The Lunatics 2: Push Tumble & Fall

The FareWell Party

DeaDorian always insisted it to be a Black-Tie affair, which made it interesting at Laurels.

The Orderlies were busy rearranging furniture to sit all the guests in the dining area, and the caterers were beginning to arrive. Fresh flowers of yellow, pink, red, and blue adorned every corner of Laurels.

The smell of the French cooking sauces found its way through the Laurels' corridors and all the way into my bedroom. Béchamel, Hollandaise, and Tomate; tonight, I would eat like royalty.

"Can I come in?" DeaDorian stood at my door.

"Sure," I said, and I was still in my towel.

"Why don't you put on some clothes, now don't you? It feels blatantly naked in here." He sat next to me.

He looked like some 1940s movie star in his white tux and his hair slicked back.

"The party doesn't start for another hour," I said. "Who are we debuting out of Laurels tonight?"

The FareWell Party had one sole purpose. It was the graduation event for the Intakes that were now well enough to go back into the real world. DeaDorian had treated them with Balance to bring them out of their Delirium, and it was time to set them free.

A formal party was the ideal way to reintroduce them back into society. They would never really be all the way normal, but I liked to think they were better than normal. Like I said before, beauty is in the breakdown.

But none of the guests would know the real reason for the event. For them, the FareWell Party was Laurels' annual benefit, and all the proceeds went to local homeless shelters. The attendees were anyone that could afford the starting bid price of $5000 per head to spend the evening at one of New Orleans' oldest mansions. People paid almost any price to see the inside of Laurels and experience a night set to 1940s Old Hollywood. It was the annual benefit no one wanted to miss. The fundraiser put on by the wealthy family that owned Laurels' Home for the Mentally Exhausted. DeaDorian Lunatix and his sweet sisters.

"I got you a bit of something," DeaDorian said and walked over to the closet. He slid the door open pulled out a long shimmery princess-cut gown.

"Oh," I stood up holding my towel in place. "That's just beautiful."

"I know you're not easy to shop for Myla, but I figured it's long enough that you can wear it with heels or with your combat boots. I got you a nice charcoal instead of black, let's give that a rest for some time, okay? You will be stunning tonight."

I hugged him. He pulled my hair back and kissed me on the forehead. He leaned his head against mine.

"I have something for you, too," I said. I took a piece of Loxi's red scarf and placed it in his jacket pocket. "I think your outfit is now complete."

"I think you're right," He put his hand on my heart. "You're the special one, don't ever let me tell you something different."

The dress was perfect. I zipped it up, and the shimmery charcoal color made my skin look twice as glossy. Instead of wearing my hair messy, I took cream to comb it back behind my ears. I used the glitter eyeshadow and painted my lips red. The only jewelry I wore was Loxi's Playboy Bunny stud earring on one ear, and a black stud on the other. No one would see my combat boots which peeked from under the dress every now and again, and I liked it better this way. Because when you are our kind, you have to be ready to run to somewhere or from someone at a moment's notice.

When I made it down the stairs, the string quartet was playing. They played classical and popular music all done in strings. Sometimes they'd played Mozart; other times they'd played Rip Reprint.