A Night To Remember

The cab pulled to a stop just outside the manor house. Ellie carefully stepped out, pushed the door closed gently, and then approached the driver’s open window.

“Thank you so much for bringing me here. How much do I owe you?”

The man, wearing the same hat and red-striped jumper as ‘Where’s Wally?’, waved her off.

“No cost. Your friend already paid me. No charge today.”

Ellie’s mouth gaped open. “Really?”

The cab driver nodded. “Yes, yes, she even left a tip. Cash, too.” He smiled at Ellie, and looked behind her to the building, where they could both hear faint music playing from. “Real angel you’ve got there, isn’t she?”

Ellie stepped back as he pulled away from the curb, purposely going slow to avoid splashing her costume.

“Not an angel,” Ellie murmured under her breath. “A Godmother of sorts, I guess.” She glanced up at the dark sky and saw the smiling the moon trying to peak through the clouds.

Ellie turned to face the manor, and watched as bright colourful lights sprouted out of the windows like vines, and lit up the uneven garden path. It was already littered with an assortment of red solo cups, odd shoes, and random costume props. Adjusting her mask to fully cover her face, Ellie stepped up to the door.

It swung open before her, and with it came a blast of warm air and undecipherable noise. She could feel the beat of the music thrumming through the floorboards. The heavy scent of booze and sweat filled her nostrils, and her vision was momentarily clouded from the smoke machine, filling the room with a thick grey fog.

She could barely take a few steps into the large hallway before being knocked about by drunken students. Three times between closing the front door and reaching the kitchen, someone stepped on her cloak. It dragged on the floor behind her, so she tried and failed to lift it out of harm's way.

Another person collided with her as she reached the doorway. The feathered mask slipped down and obscured her sight. Ellie re-adjusted it, and blinked several times to clear her hazy vision.

Another smoke machine blasted a new wave out, filling the space in seconds with a thick fog. It flew into Ellie’s mouth and down her throat, causing an involuntary and uncomfortable cough to force its way out.

Beside her, as if by magic, a Fairy appeared, holding a sealed water bottle. Ellie recognised her best friend, even when she was fully dressed as a mythical creature, and gestured to her own outfit.

“Thank you so much for getting this for me - you’re literally granting my wishes here.” Her fairy friend smiled and waved her magic wand, which was made from a broken drumstick and crafting clay.

“Your wish is my command - no, wait, that’s what a genie says, right?” Ellie laughed and took a swig from the water. It instantly cooled her throat.

The fairy gave Ellie a knowing look, and tilted her head behind her. Ellie turned and saw a young man wearing what she could only describe as a Prince Charming costume. The mask over his eyes, however, made him stand out.

He noticed her staring, so walked confidently through the crowd. He pointed at the mask and said, “My sister made it for me. I lost a bet.”

Ellie and her friend burst into laughter, which he joined.

Prince Charming was exceptionally charming. He offered out a gloved hand to Ellie, and when she cautiously took it, he led her through the crowded room to a sitting space, less noisy but still populated enough to make her comfortable. A long couch sat on one side of the room. It was unoccupied, other than a pile of coats and several handbags. The pair cleared space and sat down, a comfortable distance from each other.

“Your dress is beautiful,” he said loudly over the music, now playing a rather thrashing song through the ground speakers. Through the door beside them, the pair could hear the crowd of very football players attempting to sing along, which sounded horrific.

Someone else got up from the floor and slammed the door shut. The whole room exhaled with relief.

“You’re welcome,” said the woman, wearing a very sheer fabric sheet over her head, tied at the waist with a thin piece of rope. The rest of the costume almost reaches down to her thighs, but with several steps between the door and the beanbag she was previously seated on, everything was on show. Ellie quickly glanced away.

The woman noticed her stare. “I’m a ghost, duh.”

Prince Charming beside Ellie chuckled quietly, and whispered, “It’s not the costume that’s the scary part.”

Ellie laughed so loud that a snort burst its way out. She instinctively covered her mouth and looked at the Prince with wide eyes. He laughed at her reaction, which led to a similar sound eliciting from his lips. Ellie smiled.

“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat, “I just wanted to tell you that I think you look beautiful. And the dress, of course.”

Ellie smiled at him. “It was a gift, actually,” she said, brushing the glistening silver fabric with the sweaty palm of her hand. “My friend’s found out my costume was ruined, and spent all day pulling pieces together and scouring stores to fix up the perfect outfit.” She pulled up the hem of her dress to reveal the shoes underneath. A pair of silver, metallic-looking sneakers peaked out, reflecting the colourful lights cast around the room. “These are the only things that are mine, but-” She lifts her foot up off the rug, and the sneaker slips off. “I’ve tied it as tight as I can, but my mum had much bigger feet than me. It’s been falling off all night.”

Prince Charming looked at Ellie’s shoe quizzically. “Just the left one?”

Ellie laughed. “Strangely, yeah. I’m not sure why - it’s not like the shoes are drastically different sizes.”

“Maybe you’ve got one foot bigger than the other.”

Ellie scoffed and released the dress, covering the shoes once again. “Nonsense.”

The young man sat thoughtfully for a moment, then said, “What did you mean, your costume was ruined? What happened to it?”

Ellie sighed and glanced around the room. A couple of vampires were making out very intensely in the corner of the room, smudging what she hoped was fake blood across each other’s faces in the process.

“It’s…complicated.”

He gestured around them to the chaos ensuing. “I’ve got time, if you want to talk. No pressure, just… I’m here if you want.”

Ellie smiled to herself at his kind words. The last guy she’d really spoken to was a real asshole, and spent the afternoon they’d planned as a picnic date talking all about himself, his ex-girlfriend, and all the things wrong with feminism. Ellie hadn’t spoken to him since.

She turned and faced him on the couch. She felt her phone shift in a pocket in her dress, so she pulled it out and rested it on her lap.

“My stepmom’s kids didn’t like that I got into the same university as them, and they’ve been making it difficult for me since the term started. They wanted me to stay with my grandparents, where I’ve lived for the last few years while finishing high school.” Ellie twisted a small silver bangle around her wrist, a nervous habit she had yet to break. “They heard about my friend’s group costume idea, and when I tried it on yesterday to add the finishing touches, they pretty much tore it right off me. Here,” she said, reaching for her phone, “I took some pictures.”

The first thing Prince Charming noticed was the lock screen image. It was of a small black cat, sitting on a pile of story books.

“Oh, that’s my kitten, Lucifer. Dad got her for me as a graduation present.”

“Lucifer?” he questioned, “Like, the devil?”

Ellie laughed. “Well, my stepmother seems to think so. She’s Lucy for short, but I think it suits her. Anyway,” she continued, opening the phone and finding the gallery app, “This is what my outfit looked like before.”

She’d already blurred out her face, to the disappointment of the young man beside her. The costume was creative: a small pair of fairy wings, made from sticks, cellophane and fake flowers; a pair of golden earrings that twisted up and over to make her ears look pointy like an elf; a short, dark green dress, with flowers embroidered all around the seams, and a pair of ballet flats, decorated with more fake foliage.

“I was supposed to be a garden fairy. All I had to finish was the mask - it had big twigs sticking up top like antlers - we were all going to match.” She swiped across the pictures and sighed sadly. “But they had to come and ruin it.”

The next image was, at first glimpse, a pile of trash. But when the young man looked at it closer, he saw the remains of the wings, sliced up into tiny pieces. The dress was covered in stains, and most of the carefully sewn flowers had been unpicked. The earrings were snapped in half, rendering them useless, and the shoes - they were crumpled, had holes punched through them, and the insole had torn completely out of one.

Prince Charming was stunned. “What… how could they do that to you?” He thought for a moment. “Didn’t your parents do anything, say anything?”

Ellie shook her head, locked her phone and slid it back into her pocket. “Dad’s been working away for the last few weeks, I’ve barely had the time to speak to him between shifts and the time difference… and Tammy - my stepmom - said I was ‘too young’ to go to a college party anyway, so it didn’t matter what they did.”

They sat together in silence for a moment, contemplating.

“Well,” began the young man, reaching up to scratch behind his ear and knocking his gem-covered mask askew, “I think your design was amazing. It’s a shame they can’t see how talented you are.”

Ellie felt her cheeks redden, a hot flush rushing across her face. She hoped in the low light of the room that the man beside her couldn’t tell.

He stood up suddenly, and offered a hand to her.

“I know we’ve only just met, and we don’t really know each other very well, but…” he straightened his shoulders and offered her a smile. “Do you wanna dance?”

It was then Ellie heard the song playing. It had changed from rock music to instrumental disney songs, which had been heavily requested by her freshman friends. The gentle hum of ‘So This Is Love’ was flowing through the speakers. The couples around them had already noticed, and were swaying gently together, staring into each other's masked eyes.

Ellie nodded to the man, and stood in front of him. She felt her shoe begin to slide off her foot already, so she impatiently kicked it off and left it beside the couch.

Prince Charming gave her a bemused look. “It’s not going anywhere,” she said, and stepped forward into his waiting arms.

They danced and swayed together through the song, and the songs that followed.

They remained like that, holding each other close and humming along to the music, until it was abruptly cut off. Dazed, they slowly pulled away, and heard an announcement on the speakers from the room next door.

“It’s Midnight, everyone! Time to remove those masks and meet your new college mates!” The voice was the very same that spoke over the speaker system at the university, giving the announcements and offering unwanted and unsolicited advice on a daily basis.

The young man looked at Ellie, and reached his hands behind his head to untie the ribbon. Ellie went to do the same, but he stopped her.

“It’s tradition to do it one at a time.”

“Why?”

He mused for a moment, then said, “You know, I have no idea.”

His glittery mask fell away, revealing a beautiful man underneath. Freckles dotted across his nose and cheeks, a few acne scars visible in the low lights. He smiled at her, showing off again his pearly teeth.

Ellie smiled back. “So, what do they call you?”

Placing the mask carefully onto the couch, he turned and said, “Charlie. Charlie Royal.”

Ellie practiced the name on her tongue. “Charlie Royal. Very nice to meet you.”

Charlie reached towards her. “Now it’s your turn. Can I?” he asked, gesturing to the mask.

Ellie nodded, and was about to help when bright lights suddenly flickered through the windows, flooding the room with blue and red. Another announcement came through the speakers, though this time it was panicked and fast.

“IT’S THE COPS! EVERYONE RUN!”

Ellie and Charlie stood still for half a second, then heard chaos start outside and decided to do as they were told. They rushed out through the kitchen, getting caught up in a tide of students doing the exact same thing.

“What’s happening?” she asked him loudly over the noise of the crowd, “I thought students were allowed to have these parties!” They were both panting for breath as they reached the night air, making a dash along the footpath toward the shade of trees in the garden.

Charlie rested his hands on his thighs, leaning down to take big gulps of breath. “I- I’m not sure. This happened last year too - someone was trying to sell drugs or something, I’m not really sure. Maybe they were here again?” He looked toward the ground and then flicked his eyes back up.

“You’ve only got one shoe on.”

They both looked towards her feet in synchrony. “Oh shit!” she shouted, louder than she meant. “If my stepmom finds out I came here, she’ll kill me!”

Charlie gave her a bewildered expression. “You didn’t notice you only had one shoe on? Isn’t your foot cold?”

Ellie ignored him and tried to walk back towards the building, now full of flashlight beams and shouting students. Charlie pulled her arm back gently.

“I’ll go and grab it.” Ellie tried to protest, but he cut her off. “Don’t wait for me - head home. If anyone asks, I’ll say it’s my sister’s. I’ve forgotten her mask, after all.”

Before Ellie can say anything, Charlie has placed a gentle kiss on her flushed cheek, and rushed back inside.

Ellie untied the ribbon and let the mask fall around her neck. She turned her back to the manor, took out her phone, and quickly found her friend’s number.

She picked up after three rings.

“Could I catch a lift home with you, please?”