The Tame (ON HOLD)

Of madness and catfights

      Give your all to me,
       I'll give my all to you,

Scores of hot, piercing, clear light lit every corner of the large dome. Sparkling and glittering balls of chandeliers dangled from every aspect of the arched ceiling. The amiable heat in the hall was only intensified by the energy emanating from the flock of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen as they tapped their expensively-clad feet in accordance to the slow but steady rhythm of John Legend sung by the cheerful band of singers twirling on the raised platform facing the hall.

Yet, the heat was once in a while interjected by the cool flow of air  slinking in from the tiny ducts of the air condition and the stingy, biting breeze that soared in from outside through the large coloured glass pane windows above.

  You're my end and my beginning

   Even when I lose I'm winning,

The  saccharine music bounced off the white walls and muted the background sounds of cutlery clashing against delicate silverware, champagne flutes clanking against each other in cheers, the barely audible whispers and innuendo of gossip-mongers aplenty, and the pit-patter of heels and pumps that tapped onto the porcelain terracotta tiles.

Personages from the paparazzi covertly weaved in and out of the throng in a bid to steal glimpses of the fashion trend people donned and to sneak information that was no business of theirs to mind. Women overtly eyed each other in admiration and wondered the price of labels purchased by who, and the escorts flaunted on their arms. Single busy bodies also trained their orbs and ears on people with the same status as themselves and to gain insight on who to flirt with, and who to not to.

At the entrance of the hall, the young valets seemed exhausted as the number of wheels kept multiplying and demands were heightened. Security personnel was on the alert for miscreants who took due advantage of such exuberant parties.

In an alley across the celebrating hall, two teenage hoodlums argued, their voices raised and high on who was to receive the most share of the stash they had managed to steal from a car dealer. The youngest of them, a thin muscled Japanese didn't see the club coming at him. He didn't have the time to duck before the old tennis bat hit him with force. Now unconscious on the floor, he didn't see his friend ransack him and take their hard earned money away.

Opposite the dark alley, a man stood huddled in an overcoat, eagerly dragging a long pull of cigarette, uncaring of the no smoking sign on it. He exhaled deep puffs of smoke that mingled with the thick white fog of the cold night. Inside his body, he grew warm but his heart and lungs were tainted a dark charred colour that stinged him once in a while.

Three friends walked hurriedly by, heads drawn together in a conspiracy of thoughts and words. They talked in hushed undertones about a particular man, who albeit was co-host of the party, had refused to leave his shell and had stayed in his suite, ignoring his mother's guests.

Inside the warm hall, a young girl now-turned woman stood hidden by a large leaf-green tapestry. Notwithstanding that she'd been trained extensively to mingle with such crowds, she always felt she never connected. Shyness was one trait which couldn't be wholly buried, no matter how much was taught to evade it. It always crept up in the shadows of a person's insecurities and latched unto doubts.

She placed a hand to the width underneath her neck absentmindedly as she usually did when nervous, to pull at her silver crucifix. The hand was let down in disappointment when her fingers were unable to grasp the said necklace. She'd been told off by her designer to not put it on tonight, as it was at odds with the dress made for the occasion.