We called a cab, and headed out to the campus costume party.
When we arrived, the place was packed. It was wall-to-wall people, and everyone was dressed up. It was actually a lot harder to find people I knew when they were donned in their finest costumes. There were plenty of zombies, what with the popularity of The Walking Dead. There were also a lot of superheroes and vampires. I saw some Duck Dynasty apparel, as well as fairies and angels. There were a few people whose costumes I couldn't guess, and I wondered if they chose the same type of original idea as Brenda had.
We continued to make our way through the crowds until I saw Jet. He wasn't hard to find at all. He was shirtless that October night, with an open robe and boxer shorts. It wasn't hard to guess that he was Rocky. He had a cut above his eye and some bruising on his face, and I couldn't tell whether it was makeup or not. Kyle was there as Batman, and a few of his other teammates surrounded him in various forms of costume.
He spotted me immediately and made a beeline for our little group.
“My God, Natalie, I almost didn't recognize you. That's a pretty hot getup.”
“What the hell? What do you mean you almost didn't recognize me?”
The girls started to giggle as an awkward look came over Jet's face. “No, that's not what I meant. You always look amazing, Natalie, you know that. But to be honest, I thought you would avoid costumes like this and go with something nerdier, like a famous painter.”
His eyes fell on Brenda, and he looked confused. “Are you a man, Brenda? Like a tourist with a camera?”
Julie was bent over, dying with laughter. She thought Jet was hilarious, but what seemed to be funnier for her were the holes he constantly dug himself into.
“Ahhh no, I'm Ansel Adams, the famous photographer. I apparently went for the nerdy costume.”
He looked like he had some regrets. “Ohh, right, I see. I had no idea what he looked like, that's all.” He turned to Julie, who was still busting a gut. “Thanks a lot, Julie. You're a big help. Nice costume, though; you plan on biting anyone tonight?”
“Oh, we'll see; the night is young.”
“Well, I can introduce you to some of my friends if you like.”
She smiled. “Maybe, we'll see. Anyway, Natalie, we are going to grab a drink. We'll see you in a bit.”
I nodded. “So, Rocky, right?”
He smiled. “I'm glad you can recognize a legend. Yeah, of course. I'm not really big on dressing up for Halloween, but my buddies wanted to come, so I thought, what the hell.”
“Your face definitely matches the costume. I thought it was makeup at first, but clearly it isn't. So what happened? Did Katie do that to you?”
He laughed loudly. “No, she didn't. I had the conference semifinals the other day, and well, I got my ass whooped.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, Jet.”
“No, don't get me wrong. I won my belt, and I'm going to the finals, but I still took a really good beating.”
He moved his robe to the side, and I could see bruises all over his body. “I ended up breaking the guy’s rib; that's what finally ended the fight.”
“Wow, that's incredible. I didn't realize they let things go too far.”
“Well, I don't think they normally do, but the guy kept getting up. He was a monster, and had they not stopped the fight, he would have kept coming at me, broken bones and all.”
“Really?” My eyebrows rose; I had a hard time picturing it. “But you're okay?”
“Yeah, I had to go to the hospital and get stitches, but that was it. Noting major, but I have a lot of healing to do before the finals.”
She nodded. “I have those pictures, by the way, from the fight that I attended. They came out really well, and I got an A+ on the project.”
“Hey, good for you. Wow, teachers actually give out A-pluses? Man, I thought it was just a myth.”
She giggled. “No, Jet. It just requires studying.”
“Yeah, I don't have time for sure things. Maybe now I will, though, since I will be resting a lot.”
“Well, next time you come for the drawing, I'll show you the pictures.”