The Boy Who Couldn’t Miss

by Laurence Dahners

  Roni thought to herself, You’ve only been here a few days, you should’ve expected it to take longer than that! The dorm had put on a get together for its occupants, but Madison thought it’d been tame.

  Roni thought tame was fine, at least until they had a better feel for college life, nonetheless she’d agreed to go to Madison’s party with her. She really liked Madison, and if Madison wanted a little excitement Roni figured that it wouldn’t hurt to at least go see what excitement looked like.

  When they arrived, Roni felt a little dismayed to realize she was the only person of color there. After a while she realized there were some Latinos and people of Asian descent. It was just that they were pretty light-skinned. No one was nearly as dark as Roni.

  The party was in the event room of an apartment complex and the people putting on the party were asking for substantial “donations” to fund the rental of the room and the drinks and ice. Roni said, “I’m too young to drink alcohol. Is it okay if I make a smaller donation since I’ll only be drinking soda?”

  The guy who was collecting just laughed and shook his head disbelievingly. Roni didn’t know whether he thought it was a stupid question, or felt sure Roni would actually start drinking alcohol once she got to the tables where the drinks were set up. Roni and Madison paid full fare even though Roni was thinking to herself that whoever’d organized the party might just be putting it on for a profit. She and Madison wandered around the party looking for Adam, the guy who’d invited Madison.

  Madison’d agonized over how late to arrive at the party. She’d wanted to get there after Adam did, but not so late that he might meet another girl. Instead, it looked like they’d arrived before he did. Madison and Roni sat on a couch near the corner, drinking soda and watching other people socialize.

  They were discussing strategies for getting up off the couch and getting out in the room to meet people when Madison said, “He just came in! Let’s go dance!”

  Roni found herself being pulled out onto a tiled section of the clubhouse floor. A few people were already dancing out there. Roni felt uncomfortable because she’d never really danced before, but Madison just started kind of writhing around to the music. After a moment Roni did the same kind of thing in Madison’s vicinity. Well, not exactly the same, Madison was being pretty flamboyant, presumably to attract Adam’s eye.

  Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Adam walked out onto the dance floor shouting, “Madison! You came! How long have you been here?”

  Madison continued dancing but added a large shrug and lied blithely, “Just a few minutes. How long have you been here?”

  Adam told her he’d just come in so Madison claimed they’d evidently timed things perfectly. Madison introduced Roni to Adam. Adam looked surprised, but shook Roni’s hand saying, “Glad you could come.”

  Roni hoped he’d looked surprised because he hadn’t expected Madison to bring anyone with her. However, she worried that it was because he was racist and took a natural dislike to people like her. Maybe I’m just too suspicious, she thought, always thinking everyone’s a racist. Every time someone says something ugly or looks at me funny, I think it’s because of my skin. She paused for a brief consideration, then thought, But, some of them are racists. I’m less likely to be caught off guard if I’m always expecting the worst of people…

  Then again, maybe I’ll never make any friends if I constantly think everyone’s my enemy?

  Adam started dancing with Madison. Roni, feeling uncomfortable as the third wheel, moved off to reclaim their position on the couch. She sipped her drink, looking over the rim of her cup and trying to get up the nerve to go talk to some of the strangers in the room. If I’m going to be in college and have a social life, like people are supposed to, I’ve got to have the courage to start meeting people!

  She sat, rehearsing lines she might use to open conversations, but couldn’t bring herself to get off the couch and go use one. Suddenly a woman plopped down on the couch next to her. Roni realized she hadn’t noticed a shy looking girl sitting on the other end of the couch. This new woman had dropped heavily down between the two of them. The woman was big—mostly tall but also a little overweight. When she landed on the couch the whole thing bounced so it was hard not to notice her. She turned her head back and forth, looking from Roni to the girl on the other end of the couch then said, “My excuse is that I’m so big all the men here are intimidated by me. Ergo, I’m alone.” She looked back and forth at the two girls on the ends of the couch again and said, “What are your excuses?”

  Roni felt frozen and didn’t want to respond, but the girl on the other end of the couch said, “I’m shy.”

  The woman turned to Roni, making her feel compelled to speak. She didn’t want to admit to feeling shy. After a moment, she heard herself say “I’m afraid they’re all racists.” Then she thought, “Why the hell did I say that?! This woman’s white and she’s trying to be pleasant! I’ve probably pissed her off!”

  Rather than seeming upset, the woman laughed heartily and said, “That’s a great excuse! I should say, ‘I’m afraid they’re all size-ists.’ That’d be so much cooler than trying to claim they’re intimidated by me. Besides it makes them guilty for being discriminatory jerks instead of being victims of my impressive size!” She put out her hand to shake, saying, “I’m Indigo Smith, who’re you?”

  “I’m Roni Buchry,” Roni said, shaking the outstretched hand. She felt completely awed by the large and ebullient woman.

  “Cool name!” Indigo said. She turned to the girl at the other end of the couch and extended her hand that direction, “I’m Indigo, who’re you?”

  The other girl hesitantly said, “Sabine Barrett.”

  Indigo said, “Another cool name! This is Roni.” She hooked a thumb back over her shoulder at Roni. “Well, I came to this party to meet people, how about you girls?”

  Sabine shrugged and said, “My brother brought me. He’s a junior and our mom made him promise to take me to a few functions my freshman year.” She looked disgusted, “Apparently this’s supposed to be one of them.”

  Indigo frowned, “Where’s your brother then? Is he tall enough for me?”

  This brought an involuntary smile to Sabine’s lips. “I’m thinking he’s probably outside drinking with a couple of his buddies.” As if revealing a confidence, Sabine said, “I think he needs some liquid courage before he can talk to girls, if you know what I mean.”

  “Hah! I could just go talk to him,” Indigo said.

  Sabine snorted, “He’s also five-foot eight. You’d probably scare him half to death.”

  “Yeah, I’m six-one.” Indigo said disconsolately. “It’s hard to find a guy who doesn’t mind looking up at me.” She glanced over at Roni, “Bunch of size-ists, right?! Who’d you come with?”

  “My roommate. She’s the one that got an invitation to the party.”

  “Where is she?”

  Roni looked out around the room. “I don’t see her,” she said with a sense of unease. “She was hanging out with the guy that invited her, but I don’t see either of them right now.” She slid forward to perch on the edge of the couch and straightened to crane her neck and look around the room.

  Indigo rose to her feet. “Perfect! That’s a great excuse for us wander around the party. We’ll be looking for her; seeing and being seen; impressing everyone with our beauty.”

  Roni guiltily stood up, still searching the room for Madison. She and Madison were supposed to be looking out for one another and she’d already failed her roommate. She felt fairly confident that she’d seen enough of the room to be sure Madison wasn’t in it. Maybe she’s gone out by the pool?

  Indigo said, “See her yet?”

  Roni shook her head, still looking.

  “Let’s go on a bear hunt,” Indigo said enthusiastically. She turned to the other girl, “Sabine, you coming with us or you just sitting there like a lump?”

  Though she looked reluctant, Sabine stood up.

&nbs
p; Indigo turned to Roni, “What’s your roommate look like?”

  Roni shrugged, “Frizzy blonde hair, about shoulder length. Same height as me. Jeans and a pullover.”

  “Ooh,” Indigo exclaimed, “she sounds cute. No wonder she’s getting invited to parties already.” She paused, “I mean, ‘already’ since I’m assuming she’s a freshman like you?”

  Roni nodded distractedly, starting to move toward the door that went out to the pool area. Madison is really pretty, she thought with a pang of jealousy. I hope she hasn’t attracted the wrong kind of attention.

  Roni expected Indigo to have them separate in order to search the party more quickly, returning to meet somewhere and discuss their findings. However, Indigo herded them all away from the pool doors and out to a small kitchen. Roni realized that, to Indigo, the search was as much an opportunity for them to socialize with one another, and perhaps others, while they were looking, as it was an attempt to find Madison. After all, Madison was probably fine and their search was mostly a way to do something besides sit. Roni considered breaking off on her own, but decided that if they did find Madison in some kind of distress, it would be nice to have along someone big and bold like Indigo.

  She blinked, realizing that she’d already discounted Sabine as any kind of help in a crisis. I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t judge others on their looks, she thought, so I need to wait and see. Sabine may be a huge help.

  Despite her self-admonishment, Roni didn’t really believe it.

  Indigo took them through the small kitchen of the event center and peered into a pantry that stood off of it. “Empty,” she said. “Let’s go this way,” she said indicating a direction with a sweep of her arm.

  “This way” led into a small conference room with a big table that had 10 chairs around it. One of the chairs was drawn off toward a corner and held a couple who were so entranced in their make-out session that they didn’t notice the three girls passing through.

  It became even more evident that Indigo knew her way around the apartment complex’s event center when she took them into another room holding couches and a big screen. Five guys were sitting in there, drinking beer and watching a football game.

  Still no sign of Madison.

  Indigo took them out through the sliding glass doors to the patio around the swimming pool. Roni felt a little worried that they’d find people swimming naked in the pool. However, the pool itself was empty. There was a moderate crowd drinking near the doors to the main room of the party. They appeared to just be socializing out where it was quieter and easier to talk than it was inside. The crowd was thick enough that Indigo led them through it to make sure they could see everyone there. They didn’t find any girls with blonde hair, much less Madison’s tight curls.

  Roni looked out into the pool area and realized there were some people sitting around tables and a few couples scattered about on the pool furniture. Some of them looked like they were making-out. She didn’t see any frizzy blonde hair, but many of them were in shadows. Uncertainly, she started walking out that way, thinking to make a circuit of the pool. For the first time, she wished she didn’t have Indigo and Sabine with her. If her two new friends weren’t there, she could make herself invisible and not worry about whether any of the people in the area around the pool would be offended that she was walking around peering at them.

  However, Indigo wasn’t at all worried about whether some of the people out there might be upset. She quickly caught up to Roni and said, not quietly at all, “Good idea. Let’s cruise around the pool and see if she’s out here somewhere.” Indigo made no effort whatsoever to try to do this discreetly, instead angling here and there to get a close look at the people out there. She peered into a dark alcove off the main pool patio then stopped suddenly and turned to Roni, “Frizzy blonde hair over here. Is this her?”

  Despite feeling embarrassed to be so obviously looking people over, Roni walked to where Indigo was standing near a couple who were lying on a dimly lit pool recliner. “Madison?” she asked uncertainly. The alcove was pretty dim and the man was up on one elbow so that his head shadowed even the little light from the girl’s face. A little bit of her hair was caught by a glimmer and did appear to be tightly curled and pale like Madison’s.

  The girl lifted her head slightly, then let it drop back as if it had been too much effort. She said, “Heeyy Roni.”

  A sick feeling came over Roni and she said, “Have you been drinking?”

  This time the girl didn’t lift her head. In a slurred voice, she said, “Nope.” There was a pause, then she snorted and said, “Well, tha’s no’ qui’ true. I’ been drinkin’ my Die’ Coke.”

  Though she’d only met him briefly and his face was also in the shadow, Roni felt pretty sure the guy lying next to her was Adam. His arm draped loosely over her waist, though Roni suspected it might have been up on Madison’s chest before they got there. He lifted his chin and said, “Hey, can’t you guys tell we’d like a little privacy here?”

  Roni said, “Madison, you sound drunk. If you haven’t been drinking, maybe somebody drugged your Coke? Could that have happened?”

  “Nah,” Madison said, “it’s jus’ been Adam and me. No one else’s been close.” She turned her head blearily toward him, “Right Adam?”

  “Not a soul,” Adam said turning to stare hard at Roni. “Why don’t you get lost?” He turned his face back to Madison, “You don’t want them hanging around watching us like a bunch of creeps, do you?”

  “Naw…” Madison said blissfully.

  Roni thought Madison was about to say something else, but Adam leaned forward and covered her lips with his. Roni said a little sharply, “Madison! I think you’ve been drugged. Let me take you home.”

  Madison didn’t respond. She just lay there placidly as Adam kissed her.

  “Madison!” Roni practically shouted, but got no response.

  Adam leaned up off of Madison and said, “Would you two,” he didn’t seem to notice Sabine who’d retreated back against the wall as if she were horrified, “please get lost. She doesn’t want you here.”

  Suddenly Indigo stepped forward and jerked Adam up off the recliner by his upper arm. Somehow she managed to twist his forearm up behind his back. Leaning close to Adam’s ear, Indigo said, “You’re not giving her a chance to talk. Even if you were, she couldn’t speak for herself because you’ve drugged her!”

  Up on his toes and speaking in a somewhat desperate tone, Adam said, “She told you no one drugged her drink!”

  Still close to his ear, Indigo grated out, “She said no one but you got near her drink. You drugged her, right?” She turned and focused on Sabine. “Call 911, she might have been OD’d.”

  Sabine looked frozen, staring wide-eyed at the tableau in front of her. Roni said, “I’ll call them.” She pulled out her phone and used it to dial 911. Even as she spoke to the dispatcher, Roni watched in awe as Indigo kept Adam physically controlled.

  The dispatcher said help would be there shortly, but that Roni should leave her phone on so the dispatcher could hear what was going on. Roni put her phone on intercom and knelt down next to Madison. She set the phone on the little table next to the pool recliner. “Madison? Are you okay?”

  Madison frowned a little, then spoke in a slurred voice, “I feel funny.”

  Roni leaned down, “I think you should sit up. Let me help you.”

  Roni took Madison’s wrist and started pulling her up, but Madison’s head stayed on the recliner, sagging limply back. “I’m, I’m paralyshed,” she slurred out.

  Easing Madison’s wrist back down left her lying twisted on the recliner. Roni actually felt like she needed to physically straighten Madison’s body back out because she looked so uncomfortable in that position.

  Roni looked up at Adam and Indigo. Adam had a pinched and terrified look on his face. He chose that moment to struggle a little and flail back with his free right arm to try to hit Indigo. Indigo dodged easily. Lifting hi
s left wrist a little higher behind his back, she pulled him further up on his tiptoes. She looked furious as she leaned closer to him again, “Just a little jerk on your wrist here’s gonna break your arm, asshole. I’d hold still if I were you.”

  In a strained voice, he said, “I didn’t do anything! If she’s been roofied, somebody else must’ve done it.”

  “No one said anything about roofies,” Indigo said in an ugly tone, “but I’ll bet that’s what they’re going to find in her bloodstream, isn’t it?”

  “No! I don’t know! She looks drugged, but I didn’t do it!”

  “But you were going to take advantage of it, weren’t you?”

  “No! She just now started acting funny!”

  Roni looked back down at Madison and saw her eyes were closed. Picking up Madison’s wrist, she felt for a pulse and watched Madison’s chest to be sure her roommate was still breathing. Roni could feel a pulse but hadn’t felt enough pulses to have any idea whether it was strong or weak. Or fast or slow. “Madison?” she said, sweeping her eyes down over Madison’s body while wondering if she might recognize any other signs of a problem.

  Her eyes widened.

  Madison’s jeans were unbuttoned and unzipped.

  “Madison?” Roni said again when she realized Madison hadn’t answered. Madison still didn’t respond, so Roni reached up and patted her on the cheek like she’d seen people do in the movies. The patting turned Madison’s head a little bit to the side but didn’t generate a response. She wished the police or some EMTs would get there. She didn’t know much about date-rape drugs. Can they kill people? she wondered.

  Roni leaned down next to her phone which she’d set to intercom. “Hello? 911?”

  There was a brief pause, then she heard the dispatcher’s voice, “Yes, I’m still here.”

  “My friend’s not responding anymore. Should I be worried?”

  “Is she still breathing?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know if she’s breathing normally.”