Chapter Six Page Five, Neil, Mary's House

PREVIOUS PAGE

Mary’s house was large. It was one of those houses made during the late twenties by a family who had not foreseen economic crisis, who’d borrowed largely on credit and had fallen into ruin as the Great Depression arrived. There were only two stories, but the ceiling height for each room well exceeded ten feet, and the windows were tall and wide. Though lights painted two silhouettes of two girls from inside on the drapes that covered the windows, one could not tell what was in the drinks the two girls held.

            As Neil stepped up to the front door, the sound of music grew louder. It was a soft kind of music enjoyed by college aged girls, and Neil hadn’t heard it before. Hana knew someone (who knew someone) who said it was all the rage among the college kids. In truth, it was actually good music. But people weren’t supposed to know about it unless they were a part of the in-crowd, which High Schoolers didn’t comprise a portion of. This in-crowd was an in-crowd comprised of those who are college aged.

            There are many in-crowds, it is important to mention, and almost none of them overlap between the Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, and adult years of life. It should say something about in-crowds that this is so.

            Neil knocked, and when no one answered, he entered. The music grew louder as he opened the door so that he found himself appreciating the simple chord melodies and glitch-based percussion. He closed the door, and the beat caught him. As he stepped into the living room, each footfall was with the beat, although he did not intend to do so.

            The living room was large. There were two sofas with space for three upon each, and a wide screen television. The room appeared hardly furnished at all. There was a stereo set up next to the television. The television was turned on, but there was nothing upon the screen.

Mary was standing by the radio, a slender wire connecting her phone to the stereo system. She guided the device with one hand, and in the other, held a quite ordinary glass filled with a soda that undoubtedly was not entirely soda. “Hey,” Neil said too quietly for her to hear as anything other than a mutter. Mary turned and nodded before looking back at her device. She wore an expensive t-shirt and jeans, had conservatively applied make-up, and Neil thought she was beautiful.

            Neil didn’t like entering peoples’ houses like that; without knocking, potentially surprising them as he entered. But because Mary didn’t object to him entering without waiting for her to answer the door, Neil didn’t feel quite so strange.

NEXT PAGE