Chapter 3 Celebration Night
The day slowly passed, and Angela decided to tell her friend Zora, a college bestie, about her new employment.
Inside Angela’s room, Angela was lying on her bed chatting with Zora on her phone. She swung her legs happily behind her as she lay on her belly holding the phone to her ears.
“Trust me, I was very scared with the way applicants were coming in as quickly as they entered the room,” Angela expressed.
“Wow. You are brave. I would have left the place the moment I realised I didn’t fit the profile,” Zora said.
“Well, the only thing that prevented me from leaving was my outfit and fear,” Angela said, and Zora laughed on the other end of the call.
“Your outfit and fear? How?” Zora asked.
“Well, I was the only one who appeared to be poorly dressed. I couldn’t bring myself to walk in front of the expensively dressed applicants. That would be so embarrassing,” Angela said.
“Good, you dressed poorly then, if not panic would have taken you out of the competition,” Zora said. “You know what. You have to celebrate. A Mask Party is happening downtown tonight. I know you hate for people to see you around places like clubs, that is why I feel you will be okay with this one, wearing a mask. Your identity will be hidden,” she proposed.
“Zora, bad things always happen in those clubs. You can come around. We will watch a movie and have some drinks,” Angela suggested.
“Boring. The theme for the club fun is Mask it Up. It will be fun. No one will see you,” Zora convinced.
“Zora,” Angela began, but Zora interrupted.
“No buts. You are coming with me, and that is finally. Girl, you need to see the real world and know a little bit of what’s up. If not, you will remain a greenhorn forever. Today’s men like a woman with a little knowledge, not a greenhorn,” Zora said, and Angela rolled her eyes.
“I will see you in an hour. I will get you something for the party tonight,” Zora added.
“Okay. Whatever,” Angela reluctantly agreed.
She will be wearing a mask, and she feels that will make her feel okay visiting places like that. She made a mental note to leave if anything that showed signs of a fight was about to happen.
Later that evening, Zora came by the house holding a bag. She greeted Mr and Mrs Anderson before going up to Angela’s room.
Zora frowned immediately when she found Angela dressed in a long, straight dress with a flower design all over it.
"Girl, what are you wearing?" Zora asked, making a face.
"A straight dress," Angela replied.
"Girl, we are not going to church. It is a club. We are not going to do praise and worship. You need to look hot," Zora said and pulled the black cocktail dress out of the bag she was holding.
Angela stared at the dress, which almost looked like a ballerina's dancing dress, except the flare at the waist was not that stiff,f but it was short too.
"You expect me to wear that?" Angela asked, staring at the dress.
"Yes," Zora replied with a smile.
"NO," Angela protested.
"Yes," Zora repeated. “Now, go put it on,” Zora said and handed the dress over to Angela.
She pushed Angela towards the bathroom so she could change into the outfit. The dress had glass beads at the front, making it sparkle under the light.
“Is this not too short?” Angela complained, looking at the beautiful dress she was holding as Zora pushed her towards the bathroom.
“It is late, and the lights will be dimmed. Who will see those legs of yours anyway? If I had legs like yours, trust me, I would put them out for exhibition,” Zora said, and she pushed Angela into the bathroom to change.
Angela returned to the bedroom wearing the cocktail dress. Zora’s eyes lit up as she admired Angela in the dress. Angela tagged at the length of the dress, which was exposing fifty per cent of her thigh.
“Zora, I am not comfortable in this dress. It is too short,” Angela complained.
“Girl, where are you from? The Stone Age era? I bet even Mary did know how to dress sexily, reason Samson fell in love with her and despite her pregnancy, he still couldn’t leave her,” Zora said, and Angela frowned.
“It was Joseph, not Samson, and in those times they didn’t wear clothes that exposed their bodies like this,” Angela corrected. "In fact, they wear clothes that cover their bodies from head to toe," she added, and Zora rolled her eyes, getting some makeup from her bag.
“I am talking about Samson. What is the name of the girl who seduced him again?” Zora asked as she fixed the dress on Angela and pushed her to sit on the bed so she could do some makeup for her.
“You mean Delilah?” Angela asked, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, she,” Zora said and started doing a light make-up for Angela.
“Zora, Delilah was bad news. She destroyed Samson. I don’t think you want me to be a Delilah tonight?” Angela said and remained seated as Zora did the makeup for her.
“I think Delilah was a bad person by choice. How about you be the good version of Delilah? Being good by choice. Find Samson and this time help him accomplish God’s work on Earth,” Zora said, smiling as she admired the makeup she had done for Angela.
Angela facepalmed hearing Zora's statement.
“If you want to advise me using the bible, at least get your stories right. I am not going to be Delilah,” Angela said, and the next minute she found herself in a car heading to the club in the dress she didn’t want to wear.
Mr and Mrs Anderson were happy to see Angela look different for the first time and felt okay because it wasn't late. Angela had a long coat over her black cocktail dress, and her makeup was amazing. Zora also promised to bring Angela back home in one piece. She had a car.
At the popular club, located in a popular place, in the city of New York, Angela and Zora strode in after Zora tipped the man at the gate heavily.
“Now, we can get some men to buy us a drink. Here are a few rules when you go to a club or any party,” Zora said, whispering into Angela’s ear.
“Never leave your drink. Carry it everywhere you go. When a guy is bothering you, you have two options: remain calm or walk away. Usually, there is always a good guy watching who will come to your rescue,” Zora said, and Angela frowned.
“Is that automatic?” Angela asked.
“I don’t know, but that is how good girls find their dream men in movies,” Zora said, and Angela shook her head.
“Now, last rule, never be alone. Always find the biggest guy in the club and chat with him. They will protect you,” Zora added, and Angela raised her eyebrow. “You will be fine. You have beautiful legs, eyes and nose. Girl, you are beautiful, and most guys who come here are rich and powerful. They hate to see a damsel in distress,” Zora added and pulled Angela into the crowd of people.
“This place is too crowded. Let me see if we can bribe our way to VIP 1,” Zora shouted the words out, pulling Angela with her.
“Hey Jose, you remember me?” Zora said to the man at the entrance of VIP 1.
“Hello, Trouble, what do you want this time?” Jose replied.
Angela stared at the man, who appeared to be huge and had tattoos around his neck.
“I am showing my girlfriend around. I just want her to explore a place less crowded,” Zora replied.
“You know the drill,” Jose replied, and Zora leaned in, wrapping her arms around the man.
Angela did not see what Zora did, but the man allowed them into the VIP 1 section. The place was indeed less crowded.
“Now, here we will get free drinks. Only the rich come up to this space, and the next VIP space is for extremely rich people,” Zora said, and Angela just nodded.
Zora approached a certain man and started flirting with him, but Angela stood there quietly.
“Does your friend speak?” the man asked.
“Yeah, she, but that is something she does after getting a drink,” Zora said, and the man bought them a drink.
They sat on the barstool chatting, and Zora left with the man for the dance floor. Angela looked at the two dancing. She emptied her glass and felt like using the washroom. She asked the bartender where she could find the washroom, and he directed her.
Angela decided to use the washroom and returned without bothering Zora. She went in the direction the bartender showed her, but as soon as she exited the space, her mouth was covered with a cloth, and after a little struggle, she passed out.