blogwithvalor

Half the people at the New Year’s Ball were dressed up in what could only be described as an attempt to be formal, Zach thought. He was standing at the top of a staircase, looking down at the dance floor. He was leaning on the balustrade with a drink in hand, people watching. Most of the men had jackets on that hinted at the formal theme of the event, but so many of them had jeans on and a few were even in shorts. One shorts bearer was even in Birkenstocks. Zach sipped at his drink, masking the disgust he couldn’t help from showing on his face. The women were better at understanding the theme. There were lots of dresses, a few stylish lady’s suits, and a young lady in a ball gown. A bit on the nose but he thought it purposefully humorous.

He, himself, had a 3 piece wool suit that he’d worn at plenty of weddings. It wasn’t extravagant or flashy, but he hadn’t come here to stand out. It was New Year’s Eve and he needed to get out of the apartment for once. His friends had begged him to join them, and he figured it would be nice to do something for the holidays. He’d already skipped Christmas with his family, something that had become more and more common from him.

His friends, Sandra and Rodrigo, had come in with him but were mingling with some strangers they met at the bar. Zach found a moment to back out of the conversation and found his way up the staircase. He didn’t understand how they were always so eager to meet new people and befriend them, but that was fine. It gave him plenty of chances to be on the edges and just watch.

Zach loved watching people. He knew it sounded creepy, but he never fixated on any one person. It was interesting just watching different interactions and seeing how similar and different people were. Across the bar from where Sandra and Rodrigo were making friends, another two couples seemed to be silently battling for bar space. The men putting arms on the bar and trying to act nonchalant about nudging each other’s elbows. It seemed almost intimate. On the dance floor most everyone was dancing. All moving to the same beat but each in their own way. There were men along the edges of the dance floor that all seemed exactly the same, scanning the room for potential dance partners. It gave him the feel of predators hunting.

Upstairs was a mezzanine that wrapped around the entire room. Just like him, everyone came up here to get away from the busy dance floor and cramped bar. Some were trying, successfully or not, to get more intimate and there were others like him that were trying to be alone. There was one person that caught his attention though. She was by herself and kept looking through one of the windows towards the neighboring building then back down to the floor. It seemed an odd action, but he had seen stranger.

Rodrigo was calling to him from the bar. The countdown was about to begin. So, he headed downstairs to join them on the dance floor.

Zach stood there with Sandra and Rodrigo, along with Tyler and Max whom he’d just met. The ball dropped in Times Square as they watched from the projected footage on the large wall behind the bar. Everyone cheered, balloons fell from the ceiling, and everyone found their first kiss of the New Year. Zach was looking around, appreciating the fact everyone had their eyes closed in a kiss and couldn’t watch him watching them. Then he saw her. The same girl that had been upstairs staring out the window and back to the floor. She was by herself still and walking directly towards him. She grabbed his tie and pulled his face to hers. Zach was shocked. He didn’t know what to do, but after a second she pulled away, a calm look across her face.

Suddenly, balloons around the room were being popped and Zach took a step back. People were cheering. Then Zach felt a hand grip his shoulder and he turned around to see Rodrigo with red stains on his shirt. Rodrigo fell into Zach’s arms, the stains dripping into his hands. It was blood and Rodrigo had been shot. Zach realized this as he tried to lift Rodrigo’s limp body. He dropped Rodrigo and Sandra looked in horror at the growing pool of blood on the ground. Multiple people saw and started screaming along with her. Zach looked around as people backed away and a bouncer worked his way to the scene. Everyone but he and Sandra were left there, with Rodrigo dead on the floor. Upstairs on the mezzanine though, something else had happened. Someone was bleeding from cut glass that was being swept up. Above them, the window was broken. It was the same window the girl that kissed him was looking through. He looked for her in the circle of people surrounding him, but she was gone.