The Reality Engine Ch. 04

"She wants to know how Steve is doing, and she wants me to tell her, without her having to explicitly ask me?" Scott guessed.

"More or less," Chad said. "I'm just letting you know so that it doesn't surprise you if you hear if from her, get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, thanks for that," Scott said. "I have a lot to learn about women."

"We all do," Chad said, with a laugh. "We all do, pal."

Scott and Chad finished dinner and returned to the dorm, and Sonya told them everyone was headed to the party in about an hour, and that it was time to get ready.

8 PM came, and a traveling party of Sonya, Margaret, Alania, Chad, Mike, and Scott walked out into the city of Frostbite Falls headed for the house party. Their destination was not far away. Maybe Dick Hall was on the northwest end of campus, and there was an under path to the northeast that led into the city. From here, a short walk brought the party-goers to Great White Way, the main street of the city which ran north-south. To the south, Great White Way ended at the main northern entrance to Frostbite Falls University, and to the north, Great White Way ended at the main southern entrance to Wassamatta University. A walk of ten minutes north along Great White Way led to the intersection with Do Right Drive. A left hand turn on Do Right and a walk of an additional five minutes and the traveling party wound up in front of a very large house.

"Who lives here?" Scott asked.

"Adol Heningway," Sonya said. "The youngest son of Doja Heningway and part heir to the Heningway millions. He's a junior right now at Wassamatta University, and he lives here, in style, off campus, with his twelve best friends in the world. A nice, comfy household."

"I see," Scott said, shaking his head in disbelief. Once everyone entered the house, they quickly dispersed to mingle in with the crowd, and Scott followed along with Chad.

"You won't tell on me if I have a beer, will you?" Chad asked Scott as he picked up a Heineken from a refreshment table. Scott shook his head no.

"I never developed a taste for beer," Scott said. "Probably why I never get invited to parties."

"You never developed a taste because you never tried it before," Chad said, laughing as he opened the can and took a sip. "That's okay, pal, I'll give you the same advice every drunk gives people who have never had alcohol: that's good, don't ever start."

"Hello Frostbite Falls!" Scott heard a man with a microphone say at one corner of the large, main room he and Chad were in. "Welcome to the party! I'm your host, and you can call me Adol. We have live music tonight from Frostbite Falls own battle of the bands winner, The Mooseberry Bushes. Give it up!"

The band started to play music, and Scott thought it was quite good.

"Alright, everyone have fun tonight!" Adol said. "Come by and say hello and introduce yourself to me, if I don't know you already. Most of all, stay safe and look out for your brothers and sisters, okay? Don't drink more than you can handle, or smoke more than you can handle.

"If you need a ride home, ask, and we'll call you an Uber or one of us will drive you home. Everyone watch out for everyone else, if someone is doing something that isn't safe, say something. It's better to say something, and be wrong, than to say nothing, and be right. Alright, everyone be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!"

Not much, as far as inspirational speeches went, Scott thought, but he applauded nonetheless because it was perfect for the particular occasion. Just as the applause died down, Scott felt his cell phone vibrate in his pant pocket. He pulled it out and checked his messages.

"Holy shit!" Scott said.

That got Chad's attention right away, "what's up bro?" Chad asked.

"I just got a text message from Steve," Scott said. "He says he's headed to the best party in Frostbite Falls tonight, and wanted to know if I could come with him. What do I say?"

"Tell him you're already at the best party in Frostbite Falls, and that he should have fun at the party he's going to," Chad said.

So, Scott sent the text to Steve. A moment passed.

'Your loss,' the text came back from Steve. 'I'm told there's no party in Frostbite Falls like a party at the Heningway Estate. Tell me about the party you're at the next time we meet, okay?'

"What the fuck?" Chad said, as soon as he saw the text message. "Steve is coming here?"

"Looks like it," Scott said. "What do I text him back?"

"Tell him the truth," Chad said. "Tell him we're already at the party at the Heningway Estate, while I go find Alania and let her know so that she doesn't freak out about this. Be right back, pal."

So, Scott texted Steve that he was already at the party Steve was coming to.

'Sweet, then I'll see you soon,' Steve texted back. 'We're all running late because we only got invited like an hour ago.'

'I only found out and got invited early this afternoon, so you're in good company,' Scott texted back. 'See you soon!'

Scott stopped and pondered this strange turn of events, and he was about to go and search for Chad, when Alania, Margaret, and Chad all approached him from out of the crowd.

"Hey fuckhead," Margaret said. "What's this I hear about Crazy Steve coming to this party? You didn't fucking invite that lowlife did you?"

"No," Chad said. "Scott's been with me the whole time, he didn't invite anyone."

"See for yourself," Scott said as he passed his phone over to Alania and Margaret. "Steve said he only got invited an hour ago, and that surely wasn't me."

"Damn it!" Alania said, as she reviewed the text messages, while sipping on a beer. Once she had read the text exchange, she handed Scott his phone back.

"What the fuck are we going to do?" Margaret asked. "There's no way to avoid that psycho in the confines of a house party."

"I don't see what the problem is," Chad said. "Even if he's here, he still doesn't know where you live, so you're safe, right? Two hot girls like you two will have all the guys drooling over you for hours, so he won't get a word in edgewise."

"Sure," Margaret said, calming down and taking a sip of her beer. "Scott, you can't fucking show, in any way, that you know Alania and I, okay? If that psycho knows we all know each other, he might figure out where we live because he knows where you live."

Scott quickly agreed with Margaret, but he was a little confused by this conversation. Margaret was doing all the talking and all the worrying, Alania wasn't saying much.

"Calm down, it will be fine," Chad said. "Nothing will happen."

"Fuck it," Margaret said. "The one time my best girlfriend decides to go commando, Crazy Steve has to show up. Protect yourself, okay, Alania? Don't let that little creep get a peek at your goodies."

Chad and Scott exchanged a stunned look, and Scott took a more careful look at how Alania was dressed: a lovely, red, cocktail dress, with a plunging neckline showing plenty of cleavage, (and obviously no bra) and a really high hem that was halfway between her waist and her knees. Scott gulped. If Alania was not wearing panties, and she sat down and turned towards Steve at the right angle, he would be able to see, well, his neck would have to be craned in an awkward direction, but he could see her pussy. Scott gulped again.

"That is so not good," Scott said.

"Yeah," Alania said, as she closed her legs instinctively. "Maybe we can avoid him somehow."

"If you want to go home, just say so and I'll take you home," Margaret offered.

"No, it's okay," Alania said. "Like Chad said, let's mingle and talk and hopefully, he won't be able to approach us if we're already talking to others."

"Okay," Margaret said. "Remember, Scott, you cannot speak to either of us for the rest of the night, got it?"

"Yeah," Scott said, as the two girls wandered off.

Chad and Scott exchanged a look, and Chad took a sip of his beer, and was about to say something, when Adol Heningway walked right up to the two men. Himself. Not a picture.

"Hey guys," Adol said, as he shook hands with Scott and Chad. "Just the man I wanted to meet."

"Well, yeah, you know. . . ," Chad said, blushing with false modesty.

"Sorry mate, but not you, your friend here," Adol said, as she threw his arm around Scott. "Scott Laird Cooper, I presume."

"Yeah, that's me," Scott said. "I didn't realize anyone like you knew who I was."

"I know, because a very, very strange thing happened to me today," Adol confessed. "I got a phone call this morning from my father, and you know what dad said? He said there's a young man on campus at Frostbite Falls University, named Scott Laird Cooper, invite him to your party tonight and be damn well sure you meet him and get to know him. What the fuck do you make out of that?"

"What?" Chad asked, shocked. "Your dad is like an international millionaire businessman or something, right? How could he know that Scott is even alive?"

"I don't know," Adol said, as he kept one arm around Scott's shoulder, and he gesticulated with the other, which held a beer bottle that he took sips out of at intervals. "My old man doesn't say shit like that without knowing something. So, as soon as my pop told me to invite Scott and be damn well sure to meet him, I fired off a text to Sonya asking her to bring Scott by tonight. Now, here you are, let's have a look at you. I wonder what my old man was so impressed by?"

"Probably," Chad said. "The fact that Scott is the smartest man in this house right now, and not by a little."

"Oh, big brain boy, huh?" Adol asked.

"I work for Dr. Karlov, so there is that," Scott admitted.

"Okay, that's a point right there," Adol said. "You wanna know something? I've met plenty of people who have worked for Dr. Karlov. I know it's like cutting edge theoretical physics and shit, but the last guy who worked for Dr. Karlov, I think Trevor was his name, he was a bright bulb too. Matter of fact, Trevor was as intelligent as any guy I've ever met, and my old man didn't call me and tell me to meet any of the previous guys, only you."

"I honestly have no idea then," Scott admitted. "I've been here less than a week."

"Yeah, I know that too," Adol said. "Trevor sent me a text message last week saying he had landed a job with Lockheed Martin out in California, and that he quit working for Dr. Karlov, and he was on his way to sunny Hollywood. If Trevor could do it, you could do it.

"So why the fuck are you working a thankless job, with brutal hours, not great pay, and a difficult task master for a boss, when you could have Lockheed Martin, or Apple, or Microsoft, or Google roll out the red carpet for you? You get a job at one of those places, and a guy like you will absolutely fucking slay pussy."

"I really don't think girls will ever like me, no matter what I do," Scott admitted.

"I'm sorry to say that he might be right," Chad said. "I've only known Scott for a short while, but it's weird how girls react to him, you know?"

"Yeah, I hear you," Adol said. "And I think it's because you are missing the great leveler when it comes to women: alcohol. The thing about being the brainy type and hitting on girls is that you should never do it sober. My advice to you is to have a couple of beers, but, more importantly, make sure she's had a couple of beers and then try to close the deal. Smart guy like you should be good at that shit.

"If you wanna fuck, just use one of the bedrooms upstairs. Only rule is, you can fuck as much as you want to, but you cannot close or lock the door completely. You can close it most of the way, and of course, you should turn the sign on the outside of each door to 'occupied' while you do your business, but the door must be open at least a bit so whatever happens inside is audible. My dad is loaded, and we don't want the police to come down on us with a rape charge. You understand, right? If a chick is in trouble, she needs to be able to call for help."

"Also, doors open a little, and knowing anyone might walk in on you, makes guys more cautious," Chad said.

"Bingo," Adol said. "You think twice about becoming a rapist if someone can walk in on you at any moment. However, just because the doors are to remain open at least a bit, and unlocked at all times, no fucking photography, okay? Cell phones off upstairs, don't be the dickweed that barges in to takes lewd pictures of other people fucking. Be cool."

Chad and Scott nodded to show they understood, and Adol asked to exchange phone numbers with Scott, which he did.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" Scott said.

"Sure," Adol replied. "Ask of me anything, and I will give it to you, even unto half my kingdom."

"Why were you named Adol?" Scott asked. "It's not a name one hears every day."

"Oh, that was my old man's idea," Adol said. "He named my siblings and I after great historical figures that he respects. My eldest brother was named Hector, after the Trojan Prince, for example. I was named Adol, after Adol Christin, the famous red haired swordsman, philosopher, adventurer, world traveler, and hero. Adol Christin used to slay fire breathing dragons with his bare hands, and he never failed to rescue the princess. He was a chick magnet, just like me."

Adol told Scott to call or text him if he needed anything, and with a hearty good-bye, he left to meet other people.

As soon as Adol left, Steve, Henry, and Bridget arrived at the party. They both saw Chad and Scott, and introductions were made, before Henry and Bridget broke off to go and say hi to some people they knew.

"So, you're Steve," Chad said. "Nice to meet you."

"I assume Scott told you all about me," Steve said. "Playing football today was fun, wish you could have played too."

"I don't do weekend mornings," Chad said. "Weekday mornings are hard enough, you know?"

Chad was about to extend himself and develop this theme, when Sonya approached them and asked to borrow Chad for a moment, as she wanted to introduce him to someone. Sonya and Chad left, leaving Steve and Scott on their own.

"Been thinking a lot about what you said over breakfast, my man," Steve said. "About helping Calvin out."

"His situation is tragic and warrants further investment to fix," Scott said. "What happens to the Calvins of the world is so fundamentally broken."

"Yeah," Steve said. "Bridget sees hope for the first time in years, so, that's something, right?"

Scott was about to agree with Steve, when the absolute damnedest thing happened. Alania, holding a beer in each of her two hands, darted out from the crowd and joined them.

"Hey nerds," Alania said. "What's shaking?"

"What are you doing. . .?" Scott began to ask, before stopping himself.

"Hi," Steve said, and he said no more than this.

"That's all I get is hi?" Alania asked. "When was the last time we met?"

"Scott do you know her?" Steve asked, not addressing Alania at all.

"Yeah," Scott said. "We both live on the same floor of Maybe Dick Hall, I only didn't tell you earlier, because, well, I sort of promised I wouldn't."

"Say no more, I get it," Steve said. "You did the right thing, Scott, what any friend should do."

"Yeah," Scott said, and he wished Alania would leave, as she was making conversation very difficult. Alania, for her part, hadn't expected such an icy reception from Steve; she had expected Steve to be all over her as he always had been.

"Well, this is a major drag," Alania said.

"Hey, where's Margaret?" Scott asked. "Isn't she supposed to be with you?"

"She's trying to hit on the hunky football boy in the other room," Alania said, with a laugh. "She's also drunk enough that she doesn't know where she is. It was easy to lose her."

Another awkward silence followed. Alania finished one of her two beers, and tossed the bottle into a nearby garbage can, while Scott tried to read the emotions on Steve's face. Scott read the same confusion he was feeling at present all over his friend's facial features; neither man knew what the hell Alania was thinking or doing. Scott also read in Steve's face that he didn't want to speak to Alania, and he would much appreciate it if Scott would do the talking, as awkward as that might be.

"What do you want, Alania?" Scott finally asked, figuring the time for posturing was over.

"I wanted to catch up with my old friend, Steve," Alania said. "Preferably in a private bedroom, with less noise, upstairs."

Okay, that was direct, Scott thought to himself. Steve looked up for the first time in a while, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions.

"I'm willing," Steve finally said. "Provided Scott comes too."

"Scott is such a drag, don't you think the two of us should talk things out together alone?" Alania asked.

"I don't feel safe in a room alone with you," Steve said. "Either Scott comes, or get lost."

Scott read in Steve's face that he knew he could be easily manipulated by Alania. What he had meant by saying he didn't feel safe alone with Alania is that he didn't trust himself alone with her. Scott was really, really proud of Steve. This was doubtless the first time in his life he had demanded something of Alania in order to just talk to her. Steve had been burned, badly, in the past, and he was finally taking sensible precautions to protect himself.

"What do you think about that, Scott?" Alania asked. "Are you willing to chaperon a baby who can't talk to a girl on his own without wetting himself?"

That pissed Scott off, and Steve read that anger in his friend's face.

"You're a snake," Scott told Alania. "Only a fool lets himself be alone with such a highly venomous creature."

"Fine, fine, Scott can come too," Alania said. "If the little baby needs help to talk to a grown woman, then one must not expect babies to run before they can walk."

As they walked upstairs, Scott realized what was happening. It was what Chad had said in the dining commons earlier; all girls have guys that they fuck and guys that they use, and Scott and Steve were both guys that girls used. Alania was desperate to re-establish her stranglehold on Steve so that she could use him for things, like she had once done. Scott realized, however, that Alania wanting to use Steve gave Steve some leverage; if he refused to play ball, then that put a price tag on how much she valued his resources. Would she fuck him once or twice to get access to those resources again?

Scott knew that Alania was far more experienced at this kind of transaction than he was, and also far more wily. He knew there was every reason to think that Steve would just crumble once he was alone with Alania again (which is why he had insisted on Scott coming along), and he also read clearly that Steve didn't want to be used again by her. He had accomplished an extremely difficult thing; he had moved on from a girl he had a huge crush on. Scott didn't want to undo that accomplishment.

Once upstairs, the 3 of them found an empty bedroom, with Alania stopping to finish the beer she had, throw the bottle away, and pick up two more beers from a refreshment table in the hall, before entering the bedroom. Steve entered second, and Scott flipped the sign on the outside of the door to 'occupied', entered the room, and then closed the door so it was ajar with a crack only about an inch wide.

The bedroom was rather small, with a bed up against the wall on the left-hand side, a dresser up against the wall on the right-hand side, and a small bathroom on the opposite side of the room from the door.

"I can't hold a conversation with you two while sober," Alania said, as she opened both bottles of beer, and took a large gulp from one. Steve had never seen, or known, how much Alania drank before, and it was opening his eyes to who she truly was.

"Okay," Scott said. "Now what is it that you really want?"

"I miss having Steve around," Alania said. "I just want us to hang out again, like the old days."