PSYCHOSAPIEN

18

The party was a-poppin'.

Music pumped and thumped. Loud. Fast. Deafening. Vibrating the windows. Shaking the floor. Lights flashed and strobed. Bright blue light flashing, stabbing, blinding. A sea of people dancing. Grinding. Cheering, jumping, spilling beer and spraying sweat.

Sten, Ellie and Robin huddled together in a corner of the kitchen. Next to a huge plate of stuffed olives that somebody had thoughtfully brought along.

"This is so dumb," said Ellie. "The last thing I feel like doing right now is partying."

"At least the turn-out is pretty decent," said Sten.

Ellie shot him a dirty look.

"Not that I'm in a partying mood," he added quickly. "Too depressed. You know, because of Chuck's untimely demise and everything."

"This is great!" said Robin. She stared around in wonderment, trying to take everything in at once. The music, the suggestive dancing, the flowing rivers of booze. "Is being a grown-up always this amazing!!?"

"Yeah, pretty much," said Sten.

"Unless you have a report due on Sunday," Ellie added. "Then it's time for a quiet night in your room with a cup of soothing chamomile tea."

"Ugh." Robin rolled her eyes. "That's so boring! I'm sick of being boring! I want to get out there and party!"

Sten grabbed the sleeve of her cardigan before she could run away and disappear into the gyrating throng.

"Not so fast, kid. I'm not sure how it happened, but for some strange reason I'm responsible for your wellbeing tonight. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you get trampled to death by a thousand dirty, beer-soaked feet."

"Aww." Robin made a sweet face. "You do care about me!"

Suddenly a huge shirtless frat guy ran into the kitchen, fell to his knees and vomited an enormous steaming pile of vomit directly at Ellie's feet. Robin stared in amazement as the frat guy got up, shook the vomit from the folds of his belly, let out a burp that shook the foundations of the house, and ran back towards the dance floor yelling "SPRING BREEEAAAAK!!!"

"Maybe this isn't the most appropriate place for a child," said Ellie.

Robin glared at Ellie, betrayed. "I thought we were besties!"

"We are!" said Ellie. "I just think maybe we should get you somewhere a little more age appropriate."

Five minutes later they were in Sten's room. Sten sat at the desk with the laptop open, surfing the web for any sign of the creature's whereabouts. Ellie and Robin sat side by side on the bed, sharing a giant tub of Super Fudgilicious ice cream.

"Wow, what a day," said Robin, scooping a big chocolatey spoonful of ice cream and putting it in her mouth. "First I got attacked by a freaky dinosaur-man. And now here I am, in a boy's bedroom." She grinned. "My parents would totally freak!"

Ellie laughed and took a mouthful of ice cream.

"So where do your parents think you are right now?"

Robin shrugged. "I told them I was hanging out at a friend's house."

"Nice." Ellie swallowed another chunk of frosty fudgilicious goo. "The old 'tell your parents you're staying at a friend's house' trick."

Robin looked at the floor.

"Don't know why they fell for it." Scoop. Munch. "I don't have any friends. I just told them I was staying at Melanie's house. I don't even know anyone called Melanie."