Technicolor Daze [Currently Being Edited]

prologue.

A/N: The characters and the events narrated in this story are fictional, but the places mentioned are real places in Macau, so any resemblance of the characters and events to actual people and situations is pure coincidence.

Friday, March 21st, 2014

"Up for some late night fun?" Theo typed on his phone, trying to stumble upon some serendipitous after party invitation on Grindr. It was probably not the best idea, he thought as he took a sip from his third beer. It was 3 am on a Friday night, or rather early Saturday morning, and the D2 Club, a sinful haven for the wicked souls of the night, was filled to the brim with sweat glistening bodies, dancing amidst the cigarette smoke haze. Theo was one of those fallen angels, lascivious thoughts swimming in his mind as he engaged in drunk dirty talking on the gay dating app. At the rate he was drinking, unsolicited full-frontal nudity may become solicited.

The two-story venue was Theo's nightclub of choice to indulge in sinful acts. Its flashy decoration and bright light beams were only a façade for the shady activities harbored within its walls. At the VIP Area, you could find rich Chinese patrons treating their friends and expats alike to an expensive list of drinks to show off their status, to give face. Close to the bar counter you would find an army of provocatively dressed golddiggers preying on young white men, hoping that they could be their ticket to a better life. On the stage you could see a line of girls displaying numbers on their bodies - one could only guess the questionable purpose for their performance onstage. It was definitely not a place Theo's grandparents would approve of, but, for some reason, its unapologetic darkness appealed to him. He would occasionally visit it during Ladies Night when a lot of attractive young men would also grace the club with their presence. He was a young and single man after all.

Theo finished his fourth beer and set it on the bar table along with his phone before fishing out a cigarette and lighting up his contribution to the discotheque's smoke-filled atmosphere. Staring at his phone, impatiently awaiting a reply, the broad-shouldered young man ran his fingers through his ash brown locks. He desperately needed a haircut. His hair was getting too long for his taste. His eyes glanced around the venue, lingering a bit on the stage, where a performance was about to take place. He was standing close to the bar counter, far away from his friends who were dancing close to the stage. Alice, his housemate, appeared to be missing from the group, which left Theo wondering about her whereabouts.

Thinking of the devil, Alice had suddenly appeared at his side. Her caramel skin was glistening with tiny sweat pearls, her curly ebony locks were bouncing on her shoulders and her smile shone as bright as the stage lights in the club. A dancing spell had been cast on her body, binding her with the ever-shifting melodies being dropped by the DJ. Theo sometimes wondered how his short friend managed to find the energy to dance all night at a club after a long day at work. She was the embodiment of the motto 'work hard, play hard'. English teacher by day, party animal by night. She had just moved to Macau from the US to teach English when the two of them met at the Lion's Bar at the MGM Hotel one night. That fateful encounter happened a couple of days after Theo graduated from university. Over the following five years, the two friends became inseparable and even decided to share an apartment.

"Come dance with us!" She yelled at Theo over the loud music as she drunkenly tried to grab onto his arms and pull him closer to the stage where she and some of her friends were dancing. Theo rolled his eyes but gave in to her request, as he extinguished the remainder of his cigarette in the ashtray and pocketed his phone.

Alice's equally inebriated friends, Ivy, Yoyo, and Eric, were all moving to the rhythm of the electronic melody. Alice had met Ivy and Yoyo, two Macanese locals, on her nightly drunken adventures. They were the only people Theo knew that could keep up with Alice's energy levels. Eric joined the group later, when he attempted to flirt with Theo one night, but ended up befriending Alice after being rejected multiple times by Theo. There was also another woman dancing next to Alice who Theo couldn't recognize. A pixie-haired vixen with a face shaped like a heart wrapped her tan arm around Alice and blissfully beamed at her. The quirky retro outfit she was sporting caught Theo's eye.