Jordan, ‘10

I’m going to relate to you now the fairly bizarre account of one study abroad student’s unusually eventful Friday night.  On Friday, this most enterprising and adventurous of young women and her very talented, beautiful, and daring study abroad comrades set out to explore the nightlife of an exciting street in Melbourne known as Brunswick street.  On this day, her friends and she were celebrating the most holy day of all–their friend Hannah’s extravagant and diabolical twenty-first birthday (which Hannah secretly feared would amount to nothing because the twenty-first of birthdays is not a major occurrence in a country with a drinking age of eighteen). 

So the main study abroad student and her seven brave companions ventured into the dark unknown in search of the illusive Night Cat–a nightclub slated to have a live band and a hopping dance floor.  Successful were they in their pursuit for before long they found themselves handing their IDs to a very nice but grouchy bouncer named Alastair and entering the red-lit main room where no less than three hundred people gathered to party the night away!  The live band was performing a lively reggae beat and the high-spirited young women of the group quickly took to the dance floor, trying with little luck to find the beat of the nearly undanceable (but lovely listening) song.  They were quickly surrounded by desperate but attractive and polite young swags who begged to dance with the birthday girl and her friends.  The boys, until this point, acted more like wall-ornaments than members of the party…but that was quickly remedied by the arrival of two male friends who came to dance until the early morning rays broke the seal of the purple horizon. 

Hour upon hour descended upon the group until only three birthday friends remained–the main study abroad student, the birthday girl, and their friend Meredith.  One a.m. came, then two, and the band played on and on.  Another man–who appeared as if a young boy of twelve–came forward soon and introduced himself to the dynamic and strong young maiden Meredith and began to court her persistently much to our, and her, amusement.  Other men came forward too to dance with Hannah and the student.  The music played on until 3:15 when the young courter became too persistent and Meredith felt the need to remove herself for some air (and to get away for a little while) in the front of the nightclub. 

As the final song of the band came to a stupendous finish, Hannah, the student, and the only male friend that remained decided to go out to make sure Meredith was all right.  She stood steadfast in the cooling morning air, with the young suitor faithfully at her heels and we joined them–much to her delight and his dismay.  Standing there, we laughed about the night’s festivities and the success of a birthday well celebrated–until we heard a booming, thunderous crash from right beside us.  Indeed, the student barely turned her head in time to watch the entire front window of the nightclub crash down around a drunk young man who had leaned a bit too heavily against the pane.  The glass was more than an inch thick! and shards fell at the students’ feet.  Indeed, one piece hit her right below the eye!  Alas, she was fine and the drunk man seemed fine…until he stood up and began to bleed profusely upon the asphalt.  The poor silly dear was rushed to the hospital and his night ended in a flurry of oxygen tanks and stitches (and that’s all, the student fervently hoped!), though the cut was large and thick on his stomach. 

This signaled the end of a long night for the birthday group and saying her more than willing goodbyes to the disheartened young suitor, Meredith, Hannah, the male friend, and the student began their trek home.

And upon the student’s mind were the evening’s events so imprinted that the next day she could barely contain her boredom at the studying she endured.  She became so bored in fact that she painted her hands in the blue ink of Bic and took a photograph of the results.

 

The End (or a new beginning)

Quote of the week:

Buddha said, “Hope causes Pain”…so don’t hope; do something about it or let it be.