Chapter 2

A look of awe spread across the faces of all three girls as they entered the party. Rob really had spared no expense - the room was well-decorated, there was Halloween-themed finger-food everywhere, and he’d even splashed out for an open bar. If she wasn’t dressed as a grotesque parody of a sexual fetish she found repugnant, Kelsey may have even been able to enjoy herself.

But she’d volunteered to drive, so couldn’t even get drunk.

“Well,” Brittany said, clearly unperturbed by the stares she was getting for her slutty outfit, “we’re here! May as well enjoy ourselves!”

“You go on ahead,” Heather said. “I’m going to hang back with Kels for a while.”

As the bubbly blonde bounced her way into the party, Heather turned to Kelsey.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Kelsey replied, forcing a grin onto her face. “Just a bit - well, y’know.”

“Shy?”

“Yeah.”

There was a pause, as the two girls watched the throbbing mass of bodies in front of them, occasionally spotting Brittany’s blonde hair popping up above the crowd.

“Do you think I went overboard?” Kelsey suddenly asked, and Heather shook her head.

“Look at me,” she said, flashing Kelsey and getting a laugh in response. “Besides, check out the competition - one of us is a shoe-in. That money is as good as ours.”

Heather was right. The party was full of sexy nurses, teachers, students, cat-girls ... even a few whores, bimbos and Playboy Bunnies. But no one had gone to the efforts of Kelsey and her co-workers, and their extreme outfits were even earning them a few dirty looks.

Kelsey relaxed slightly, and Heather put her arm around her.

“You look great, seriously. Have you ever considered getting inked for real?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Kelsey answered. “But I’m terrified of needles. Oh, god...”

The graphic designer went white as a familiar face approached, a huge grin on his face.

“Heather! Kathy! You made it!!”

“It’s Kelsey,” she murmured in response, but the music was too loud for Rob to hear her.

“These costumes ... wow. Just ... wow. You guys are ... yeah, there’s no other word for it: wow.”

“Brittany’s here too,” Heather replied, as coolly as she could.

“Yeah I saw! Good to see that she’s finally embracing her true self, hey Kathy?” Rob said with a broad wink.

“When are the prizes being announced?”

“At midnight, of course! Check out the trophies - I got them from this cool occult store downtown!”

Kelsey looked at where Rob was pointing, and saw three trophies standing on a pedestal in the centre of the room. The way the disco light shone onto them gave them a strange glow, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, a chill ran down her back at the sight of them.

“Wow,” she said flatly in response, getting another laugh out of Rob.

“Anyway, I’ll see you guys later! Enjoy the party!”

For Kelsey, the two hours she had to wait until midnight seemed to last a thousand years. Worst of all, while she’d been correct in her prediction that no other females from the office would be there, she hadn’t realized that a party with free booze and “prizes for most erotic costume” would be a beacon to the males in her office.

Within the first half-hour, she managed to narrowly avoid being seen by five different co-workers. Unfortunately, after that, Brittany came to find her - and Brittany had no compunctions about being spotted.

“Kels!” she cried out from across the room. “Look who’s here! It’s Mark from accounting!”

“Kelsey??” Mark said, staring at her in shock. “Kelsey ... is that really you??”

“Hi Mark,” Kelsey said, avoiding eye contact. “Enjoying the party?”

“Yeah, I ... wow. Can I get you a drink?”

“It’s an open bar,” Kelsey said flatly.

“I’ll take one! Just a beer, thanks Mark,” Brittany interrupted, and grinned through her mock-cum at Kelsey. “Always let them buy you a drink, even if it’s free - it’s habit-forming.”

“I thought you didn’t date co-workers.”

“I don’t ... that doesn’t mean I don’t let them buy me drinks. I haven’t paid for a drink in over a year now.”

Mark returned and accepted Brittany’s offer to dance, leaving Kelsey alone with the finger-food once more. Her skull-cap was itchy, her legs were tired, and her co-workers hadn’t offered to chip in for petrol, so she leaned on the table and ate as many of the snacks as she could stomach. Finally midnight rolled around, and a clearly inebriated Rob stood up to announce the winners.

“First of all,” he slurred, “I want to have everyone for coming. We should thank one of these every year!”

The crowd was, on average, just as drunk as Rob, and they cheered at the suggestion, growing silent once more as he prepared to read out the winners.

“In third place, for creativity, boldness and being fucking sexy, it’s my dear friend and co-worker ... Heather!”

The girls had reconvened near the stage, in preparation for the prizes that they knew were theirs. Kelsey and Brittany congratulated Heather as she got pulled up on-stage by Rob, who handed her the mike.