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A knock on my bedroom door causes me to pause my game. A second one is enough to get me to actually check the door. With a harsh swing I open the door, revealing my late-night visitor.
“Happy New Year!” My roommate blows a kazoo right into my face.
It takes a lot of tact for me to not slam the door in his face, but I'd rather not piss off the guy I'll be sharing a bathroom with for the next five months.
Nick hasn't bothered me much since the start of the year, outside of his guitar practice at all hours of the night and bringing a new girl over every other week.
“I know Nick,” I mumble. “Same day as last year.”
He chuckles at my weak joke, hitting my shoulder in response. Despite his playfulness, it really smarts—damn gator strength.
“Good one.” Nick flashes me a toothy grin, showing off rows of razor-sharp teeth and his pierced tongue.
I'd hate to see him get too close to a magnet with all those piercings and earrings he has. It looks like a stapler blew up in his face. He has those poser tribal tattoos that were cool in the aughts too; I can't imagine all the money he's spent to look like that.
He leans over my shoulder, ignoring my personal space, to peer into my bedroom.
“This is how you're celebrating the new year bro?”
I roll my eyes and do my best to block his view into my bedroom.
“I'm busy, Nick; I have a lot on my plate right now.”
He scoffs.
“Like what? Fighting the covenant for the hundredth time?”
Fuck, he saw that. Next time I need to move my monitor further away from the door.
Nick grips my shoulder, shaking me out of my scheming.
“Bro, live a little; it's New Year's Eve!” He reminds me as if that's all the assurance I need to break into jubilation. With a tug he pulls me out of my room and into the small living room.
“C'mon, man, I know a sorority that's throwing a party right now, and you're coming with me.”
A party? I've never been to one of those, not a real one anyways…
“I, I dunno, I'm not sure—”
“Not sure? It's a party Anon, not an exam.” He tries to reassure me. “Nobody's going to expect you to be taking notes.”
“I know that,” I huff. “It’s… complicated.”
“Oh,” Nick pauses for a second, taking on a less boisterous tone. “Is this about your ex?”
“Yeah,” I quietly admit. “I haven't… done something like this since Lucy.”
Not that long ago I felt like the king of the world with Lucy. But the more time we were apart the more we… drifted apart. By the time I saw her again for Christmas it was like meeting a complete stranger. I haven't talked to her since the holidays and I don't know if I ever will.
“That's rough, buddy.” My friend gives me a sympathetic nod. “Your first breakup is always your hardest, man. But by the third, it’s like water off a duck.”
“Uhh, thanks, I guess.” Don't think that's exactly the kind of advice I want to hear right now.
“Hey,” Nick pats my back. “You might even find that special girl.” He pauses for a second. “Or guy, if you're cool with that.”
My face prunes like a raisin at the thought of some “special” guy. I'm not that desperate.
“No thanks.” I blurt out.
Nick shrugs indifferently. “Don't knock it till you try it.”
Is he serious?
Is this how I find out he thinks I’m hot?
This has to be the strangest come-on I've ever experienced.
“C'mon, we're wasting time. If we sit around and talk anymore, we won't get there till next year.” He pulls me along like a sack of potatoes towards the doorway.
I follow along with little resistance; at this point Nick has made up his mind, and there's no point arguing about it. Might as well try to make something of tonight, I guess.
…
…
I hate it here.
My first real college party, and I hate everything about it. The music is loud and garish. I can feel it reverberate through my chest as it blares from the stereo.
Nick left me to fend for myself the moment we got to the sorority house, and I haven't seen anyone here I recognize. Nick and I don't exactly run in the same crowds so I don't what I expected but it wasn't this. It's also a little hard to tell which of them are dudes or girls in the dark, which only adds to my confusion.
I'm too stubborn to leave at this point, I've invested too much time to just give up. Instead of leaving I've been leaning against the wall furthest from the stereo system. The only thing I have to keep me busy is the drink in my hand. Nick gave it to me when we first got here; he downed his like it was water, but just a sip of it left my tongue feeling numb. No idea what's in this, but I doubt it's just alcohol.
I've been sipping on the dark liquid occasionally, hoping that I'd grow to like the way it tastes or at least tolerate it.
“ANON!”
I nearly spill my drink as my name is shouted into my ear. I whip to my left, afraid I've bothered some drunken partygoer, but it's just my roommate. He's looking a shade redder than usual, almost salmon; under his arm is an equally inebriated parasaur girl. At least I think it is a girl; it's hard to tell with most of their hair covering their face.
“This is Alex!” He shouts over the booming music.
Damn, was hoping the name would help me a little to solve the gender question. I raise my drink in response, not knowing what else to really do with that information.
“Wait, are you still on your first drink?” Nick points out my nearly full solo cup.
“Uh, yeah.” I admit feeling too intimidated to think of a lie on the spot. Nick frowns like it’s the most disappointing thing he’s heard all day.
“Oh, come on, Anon, drink.” He pats me on the back. “It’s New Year’s.”
“The drinks are free too,” Alex chirps in. “You can always get more.”
Wasn’t exactly worried about how much this would set me back, but her drunken concern is appreciated. Glancing into my cup, I see a liquid reflection of myself stare back at me. They are right, I've barely drunk any since getting here. Ah, what the hell, I’m going to feel like shit tomorrow regardless; might as well make it count. At Nick and Alex’s whooping approval, I swig the remainder of my drink in one go.
“That’s more like it, Anon.” Nick smiles, handing me his solo cup in return. “You can have the rest of mine, champ; you’ve earned it.”
I take the cup like it's a golden chalice with clammy hands. My head feels like it's circling the drain becoming submerged in the liquid I just drank. It feels fucking awful. Yet I somehow weirdly want to keep repeating.
“Alex and I are going upstairs. I hope you get lucky too Anon.” Alex's face flushes as they giggle into Nick's arm. The couple elope up the stairway swaying left and right at each step.
Really doubt that's going to happen. Especially now that the room is starting to float away. Oh God, why did I even come here? My stomach lurches with nausea as the bile grows in my throat. I need to find a place to lay down before I throw up everywhere and embarrass myself more than I have already.
Leaving my wallflower spot, I push through the throngs of dancing dinos in search of some place to lay down. Going up the stairs in my condition is a non-starter so I have to find something on the first floor. As someone's tail bumps into my stomach I nearly lose it all, but I do find my salvation: an old ruffled-up couch.
What looks to be a girl's top is sitting on it, but I don't care anymore; I just flop down like a sack of potatoes. The couch springs whine from the added weight as I sink into the cushions.
All I can do now is stare up at the ceiling as the room spins around me. God, what an awful night.
…
…
What feels like two daggers being stabbed into my eyes is what rouses me from my dreamless sleep. Don't remember falling asleep last night; the last thing I can think of was that spinning couch and then… nothing.
Opening my eyes I see that the sun outside the window is glaring down onto me like an angry god; shifting to my side causes my entire body to ache. My arms feel like they're being stretched thin while my legs burn like fire. While wallowing in pain on the bed, my few remaining brain cells start to activate. The bedsheets I'm wrapped in are purple, the same as the pillow. My sheets are grey.
This isn't my bed.
In a panic I throw the sheets off and make a second discovery: I'm not wearing any clothes. Fuck, fuck, fuck, what the hell happened last night? Did someone kidnap me? Am I kidnapped?
Leaning over the bed, I don't see my clothes on the floor or anywhere for that matter. Did my kidnapper take my clothes while I was asleep?
With some effort I push myself off the bed and look around the bedroom I find myself in. No clothes means I have to improvise; wrapping a blanket around myself like a beach towel to keep at least some of my dignity is the best I can do.
Looking out the window lets me know that I'm still at the university, in one of the dorm wings from the looks of it. No idea how I got from the sorority house to a dorm, but somehow I managed that much. The bedroom itself belongs to a girl, judging by the clothes. Normally I wouldn't look through someone's closet, but I can't help but be a little curious.
A small girl too, going by how big these overalls are. On the seat of the pants is the telltale hole and buttons for a dino to stick their tail through. My inspection is cut short by soft knocking on the door.
Shit, what do I do? Quickly I close the closet door and flop back onto the bed, doing my best to cover myself.
“Come in?” I call out to the knocking, steeling myself for whatever comes out of that door.
The door swings inwards, revealing a small cream-scaled girl carrying a tray of food in hand. Her purple feathered tail wags behind her.
“Oh, you’re awake.” She smiles, a bright toothy grin, as she steps closer. “You had me really worried last night, man.”
She lays the tray down across from me. The smell hits me first. It reminds me of going to Grandma's after church and how she always had something special for brunch in the oven. On the platter sit four blueberry muffins and a tall glass of orange juice.
“Is this all for me?” The girl giggles in response.
With effort, she pulls herself onto the bed as well, sitting next to my legs. Her tail brushes against my knee as it stretches out.
“I thought we could share.” She plucks one of the muffins from the platter. “How are you feeling?”
I shrug, feeling my shoulders strain under the simple motion.
“Like shit,” I grumble.
She frowns, unhappy with my answer. Without any warning, she places her hand across my forehead.
“You don't feel as hot as you did last night.” She runs her hand down to my cheek. “And the color has returned to your face.”
“Could you not touch me like that?” I push her hand away from my face. “I don't even know your name, and you're acting like my nurse.”
“I don't know your name either, buddy.”
“You should tell me your name first.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm sitting naked in a stranger's bed.”
“Your clothes are in the living room.” She motions behind her.
“Why did you take them off?” My face flushes as a reason comes to mind. “Did we—”
“No, no, you're not that impressive, blackout-drunk Romeo.” She laughs, taking another bite from her muffin. “You, uh, kind of threw up all over yourself.” Dainty fingers motion to my chest as she reveals my embarrassment from the previous night. “I had to peel off your clothes and take them to the wash downstairs.”
“Even the socks though?”
“I thought I might as well clean everything.” I’m treated to a shrug as the raptor girl looks nonplussed. “Not that you were in any shape to complain. You were out like a rock once you laid down.”
“How did I get here?”
She shrugs again.
“I don't know how you got here, but you woke me up last night banging on my door.”
My chest tightens from the cringe of the idea. Sweat immediately gathers on my palms as I wipe my brow from nerves.
“I don't remember doing that.”
“I didn't think you would; you were pretty out of it, kept mumbling under your breath.”
“What was I saying?”
“Kept asking for a fang, like you lost it; any idea what that means?”
“Uh, no.” I lie, quick to answer, too embarrassed to explain I was drunkenly calling out for my ex-girlfriend. “Must have been pretty out of it, like you said. What's your name again? You still haven't told me.” I shift the focus of conversation away from me and back to her.
“Sage.” She flashes her smile again. “And yours, my mystery guest?”
“Anon.”
“Anon.” Sage repeats, tasting the name on her tongue. “I don't know if it fits you; you look more like a ‘Kris’.”
“Well, I'm Anon. Sorry to disappoint" I take a sip of my orange juice. Then I pause. “This has pulp in it.” I frown, looking down into my drink.
“What are you, five?” Sage giggles, her tail flourishes behind her.
I can't help but smile a little in return. Fair point. Something about the way she looks at me makes me feel relaxed a little. Not as judgy as I thought it could have been. Could be the hangover, though.
“Where did you learn to make these?” I mumble with a mouth full of muffin.
“Here, I'm a culinary student.”
“Huh. You can go to college to make muffins?”
“Sure can, sweety.” She pats my knees. “I think they speak for themselves, don’t you think? What are you here for?”
“Sound engineer.”
That gets her attention. “What does a sound engineer do?” She tilts her head, confused.
“He, uh, engineers…sound.” My head hurts too much to explain my major.
“Wow, that sounds really interesting.” Sage sarcastically remarks.
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my head as I clear my throat. “Um, thanks, by the way. For helping me, you really didn't need to do that.”
“It wasn't anything.” My host waves her hand dismissively. “Not a big deal to help someone in need.”
“It was though,” I argue. “You made me breakfast in bed for Christ's sake.” I raise the last muffin from the tray to argue my point. Sage plucks it from my hands.
Their eyes flash behind their glasses. “Fine, it was… some effort. These muffins were easy, though getting you into that bed was the real challenge.” She mumbles under her breath.
“How did you?”
“I had to guide you by the hand into the dorm before someone called campus police, and then you threw up on yourself in the bathroom.”
Oh God. In their bathroom? Seriously? “Sorry.”
“It's okay. After taking your barf clothes off, I took you into here, and you sort of just...” She motions something falling over with her hands. “Crashed.”
“I don't know what to say.”
“Thanks, Sage, would be nice.”
“Thanks, Sage.”
“You’re welcome, Anon.” She smiles, clearly amused, while rubbing my leg. “You know you're kind of cute when you're not drunk and covered in vomit.”
Wait, what?
“Thanks?” I shrug, not sure exactly how to take the compliment. Sage smiles, taking the empty platter off the bed. She scootches closer to me, her tail resting on my stomach now.
“Feeling better?” She whispers.
“Yeah, those muffins were really good.” I sit up in the bed, feeling my back strain slightly. “I still feel sore though.”
“You will for a while. Feel free to sleep here.”
“Are you sure? I can go back to my dorm. I don't want to be a bother.”
Sage shakes her head.
“It's fine; I need to work in the living room anyway.” She pushes off the bed, walking back towards the door. “Rest Anon. It's the best thing you can do now. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Sure.” I nod like an idiot, causing her to smile back at me before she disappears behind the door.
With her gone I roll over to my shoulder. I know I just woke up, but she's right; I feel exhausted and can barely keep my head up now that she's gone. After a minute of rolling around I drift back to dreamless sleep.
…
After who knows how long, I stir awake again. I'm still in Sage's room; that's a good sign. I didn't travel in my sleep again. By my feet are my clothes from last night, folded up and clean. Stepping out of the bed, I change into the fresh clothes; they smell faintly of lavender.
“Hello? Sage?” I peek my head out of the bedroom and into the dorm's living room, looking for my good Samaritan. The dorm is an exact copy of mine and Nick's, down to the second bedroom next door. It seems whoever Sage's roommate has already left.
Along with Sage seemingly, I can't find her anywhere in the tiny dorm. The living room is empty, and no one's in the bathroom. Did she leave me here? It doesn't feel like something she would do but what do I know. For all I know she could just have been a vivid dream or some drunken hallucination. I mean how likely is it that a small raptor woman makes you muffins after waking up in her bed?
Well, on that note I guess I should leave then; Nick is probably worried about me not coming back from the party. Then again, he could be so hungover he hasn't noticed yet.
…
It takes a while to walk back to my dorm; most of that time was spent trying to figure out where I was. Damn university is set up like a garden maze.
I knock on my dorm's front door as I look through my pockets for my key. I swear to God if I lost anything last night Nick will never hear the end of it. My frantic searching is stopped short when I feel something unfamiliar in my left pocket. Tucked in my wallet is a folded-up note. Unfurling reveals a short message written in frilly cursive.
Call me soon Anon, There's more than muffins waiting.
Underneath that is a phone number.
“What you got there, bro?”
My face flushes as I look up to Nick red-handed with my note. How the hell could a guy so loud be so quiet?
“It's an, uh, note I got last night.” I quickly explain, stuffing the paper back into my pocket.
“Not the only thing you got last night, eh?” Nick flashes me a crooked grin.
“What are you talking about?” I frown, racking my mind for what he could mean.
“I'm talking about your face, Anon; do you not know?”
My face? I dig my phone out of my pocket and turn the camera on to see what the hell he's talking about.
Oh…. He's talking about that.
Across my face is a myriad of lipstick smudges left over from someone's fervent kissing. Each one the same vibrant purple color, the same color as Sage's lips.
Nick pats me on the back as I stare down into my camera in shock.
“Good going, man; told you you'd get lucky.”
“Yeah. ” I murmur, “I guess I did.”