Chapter 4. THE CLUBHOUSE

I exited the restroom and wrapped a towel around my waist before exiting the shower. I went to my wardrobe and pulled out a white T-shirt and some black khaki trousers to wear to the club. In front of a mirror, I put on my makeup and gave a big grin to myself. In my opinion, I looked fantastic as long as I didn't have to wear Robby's collared shirts tonight, thanks to Lorna, who dropped me some clothing throughout the day. I put on a black jacket and left the mirror. A wall clock showed that it was 6.45 pm, fifteen minutes before my scheduled meeting with Malachi. In the mirror, I rehearsed my conversation with Alexa.

"Hey. I am Chase....of course, you know who I am because of that stupid introduction..... No no. I can't call it stupid. Sorry, Alexa.....it's not stupid... I mean, can you...

"What's wrong with you, halfwit?" Robby's question caught me off-guard. I didn't hear them walk in. He was with Derek.

"Nothing," I said and turned away from the mirror.

"Why were you talking to yourself in front of the mirror?" Robby asked.

"Just practising how to talk." I lied and chuckled lightly.

"I thought you were crazy but now am pretty sure you're insane Chase boy," Robby said and sat on the couch.

"And why are you dressed up? You going somewhere tonight?" Derek finally spoke.

"No. I mean yes.....I am going for a walk." I said and started walking promptly to the door.

"A walk? With who?" Robby asked.

"No one. I will be going for a walk alone." I said, looking at the wall clock. It was already 7.01 pm.

"See you," I said and stormed outside.

"Chase boy! Do you know I'm not supposed to.....?" I could hear Robby shouting at me from inside.

Then I said to myself, "Go to hell, Robby," and sprinted to meet Malachi, where we were supposed to meet.

Walking inside the still-unfinished building, I spotted Malachi standing up.

"Hey," I said, and Malachi turned to face me.

"You are late." He spoke.

"My roommate was asking a lot of questions. He's the reason I am late."

"Okay. When do you think we should leave?" I nodded as I took my first step forward in response to Malachi's question. We moved at a brisk pace, chatting incoherently. We arrived at the club in approximately fifteen minutes. We entered the house. While some revelled in the music, others sipped beer and conversed. As we walked around looking for a place to sit, I saw people shooting glances at us. Mostly ladies. Malachi was smiling back at them while I just ignored them. I was focused on looking for Alexa and asking her about travelling back to the world of the living.

"Hi, newbies." A lady said. It was the rude woman at the introduction meeting. Monica.

"Hi, Monica," I said and walked past her.

"We should sit here," Malachi said, referring to an empty table before us.

"Go grab us some beer." He added and took his seat. I walked over to the counter and ordered two beers.

"20 dollars." The waitress said and passed me the two bottles.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. I didn't have any money with me. I didn't even know that they sell stuff in the world of the dead.

"I don't have any money with me," I spoke nonchalantly.

"You can't have a beer if you don't have money, new kid." The waitress said and returned the beer to the fridge.

"Give him the beer. I'll pay." A lady who had just walked to the counter said. I turned to her, and when we locked eyes, I saw it was Alexa.

I glued my eyes to her, and I could see what Robby meant when he said she was the most beautiful woman.

God! That girl had a nice face. Her eyes were the first thing that drew my attention to her. They had almond-shaped eyes with dark brown eyeballs and black eyelashes. With a large round face and a pointed chin, she had a golden-brown complexion with a reddish-pink glow on her neck. Her enhanced beauty was mostly due to her stunning new hairdo. She was nothing but kindness personified.

"Hey. New kid. Your beers." The waitress spoke, bringing me back to reality.

"Thank you. I am Chase by the way." I said and chuckled a little at Alexa.

"I know who you are. I am Alexa. " She said and extended her hand to mine. I extended mine, and we shook hands. Her hand was small with tall slim fingers and soft.

"Pleasure to meet you," I said, and she nodded.

"I am with a friend here....the other newbie. You know him, Malachi. I'll go now."

"See you around, Chase," Alexa said then grabbed her beer and walked away.

I walked back to our table and found Malachi still seated.

"You took a century to buy beer dude." He spoke.

"I bumped into Alexa. Well, she bumped into me. "I said and sat down. "You didn't say they were selling beer. I nearly came back without the beer but Alexa saved the night."

"You don't go to clubs and take beer for free. It's the same here." Malachi said, sipping his beer.

"We should keep an eye on Alexa. I don't wanna lose her sight." I said, looking at Alexa's table. It was a few tables from ours.

"We are not going to lose her. She stays long in here with her friends."

We continued drinking our beers, talking literally about anything. Malachi was social and easy to get along with. We ordered one beer after the other. It was getting so much fun. After a while, two ladies joined our table.

They had their beers.

"I am Kyra and this is my sister Kelly." Kyra introduced.

"You are Malachi, right?" Kelly asked and smiled at Malachi. It was purely evident that she liked him.

"Yeah. That's me. "Malachi said and chuckled lightly. Kelly was beautiful, and her facial complexion was irresistible.

Kyra was equally beautiful as Kelly. She had a perfect voice, and her teeth aligned well on her jaw.

"And you are Chase Brown." Kyra finally spoke, and I nodded.

"How did you end up here...both of you? I mean sisters?" I asked curiously.

"A plane crash," Kyra responded.

"Do you wanna dance?" That was Kelly asking Malachi.

"Yes, sure," Malachi said, and both stood up and stepped to the front to dance. I was left with Kyra, who was talking a lot, and I was not fully following because I was still thinking of Alexa. She was my mission tonight, so it didn't bother me a lot not to pay attention to Kyra.

"Do you wanna dance too?" Kyra asked, drawing my eyes back to her. I had been staring at Alexa while Kyra was talking.

"You seem distracted. Maybe a dance will help. One song please." Kyra asked politely. She was amazing.

"Okay. One song." I agreed, and she smirked.

I took Kyra's hand, and we headed to the dance floor. Once we were there, she held me around the waist after directing my hands around her neck. Malachi and Kelly were dancing just beside us. I turned my focus back to Alexa. She was still drinking with her friends. A few minutes later, she grabbed her handbag and walked outside.

"Excuse me," I said and removed my hands from Kyra's neck.

"What? One song is not over yet." Kyra said.

"Sorry. I gotta go." I said and rushed outside.

Once I was outside, I looked around, trying to find Alexa. She was nowhere to be found. I walked around, not sure where to look for her. I ended up a few meters from the club and finally spotted Alexa. She was sitting on a bench.

"Hey," I spoke from behind, startling her because she gasped out and turned around. She was smoking a joint.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." I said and sat beside her.

"Okay. You want some?" She asked, and I nodded. She handed over the joint, and I puffed it, releasing the smoke in my throat. I started coughing. Alexa laughed.

"Hey! You don't smoke in. You're supposed to release the smoke out, dumbass." Alexa said.

"Try again. And don't swallow the smoke." She added. I puffed the joint again and released the smoke.

"Wow! I didn't it." I said and laughed sheepishly.

"Wasn't so hard," Alexa said. We continued smoking telling stupid stories, and laughing loud.

"I feel so good. I think I can fly." I said and laughed excessively.

"You high, Chase. You so fucking high." Alexa said.

"Anyway. There is something I wanted to ask you." I said.

"What's that? You can ask me anything." Alexa said.

"Um...I... Well, Malachi said that he overheard you saying that it's possible to travel back to the world of the living. Is that true?" I asked and laughed unreasonably.

"What?" Alexa asked in a serious tone.

"Is it true? Can I move back and see my family?"

"Yes but it's not as possible as you think. I'm not talking about this with you." Alexa said and puffed the joint.

"Please, Alexa" I begged.

"You are so drunk and the high new kid. You should go back to your house." Alexa said, then stood and started walking away. I stood up and tried to run after her but staggered and fell to the ground. She was already gone when I got back on my feet.

I dragged myself back to the club, where I found Malachi, Kyra, and Kelly waiting for me outside.

"Where did you go?" Malachi asked, sounding very concerned.

"I was with Alexa," I said and laughed again unreasonably.

"Alexa?" Kyra asked.

"Yes. The most beautiful woman in the world of dead alive." I said. I was still staggering and almost losing my balance, but at least Malachi grasped my waist before I fell again.

"She refused to tell me if it's true we can travel back to the world of the living. She ran away."

"What is he talking about?" Kelly asked.

"Malachi said that Alexa said that one can go back to the world of the living and meet their families. Don't you know that?"

"Is it true, Malachi?" Kyra asked curiously

"He's so wasted and doesn't know what he's talking about. I'll escort him back to his room. You can go back to your rooms too." Malachi said and started walking me away.

"See you around ladies," I shouted.