The boy inside the matrix box

18

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

Demons – Imagine Dragons

Some people are already there when Nessie, Nataniel, Seven, Sam and Paul arrive at Peter's house. Peter comes to greet them and hugs Nessie before shaking hands with the boys.

"Sev!" shouts Peter to Seven. "I thought of you, I bought some absinthe!"

"Oh, you're awesome, man!"

"I know, I know... You can put your stuff in the room on the right and there are extra fridges in the kitchen if you have bottles to put in them."

"Perfect! I'm off! I brought you some of that famous champagne I was telling you about, Pete!" Nessie pats her bag with a greedy smile to back up her words.

"Oh, oh! I can't wait for midnight!"

After having put down their things in a corner of the room allocated for this purpose and put their contributions to the evening in the fridge, the small group mingles with those present. Among them, a majority of ex-students, some of whom Seven knows. Rarer, high school students of the age of Nataniel and his friends. One group offers Nessie a game of "Who could? "and she drags her friends along.

"But we don't know them," protests Sam, "I don't really see how we can play this game with strangers..."

"You're wrong, Sammy! That's where it gets even more fun!"

"Yes, it is! Listen to Paul, Sam," Nessie says, batting her eyelashes.

"Okay, okay..."

And the fact is, not only are they having fun, but they're already getting drunk.

"You should take a break," Seven mischievously murmurs to Nataniel. "Or I will have to drag you to bed like last time..."

"I swore to myself I would never drink so much again... But it was partly your fault!"

"My fault?"

"You can hold your liquor too well. I know in advance that if I try to follow you, I'm screwed."

"Don't worry; I'll teach you!"

Their game having lasted almost two hours, it is soon time for the countdown to the year change. Then, for the first hour of the new year, everyone hugs and is hugged, sometimes even several times with the same people.

Nessie's champagne is flowing. She watches people drink it with delight while devouring a packet of biscuits on a sofa, flanked by Seven and Nataniel.

"Seven Norrois?" a girl suddenly asks, staring at Seven and wrinkling her eyelids.

Seven leans forward and claps his hands, recognising her. "Bailey!"

"It's been a long time," smiles the girl called Bailey.

"It sure has. We know each other from Hillz and we both went to Jeanne Eyre High School," he explains to Nataniel and Nessie.

"So, how's it going in private prep school?"

"Honestly, it's fine. You were friends with Antigone, right?"

"Yep! Why?"

"I worked on a project with her the other day. We had to work in duo with the performing arts students. It's amazing how talented she is! I got to do some amazing photos, thanks to her!"

"Oh, nice!" Bailey chirps. "Anti is the best, isn't she? She's going to be the greatest producer of all time, I'm sure of it!"

"She told me that she sometimes writes her own plays too."