Hidden In Plain Sight

Fallen from Heaven

Sadie took another sip of cheap white wine as she was quietly finishing her makeup in Alyssa's student apartment. The four girls of her class were hanging out together and were getting ready for an impromptu Christmas party that evening. All of the exams were finished, classes ended early that afternoon and everyone was excited for the holiday season between semesters.

A Christmas playlist was blaring in the corner, tended to by Aimee occasionally who mourned the fact that she had no DJ decks to create a proper mini pre-party with. Alyssa was blowdrying her long curls and Ruthie had finished lacing up her boots.

"Your dress is fucking amazing!" Ruthie complimented her. "Where did you get it?"

"Thanks! Online! I got my grandmother to put in the slit, etc! It was basic when I bought it but I knew she could do a little magic on it!" Sadie giggled as she applied her setting powder.

"It's gorgeous. I'm so jealous of your figure."

"Stop. You are gorgeous. You all are!"

"We're a bunch of dolls!" Aimee laughed. "Are the other years invited tonight too?"

"I believe so." Alyssa finished her hair. "I hope Erik from Year Three is going..."

"The cute sound designer? If he goes, we can set you up with him!" Aimee grinned.

"Sssh!" Alyssa blushed. "We'll see what happens!"

"We'll get you the shift, girl!"

"I heard Professor Goore is going!" The mention of his name made Sadie's tummy flip.

"What do you think he'll wear? Oh, I bet he'll have a cheesy Christmas jumper!" The three other girls started giggling. "Maybe he'll wear a Santa hat? Professor Goore in festive swag! Maybe he'll go all out and be this big Christmas nut we didn’t know he was?"

"Or maybe he's too cool for all that and he'll just sit there and have a beer?" Sadie chimed in. She didn't know if Mary was into Christmas or not but she was looking forward to finding out.

"He'd be an adorable elf with his funny pointy ears! And Patryck definitely has to be all about Christmas! He has that big Santa Claus energy!" The girls giggled and put the finishing touches on their hair and makeup before taking a group selfie and heading out the door.

The bar wasn't far from the college and student apartments. It was a brisk ten-minute walk to it in the cold and Sadie's tummy was still full of butterflies in anticipation of seeing Mary. Her head was buzzing slightly from the cheap wine and the fact that she was hungry did not help. "Will there be food here?"

"Yes. But if not, we can always get a pizza across the street!"

"Isn't that Goore's car?" Aimee asked.

"Yeah!"

"What's it like? You didn't tell us a whole lot about that time he brought you home!"

"Not much to tell!" Sadie fibbed. "He has a funny sparkly skull on his rearview mirror, look!" Anything to deflect attention away from me and him... They walked next to it and they peered in giggling.

"He does! Ha ha! That's so funny! How random! Look, he's got CDs, how old school!"

"Ssssh! Come on, it's too cold to be standing here! Let's go in!" Sadie couldn't wait another minute to see the man she was secretly sleeping with.

The girls pushed into the noisy bar. The warmth greeted them immediately and the sounds of Christmas music and the excited chatter of a full house surrounded them. It wasn't just students and lecturers that were there, the bar was a popular spot for locals too.