely the black one. The green one looks like you’re trying too hard,” I reply simply and start looking through my wardrobe.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking… thanks, roomie.”
Dresses aren’t really my thing. I shuffle through my clothes hanging up and pull out a red cropped top that accentuates my cleavage and a pair of black leather-look skinny jeans. This will do. I slide the top over my breasts and check them in the mirror.
“You look amazing!” Nala compliments me with bright eyes. “Woah, where have you been hiding those?” She looks at my chest and giggles.
“Is it too much?” I look down at my outfit.
“No, River’s gonna love it!” she replies.
But I wasn’t thinking about River.
I put on some last-minute blush and some red lipstick. I like to smudge a little, so it isn’t so bright. My fingers toy with my curls and plump up their volume as I examine my reflection. I do look nice, though I couldn’t hide the dark bruise around my eye though, so I guess it’s just joining me tonight. I do my best at styling my hair so the curls partly hide the bruise.
The door knocks twice.
“Ooooo, that’s Charlie!” Nala shouts and runs to the door.
Before she opens it, she turns to me. “How do I look?”
“Like you’re gonna get some tonight!” I smirk at her, and she opens the door.
“Wow! You look beautiful,” Charlie says, gesturing at Nala, making her blush. He smiles in my direction and nods his head in greeting. “You guys ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m right behind you, just need to grab my bag,” I lie as they walk out the door arm in arm. I quickly stoop underneath my bed and grab Ryder’s hoodie. Can’t forget to bring this. I drape it over my arm and run to catch up with the lovebirds. It’s almost ten p.m. now.
The corridor is quiet. We sneak our way down to the second courtyard, which wasn’t hard. Charlie knew a shortcut down the stairs at the end of Solaris Hall. It’s big and empty. Nala looks at me concerned.
“Are you sure he said to come here?”
I look around and shrug my shoulders.
“I’m sure he did,” I reply, but it seems awfully quiet for a party.
A voice emerges from behind one of the viewing benches.
“Ahhh, glad you could make it!” River smirks as he ushers us to come to where he is. “Follow me.” I sigh a small breath of relief. He’s here.
He leads us past the third row of benches and pauses. “This is where the magic happens.” He gestures towards the bench and lifts a wooden hatch that is almost invisible to the naked eye. The thump of bass fills our eardrums, and a steep staircase beckons us.
“Come on.” River grabs my wrist and leads the way.
The stairs are narrow and steep. The floors are stone brick like the castle walls, and the sound of bass vibrates through me, drawing louder and louder with every step. River is still holding on to my wrist, occasionally looking back at me to make sure I am finding the steep stairs okay. We make it to the bottom, and he leans close to me.
“Red looks good on you,” he smirks, clearly looking at my cleavage. I feel my cheeks tint, and a slight chuckle escapes my lips.
“Thanks,” I say simply, looking around the room.
So, these are the archives. It’s huge. A room the size of the castle looms before me. There are old bookcases scattered unevenly around the area, like everything had been uprooted long ago and then left in a hurry. I wonder if I can find out more about my mother down here. There has got to be something in one of these books. I scan around the room, but it’s hard to focus when there is a sea of third years blocking the shelves. They are staggering all over the place. It’s not hard to single out the ones who are wasted; they are stumbling and slurring their words,hanging off each other like monkeys on branches. River wasn’t joking when he said the liquor was lethal.
“Come on, let’s get you a drink,” River says as he leads me through the crowds to a long stone table at the far end of the room.
On top of the table, there are three large bowls filled with different coloured neon liquids, all with ladles dunked in them. The rest of the table is filled with metal chalices that look older than me. River takes three chalices and fills them with the liquid from the second bowl. He adds three ladles full of orange liquor to each cup, then hands them out. One to Nala, one to Charlie and then to me.
