Chapter 16

The Halloween Fancy Dress Party wasn’t an official university ball, but the students at Westmouth had always treated it as one. It was the only fancy dress function on the calendar, and they enjoyed the opportunity to dress up. There were innumerable witches, warlocks, madmen and monsters strolling around the campus as Adam and Chloë retuned to his flat from her house.

“Tell me again,” she asked as they approached the flat. “Do I look okay?”

“You look fab,” said Adam. “I mean it. Fab.”

She wore a scarlet wedding gown, designed by her friend, the renowned French fashion designer Jacques Surmont. Jacques had also put together Adam’s outfit, at Chloë’s request. It was a late nineteenth-century suit, complete with cape, cane and top hat. Both of them wore pale make-up and false fangs and Adam had a long curly black wig. Eddie, who had an axe embedded in his head, and Cassie, who wore black, a false nose and green face paint, waited for them in the kitchen.

“Who are you meant to be?” Eddie asked as he handed Adam a can of lager. Adam had to remove his fangs to drink.

“Dracula and Lucy,” said Chloë. She held out a hand and cocked her head. “Where’s mine?”

“Here—” Cassie handed her a glass of red wine. “More lady-like, don’t you think?”

“It’s the right colour too,” said Chloë. “Looks like blood.”

They drank quickly, then walked the short distance to the Student’s Union building where they queued with the other students. The Union was a two-story building built in the late seventies and was in dire need of renovation. Its position on the hillside meant it had an unconventional construction. The entrance hall, while at the same level as the plaza outside, was ‘between’ the building’s two floors. There were stairs down to the campus supermarket and second-hand book store occupying one half of the lower floor, and the Student’s Union administration offices which filled the rest. On either side of those stairs was a flight up to the entertainment level. There were two rooms on the upper floor—the bar that Adam and Chloë often visited and a large hall which was used as a refectory during the day and a dance hall at night.

They had a pizza and a couple of drinks in the bar before moving through to the dance hall where Guilty Verdict were going to play. The resident DJ played high tempo music until the band took to the stage. The dance floor was full and the surrounding areas heaved. The whole room buzzed with excitement. Guilty Verdict was the hottest band in Britain. In the past two years, they’d had two number one albums and a string of top ten hits. They sang about the ‘working-class struggle’ and had been credited with helping to elect the left-of-centre government that now presided over the country. The lead singer, Billy Thomas, adorned the walls of many women—old and young—around the country. He cultivated a wild, bad-boy image and had a reputation as a ladies’ man. His list of celebrity ex-girlfriends was almost as long as his list of groupie conquests.

After a short warm-up, the band launched into an energetic hour-long set. Chloë, Adam and their friends enjoyed the performance from the centre of the dance floor. Until, at the end of the set, Billy Thomas addressed his audience.

“Westmouth, you’ve been awesome! Now we want to give you a special treat. This is the first time we’ve performed our new single in public. It’s called Reunion and is the theme tune to the new movie of the same name. A movie that stars a very sexy young lady who’s in the audience tonight. Where are you Chloë? Give us a wave.”

Chloë looked at the floor as Eddie and some of the others around her cheered, waved and pointed her out to the singer. A spotlight fell upon her.

“There she is. My good friend, boys and girls. Chloë Goodman—as good a reason to see this film as you’ll ever get. Her and that you get to hear our song over the titles. I’ll see you and your friends backstage after the show. Okay, Sweets?”

The spotlight shifted back to the stage and Chloë looked up again. Everyone around her was cheering. She grabbed Adam’s hand and leaned close to his ear. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where to?”

“Anywhere. Just out of here.”

They pushed their way out of the hall, had their hands stamped by the doorman so that they could return, and went outside. Chloë was seething. “Bastard, bastard, arsehole, bastard! Didn’t I tell you he was an arsehole?”