Amber didn’t know anyone at the party besides her friend Michelle, one of the three hosts. Michelle gave her a tour of their flat, starting from the front room with the view of the street, and leading back past the bedrooms to the kitchen and the back stairs.
The party was not exactly hopping, but it had an intense vibe of its own. People had formed groups of two or three in the corners of rooms, staring intently at each other, some of them talking in very low voices. Michelle hadn’t introduced Amber to anyone; maybe she didn’t want to interrupt any of these serious conversations. She took Amber back to the kitchen and made sure she could find the drinks and munchies. Then she disappeared, leaving Amber to sink or swim on her own.
Amber poured some petite sirah into a plastic cup and walked up the hallway toward the front of the house.
One of the bedroom doors opened, and a woman stepped out. She was pale-skinned and dark-haired, with sharp, fox-like facial features. She wore a fuzzy orange sweater and leopard-print yoga pants.
“Hi, I’m Janice,” the woman said. “Have you been in here yet? It’s the heart of the party!”
“Hi Janice, I’m Amber, I’m a friend of Michelle’s. No I haven’t been in there. Michelle skipped it as she showed me through the place.”
“That naughty girl. I’ll have to speak to her about that.” Janice chuckled. “It’s my room, and I put a lot of work into it. I want to show it off.” The room behind her was dark, with flickers and flashes of colored light. “Come on in, you have to see it!”
Janice took Amber by the hand and eagerly led her into the room. The light was dim, but there were a number of mirror balls dangling from spinning hangars on shelves, and colored spotlights shone on them, so that flecks of color whirled around the room. There was some sort of sound system playing dark ambient music.
“I call it ‘The Mind Room,” Janice said. She let go of Amber’s hand. “Have fun!” She slipped out of the room and gently closed the door after her.
That was weird. In fact, the whole situation was weird. The way the lights were moving made Amber feel like the room was spinnning. In two directions at once. There was something about the colors; were they changing as the lights moved around the room?This whole party was a washout, Amber thought. She should go. She didn’t know anyone. There was nothing to do but watch the lights move.
Watch the lights move.
Watch the lights move… .
Amber had been thinking it was time to go. No, she was watching the lights move. She had been thinking something a moment ago, what was it? She couldn’t remember, so she watched the lights move some more.
Watch the lights move.
The door opened a couple of times. Janice would lead a new person in and leave, or she would come in and take away someone who had been there a while.
Amber wasn’t really paying attention, though. She was watching the lights move.
She was really gone by the time Janice came for her and led her out of the room, back out past the kitchen to the back stairs, and up to the next flat up, where the real party was happening.
Ladyandthetrance 