Three or four weeks later, Jared hosted a party. Jared was known for his parties, for being able to play the zither (though he had never played publicly), and for taking a great many photographs of naked people.
Geoff sat alone by himself, looking dejected. A few people were foolish enough to try to talk to him, and they were summarily snapped at.
« Why did he come to a party to be antisocial? » Tom wondered aloud.
« Because that bitch has got him under her spell, » Corinne seethed in reply.
Tom glanced over to where Geoff was pretending not to look. A circle of boys were puffing out their chests. In the middle of the circle sat a girl, garbed in a lacy white gown. She was an elfin creature, and her name was Leigh.
« Some guy from the MUSH is gonna be here tonight, » Corinne mumbled.
« Which one? »
« Victor. He plays a science officer on the Intrepid. »
« What's the science officer's name? »
« Victor. »
« What's his real name? »
« Victor. Pay attention! »
« Oh. »
Greta walked over. « Do you see that? » she asked, tilting her head toward Leigh.
« Yeah, » Corinne sighed.
A tall, thin boy with green eyes approached. « Are you Corinne? » he asked Greta.
« No, I am, » Corinne declared, waving abortively.
« Oh, sorry, » the boy squeaked. « I'm Victor. »
The conversation turned to a particular MUSH subplot in which Tom had little interest. « Excuse me, » he murmured, and wandered over to Geoff.
Geoff was curled up in the fetal position, and was unresponsive to conversation. Tom gave up, and made a beeline for Leigh.
« Angelo, you're so muscular, » Leigh giggled, feeling Angelo's chest.
« Leigh, what did you do to Geoff? » Tom interrupted.
Leigh slipped her hands out from under Angelo's shirt. « It's Tom, right? » she asked, eying him quizzically.
« Yeah. »
« Tom, I didn't do anything to Geoff. »
« Then why is Geoff over there in a coma? »
« Geoff did that to himself. »
« Oh, my mistake. » Tom rolled his eyes and plodded back toward Corinne and Victor. Greta had apparently tired of the MUSH talk as well.
Before he reached his destination, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around abruptly to find Leigh standing there.
« Wait, » she said. « Why does everyone think I did something to Geoff? »
« Do you really have no idea? »
« Let's go somewhere so you can explain it to me. » She beckoned for him to follow, and moved lithely toward somewhere he presumed must be more private.
He looked to the circle of boys, now falling apart. They craned their heads around, looking for some other group upon which to latch upon.
He looked to Corinne and Victor, still chatting intently.
He looked to himself, and thought that he was about to make a terrible decision.
Then he followed Leigh.