Kate slept through most of the car ride back to the apartment complex where she and Kelly both lived (albeit in separate units).  As soon as she got in to her unit, she made herself a cup of spiced black tea and sat down at her desk to work on her art project.  The project she was working on was a painting of a decrepit-looking pier, with candles on its edges and some sort of otherworldly creature lurking in the water; a many-eyed jellyfish with chains of feathers for tentacles.  She had just begun to add color to it the day before – dreamlike hues, somewhat brighter than what one might expect for such a scene.

 

                Kate worked on the painting for about two hours, until her phone went off.  It was Kelly.

 

                “Hey, Kelly, what's goin' on?  I’m trying to get some work done…”

 

                “Oh, I just wanted to know if you were trying to go hang out at Bridgit’s place later on, she’s having some people over.”

 

                “I dunno, how many people?” Kate asked, running a finger across her lower lip.

 

                “Pff, not that many, I’m sure, I mean, c'mon, it’s Bridgit.”

 

                “I guess,” she said, shrugging.  “What time?”

 

                “We can head over around eight, I guess,” Kelly answered.

 

                “Okay, that’ll be fine. See you then.”

 

                “See ya!”

 

                After hanging up, Kate sat back down to work more on her painting, but found that she had been snapped out of her focus by the phone call.  Getting back into “the zone” felt too troublesome a task for her at this point, so she sat down on her bed, pulled her laptop close to her, and half-heartedly watched cartoons for a few hours until she heard Kelly ring the doorbell.   She opened the door, greeting Kelly with a lazy wave.

 

                “You ready to go?” Kelly asked, casually fluffing her short, spiky brown hair.

 

                “Yeah,” the taller girl answered.

 

                The two of them walked the two blocks it took to get to Bridgit’s apartment.  Bridgit answered the door, wearing a soft pink sweater dress and smiling politely.  “Hey, guys!  How are you?  Come in, everyone’s pretty much here already.  There’s plenty to drink, too.”  She laughed softly when she spoke and her blue-green eyes frequently darted towards the ground – reflexively, rather than prompted by any particular emotion.  She held the door open for her two friends and began talking to Kate right away while Kelly moved more quickly into the apartment to talk to another friend she spotted on her way in.

 

   “So, Kelly dragged you on a little adventure, huh?”

 

                Kate shrugged.  “It was fun.  It was really nice out today. You should have come along.”

 

                “Maybe next time.  If there’s not a lot of walking involved.  I don’t really like long walks that much,”  Bridgit said, shrugging and rubbing the back of her neck.

 

                “Oh, right,” Kate mumbled, crossing her arms.  “Could I, um, get something to drink?”

 

                “Sure!  Come with me, I’ve got plenty of stuff,” the fair-haired girl chirped, leading Kate to the kitchen, where there sat an assortment of liquors and sodas on the counter.  “Help yourself.”

 

                Kate poured herself a cup of cola and added a small amount of whisky to it.  “Thanks,” she said, walking back out towards the living room.  She saw Kelly standing near the couch and talking to a male student Kate had seen before, but had never spoken to personally.  She walked up towards them, sipping her drink.

 

                “What’d ya say it was called again?”  Kelly asked the young man.

 

                “Proteus.  I don’t even know if it’s real, though.  Never actually found any,” he answered, shrugging.

 

                “And what's it do?”

 

                “Well, supposedly, it can do all sorts of effects.  Some people dissociate, some people have, like, a regular psychedelic trip, and then for others it’s a full on deliriant, seeing shit that ain’t there at all.”

 

                Kelly grinned with wide eyes, looking up at her acquaintance, not even aware that she was doing so.

 

                “You’re already thinking of how to track some down, look at you!  Dedicated psychonaut.  Good luck.  If you do manage to find some, though, be careful.  It sounds like weird shit, even for me,” the male student said with a hint of playfulness in his raspy voice.

 

                Kate moved in a little bit closer, intrigued by the conversation.  “What are you guys talkin' about?”

 

                “Rare designer drug.  It’s called Proteus and it sounds really cool!” Kelly explained.

 

                “Wait, like I said, it might not even be real…”

 

                “Proteus, like the shape-shifting god?”  Kate asked.

 

                “I dunno,” said the male student.

 

                “I’m gonna try and find it,” Kelly announced to both her conversation partners.

 

                Bridgit then walked up to the small group by the couch, having listened in on their conversation for a few minutes before approaching them.  “Maybe you should concentrate on your studies instead.”

 

                “What studies?  We’re on break,” Kelly teased.

 

                “Yeah, for a week.  Do you think you can find this mythical drug in a week?”  Bridgit asked, giggling and pushing a piece of hair out of her angular face.

 

                “Aw, I’m disappointed.  I thought ya knew me better than that,” Kelly said, smirking.

 

                Kate frowned slightly and drank from her cup as she sat down on the couch. 

 

             Next Chapter.