Pinewright Hall had a reputation as a party dorm. It was a large dorm with two wings, the men's on the right and the women's on the left. In between these two wings were three large common areas so that three different parties could be going on at the same time. Not only that but the dorm was surrounded by several frat houses and sorority houses so that it was possible to find ten or more parties occurring at the same time and all within walking distance of each other.
None of these parties were open to the public. Each place had their own rules about who could attend and who couldn't but as long as one was a guest of someone in Pinewright, one could attend at least one party at Pinewright.
Brom had his pick of parties. Being a frat boy allowed him into some of the more exclusive parties but he didn't stay at any one. He wandered from party to party.
He about lost the beer he just drank when he walked into Pinewright Hall. The hall was decorated in bright, Crayola colored streamers. Everyone was wearing corny party hats. There was even a pin the tale on the donkey game set up. It was like a little kids party in the middle of a college dorm.
"What the Hell. I ain't staying at no kiddie party."
"Just go with it, Brom. This is no ordinary kiddie party. Here have a beer."
Brom was led over to where three giant kegs of beer stood. "Well, as long as there's beer, I'll play along."
Soon Brom wore a silly little party hat. "Whose idea was this anyway?"
"Ike made the arrangements. It's his birthday and he wanted this kind of party."
Brom looked over at Ike. Brom had never noticed Ike before. Ike was scrawny and awkward looking. He wore a jacket that was much too big for him and shorts that were much too small for him. He also had this peculiar look in his eyes like he wasn't entirely from Earth.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the entertainment has arrived."
Brom laughed when he saw the clown enter. "You actually invited a clown? We have a clown at a college dorm party?"
"Sh, he's no ordinary clown."
Although the clown was definitely a clown, with face make up and oversized shoes, there were some very un-clown like features about him. For one thing, he wore a black magician's cape and top hot over his clown outfit. The knob on his cane had the shape of a horse's head. His clown costume had a resemblance to a Revolutionary War soldier. Plus he had a bright red scarf wrapped around his neck.
The beginning of his performance was typical: pull a rabbit out of his hat, guess which card someone drew, and make a few balloon animals. Brom would have left this childishness but something about the magician's voice was hypnotizing. Then the magician pulled out a flask of some strange liqueur and said, "Alright, now it's time to really do some magic."