Waters of Lethe, Book 2

14. Long Way Down

No, I wasn't ready to party. Reluctantly, I agreed, telling the two that I'd be out once I changed clothes. Enzo left with Deebo, leaving me to myself.

As I looked through the clothes that were in my closet, I wondered what kind of name Deebo was. Deebo was definitely another American, making me also wonder how many Americans were actually here. Enzo was the only non-American I'd met so far, besides Marie.

I searched through several pairs of black Nike compression pants until I found a few pairs of black running shorts. The shirt selection was slim, so I snagged a gray t-shirt.

I wasn't a fan of parties, or get-togethers in general, I remembered. I felt that I was a loner. I didn't want to chat or make small talk with others, mainly because I had nothing to say. Especially to these people.

I changed in the bathroom, quickly throwing on the clothes that I'd found.

Another thing about parties: it was nice to have a little more of a selection when it came to clothes. I didn't figure anyone else in the living area would be wearing much other than black. In my head, I could imagine walking out and seeing a swarm of a dozen other people like me, wide-eyed and alert, all in black.

In the image of the party that I'd created, I saw the guy I'd ran behind in one of my only retrievable memories. He stood in the corner, watching me, his pecs clearly defined through his black t-shirt.

I walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed, letting my hair down so I could nervously run a hand through it. I found myself wishing that I would have walked out with Enzo. Eyes would be on me when I walked out by myself, and I didn't want to face these people alone.

As if on cue, Enzo showed up at the door, peeking his head in. "You coming?"

"Yes," I told him, relieved that he was there. "One second." I walked to the closet again.

Jacket, jacket, jacket... I found a thin white jacket with tan Native American designs on it, an oddity among the tons of black clothes I saw. I grabbed it anyways and threw it on while I walked out with Enzo.

I halfway expected there to be music blaring and teens dancing with cups of alcohol in their hands, but was pleasantly surprised when I didn't find that. Instead, the slew of people I'd seen earlier in the gym sat on the couches and talked, prepared food in the kitchen, played the Xbox while trying to shove the opponents controller out of his hands. All quietly. And all minus Alex.

"Hello, hello," Deebo said coolly as he walked up to Enzo and I. Unlike his greeting with Enzo, Deebo stuck out a hand for me to shake. I took it, smiling. "El, right? Nice to meet you," he told me.

"You too."

Then he turned from us to the other people in the large area. "Okay, everyone. Listen up. Tonight, we have not one, but two newbies. I fully expect to feel twice the love, and twice the amount of that badass guacamole, Zeke," he said to one of the people in the kitchen.

One of the guys I assumed was Zeke looked up and flashed a big smile at Deebo. "Working on it, brother," he told Deebo.

"Alright. Everyone, though I know you already know, this is Enzo and El." We smiled at everyone, somewhat uncomfortably. Enzo stuck a hand up to wave at the room. Deebo continued, talking to Enzo and I. "Please, feel free to make your way around and get to know everyone. We're family here."

So for the next twenty minutes, I awkwardly followed Enzo around while he chatted with people. As it turned out, there were a few non-Americans in the bunch besides Marie and Enzo.

There was Arsen, an Armenian guy who was brought here a few months ago. Even though he assured us that his name wasn't spelled with an o, I made a mental note to watch him when he was around matches.