A party gone south?!

Who would have thought that one day I was reflecting on how dull my life was and now I am in a bedroom alone with a playful beast-woman?!?! Well, if you are as shocked as I am; take a seat and I will explain how I ended up in this unconventional situation.

My story began when I went to meet my friends Erik and James to throw a party at the latter’s apartment. We agreed to meet at 10pm and spend the night there playing games, watching films and drinking: yeah, lots of drinking.

I was in charge of the food so I went to James' home carrying two bags filled with potato chips of different flavors and other snacks. I saw Erik already waiting for me at the front door; his long black hair is his main trait. He also was carrying two bags but in his case, they contained booze. We always leave him the drinks duty because he is our connoisseur of anything that has alcohol in it.

“Hey, Erick! What’s up? Did you bring enough for everybody?” I asked.

“Hi, dude! Don’t fret, bro. Have a look!” He answered showing the contents. Too many for me to count; a good sign.
“Awesome! Let’s get going, then.” I declared, right before ringing the buzzer.

James opened the door and… We found out that James shaved his head.
“What the heck, Jimmy? I barely recognized you.” “Yo dude, that’s hardcore!” we said almost in unison. Yep, it was the first time we have seen him with that look. “Yeah, I’m balding so I decided to check how I would look without hair. And also, it’s a nice way to start doing something new”. He commented.
And without further ado, we started the party: we watched bad movies, played video games, board games and cards too. Everything while indulging in cheap, unhealthy food and drowning it with more unhealthy drinks.

A couple of hours went by and James remembered something: “Hey, guys! I gotta show you the magic circle I had it printed.” Saying that, he went to his room and came out with a posterboard in his hands. Certainly, a magic circle was printed there in great detail with glyphs, a pentagram in the middle and different small circles dotting the big one. “I’ll use this to summon a sexy succubus; oh, yeah!” he added.

“C’mon, help me out with the preparations” James urged us. If it was just about showing the cool magic circle I wouldn’t mind. But keeping up with him to perform the ritual felt to me cringy as hell. I had to be quick to think about a way of weaseling out of it. Fortunately, I had some cigarettes in me so I claimed “Sorry, guys. I need a smoke”. I received a disapproval gaze from James. On the other hand, Erick mediated “No problem, James, bro. I’ll help you out”. Nice one, Erick! I thought to myself while I went on my way to the balcony.

It was a little chilly outside. No wonder, it was the first days of October. The street below was empty as expected with only the lit streetlamps making me company. I won’t gonna lie: the silence and the night breeze felt nice. I lit my cigarette and took my first drag. No need to be quick about this. Honestly I wasn’t feeling bad at Jimmy for slacking off (or leaving Erick alone with him for that matter) but I thought that James would resent me for this, so I grabbed a couple of beers on my way back to try to make up for it.

I already said that helping James out was cringe material and the aftermath scene that I witnessed was divine providence that that night I was to be disgusted one way or another. The living room was dimly illuminated by scented candles that were placed on the little circles that patterned the magic circles. Not just my vision and my smell (the candles smelled like cheap cologne) were attacked but also my hearing. Somewhere in the room a music sample of organ and generic choir vocals was playing on loop. Erick was chuckling at my bewildered face and Jimmy was sitting on an armchair looking dejected (and possibly ashamed of himself). “How about another drink, guys?” I said while giving the boys a can of beer each.

“Hey, hey, Xabier!” Jimmy abruptly called me. He asked “Can you please pick up those coins on the floor?” Erick laughed at the request. It seemed that at some point, James threw money at the magic circle. Erick quickly composed himself and addressed me “Yeah, dude. You ducked out of the ritual. At least help him with that, man.”

It couldn’t be helped, unfortunately; so I conceded. I looked around the floor and grabbed the coins little by little. I didn’t realize that I was stepping on the magic circle when James told me to throw the coins at him from there. Well, I didn’t mind. I did that and quickly enough and Erick bursted out laughing after saying “What a nice succubus you got there, James, my man!” James was also cackling. Damn, I fell for that.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny… How about growing up for a-aah-” I retorted and stopped myself to pretend I was immobilized. I don’t have any confidence in my acting skills so I expected that they would see through it easily. What happened then surprised me: they were in shock saying stuff like “What the hell’s going on?!” “Yo! I must record that!” “Quick! We need to stop the fire, Erick!” Fire?! I must step out of the circle, I thought. The funny thing (but not funny at the time) is that I was actually paralyzed. I could move my eyes though, and that I did. Indeed there were columns of blueish fire where the scented candles were and that fire was extending through the magical circle. It was a matter of time until the flames reached the center. I tried and tried to move my legs with no avail. Am I gonna die like this?! What a ludicrous way to depart from the living. I couldn’t do anything but close my eyes and embrace the burning heat that was hugging me from toe to head.

* * *

I was feeling dizzy. I didn't know how much the alcohol was to blame there. I have trouble focusing my vision. A sudden thought popped out in my mind: the blue flames engulfing me. I no longer felt the burn but it was best to check the damage.
The good news was that I wasn't wounded at all; the bad news was that my clothes took the toll. My underwear survived like it was made from the same material as The Incredible Funk's trousers.

To get my bearings, I needed to be on my feet so I did that. Fate was (or maybe it still is) a cruel mistress because after that I was frozen again! This time I even couldn’t move my gaze so I was only able to see up front. What my eyes met were a robbed figure and next to it a tall girl. A girl sporting a black and white tail and pointy animal ears of the same colors, though. Is she cosplaying? I thought at the time. The girl was excited, wagging her tail and seemingly talking to the robbed person while it was looking at me. I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Some time later (It was difficult to guess due to being paralyzed), fate decided that I could be annoyed a little more with another magic circle teleportation. Most likely the robbed figure placed it below my feet. Luckily, no flames engulfed me this time and it was smooth. That being said, I didn’t enjoy it at all.

The dizziness from before disappeared and I could look around this new area. I was in a room with a giant desk straight ahead. Turning my gaze sideways I could also see the same two people from earlier. The girl? wasn’t that excited now but her attitude was still like a child with a new toy. Regarding the robbed person, it was impossible to guess anything; nothing could be seen from beneath the hood.

“So… this is the one that Nessa summoned?”. A strong voice originated from the area of the giant desk. A giant horned face with glowing eyes leaned forward showing a grin filled with fangs. That surely was some nightmare material.

“Yes, it is, principal”. The robbed person answered.

“Can I keep it? Can I? Can I?” The girl asked while approaching me with curious eyes. Well… At that point, I no longer considered her as a human. My vision was blurry earlier but then I was able to tell that the girl called Nessa has a mix of black and white colored fur instead of naked skin. That being said, her proportions were woman-like.
“Don’t be rude, Nessa! You are in front of the principal. Have some respect.” The robbed fella retorted. “Should we dispose of him, principal?” They asked.

“No, thank you very much!” I blurted at that question because, of course, I don’t want to die. There was a momentary silence in the room, everyone surprised by my words.

“Hm… so you can understand us...” The principal said. After putting a little thought he resumed: “Well, here’s what we are going to do: Nessa will start teaching the human magic until it is able to join your class, Professor.” “That means I won’t have to attend classes, will I?” She asked. The principal said in return “Absolutely not! You will be teaching it after school”. Nessa was a little disappointed but quickly regained her carefree nature.

“I forgot to address an important matter”, said the principal. “What should we call you, human?” He added. I thought that it wouldn’t be wise to tell them my real name. Instead, I told them my nickname, so they will know me as Reivax. Yes, it’s my first name read backwards; you can laugh at me for my originality. After that, the professor used magic to dress me in the school uniform and we were sent off to the dorms. My summoning caused a commotion in class and they decided to call it off.