Post by GalaxiaD on Aug 16, 2011 14:59:00 GMT -5
Chapter 9: Life is a Party
The six of us headed back to Kyle's pad to celebrate our victory over the beast. The citizens of Sunny Falls could once again rest easy. But at what cost? The beast had claimed six reported lives, and its large, toothy grin burned into my brain. Despite all the denial I professed over the beast's existance, it was real all along. What else was real that I had once doubted? Everything that I once thought I knew could very well be wrong, I pondered. A myriad of questions buzzed around wildly in my mind. Regardless, I tried my best to forget about it as we walked through the front door of Kyle's house. A few drinks would surely help ease my mind.
"Here we are, gentlecocks," Kyle boasted. "The Policastro bachelor pad." And what a bachelor pad it was. Wood paneling covered the walls, and a leopard-skin rug rested neatly upon a white, shaggy carpet. A fireplace could be found at the rear of the room, and his sofa folded out into a makeshift bed. It looked just like a typical swinger's room from the 70's.
"Ah, I never get tired of this place," said Xavier, as he crashed on the sofa. The rest of us followed suit, plopping ourselves down on whatever furniture was available. We were all exhausted from our confrontation with the beast.
"You just make yourselves comfortable. I'm gonna hook us up with some drinks," said Kyle, as he headed towards his minibar. "What does everybody want?"
"Smirnoff Ice," I said. "And bring me a shot glass."
"Coming right up," said Kyle. "Anyone else?"
"Dos Equis on the rocks," said Xavier.
"Captain Morgan," said Josh.
"Sake," said Drew.
"Coke, no ice," said Coty.
"Got it," said Kyle. Kyle went to pouring our drinks, then poured himself a glass of Rolling Rock and joined us in the living room. He handed us all our drinks, which we thanked him for. I didn't hesitate getting to work on mine. I took the cap off the bottle of Smirnoff Ice, poured it into my shot glass, and immediately downed it. The familiar burning sensation that comes with vodka soon overtook my throat, but I just shook it off. I prepared to pour another one until Kyle interrupted.
"I hereby call a toast," he said. "To the demise of the beast, and a new era of peace and tranquility." We all reached in our glasses and gently tapped them together. The Young Detectives Guild had solved the mystery of the mysterious deaths and brought the culprit to justice. Now, it was time to get our drinks on. I downed shot after shot of the Smirnoff Ice, to which Xavier took notice.
"Slow down, dude," he warned. "You're gonna get blitzed at this rate." Too late. My vision was already starting to get blurry, and I barely made out what he said. Nevertheless, I continued to down more shots of vodka. By the sixth shot, my face was red, and a big smile overtook my face. My vision was incredibly blurry now. I could somewhat make out everyone else enjoying their drinks, but I couldn't make out their faces or any other minute details. Only their outlines could be made out.
"...-rett..." I heard someone say. "Brett." A little louder and clearer this time. I tried to look over at the source of the sound, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Suddenly, an outline with dark skin popped into my field of vision. Given that Xavier was the only black person in our entire group, I figured it had to be him.
"Wha-... huh? Who... what're ya shellin'?" I slurred. I could hear faint laughter in the background.
"Du-... you're drun-..." I heard Xavier say. I'm drun? What does that mean? Then, I realized he was trying to tell me that I was drunk. How many shots did I take? And how much time had passed? I tried to lean in closer to speak with him, but I ended up falling over onto the floor. The laughter was louder and more distinct now. I was making a fool of myself. I felt two people lift up both of my arms and help me to my feet.
"We're go- home..." I heard one of them say. Home? I wasn't ready to go yet. It felt like I had just gotten there. Nevertheless, I felt one of them help me into a pickup truck and close the door. As I looked over, I saw what looked like a dark-skinned outline waving to a lighter-skinned one. Was Xavier taking me home? As I wondered that, I saw him walk towards the truck and head to the driver's side. As he opened the door to get in, I suddenly felt a wave of nausea overtake me. I began to feel incredibly sick, and could feel the alcohol sloshing around my insides. Xavier took notice of this, rolled down the passenger window, and tilted my head outside. When I couldn't hold it in anymore, I threw up what seemed like every shot of vodka I had taken that night. The worst part was that it burned as it came up, but it felt good to get it all off of my stomach. When I finished vomiting, I leaned back inside and let my head fall back into the headrest of the passenger seat.
"Feel better?" Xavier asked. I could make him out a little more clearly now. I looked over at him weakly and gave an apathetic nod. I just wanted to head home and crash. I could hear him laughing as he started up his truck and began to drive. I had embarrassed myself in front of all my friends, but I didn't care. I had a great time, and with the beast dead, all was right with the world... for now. Before long, a familiar looking house came into view as Xavier rolled up to it. My place of residence.
"Well, this is where you get off," he said. "Need any help?"
"Nah," I muttered. I figured I could save whatever pride I had left by making it to the door on my own. I opened the door and stumbled out onto the pavement. I would've fallen had Xavier's truck not had been there to hang on to.
"You sure?" Xavier asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I... I can... make it..." I slurred, as I once again headed for my door.
"Alright, man. See ya," Xavier said. With that, he started his truck back up and pulled out of the driveway. Meanwhile, I continued to stumble towards my door. When I finally made it, I fumbled around in my pocket for my keys. I couldn't make out which key was my house key, so I decided to try them all. Fortunately, it was the second key I tried, and I unlocked the door without much difficuly. Opening the door, I stumbled inside and closed the door behind me. Leaning against it, I made sure it was locked before I headed over to the couch. No way I was gonna risk walking upstairs to bed. Without a thought or even taking off any clothes, I crashed on the couch belly-first, so in case I vomited in my sleep, I wouldn't choke on it like Jimi Hendrix did. With a brief reflection on the night's events, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Brett is sure to have a nasty hangover by morning. But what else will await him tomorrow? Find out in the next chapter of "Smile"!