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THE PARTY HAD BEEN going for a couple of hours, and things were really warming up. People were drinking and the dancing had started. Jas noticed pills changing hands with little effort at subterfuge. The drugs were certainly hyping up the atmosphere. Illegal drug abuse carried the threat of expulsion, but Jas wasn’t much interested anyway. She yawned. She’d chatted with a few people, but she was feeling a little bored and tired.
The music had woken up Aggy about half an hour previously, and she’d appeared from the shared room looking irate and haggard, but her complaints had been ignored. When she gave up, she’d signaled her disapproval by slamming the door.
Tamara was passing through the throng with a plate of snacks. She spotted Jas in the corner and headed over. Dancers’ hands reached in to grab the snacks. She had a few left by the time she reached Jas. “Can I interest you in some peanut cheese flakes?”
Jas looked down at the palm-sized crackers. Peanuts and cheese? Was that a Southern thing? “No, thanks. Actually, I’m kinda tired. I might—”
“Aw, you’re going to bed so soon? I guessed you might not be enjoying yourself. I thought a party would cheer you up.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m just not a—”
A couple had arrived late. Another guest had opened the door to the man and woman. The man was tall with shoulder-length black hair, and the woman he had linked arms with was slim with ashy brown hair cut above her ears. Jas had paused in her conversation with Tamara because something seemed familiar about the man. She peered at him, trying to pin down where it was she’d seen him before.
He was scanning the room while his girlfriend talked to the student who had opened the door. He was idly watching the dancing and chatting party-goers. His gaze found Jas. Their eyes met, and deep inside her, something clicked. The man looked startled.
Even at the distance across the room, Jas saw that his eyes were a deep, rare blue. But it wasn’t the color of his eyes that affected her. The sense of recognition she felt was profound. She was also sure that, in fact, she’d never seen him before.
“Jas?” Tamara asked. “Are you okay?”
Jas looked at her friend wordlessly. Tamara turned to find out what she’d been looking at. By then, the blue-eyed man’s girlfriend had noticed his preoccupation and was questioning him. She looked annoyed.
“Oh, Sergei and Bree have arrived,” said Tamara. “Do you know them?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I’ll introduce you. Let’s go over.”
Panic fluttered in Jas’ stomach. “No, it’s fine. I think I’ll just—”
“It’ll only take a minute. You never know, you might have something in common to talk about. Come on. I want you to enjoy yourself.” Tamara took Jas’ hand and pulled her toward the couple, weaving through the dancers.
Sergei’s eyes flicked to Jas again and again as Tamara led her over, though his head was facing his girlfriend.
“Sergei arrived late. He only started college a couple of weeks ago,” Tamara shouted as they passed a speaker thumping out bass notes. “He transferred from another college. Someone was saying he had to transfer, like it was either that or drop out. Bree didn’t waste any time snagging him, and they seem pretty good together. I’m surprised you haven’t met him. I thought he was studying security too.”
Jas’ heart was racing. She also felt sick, but it was a pleasant kind of sickness. She’d never felt that way before. She hoped she would make it through the impending encounter without embarrassing herself.
She and Tamara arrived at the doorway where the couple were still standing. Students were now crushed into the room and it wasn’t easy to move. Bree’s attention had been diverted by twins in identical party dresses. Sergei was smiling, ready to greet them. Once more, he and Jas locked eyes. She was light-headed.
“Sergei, this is...” Tamara paused as she noticed the look passing between them. “Oh my.”
Bree noticed Jas and Tamara and extracted herself from her conversation with the twins. Her hand was still on her boyfriend’s arm. She frowned and gave him a little shake, breaking his distraction. “Hi, Tamara. Good to see you again,” she said between her teeth.
“Hi Bree,” Tamara replied, a little ruefully. “This is Jas. I don’t know if you’ve met.”
Sergei held out his hand, and Jas took it. His skin was warm and dry and a little hard, as if he did some kind of manual work. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Jas replied, feeling like she was greeting an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long while.
The five of them started up a conversation about college stuff. It turned out that Sergei was also studying security, but he was taking the domestic option, focusing on anti-theft, including cyber security. Jas was surprised. It was mainly desk work, with maybe some high-level guard duty thrown in. His hands had told her he was more active than that.
Bree was a language specialist studying extraterrestrial communication methods. She hadn’t been slow to cotton on to the fact that something was going on between her boyfriend and the tall Martian. Her clear annoyance caused the conversation to sputter to a close, and after an awkward pause, Tamara and Jas withdrew.
They sat down on a sofa behind dancers who were occupying the middle of the room. Jas drew in her long legs to avoid tripping them, while Tamara curled up next to her, tucking her legs beneath herself. She leaned toward Jas’ ear to be heard above the music.
“What was that about?”
“What?” Jas asked, irritating even herself with her disingenuous reply.
Sergei and Bree were passing through the dancers on their way to the side table that held the snacks and drinks. Every time Sergei’s eyes flicked toward her, Jas registered the look inside, like a gong chiming or cymbals clashing.
“Don’t play the innocent. You know what I mean,” Tamara said. “You and Sergei. I’ve never seen a look like that before. I didn’t believe it ever really happened.”
“What do you mean?” Jas replied, tearing her eyes from the black-haired figure looking back at her.
Tamara tutted. “I’m not going to spell it out for you. But are you glad we threw this party now or what?”
“I guess so.” Jas smiled sheepishly, though she didn’t know what she felt so happy about. Sergei was already with someone, and she hardly had time for her studies, let alone a relationship. What was more, she was planning on flying off to the stars as soon as she graduated. And yet... She glanced up and saw a pair of blue eyes. Gong. Clash. She’d never known anything like this either.
