“But...But ...” you stuttered in response, realizing that perhaps Mike was right, perhaps you were just really
stressed from work and that maybe your initial reaction had been an accurate one; the whole thing was just in
your head. “Shit, you’re right dude,” you finally conceded, no longer having the energy to defend your
ludicrous story, “Sorry, I think I’m going mad or something.”
“You’re not wrong there,” Mike replied somewhat under his breath before putting a friendly arm around your
shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze, “It’s cool Simon man, don’t worry about it, everyone goes a
little crazy sometimes. You think you’re the first guy to ever trash his room? Nah, they all do it. I bet even
that Einstein guy couldn’t go 10 minutes without breaking something.” This was somewhat of a humorous image
and you couldn’t help but chuckle, Mike’s sense of humor always managing to cheer you up. “Now, go grab a
shower, stick on some decent looking clothes and get ready to party, cause if there’s one thing that’s a
guaranteed stress reliever, it’s getting drunk with a bunch of smoking hot women.”
“Yeah, that does sound pretty good right about now,” you admitted, a dorm party being just the thing to calm
you down and get your mind off all the weird shenanigans you’d just experienced (you also could use a strong
drink right as well).
“Cool, then get your party gear on, the party starts in about two hours,” Mike grinned, giving you a manly hug
to get you in the mood, before adding, “and don’t...eh, don’t worry about this mess, I’ll clean it up.”
Heading off toward the bathroom while Mike began to pick through all the rubble you couldn’t help feeling that
he was under the impression you might snap at any minute and attack him or something, offering to do any sort
of cleaning being completely out of character for him and fear of your fragile mental state surely being the
only reasonable explanation. Either way, you were just glad he was acting so calm, wanting nothing more than
to forget all this madness and get back to having the kind of fun every 18 year old freshman should be having.
_ _ _
Several hours later you found yourself leaning up against a wall with a bottle of bud in your hand, loud music
pounding away in the background as you watched Mike dancing with a group of attractive second year girls, the
party now in full swing as people were packed into the room like sardines, spilling out into the hallway
outside. There was barely anyone you recognized there, one or two perhaps you’d seen at various other parties
before, but no one you knew that well, not that it of course mattered, the key goal at any dorm party was to
get a drunk as drunk as humanly possible and hook up with some attractive stranger, preferably without making
a fool of yourself or vomiting everywhere in the process (the vomiting part you'd at least managed to avoid so
far).
However, as much fun as everyone else seemed to be having, you found yourself kind of zoning out and not
really getting into the spirit of things, your mind still thinking about the weird goings on earlier as hard
as you tried not to. You really couldn’t shake the feeling that you were in fact going mad, the whole thing
having seemed so real, from the cold feeling of the metal on your finger, to the ancient, dusty smell of the
temple, how could anyone have possibly dreamed all that up? Your pondering though would have to wait, as
languidly looking around the room, your eyes not focusing on anything much in particular, you suddenly noticed
Jenna Williams milling around the doorway with a few of her friend’s, her unexpected presence snapping you
immediately out of your daze as your face lit up when you saw what she was wearing.
“Wow!” was all you could say as you let out a small, rather impressed little gulp, Jenna’s wonderful
curvaceous body dressed in a tight blue halter dress, her sizable cleavage beautifully emphasized while her
long toned legs were left completely naked and on display. This had to be about the hottest you ever seen her
dressed, and you could feel your heart pumping double time as you stared across at her, gradually working up
the courage to speak to her again, hoping to make up from your last failed attempt and taking a few extra
chugs of beer just to help you on your way.
“Okay, here goes nothing,” you said, quickly making a bee line through the various dancing couples across the
room to where Jenna was now standing.