Drop Out

Chapter 1 The music was louder than loud, and the lights were streaking back and forth as if they were searching for something that they would never find. The crowd seemed to be flowing around the dance floor like a river. Round and round people went, only stopping to fight the current to make another stop at the bar, while the occasional crowd-surfer passed over top. The mob was going wild and it was only nine o'clock. As Hayden passed over the crowd, he could feel the amazing sensation of being held up by only the tips of people's fingers. The feeling of floating across the crowd was indescribable, but it was like gliding across the surface of a lake without getting wet. As he was passed from person to person, he watched the ceiling with the lights, speakers, and posters flow passed. He wasn't sure if it was just him or the alcohol, but it seemed to be getting such into a black hole or something. He decided that it must be the alcohol and that he'll just continue on his way. The smell of drinks and the odd drug being smoked added to the peacefulness of the trip. Out of the corner he caught the glimpse of someone he knew but when he turned his head they were gone. He figured he better just keep going, considering he was also seeing purple elves and he didn't want to take any chances. Just the thought that he might stop and kiss some seven-foot-tall guy instead of his girl friend sent shivers down his spine. After what seemed like a decade he came to the edge of the flowing crowd and rolled off. Hayden felt like he was going over the edge of a water fall, and just like a waterfall he hit the rocky bottom with a hard thud! When Hayden stood up. He was behind the bar and just in front of him was a mob of people yelling out every drink name he could think of. Seeing that the staff were busy and didn't seem to even notice him, he began filling orders. It seemed like a good way to make some extra credit. Bloody Mary, Red Mercury, Purple Haze, Sex on the Beach. The last one caught his attention all right. He looked up to see a fierce red head smiling at him. "For the girl of my dreams, anytime!" Hayden yelled to the woman. "Cute, cry baby, but I think your girl friend is still waiting for her share of the action on the far side of this place." His female friend replied. Hayden suddenly remembered what he had come for. He filled a few last orders, using the only thing he could remember from University, bar tending. Just then he saw a person at the far end of the bar yelling something, Hayden had no idea what, but he looked pissed and was coming his way. He quickly grabbed one bottle of Drywater and a beer, and pocketed all the money the crowd had forked over for the drinks. "Well I hope to see you later, Amber." Hayden gave his friend a kiss on the cheek, jumped up on the bar and with one leap, was on his way again. Back across the sea of party animals. "Don't get yourself killed tonight. It's only the first night of the rest of your life..." Amber's voice seemed to fade away as he got closer to one of the speakers. He looked to see if he could see her red hair, but the only thing he noticed was the person behind the bar cursing at him. Must have been the bar manager, Hayden thought as he passed over the crowd again. As he swam toward his girlfriend, he wondered if he would ever see Amber again. After all, now that he graduated he probably wouldn't see most of his friends again. Jake, his room mate at res., had already left for the Graven Colony on Mars, and Sara, the Valor Victorian, was already working in a law firm down south (the night of graduation). Even his girl friend was talking about leaving for one of the new colonies in the Alpha-System. This was something he didn't want to think about, but it was bugging him a lot lately. She has been acting weird, trying to avoid him, talking as if when she leaves Earth she'll be leaving him as well. They fought constantly about it. Hayden had been born on Earth and he was not planning on leaving it, that soon. But what Hayden didn't know, was that life was defiantly going to be different tomorrow. How different, Hayden could never imagine. Like last time, Hayden flowed over the edge of the crowd. This time he landed at his girl friend's feet, with a flop! "One Drywater for you, and a brewsky for me. Sorry I was late you know how traffic can be at this time of night." He looked up to see Heather's, his girlfriend's, face questioning him. She took the bottle from him took his hand and lead him to a table to one side of the club. It took him a minute, but realized that the people at the table were the group he normally hung around with on weekends, and of course the purple elf he saw earlier. "Well if it isn't the cry baby and his tear-girl. Cry me a river, little boy." The largest male at the table greeted him. Hayden found his friend's humor old, but thanks to the liquor, funny all the same. "We're all adults here, and I use the term loosely for you, Craig." Hayden raised his beer to his friend. "So I think we can drop the childhood names." He sat making sure there was plenty of room on his lap for his girlfriend to sit. Seeing the silence in the group, Hayden took the cue to start the conversation. "Well Craig, how much did you say I owed you for the limo?" Hayden asked his friend as his fished around in his pockets. "That would be $150.00 and I don't think your second half is going to pay for you this time." Craig said as he gestured towards Hayden's girl friend. "That's OK. Heather won't have to." Hayden replied, giving his girlfriend a kiss. Then he slid the credit from the bar across the table. "Since when have you had money? Have you been holding out on me?" Heather asked him. "That's all of it. Let's just say I found use for my extra schooling." He said as he finished his beer. "So what's happening tomorrow" Hayden asked, forgetting that this was pretty much the last night together for the group. There was a long silence, as if there was mention of a deceased friend. Then again it was in a way the death of life at University for them and tomorrow was the beginning of a new life. "Here's to the class of 2162!" Craig added to the silence. Everyone raised their glasses. There was another long pause when it was interrupted by the sound of a stranger's voice. "‘Scuse me would you care to dance?" The voice was that of a young man standing in front of the table. Hayden didn't think anything of it until he realized that it was Heather that the young man was asking to dance. His girl friend began to stand up and Hayden immediately responded. "I'm sorry she's taken." Hayden told the young man as he stood up. "Find another table to bother, OK, boy?" The guy began to turn around as Heather grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "Sure I loved to dance. Hayden take a seat." "But Heather this is our night. Why are you dancing with him, I did everything possible to make this night perfect, not him. This is . . . " As he reached for her arm she spun around and, thanks to the alcohol knocked him down with one blow. Hayden only saw her fist, the table and then with a smack, he saw the floor. Everything spun for a minute and then it all faded to black. That night Hayden dreamt of his childhood. Then of his life here at university. Everything was like it had been today except when everyone tossed up their hats at graduation, he was tossed up as well. Drifting upwards he saw his class looking up and he wait to begin falling down, but he never came back down. The drifting seemed to go on forever until he was finally disturbed by the sound of a large steel door closing. Status: Unfinished Total Pages: 20 Total Word Count: 12,904 Creation Date: 6/16/98 Outline: Hayden had a lot going for him. He had a beautiful girl friend, a bunch of friends, and a firm education. But on the night of his graduation, reality hit him hard and he found himself alone in a world he didn't understand. With nothing to keep him on his feet, a friend encourages him to join the military with him. Hayden agrees and just as it seems even that plan is about to mess up, he begins a ride that will take him to worlds he's never seen and adventures he never could never dream of. Future Plans: Although this is one of the longest stories I have written, it never had the momentum to continue. It may influence other pieces I write, but I don't think I will finish it.