Stranger's Spell

Chapter 3

"Let's get coffee," I smile at her, panting trying to catch my breath. My words returns her infectious smile. She takes us to Neil's coffee shop which is right across the street from the lecture halls. We make it back to the dorms two hours later. I found out a lot about Ida. She is very outgoing but ended up being nothing like those obnoxious people in the class earlier. Her major is Film. She loves movies and wants to direct them when she graduates. The only reason she is taking the class we were just in is because the college required her to take it. I'm glad they did because I would've never met her otherwise. I call my mom which goes straight to voicemail. That's odd. Usually she answers when I call her. I call her again and she answers on the last ring.

"Valerie, how are you?" she's laughing then shushes the person on the other side of the phone.

"I'm good.. Mom is this a bad time to call you?" I ask her because she obviously is in the middle of something else. It's only eleven there so she can't be drunk.

"No no no, you are fine. Is there a reason you called? I thought you would of called later tonight," okay I change my mind, she's definitely drunk.

"I made a friend today and my first class went well." I lie a little about the friend part.

"That's great sweetie," she says then I hear more giggling.

"I'll let you go, mom."

"Okay, bye! Love you," before I can even say it back she hangs up. I put my phone down and decide to head down to Ida's room. I hate being social but I'm forcing myself to do this. I cannot live down here for the rest of the year with no friends. Once I arrive I knock on the door and she answers right away.

"Hey Val!" she brings me into a hug and then pulls me into her room. She's a hugger. I found that at the coffee shop when she hugged at least three people she knew. I sit on the chair at her desk. Her room is filled with pictures of her and other people probably from her home town. She is from Sacramento, California.One picture has her and this girl laughing so hard that some type of liquid is coming out of their noses. It might be alcohol. I wonder what made them laugh so hard. She notices me looking around and then grabs a instant camera (one of those cameras that instantly prints the photo and you have to wait for it to develop which seems like ages), She comes over and takes a picture of us unexpectedly.

"Hey I wasn't even smiling!" I cry. I stand up and walk over to her to see what the picture looks like. She pulls it away and starts to laugh so hard tears are running down her face. I take that as a sign that I look psycho. She shows it to me and then I start laughing so hard I can't breathe. We both have to take a few minutes to calm down from the laughing attack.

"This one is going on my wall," she walks over to her drawer and pulls out a mini clothes pin. She clamps the pin with the photo to the hanging twine with all of her other pictures.

"There we go," she takes a step back and looks at it, "perfect." she starts to giggle again but then stops. "What brought you down here to my room, Val?"

It's not a hard question, yet I'm find it difficult to answer. Do I tell her that I didn't have any friends when I was younger? That I'm looking for a friend. Or do I make up a lie and say I was bored?

"I was bored and decided to see if you were too." I end up going with the lie. I can't tell her yet. She might think I'm strange. Maybe I won't have to tell her. Hopefully it will never come up in conversation. Until then I will avoid any questions of my past. We hang out for awhile and I get to know her more. I finally feel like I have a friend. She might not be a close friend but it still is nice to have someone to talk to. Calling my mom all the time will eventually become annoying. It's time I start fresh and have fun while living here.

It's finally the weekend. Classes flew by this week. They aren't as hard as I expected. Then again I study every piece of material the professors give me. As time advances closer to the field trip I find it harder to contain my excitement. I've already mapped out what pieces of artwork I want to see. Ida invited me to this group outing tonight with some of her friends. Not the obnoxious people. Thank God. Once I arrive back to the dorms I head upstairs to change my outfit. She did not inform me where we were going but told me to put on something a little more ... flashy. I slide into a pair of black skinny jeans and throw on a tank top with sequins on it. While rummaging through the bottom on the closet I manage to find a pair of black wedges. I slip into them and then check my image in the mirror. My hair goes up in a ponytail. I dabble on some eyeshadow and line my lips with some lipstick. A knock sounds at my door. I run over to get it. Ida is standing there looking fierce as hell. Her poofy hair is now tamed back while she is rocking a black t-shirt and a jean skirt. For her shoes, she has on the highest black stilettos I have ever seen.

"Ready to go?" she questions. Ida smirks knowing that I'm itching to ask where our destination is tonight. She knows I don't like surprises. I nod then grab my keys and phone. I pray that I don't lose them tonight. We walk down the flight of stairs because the elevator is broken. On our way down we pass a group of guys that start cat-whistling at the both of us. Then they start yelling compliments. Ida and I start to laugh once we our on the main floor and out the doors. I highly doubt any of those were for me but it's still nice to think that. We catch an uber to this rundown building about twenty minutes south of our dorms.

Once we step out I can already hear the pulsing music coming from inside the building. As we round the building I notice the long line that is starting to form. I assume that we are going to stand in line for about an hour but Ida keeps walking. I start to freak out. I'm not looking to get into a fight anytime soon. Make that ever. We reach the front and I read the name, Cielo, across the top of the entrance. I keep anticipating for that moment when someone yells at us to get back in line. But that moment never comes. The bouncer smiles at Ida. He unlatches the red velvet rope and allows us to slither in passing all the people anxiously waiting.

The electrifying sound of Retro music pounds in my ear. I can't seem to comprehend my thoughts. There is a big group of bodies swaying together to the beat of the song in the middle of the room. I follow Ida to a table off to the side where she has to yell to introduce me to her friends. I don't really get their names so I just nod and smile. They all begin chatting amongst themselves while I'm stuck sitting there bouncing to the beat. Music was my outlet as a kid. I would always turn to it if things went downhill. This guy in black pants and a purple shirt with the club name on it shows up with a tray of shots. Does this guy know that he is serving underaged people? He disappears as quick he appeared before. Ida stands up with two shots in her hand.

"Take this," she yells while smiling, forcing it towards me.

"No thanks, I don't drink," I give her a weak smile back. She shrugs her shoulders and downs both of them. Within the next moment I feel her hand around my wrist pulling me towards the dance floor. I let loose and decide to dance the night away.