The Last Girl on Campus

Chapter 4

The cab took Cheyanne and I to a magical place known was Ybor (pronounced Ee-bor) City. This old 1890s industrial Cuban City used to be known for its cigars and cigar factories. Nowadays, instead of a cultural wonderland, it was the place where every college student spent their weekend if they didn't want to go to/couldn't find a house party. Of course, if you were like my roommates and I, you just preferred clubs over parties.

I held my tablet up to the cab window as we started slowing down on 7th Avenue, the only street that I'd ever been to in Ybor. Consisting of four night clubs and more bars than I could keep track of, there was no reason to wander off into uncharted territory. The palm trees on the sidewalks were lit up with Christmas lights. Above, spindles of white lights, which were there year round, stretched from one side of the crowded streets to the other. I had the cab driver drop me off where we were, since with the crowds I'd be making better time walking. I paid him, thanked him, shut the door to the cab, and looked at Cheyanne.

"This is gonna be so great! I can't wait to see what other people say," she said.

"I feel like we're going to end up all over the internet," I said.

"Oh please! These people are probably so drunk and high that they don't even know what's going on."

I laughed and proceeded down the crowded sidewalk of 7th Avenue. The streets were lined with scantily clad young people, along with the mix of older adults in their thirties and forties who wanted to make everyone else at the club feel awkward. The air was filled with cigarette and cigar smoke. Two girls dressed as what appeared to be sexy elves walked past me.

"Look, it's Christmas in Ybor!" Cheyanne said.

I looked ahead. Almost to Amp. Through the crowd, I could see the triangular, blue neon sign that said "Amphitheater" next to the yellow windows of the ancient building. I kept walking, then realized that the crowd was no longer moving. This was the line to get in. I showed it to Cheyanne.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"We're just gonna wait here until you get in."

"Do you think we'll make it?"

"If they're sticking to the old rules, then you should have until midnight."

The time above Cheyanne's head said it was ten-thirty. Hopefully I'd get in soon, because there was not a patient bone in my body to stand in line for that long. I listened as the booming music played inside the smoky club. The beat went all the way into my chest. Since the door wasn't too far up, I was able to get a glance inside. After burning down in a massive fire that resulted from trying to relocate the giant disco ball, Amp ended up in flames for over six hours. Between the fire damage and the massive amounts of water needed to put it out, the place that I enjoyed so much freshman year ended up with a collapsed roof and far greater damage than anyone could've imagined. No one ever thought that the owners would decide to rebuild it in that same spot, let alone get it done relatively quickly.

"It sounds just like the old days!" Cheyanne said, swaying back and forth to the beat on her bed. "Let's get this party started!"

"Yay! Let's wait in line!" I said, laughing.

Cheyanne fell backwards onto her bed. I looked around me at the staring passerbys. The guys standing behind me were waving to Cheyanne. I couldn't tell if they were drunk, high, or both. All I knew was that they were both named Dan and were highly intoxicated in some way.