A Party

When I woke up to the artificially generated sound of the alarm clock in my room, I found that there was a strange lady sitting in the living room. I first noticed her when I was walking out into the hall to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and stopped on the spot. She was wearing a fancy white dress or gown of sorts, a thin golden necklace, and vibrant red lipstick, paired with curls of soft hair all the way down to her shoulders. She also looked quite at home, sitting down at the central dining table, while she checked herself out in a small handheld mirror like she had all the time in the world. I wasn’t quite sure when she had arrived, but she must have been pretty quiet for me not to have heard her coming in.

Something like this wouldn’t have escaped my observation if I was still sleeping on the living room couch every night, but lately Martha seemed to have taken pity on me, so she went and got this inflatable mattress from one of the many stores in the mall. When I asked Martha why we couldn’t simply share the larger bed in her room, she just gave me a death stare and stopped talking to me for a while, so I decided to drop it and let her buy the air mattress. In the end, we decided on setting the mattress up in one of the rooms at the end of the hallway. Other than Martha’s room, there were only two rooms where I could sleep, with one being the closet where she kept all her clothes and the other being the room with the device called a ‘computer’. Martha said that it would be creepy if I slept next to her clothes, so we decided on the cramped computer room. Sleeping on the inflatable bed wasn’t quite as comfortable as Martha’s actual bed, but at least I was allowed human luxuries like air conditioning and pillows.

From the safety of the covered hallway, I peered back into the living room. Was the lady one of Martha’s friends? If so, where was Martha herself? Checking the door opposite me in the hallway, I found that it was half-opened. Cautiously pushing the door open with my right hand while keeping an eye on the woman in the living room, I looked into Martha’s room. The lights were turned on and the bedsheets were unfurled, meaning that Martha was obviously awake but for some reason not in her room. Maybe she had popped down to the convenience store down the street for snacks to greet her friend. After all, it was a pretty rare occurrence for Martha to have anyone over.

Turning my focus back to the woman, I figured that she couldn’t possibly be an enemy. I didn’t bother using the Detect spell, but I knew that she wasn’t hostile from the way that she was sitting. She was in a seated position, giving her a disadvantage in the case of a surprise attack, and she had way too many openings. No, this was just a regular person.

The real question was, why was she in the apartment? From what I knew, Martha’s inner friend group only really revolved around the three others from the Oasis, and I’d never seen Martha invite any of them over. Maybe she was an ally from my world, who wanted to give me some support? As I examined her seated form, I felt there was something about her that made me a bit self-conscious, like I shouldn’t be seen in such a disheveled shape. It was probably because I wasn’t used to greeting total strangers so sloppily, but also… I swallowed, feeling the inside of my chest swell a little. The lady herself was honestly fairly attractive, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of a pretty girl.

Quickly dashing over to the mirror on the wall, I ran my hand through my hair, setting it into a somewhat more presentable form. Then, slowly, I poked my head into the living room.

From the second I showed myself, the lady’s eyes were already on me. Awkwardly stepping forward, I raised my right hand, scratching the back of my neck with the other. “H-Hey. Good morning.”

“Good morning to you too.” She smiled at me, observing my every movement. I stiffly made my way over to the dining table, not really sure what my next move should be.

“Uh, do you want something to drink?” For all my confidence, I really didn’t have much experience being this polite to outsiders. I also wasn’t really familiar with being alone with girls, so this was a doubly-difficult situation for me.

The lady kept on staring at me, albeit now with a more amused expression. “Well, that’s awfully nice of you.”

Even as I grabbed a few glasses off the counter and filled them with water, I could still feel her eyes on my back, which didn’t help to make me feel any more comfortable. The lady’s eyes were full of something like anticipation, as if she was waiting for some kind of reaction from me. Was she someone that I knew after all? I racked my mind, but didn’t seem to recall anyone that looked like her from my old world.

Returning to the table with the two glasses of filled water, I haltingly placed them onto the table, before pushing one towards the lady. She took it, and I dragged out a small stool from underneath the table before shifting onto it. “Sorry, this is the best I can do for now. I don’t really know how to greet guests, but I’ll try to keep you company until Martha comes back.”

The lady’s eyes widened in surprise, and she leaned away from me a little, bewildered. “No way. You’re kidding me, right?”

“What?” I looked back at her with a jolt, equally surprised, trying my hardest to think of what could have merited such a look of awe from her. “D-Did I say something wrong?”

“You know, there has to be a limit on how dense a person can be!” The lady slammed her hands down on the table, rather aggressively. “Are you for real?”

I raised both of my palms, desperately trying to calm her down. “Sorry, who are you?”

“It’s me, you idiot!” The lady jabbed an index finger towards her, glaring at me. “Your beloved Martha Flores!”

“Huh? Wait, wait, what?” I froze on the spot, and for a while there was absolute silence. It took a few seconds for my mind to fully process that information, but then, it all flooded into me at once.

Flying straight up into the air, I shot a disbelieving look right at her. “You’re Martha?”

“Would it kill you not to look that surprised?” Martha fumed, stabbing a finger back at me in retaliation. “See, I was wondering why you were being so nice to me!”

“But, that’s not possible! Martha is, you know…” I helplessly waved my hand in her general direction. “There’s no way!”

With a scowl, Martha grabbed a pair of glasses off the table, sharply holding them up to her face for me to see. “There! Believe me now?”

“Oh. Oh wow, it really is you.” Tossing my arms onto the table, I buried my head in them, attempting to get my thoughts in order. “Sorry, but that was a lot to take in at once.”

“Jeez, I can’t believe you seriously couldn’t recognize me,” Martha huffed, face still a little red. Taking the little glasses off her face, she folded them and set them back on the table. “I’m wearing contacts today.”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why all the –” I gestured wildly at her to get my point across. “You know?”

“You…” Clenching her fists, Martha glowered at me. “Don’t tell me you forgot that too?”

“Huh? What?”

“It’s the dance today, Don! The one at the Oasis, that you promised to attend with me?” Giving a long, drawn-out sigh, Martha rubbed her forehead. “Honestly, what’s the point of even talking to you?”

“Ohh. That’s right.” I plopped back down on the stool, taking a long sip out of the glass. “Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, yeah, water under the bridge now,” Martha said, though I could still see traces of a pout on her face. “More importantly; how do I look?”

“Wha –” My voice caught, so I swallowed, coughed, and tried again. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what you think I mean. Look, I even put in the effort to style my hair.” Raising a lock of curly brown hair with her fingers, Martha lifted it up for me to see, before abruptly realizing something was wrong. Quickly averting her eyes, she now looked a little more abashed. “H-How is it?”

“I mean, from a purely objective standpoint –”

“I thought I already told you to quit it with the ‘purely objective standpoint’ thing,” Martha said while crossing her arms, apparently already over her embarrassment. “If you wanna say something, can’t you just say it from your heart?”

“Fine, fine.” I couldn’t help but feel a little flustered as my eyes quickly skimmed over her silky white dress. “I’d say that your outfit looks, um, well-suited for the occasion. In a good way, I guess.”

“And?” She leaned forward with her eager caramel eyes, egging me on. “How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t really feel like I have much of a choice,” I muttered. “Either I say I like it, or you beat me to death.”

“Just answer the question, wise guy.”

“I…” I took a breath and looked away, feeling my face redden again. “Yeah, I like it. I-It looks good on you.”

With a high-pitched squeal, Martha covered her face with her hands. “I knew it!”

“I mean, were you expecting a different answer?”

“Oh, just let me have this,” Martha said in a singsong tone, lightly slapping me on the arm across the table.

“Do you really have to make such a big deal out of some clothes?” I grumbled, still finding it a little hard to meet her eye. “Just some fabric and makeup.”

“By the way, shouldn’t you be getting dressed?” Martha dropped her arms. “You still have that suit from before?”

“Ah… yeah, that…” I answered apathetically. A week or so ago, Martha had forced me to come on one of her little shopping sprees at the mall, and she decided that I needed some ‘formal’ clothes for the dance. ‘Anything with less than the number 100 on the tag is acceptable’, Martha had told me. I didn’t have much fashion sense in the context of this world, but we ended up picking out a dark blue suit with thin stripes. Aesthetically it didn’t look too bad, but I was still accustomed to my loose magic caster robes, so something like this…

“Martha, do I have to?”

“I didn’t pay ninety-seven dollars and ninety-nine cents for nothing,” she said with a frown. “Now get into your suit.”

And so, after a few agonizing minutes, I managed to cram my body into the dreaded suit I had left lying around in the corner of the computer room. Inching over to Martha’s room, I used the full-length mirror to fix any bits that were still sticking out weird. I couldn’t move a damn muscle, but I had to reluctantly admit that I did look pretty damn snappy. I’m starting to see why those humans like this so much.

“Uh, I’m ready,” I called out from within the room.

“Come out, then,” Martha’s voice came from the living room, a little muffled by the closed door.

Tentatively creaking open the door, I slowly came into sight, unconsciously staring at the ground. I felt a little awkward again, and not just because of the suit’s idiotic tightness. “Well. Do I get a comment from you as well?”

“Oh!” Martha beamed, clapping her hands together. “Don’t you look handsome in these Earth clothes!”

“Stop acting like you’re my mother, it’s creepy,” I murmured, sticking my hands into my pockets. But I did have to concede that I felt a little happy hearing that from her. Man, I get flustered way too easily now. Martha and this stupid world are making me soft.

“Not bad at all, master,” Martha’s cat chuckled from the ground.

“What the hell?” Throwing myself across the room, I grabbed onto the corner of the dining room table with one hand, clutching my chest with the other. “I-Is that you, Kin?”

“You missed me?” Kin extended a claw from his furry paw, scratching the back of his neck.

“You stupid spirit! Damn near gave me a heart attack there!”

“Good to see you too,” he purred softly.

I shook my head, trying to clear my senses. “You can’t just appear like that all of a sudden! How long were you here for?”

“What, just before all the flirting, maybe?” Kin snickered.

Martha crouched over him, clearing her throat. “Kin, are you inside Chestnut?”

“Don’t sweat it, Martha. Remember, I was inside you as well,” Kin said with a smile, before breaking off. “No, wait, that came out wrong. Sorry.”

“Can I punt him?” A vein throbbed on the side of my temple. “Martha, I really want to punt him right now.”

“That’s Chestnut’s body,” she replied with a glare. “You punt him and I’ll punt you right back.”

“Well, like I was saying, the suit fits you.” Kin sat up on his hind legs, flashing me a toothy smile.

“You shut your snout,” I growled at him. “I’m not taking fashion advice from someone who doesn’t even wear clothes.”

“Just because I don’t wear ‘em doesn’t mean I can’t observe. I’ve seen a lot of sloppy dressers in my time,” Kin said, haughtily closing his eyes and trying his best to fold his paws. “Don’t worry, master, you’re in the clear.”

“Also, didn’t you say that the host only feels pain when the spirit possession is involuntary?” I scratched my chin. “Doesn’t that mean Martha’s cat is in constant crippling pain from asphyxiation right now?”

Kin raised the cat equivalent of an eyebrow. “What makes you think the possession is involuntary?”

“Well, I mean, it’s a cat.”

“I’m talking to the two of you right now, aren’t I?” Kin smiled. “Humans are just hairless apes with slightly more intelligence, so why wouldn’t I be able to communicate with a cat?”

“What, so Chestnut actually agreed to let you inside him?”

“Cats can be thrill-seekers too, you know.”

“Hold on, so you and Chestnut are actually friends?” Martha clasped her hands together, and I could practically see the sparkle in her eyes as she looked down at Kin. “Aww, that’s adorable!”

“There’s nothing to ‘Aww’ about this situation,” I said, sensing that Kin was basically thinking the same thing. Immediately following that statement, my stomach let out a long, empty growl. Rubbing it, I looked over to Martha. “None of your signature macaroni today?”

“Well, the dance doesn’t officially open up until noon,” Martha said, reaching up on her tiptoes and tugging her coat off the rack. “I was thinking that we could hang out in the mall before arriving, and maybe grab breakfast there. I don’t think you’ve tried the Italian restaurant there yet.”

“I guess that’s not such a bad idea.” Giving a large stretch, I tried to shake off my morning weariness.

Pausing at the door, Martha seemed to remember something, and began to dig around in her purse. “Hey, before I forget.”

“What is it?”

“Tickets to the Oasis dance, bought ‘em last night. If we didn’t have these, we wouldn’t even be able to attend.” Triumphantly emerging with two long pieces of pink paper, Martha stuck one out towards me, before frowning. “Come to think of it, didn’t I ask you to be in charge of buying these?”

“Oh, yeah…” Sheepishly plucking a ticket from Martha’s hand, I turned it around in my hands. “I guess this means I’m paying for breakfast?”

“Naturally.” With a smile, Martha pat me on the shoulder good-naturedly. “At least you catch on to some things quickly.”

###

It was already past noon by the time we finished breakfast, on account of my sleeping in. Kin had tagged along with us, after making an agreement with me not to cause any trouble. When I asked why he was so excited about it, he responded by saying how parties were always filled with the ‘good’ life force, whatever that meant. He zipped off to the Oasis on his own before we had finished eating, apparently unable to wait for us to finish. Since the mall was still a distance from the Oasis, by the time we finished eating and arrived there on foot, the party had long since begun.

The Oasis was filled with the sounds of festive partygoers, and was plastered from top to bottom with ridiculously garish Christmas ornaments. Banners, streamers and multi-colored balloons lined the ceiling, and it looked like the entirety of the Oasis’ restaurant area had been converted into a large open area, stocked with an assortment of foreign-looking snacks and food. It was already more than I could take in, and this was just looking from the front door.

Martha and I made our way to the back of the line, which seemed to be leading up to some sort of makeshift check-in counter. “This place is looking pretty packed. Wasn’t this party supposed to exclusively be for staff members?”

“That was supposed to be the case, but this year’s party is a couple’s dance, if you’ve forgotten. As long as one person in the couple works here, they’re allowed to bring their partners in from anywhere else.” Martha tapped her chin. “That’s also probably why there seems to be so much more people here this year. What a sneaky business plan.”

The line finally reached us, and a cheerful-looking woman beamed up at us. “You two got your tickets?”

“Yeah.” Handing the tickets in, I watched as the woman stamped a little hole in both of them before handing them back. After giving Martha’s ticket back to her, I stuffed mine into my pocket.

“Well then, enjoy yourselves!”

Stepping past the counter, we were able to make our way into the party, at long last. I immediately started to head for the food, but found that Martha was still just standing there with a rather solemn expression. Backtracking, I stopped in front of her. “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that.” Taking a deep breath, Martha looked extremely gratified. “I just can’t believe that I’m really standing here right now. Here, at the Oasis’ Christmas party.”

Looking down at her, I felt somewhat like a proud parent, when something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. Quickly grabbing it off a nearby table, I passed the statue of the rotund old man over to Martha. “Isn’t this one of the useless Christmas things you bought for this party?”

“Yeah, it is.” Running her fingers over it, Martha stared at the statue in contemplation. “And to think, I’d actually be able to see it at the party for myself.”

“I mean, you managed to stand up to Marissa and Floyd all by yourself, so I’d say you deserve it.”

“Aw, you’re giving me too much credit. If it weren’t for you, I’d never even have been able to gather the courage.” Martha glanced up from the side, smiling warmly at me. “Actually, I kind of just stood there. You did most of it yourself.”

“Hmm, that’s right. I did, didn’t I?” Closing my eyes, I flashed the most obnoxious smirk I could muster. “Man, am I generous or what? I’m such a saint.”

“Don’t get cocky, now.” Martha silenced me by stuffing some kind of sweet chewy skewer down my throat.

After I finished my coughing fit, we filled our disposable paper plates with all sorts of unhealthy foods, but after wandering around for a while we found that we didn’t recognize anyone in the indoor area.

“Maybe they didn’t come?” Stuffing myself with a handful of chips, I looked around with a frown. “But I was sure at least one of them would have bothered arriving.”

Martha pointed to the back door, where the afternoon light was filtering through the embedded windows. “They might not be in here, but they could be outside. The yard in the back is still part of the party.”

Cracking open one of the doors, I was momentarily stunned as my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. Before I could fully orient myself, I heard a familiar voice calling out to us.

“Hey, guys! Over here!” Chris yelled. Squinting my eyes, I could make out his tan body waving out to us from a foldable table in the distance. Rubbing my head to get rid of my mild headache, I followed Martha over to where he was sitting. Chris also cheerily got up, pulling a second guy that I didn’t recognize out of his chair, somewhat against his will.

“Look who’s here! It’s Martha and her not-boyfriend!” Chris chuckled, meeting us in the open grass between his table and the door. But after observing Martha and I for a second, he frowned and scratched his chin. “Although… did something happen? Seems like you may have graduated from the ‘not-boyfriend’ role, Don.”

“Well…” I actually didn’t really know the answer to that question, so I quickly shot a sideways glance to Martha for help, but was met with a similarly puzzled expression. “Uh, it’s a little complicated.”

“Hey, the important thing is that you two are here. Especially you, Martha. It might be a rare occasion, but I’m glad you could make it this year.” Looking her up and down, Chris nodded his head in approval. “And might I say, you look as beautiful as ever.”

“Aw, Chris! Isn’t that sweet of you!” Martha bounced a little on the spot in delight, before stopping suddenly and shooting me a dirty look. “See, why don’t you ever say things like that?”

“Why don’t you ever stop begging for validation?” I retorted, before noticing the dark-haired guy silently hanging around Chris. “By the way, who’s this guy?”

The gaunt-looking man was shuffled forward by Chris, though he didn’t really look like he wanted to be the center of attention. Our eyes met, but before he could open his mouth, Martha let out a gasp.

“Markus, is that you?” She clapped her hands together. “I almost didn’t see you there! How have you been?”

“I’ve seen better days,” the man cracked a smile, scratching his head. “Nice to be back here, though.”

“I believe you’ve never met. Markus, this is Don. Don, Markus. He’s the member of group four that you replaced –” Reaching down, Chris ruffled Markus’ hair with a grin. “And, also, my boyfriend.”

“Knock it off,” Markus muttered, shaking Chris’ arm off his shoulders before looking back to me, extending his arm. “Sorry ‘bout that. Nice to meet you, Don.”

“Yeah, likewise.” He doesn’t look like he has much energy to begin with, I thought as I shook it. Wonder how he handles having Chris around him all day.

“You don’t seem like too bad a guy,” Markus finally said with a nod, and he released my hand. “If nothing else, at least I can leave this extrovert-fest knowing that my spot is in good hands.”

Chris tipped his plastic cup to his lips, emptying the crimson-colored contents. “Ah, I’m out. Markus, could you be a lifesaver and go help get me a refill?”

“Why not do it yourself?” Markus said with a sigh, but snatched the cup out of Chris’ hands nonetheless, making his way back indoors. As soon as Markus had left our line of sight, Chris quickly hurried over to me.

“What is it?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Martha’s not the only person I have good news for, big guy,” Chris smirked.

My interest was piqued, so I turned my attention over to him. “What do you have for me?”

“You still got that magic crystal of yours?”

Reaching into the folds of my suit, I peeked the crystal out from underneath. “Right here.”

“Remember how I said I’d hook it up to my solar panels?” Chris flashed me a satisfied smile. “It took a bit of work, but the battery attached to the solar panels in my garage has been storing up energy for quite some time now. It’s probably ready to give your crystal that final boost.”

My eyes widened. “No way. You mean it’s ready?”

“All things considered; it should be!” Chris said as he shook my shoulder enthusiastically. “If you want, we can head over to my garage as soon as this party is over.”

“Hey, what’s going on? I heard all the noise and came over.” While I was processing the good news, another recognizable voice had pierced through all the clamor. “Oh, Don! Martha! Took you guys long enough! Chris and I have been waiting for you to show up!”

Turning, I was met with Connor’s beaming face, as he amiably wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “What’s up, Don? Looking sharp.”

“Not looking too shabby yourself,” I said, returning the smile.

“I see you arrived here with Martha,” he smirked, waggling his eyebrows. “You finally snagged yourself the princess?”

“Please,” I scoffed. “If anything, she was the one who practically begged me to –”

Martha cut me off mid-sentence via the use of a vicious chop to the neck, before turning back to Connor with a warm smile. “Connor, where’s your partner? Off getting snacks?”

Connor’s eyes widened, and he released me from his grasp. “Yeah, where is she?” Turning around, he searched around in the crowd for a few seconds, before surfacing with a thin wrist clutched within his hand. “Hey, are you really planning on hiding yourself for the whole party?”

“C-Conner, I don’t think –”

“Just hurry up and get out here!” With a light tug, Connor pulled the petite figure out from behind the safety of the partygoers.

Jasmine emerged into our sight, self-consciously tucking her arms close to her tight-fitting one-piece. Her hair was released from its usual ponytail and was allowed to flow freely down to the black fabric of her dress, while her eyes darted from person to person, as if not knowing where to look. Angling her flushed face towards the ground, she managed to utter a single word. “H-Hey.”

“Jasmine! You look so pretty!” Martha gushed, placing her hands on Jasmine’s shoulders. Jasmine didn’t give a verbal response, and was only able to give Martha a little nod.

Meanwhile, Chris was doing a very poor job of concealing his grin. “Jasmine, did you… come here with Connor? If so, doesn’t that mean –”

“Wait! Wait. It loses the dramatic effect if you’re the one saying it, Chris.” Connor held out a palm to command Chris to stop, before turning back to the abashed Jasmine. “Do you want me to do the honors?”

Jasmine pushed Connor’s shoulder. “Just get it over with.”

“Yeah. So, it’s exactly what you think.” In that moment, Connor couldn’t look any prouder of himself. “Jasmine and I are dating.”

“Jasmine, he’s not making this up?” Martha looked like she could barely contain her excitement, though I couldn’t understand why they were getting so worked up about this.

In return to Martha’s inquiry, Jasmine gave another, even smaller nod. With a whoop, Martha wrapped herself around Jasmine in a hug, while Connor and Chris exchanged a silent handshake of manly approval.

Then, giving a happy sigh, Martha pulled herself away from Jasmine, whose face was somehow even redder than before. “Was anyone actually surprised, though? I always thought it was just a matter of time before the two of you got together.”

“Huh?” That sentence seemed to strike a nerve in Connor, and he turned to Chris, his cheeks tinged red. “Hey, it wasn’t that obvious, was it?”

Chris nodded gravely. “No, it was absolutely that obvious.”

As Connor clutched his head and let out a wail of disgrace, my eyes made contact with Jasmine’s. I didn’t have much to say, so I just gave her a knowing smirk. “Good job.”

For a second, Jasmine seemed to forget all her embarrassment, and she returned the smirk. “Yeah. Thanks for the tip.”

At that moment, Markus returned with two plastic cups of juice filled to the brim. “Oh, looks like everyone’s here.”

“Well, we’re not going to spend this whole party standing, are we?” Chris jabbed his thumb back at the table with a grin. “We should probably take a seat before some other group swoops in and grabs it.”

Rushing back to the table, we sat down, laid down our snacks, and that was that. For the next couple of hours all we did was sit there and chat, occasionally getting up for more food or bathroom breaks, but that was it. In that time, we talked about mundane, trivial things, really accomplishing nothing at all. A few months ago, I would have described such an experience as a ‘total waste of time’, but for some reason… I actually found myself enjoying it. It didn’t matter to me that we sat virtually motionless for who knows how long, chatting about things that would probably be forgotten in a week’s time. Maybe it was because of how Chris had told me that the Manalite crystal was ready to be fired up, but it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders. In a startlingly novel experience, I realized that I didn’t have to worry about magic, or bounty hunters, or lightning rods. I was free to just talk and laugh with everyone else, almost like I was a real person living in this world.

Is this… what friendship is like?

Finally, after the sky had turned from bright to a softer hue, the large electrical lights that were set up outside changed color, from a warm yellow to a soothing blue. In the middle of the backyard, a large stage-like structure had been constructed out of cheap wood, while a set of large speakers and a microphone had been set up on top of the stage. The same time the lights changed color, the large speakers began to play a comforting tune, and I looked around in confusion. “What’s happening?”

“Looks like the ‘dance’ part of the dance party is finally coming into the spotlight,” Martha said, taking a bite out of her pizza slice.

Below the temporary wooden stage, a large slab of sorts had been laid out above the damp grass, creating a patch of hard ground in the backyard. People were beginning to get up from their seats, shuffling onto the slab.

“And, what’s that? What are they doing?”

“That, my friend, is what we call a dance floor.” Standing up straight, Chris gave a long stretch, and tapped Markus on the shoulder. “Speaking of which, shall we, my good sir?”

“Please don’t talk like that,” Markus muttered, getting up and following Chris down to the slab. “Nobody talks like that.”

Seeing the two of them depart, Connor nudged Jasmine with his shoulder. “In that case, may I escort you to the premises, ‘my fair lady’?”

“Knock yourself out, Scarecrow Boy.” With a smile, Jasmine extended her hand, and they too disappeared into the crowd of partygoers. Soon enough, Martha and I were the only ones still sitting at the table.

As the two of us watched the constantly moving mass of people moving to the sound of the music, neither of us really said a word. Periodically grabbing a snack or two off my plate and munching on it in thought, I noticed Martha start to make slight fidgeting motions off to the side. When I turned my head to ask her about it, she quickly looked away and started sipping from her cup, to which I gave a frown. Okay, I may be dense, but I’m not a complete idiot.

Clearing my throat, I looked over to where she was sitting. “Martha?”

Giving a jolt, Martha’s fist tightened around her dress. “W-What is it, Don?”

“You… want to dance together, don’t you?” With a sigh, I glanced off into the softly undulating crowd above the dance floor. “Honestly, given how the others already went off on their own, I probably should have asked you sooner.”

“Oh, um, it doesn’t have to be in a romantic way!” Martha filled in hastily with a nervous chuckle, waving her hands in front of her. “Just sort of as a ritual, I guess. Right? I mean, it would be a shame to finally attend the Christmas dance without actually dancing, you know? But, we don’t –”

“You don’t have to justify it.” Raising a hand, I stopped Martha’s anxious outburst. “After all, I’m the one who asked you, right? Something like this is the least I can do to repay your generosity from these past few months.”

This seemed help Martha calm herself down a little, and her tense fidgeting died down. “Thanks, Don. I know it might seem trivial, but… it means a lot to me.”

“Don’t worry about it. But, you’re going to have to teach me how. Because if I’m being honest with you,” I scratched my neck self-consciously, “I’ve never danced before, not even back in my old world.”

“Well, that makes us two for two,” Martha said with a happy smile, pulling me out of my seat. “Oh, well. I guess we’ll just have to figure something out.”

Right as we were making our way over, the delicate music playing from the speakers faded away, just in time for a new song to begin. All around us, people in high spirits moved to the sound of the soothing notes without a care in the world. And, for the first time… I was allowed to be one of those people.

With some difficulty, Martha and I shuffled our way past a few couples into a relatively free area. The people surrounding us were all moving in different directions, and it was a bit disorienting for me. Nonetheless, I focused myself and looked into Martha’s eyes. “So, how do we begin?”

“Um, for starters…” Glancing around, Martha observed some of the more experienced dancers. Then, with a little blush on her face, she raised both palms. “W-Why don’t you put your hands here?”

“If that’s what you say.” With a smile, I lifted both of my arms, opening my palms to match hers. As our hands drew closer, Martha returned the same slightly flustered smile.

But just before our fingers met, the harmonious song playing in the background stopped abruptly, and the harsh screech of feedback rang out from the speakers. Covering my ears, I turned my head to the source of the awful noise. There, standing above the wooden stage, a tall man stood with his hand above the microphone. In his other hand he held an assortment of differently colored unplugged wires, which was what probably caused the music to have been cut out so suddenly.

The crowd broke out into an array of muffled whispers and irritated sentences, but my eyes were on the tall man in front of the microphone. He was wearing a hooded jacket that obscured most of his body and face, but I could make out a powerful jawline. At the moment, the man had placed his fingers on top of the microphone again, and a second wave of screeching feedback echoed from the speakers. When he spoke, his voice came out in a deep, drawling tone. “Um, hello. This thing is working properly, right?”

Something seemed off in my mind, though I couldn’t place what it was. But whatever it was, it placed my body in a more alert state. There’s something about his voice… Was it familiar, somehow? But from the extent that he had pulled his hood down to, I couldn’t make out anything more than his chin.

However, his actions seemed to tick off the confused crowd of partygoers, and a tirade of annoyed comments began to spout from the people below. “Hey, why’d you cut off the music?”

“What the hell are you doing, man?”

“Who are you? Get off the stage!”

“Woah, everyone just calm down for a second.” With a hearty chuckle, the man held a hand up for quiet. “I’m just popping by for a quick question.”

There it is again. As the man continued talking, I gave a little shudder. There’s just something about his voice that give me the chills.

“Don?” Martha glanced over at me with a concerned expression, but I held my index finger up to my mouth. Just be quiet for a moment. It’s probably the best course of action for us right now.

“Uh, what was it again?” The man droned, pinching the end of his zipper between two thick fingers, slowly unzipping the coat. “Sorry, everyone. I have a hard time in front of big crowds, so you’ll have to forgive me.”

“Just hurry up and get on with it!” A particularly angered voice yelled from the crowd, and this voice was backed by other murmurs of approval. “Stop wasting our time!”

“Sorry, sorry. Oh, that’s right! I remember now.” His fingers froze as the zipper reached the bottom of the coat, and he pulled the coat open. I still couldn’t see much of his body clearly, but the man had revealed an acutely muscular physique. Wrapping a fist around the pole of the microphone, he brought it all the way up to his lips.

“Ahem.” The man gave a wide, genial grin. “Uh, where is the man named Donnelius Conqaide?”