Cops and Assassins

Part 1: Talia

"Honestly, could you be any more of a nerd?"

Talia frowned into her textbook; she heard that line enough times that she didn't bother looking up from her reading, but she still couldn't help herself from reacting to it.

"Yes. Besides, Dez, you're way more of a nerd than I am."

"Normally, yes." As Dez spoke, he loudly opened and closed the cabinets in the kitchen as he searched them, most likely trying to make as much noise as possible. "But tonight is Halloween. Can't you put off studying for one night?"

"And I don't care," Talia said, mocking Dez's whining tone. "I have a midterm next Wednesday, so no, I can't."

"And you'll have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to study. I don't see what the problem is."

Talia grimaced into her textbook, as if glaring at the words she's been trying to understand for the past four minutes would magically absorb them into her brain.

"If I go out tonight, I'll be too hungover to study on Sunday," she explained methodically, her irritation making her voice slightly strained. "And if I can't study over the weekend, I won't know what questions I have to ask during Monday's office hours, and then I won't be able to study the answers to those questions on Tuesday because I won't have any."

"Such. A. Nerd," Dez not-so-subtly muttered as the clanging of pots and pans rang out through Talia's apartment like a drum solo from hell.

"I wish some of that nerdiness would transfer to me," Trinh, Talia's roommate, said as she joined them in the living room.

She was dressed as an astronaut, the same costume she's worn for every Halloween and costume party since freshman year. Of course, it wasn't anything close to a real spacesuit. Instead, it was just a white jumpsuit with various patches sewn on, matched with a pair of gray boots and a flimsy fishbowl helmet. It still must've been warm though, judging by how Trinh had the sleeves and legs rolled up to half the length, revealing her fair but toned limbs underneath.

"I'm glad it didn't," Dez replied. "Or I would definitely have no one to go out with to—" He emerged from the kitchen but stopped as soon as he saw Trinh's costume. "Are you serious? An astronaut, again?"

"I'm not an astronaut!" Trinh argued, unnecessarily defensive. "I'm a... Space Force guardian."

"It's an astronaut," Talia sighed as she set her textbook down. It wasn't like she was going to get any studying done with these two around.

"Okay, whatever, it's the same," Trinh admitted irately. "But let's be real — I only participate in this holiday for the drinks."

"Like you would need a holiday for a reason to drink," Dez pointed out.

He, unlike Trinh, always went all-out for Halloween and was planning his costume since the beginning of the semester. This year, he was a zombie doctor, complete with a torn and "bloodied" white coat, cracked fake glasses, a snapped stethoscope around his neck, and extremely realistic makeup. He even went through the effort of making a fake scalpel seemingly protrude from the side of his head, likely sacrificing some of his dark thick curls because of it.

"Anyway, where are all of your shot glasses?" he asked, crossing his arms impatiently. "I searched the entire kitchen."

"Uh..." Talia scanned the apartment from her seat at the dining table. "Try the bathroom under the sink."

Dez did, skeptically, and soon reemerged with a stack of shot glasses. "Do I want to know?"

"Even if you did, I couldn't tell you," Talia answered, standing up from her chair to stretch. "Think we ended up sleeping in the hall that night since the both of us couldn't get our keys to work."

"At least our drunk selves had the decency to wash them," Trinh said as Dez made his way back to the kitchen.

"And I'm washing them again for good measure!" he called back, then muttered loudly, "you disgusting animals."

Trinh shrugged and threw herself onto the couch, throwing and catching her beat-up astronaut helmet into the air as she did so.

"You really don't want to join us?" Trinh asked as she absentmindedly continued to toss the accessory. "We're going to a bar this time if that makes a difference, instead of one of those rowdy house parties. That United Notions place always has those cool theme nights."

Talia sighed as she picked up her textbook and went to sit in the armchair next to Trinh. "I don't know... I don't really feel like it. I mean, I know it's our senior year..."

At her words, Trinh caught the helmet with a loud smack and held onto it.

"Exactly," she said. "This is the last chance we'll get away with being dumb students. Might as well enjoy it now before you become some full-fledged, boring-ass historian, rotting away in a bunch of cobwebs with all of your books."

Talia frowned. "Says the aerospace engineer. Space can't be that exciting."

"Don't you dare bring space into this," Trinh warned, holding up her flimsy astronaut helmet as an empty threat.

"Then watch what you say about my books," Talia snapped back, raising her own textbook.

"Behave, kids!" Dez yelled from the kitchen. "Or I'm confiscating your textbook and helmet, respectively!"

With that, Talia and Trinh both lowered their weapons with bitter grimaces.

In the silence that followed, Talia sighed softly as slowly slouched down in her seat. Trinh was right. This was their senior year and Talia felt like she hadn't made the best of her college experience. Sure, they partied enough to last a lifetime or two, but Talia had expected... more.

She thought she would meet more people, learn a new hobby, or maybe go on a date with someone who didn't think she was... "crazy". Okay, maybe her standards were a little low, but between school and therapy, she never had much time for anything else — aside from partying, of course.

"You know what," Talia said as she sat up straight, suddenly inspired. "Fine. I'm doing this. I'll go."

"That's the spirit!" Trinh cheered as she jumped to her feet.

"Not so fast," Talia warned, holding up her hands as if they could hold back Trinh's enthusiasm. "I still need a costume though."

"One problem at a time. Dez! Pour an extra shot for Tal!"

"Already done," Dez replied as he emerged holding three generously-filled shot glasses.

Talia cringed as Dez handed her one of the glasses. "Is it too late to change my mind?"

"Quit whining, Talia," Dez scolded with a giddy grin. "Besides, only good things can happen when vodka's involved."

"Nah, I'm with Tal on this one," Trinh grumbled as she eyed her own shot warily. "And this is warm."

"What were you guys just talking about?" Dez smirked slyly. "'This is the last chance we'll get away with being dumb students'?" His grin grew even wider as he held out his own glass in between them. "Cheers! To... dumb students!"

"Cheers..."