C4

THE PARTY

When we returned from the cafeteria Flavia started to take off her clothes without caring that I was present. She was literally naked. I walked over to my closet and looked for something comfortable to wear.

“ What do you think will happen at the party? “ she asks me. I feel her nearby, she was walking towards the closet of the pair that was hers.

“ I don't know," I answer. I chose a short flowered dress.

“ You're not wearing that, are you? “ she says. I look at her with a frown and don't understand anything.

“ What's wrong with it?

“ The dress looks more like something to go to a beach, don't you have something sexy around here? “ She comes closer and checks my clothes, choosing some suitable dress to go to the big Elder's party.

“ No, I'll feel more comfortable in my dress," I take it off and close my closet. Maybe I was a little rough when I took it off but I didn't want to wear anything sexy that would attract men's attention, they would be morbid and that's the last thing I want.

“ It's okay," she replies, apparently she was offended.

I took a deep breath and let the air out of my mouth.

“ I'm sorry," I looked at her apologetically, "I don't like to dress sexy.

“ It's okay, Amara, you must have your reasons," she pulls out an outfit from her closet and puts it on my bed. Panties, a black top and a short skirt that fits close to the body.

“ Nice," I tell her, as I take off my clothes.

“ Today when you came to the cafeteria you were very shocked, did something happen? I didn't want to ask you in front of Mell because I don't know her well.

I don't know you well either, I almost answered, but that would be two rude things to her today. Flavia puts on her panties and then her outfit. It fits her very well because it clings perfectly to her body.

“ I saw Elder William having sex with a girl in some kind of cellar," I confessed. I was really planning to keep it to myself but I realized there was nothing to be gained by doing so. Elder didn't ask me to keep it a secret.

“ What? “ This school is full of many surprises," she asks in astonishment, putting on a pair of high heels.

I put on my flowered dress and black converse. I was very comfortable and felt very good like this.

“ And did he see you? “ she asks me.

I remembered Elder's gaze on me, piercing and dark, but I shook my head to get that strange thought away from me.

“ No, I was too busy in the act," I picked up my cell phone and looked at the time. The party was on.

“ I'll comb my hair and we'll go, okay?

I nodded to Flavia and went to the window. It was night now and I couldn't see beyond the forest. It looked dark and it was even a little foggy. It was a bit chilly to tell the truth. The door was knocked at that moment and, as Flavia was nearby, she opened it.

It was Mell.

“ Are you ready? “ she asks. Mell was wearing only blue jeans, white tennis shoes and a black jacket.

“ I don't know what's wrong with these girls today," Flavia mutters to herself, picking up her cell phone.

Maybe she said that because we had no fashion sense.

“ We're ready," I approached them.

Mell hesitated whether or not to say anything to us, until she spoke up:

“ No matter what happens, stay close to me, okay?

Flavia and I gave each other a confused look.

“ All right," I agreed, "we won't do it.

“ Well, let's go.

We left the room and followed Mell. Down the halls were several boys and girls ready for Elder's party. I guess the ones who were on vacation had come back just for that. What was so special about that party and why did they respect Elder so much? I didn't understand, he was just another kid in the crowd. The fact that he had money didn't make him respectable, I'd like to see if he would still be praised if he didn't have any.

We walked down the same stairs I had walked down just a few hours before and headed for a door. It was the door that was sealed. I unconsciously looked over to where Elder had stood hours before.

Mell knocks three times slowly and seconds later it is opened. A big, burly guy comes out.

“ Hank," Mell speaks.

Hank gives us a head” to” toe look and then motions for us to come in. Behind us come more students. Mell takes us by the hand and leads us inside. As soon as we entered the super loud music blared everywhere. The lighting was red and there was smoke too. There were many, many people here. I was surprised because this was a clandestine place that I imagine Elder had taken as his own. The place was very huge and even looked like a nightclub. It had a stage where there were pipes to dance on, and then semi” naked strippers started to appear. There were cages in every corner with a girl in her underwear inside. The music was more or less metallic and dark. I don't know but this gave me a very bad vibe.

I squeezed Mell's hand with some distrust. The girl led us to a bar to have a drink.

“ What are you going to order! “ Flavia and I asked over the music.

“ Tequila," said Flavia.

“ Water," I answer.

Flavia laughs as she pats my shoulder.

“ Two tequilas and a water! “ says Mell to the barman.

The boy nods and goes to get what we ordered.

I took the opportunity to observe the place. The walls were strange as they were not flat but had dents, but dents that seemed to be made from the outside. There were some strange symbols on some walls, I noticed a sculpture of a huge wolf at the other end. It was a black wolf and quite imposing.

“ There's Elder," Mell tells me.

I look around until I find him. He's in a corner surrounded by women, wearing black dress pants, black sneakers and a white dress shirt, but it had most of the buttons loose. His hair was half messed up and he was drinking while kissing a blonde girl's neck.

In the afternoon I saw him with another girl and now he was with another. Elder is going to catch some kind of disease one of these days.

“ Let's go dancing! “ says Flavia to me.

I shake my head as I hold on to the bar.

“ No, no," I tell her.

“ I'm going! “ Mell takes her by the hand and leads her away.

“ Here's your water," the waiter puts my water bottle in front of me and I don't hesitate to open it and take a sip.

“ Well, well, look who we have here," Elder stands next to me.

No way.

I swallow and look at him.

“ You're brave to come into the lion's den," he continues.

“ I didn't know this place was exclusive," I reply, letting him know I wasn't afraid of him.

“ It is. Not just anyone comes in here.

“ Wow," I mutter, "what's so important about it? To be honest, I've seen much better places and they're located in a good place," I looked him in the eye, challenging him, when he said that last word.

Elder smiled sideways as his eyes started to darken. I don't know if it was the lighting making me see things but I literally saw them get darker than normal. That gave me a little bit of a scare.

“ I've always said that this place is in a good location," he commented, "It's hidden, no one but those who have an invitation can enter, and of course, those we consider prey.

“ Today is a full moon! “ A guy climbs on the stage and starts shouting with a bottle of alcohol in his hand, "Today there is a full moon! “ There were two strippers there and they came up to dance with him. The shout of celebration of those present was not long in coming.

What was the problem with a full moon? He couldn't understand.

“ Are you going to stay for the banquet? “ he asks me, drinking some of the girls' tequila.

I didn't answer, I just looked at him without knowing what to say. I don't know why but I had a feeling that he and Mell had made a lot of advances today and that had me anxious and a little paranoid.

Elder winks at me and then leaves and gets lost in a four. I'm sure he'll do the same thing he did in the afternoon. I drank my water while I waited for the girls.

“

I was alone, bored and dazed. It had been a long time already and I felt more than bored. I was sleepy and just wanted to be quiet. I removed myself from the bar where I had been all this time and made my way through the crowd to look for Flavia and Mell.

I found Flavia, but... she was busy. She was in a corner making out with.... a girl. And they were indeed kissing passionately. I didn't know Flavia was... bisexual, I don't know. Anyway, I didn't want to bother her and I looked for Mell. She was with a guy.

“ Mell!

Mell saw me, a little surprised.

“ Amara, where is Flavia? “ she asks me.

I point behind me. She grabs my hand and drags me to Flavia.

“ Flavia! “ she says.

Flavia doesn't listen, then Mell roughly pulls her away from the girl.

“ What? “ she replies.

At that the lights go out completely, all the lights go out and we are left in darkness but with music.

“ It's time to eat! “ someone exclaims. My heart was beating a mile a minute because I didn't understand what was going on.

“ Run! “ Mell takes us running to who knows where. I could only hear grunts, howls and screams from the people present. The lights were flickering so I couldn't see anything. However, when he stayed for a second I noticed something.

It's a wolf! A huge wolf!

And the light went out again.

Flavia, Mell and I, as well as most of us present, fled from the beasts that had invaded Elder William's party without knowing that, our dear friend Mell, had literally led us into the lion's den.