Posted by Ensign Chloe Harland (Nurse) in Connecticut - The Winter Masquerade

Posted by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Counselor) in Connecticut - The Winter Masquerade

Posted by Ensign Chloe Harland (Nurse) in Connecticut - The Winter Masquerade
Chloe sat looking around the room. The yellow- gold maple floors glistened from their oiled based polyurethaned shine and holographic snowflakes dotting here and there. The room’s magical feel continued with the white satin banners, tablecloths, and bunting. The lights on the ceilings shone through blue filters giving everything an ethereal glow. The people in the room wore two things. The girls wore long, flowing dresses in either white or pale blues, greens, or pinks. The boys wore dark suits in black or navy with crisp white shirts. Everything was picture perfect yet like all things in Connecticut it was simply a facade.

Two Hours Earlier

The van was pulling up to the building as the young band looked up at the sign with a squinted glance “Whitehall Christian Academy?” came the voice of the drummer as they all looked at each other. “I thought Nate said this was a club…” Chad said as the eyes of the band all turned around at Nate who could be seen taking a deep breath.

“I said it could lead to club gigs… look we are ages 16 to 18 here, i.e. we are young. Most clubs won’t touch us unless we can get some local New England following… how do you get following? You play crappy gigs like this. Time will come, but 30 Seconds To Vulcan can’t get anywhere without someone to give a crap about us!” Nate insisted as the young bassists sitting next to him, whom was sitting awfully close to him, nodded in agreement.

“Nate’s right, we all agreed we needed some gigs and this is one… so just get in there… be polite… play the songs they request, throw in a few of our own… and see where we can go.” Piper said as she wanted to get everyone on board with the plan, knowing they all needed to work together to get the gig.

“Of course you back him up, you’re sleeping with him… but if this goes bad then the band rep takes a hit too, it works both ways.” chimed in the rhythm guitarists John as he felt a need to voice what they all very much where aware of.

“That doesn’t matter John, they are both right… lets be honest we sometimes need some crappy gigs to get good ones.” Chad chimed in knowing that this was the best move, even if he felt hesitant.

“That settles it then, let’s get going.” Nate said as he opened the sliding door as the band began to pour out.

Present Time

The Whitehall Christian Academy’s annual Winter Masquerade Ball was the talk of the holiday season. Everyone wore a small mask to hide their features which to Chloe was ridiculous. They lied to each other’s faces the other three three hundred and sixty-four days of the year so why go through the hassle of using a mask tonight. The mask didn’t stop Chloe from recognizing her date kissing Kaitlyn Meyers in the locker room nor did it add sincerity when she found Chloe and professed it was just a one-time event. Kaitlyn Meyers spun the truth so much you had no idea what was real or not. The thing that surprised Chloe the most was Kaitlyn’s request that they work through this and try to be friends. When Chloe pointed out that Kaitlyn’s tongue down Jake’s throat did not bode well as the start to a friendship, Kaitlyn groaned loudly announcing how difficult Chloe often made things.

Jake for his part was giving the two women wide berth for the moment as he spiked the punch bowl. No one would ever believe anyone at the WCA could do this if caught. The blame would fall to some invisible party that had snuck in and tried to ruin the party. Accusing someone from Danbury of any wrongdoing, was like calling the Pope an atheist. It was just not done and yet here was Chloe, sitting in the corner of the gym because her date lip locked another classmate, with everyone smiling pretending everything as copasetic.

Well almost everyone. The band the committee had chosen was not the typical bubble gum pop act that graced most of their dances. The songs were clean and appropriate yet carried an edge to them. The base beats felt almost like they were being strangled back to fit in with the atmosphere and people. Chloe would have bet and won that the reason the band was still wearing their coats in the overheating gym was that tattoos graced their arms. Several of the member’s heads were covered by knit caps. This was probably due to a piercing somewhere which the chaperones and teaching staff would never approve of. Chloe mused at what each member of the band was really like but constantly kept looking at the lead singer. He had a piercing blue stare that felt like it reading your soul when it fell on you.

Shifting in her seat, Chloe glanced up at the clock wishing the hands of time moved faster. Her parents were chaperoning which meant she was stuck there until the last song played and the final student left the property. For Chloe, this could not happen fast enough.

Chloe Harland

Chloe listened to the band keenly aware that the song currently playing was original works and not on the approved list. It was a Christmas carol in the sense it involved Santa, snow and mentioned the twenty-fifth, however, that is where all comparisons ended. What was more interesting was the way the lead singer was checking out Aimee Quark. The mousey little student vice president was eating up the attention of the smoldering blue gaze focused on her as the lyrics floated about the room. Chloe rolled her eyes and shifted in her chair watching the display. The lead singer was not her type. If there was any hope to the Christmas season at least he wouldn’t be her type.

Fluffing her skirt slightly to remove a nonexistent wrinkle, Chloe noticed something else going on with the band. Only a woman would notice a love triangle in the making. Men were always blind to them because they either were a dog and knew they were participating in one or too focused on the F-Box playing games to notice a girl was playing both ends of a candle. Not that this was an actual triangle but the bleached blonde rocker type bassist with blue highlights in her hair did not seem thrilled the lead singer was crooning to Aimee.

Settling back Chloe listened to the songs and watched with mild interest as the events played out.

“Screw you Piper! Just cause I play to the audience doesn’t mean I am banging every girl I see.” Nathan shouted as he threw the guitar across the room as it smashed a large glass case as the young Nate came rushing off the stage.

Chloe sat up shocked. This was definitely going to be the most talked-about event at WCA hands down. Glass peppered the area around the broken case. Chloe smiled not at the destruction but at the image of the scattered half hanging trophies. The coveted second-place trophy clung to the shelf by one hooked claw of the brass statue much like the players did during that game. Losing to Martha’s Vineyard Academy wasn’t just a loss. It was a massacre with Dandury’s finest being trounced by beach boys of New England. The Connecticut papers heralded the game as a nail bitter. The only real action however was counting off the WCA egos that were bruised during that game. “Still trying to hang on there buddy,” Chloe said to the statue before it slipped from its precarious position shattering more glass. “And nope,” she added seeing on the ground. “The PTA is going to have a blip fit about that.” Even though she was talking to no one, talking did pass the time.

The commotion was the most excitement anyone had heard in the ball as Nathan made it through the crowd as the security at the doors began to quickly talk into their mics as the room seemed to not know what to do. Few moments later, as the principle seemed to be encouraging the rest of the band continue, music once again resumed only with no voice back up.

Nathan was dressed much like others in the ball, a suit with dark tones and a very black mask that covered his face per the regulations of the ball. He looked like a stark contrast though the the more wintery color schemes all around him as he sat down on the wall, a few seats separating him and Chole as he began running his hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.

Chloe studied the man now sitting in exile with her. “So is the mask part of a cult recruitment thing or,” she let her voice trail off not needing to finish her comment to get the point across. The black mask the lead singer wore had a sinister quality to it. While it was a masquerade ball, no one but the band had the goth adjacent feel to their facial wear. “Ms. Archibald warned us that if anyone left the gym with you guys we would be suspended. Mr. Frasier is off in the corner hastily plugging away at the morality sermon for the assembly on Monday. The gray-haired woman is Sallie Buxton, our principal,” Chloe added for clarification, “told my mother that she firmly felt there was some kahootzing a foot and we should give you wide berth.” Chloe let her conversation sink in eager to hear his response. She hoped it wouldn’t be some upper crust drivel or feigned hostility over being a rebellious youth.

Looking over he could see Chloe had a very nervous movement to her as he sat down, which brought him to smile at the young girl to try and reassure her. “I don’t bite… much… that’s…” he said as he moved his hand gingerly to the stage.

“That’s reassuring. If you did though,” she turned her legs to face him directly, “bite me I mean would I wake up tomorrow, shave half of my head and dye the rest of my hair green? If I did just know they might send me to public school Such a tragedy<’ Chloe tsked and held out her wrist in his general direction.

“She is not my doing… I… don’t know where the yellow came from. I more prefer people who can be themselves… or at least convincedly pretend to be themselves.” Nathan said as he leaned back and took a deep sigh.

“That was fate inevitable. Never work with someone you are dating… or form a band. It’s never going to work… least that’s what my Uncle tells me, but he’s on his fourth marriage so I am not sure how much I should take from him.” he said with light-hearted laugh.

Harland, Doctor

Chloe looked at him and then back to the stage where the music was wafting again as students danced patrolled by the chaperones with twelve inch rulers. “You need to change the lyrics in the last stanza before the chorus. I like the beat but the rhyming and word choice make it feel off. Maybe try something deeper like When Santa comes in the backdoor, You’d better be in bed, When Santa comes in the back door, You’d better do what he said. I don’t know..something different than just repeating the same sentence over and over. You’re definitely more creative than that. It would also allow you to drift off into the angry music genre which would allow you to attack helpless curio cabinets or if you are lucky a beverage cart.”

Chloe Kendrick

Nathan couldn’t help be laugh a little as he shook his head. “That wasn’t my lyrics, no we don’t sing much of what I write…Piper writes the stuff, I just sit on stage and try and look pretty… or so they tell me.” Nathan said with a small shrug as he reached into his coat and took out a flask as he opened it and began to drink as he offered it the Chloe. The look she gave couldn’t help but make him smirk widely.

“It’s just pomegranate 7 up, I swear… I may look the part but I don’t break all the rules… though it does give an image I know, I just hate school punch it’s always the same flavor, red.” he said as he took off the jacket he had before sliding next to Chloe. He could tell she was shivering each time the door opened, her dress leaving her shoulders exposed as he wrapped the coat around her shoulders.

“You know, I am not sure why I came back here… I am trying to leave New England and I find myself taking gigs before I graduate like somehow this is really going anywhere… I maybe young but… come on this.” he said as he gestured up and down himself. “This isn’t going to take off. I have to be kidding myself, my dad said there wasn’t a snowball chance and hell and I just hate it when he’s right.”

Harland, CNS