32. The Green Serpent

        Pristine turnouts now soiled with dust and sweat, the students eventually arrived at the Fina station and hurried up the station stairs which spat them out into the lobby of the Merchant's Building by the harbor. Dressed with twinkie lights from the harbor to the university, the main drag was hard to miss, Fina was a vastly different world than Atlan's stone, mundane walls. Here the streets had a festive feel, exotic aromas drifted out of restaurants, snazzy signs flashed above night clubs and heavy beats poured out of the various establishments which lined the Circuit, intersected at both poles by Main St, the circular drive was a never ending sphere of hotels, entertainment venues and boutique stores full of worldly luxurious desires, ready to fulfill any fantasy on demand, fertilizing the seeds of success.

         Clearly, the power outage had not affected Fina. Half way around the circular street, the students walked into a doorway below a large flashing green neon serpent that looked like it was straight out of their Mythology text books. Always steamy, always open, the Green Serpent was packed no matter which day of the week it was. One of the biggest night clubs of the Fina Circuit, the Green Serpent was thee Vine Club hot spot, it boasted all the latest laser lights and trendiest beats, the air inside was thick with vapors of alcohol, pheromones, atmospheric smoke and aromatic perfumes. It was the Sensation Chamber applied to real life; prisms of rainbow lights swept across the crowds in synchronized array, pulsating in time with the pounding and hypnotic beats commanding the dance floor.

         Half the battle was getting there. Nolan took a deep breath as he walked inside, as the energy transformed his sense of wellbeing, as his senses were filled with stimulating ingredients for a good time. Being there made him feel better already, he could admit that now, perhaps he would get lucky tonight?

         He made his way to the bar and was about to order a drink when a girl in a Tangerine dress caught his eye. He narrowed his focus, recognizing her... It was the nerdy girl from the boat!

         Zara felt Nolan’s gaze and turned to meet his dreamy dark brown eyes once again, was he looking at her? A moment of disbelief stole her thoughts, was it really Nolan? 

         He smiled...

         Quickly, she looked away, realizing... It was! He made her feel lush and he recognized her too! Now embarrassed for looking away, her pulse quickened, she felt self conscious, her cheeks were heating up. She dared to glance back; he was still smiling at her... Feeling bold now she smiled in return, she could feel her cheeks heating up again however, she could feel Dena looking, too. Once again she looked away, feeling crazy, he was way out of her league...

        She turned around again, he winked at her? Emotions unleashed, his presence in the club made her feel lush, dangerously so, he made her feel like she was malfunctioning, just like he made her malfunction when she met him on the boat...

         Dena couldn't help but notice the chemical reaction taking place as she witnessed Zara's estrogen gush, Nolan flirting with her from the bar was alarming, surely he was only joking around...

         "I’ll be right back" Nolan left his friends at the bar and walked across the lounge toward the students.

         Dena couldn’t believe what she was witnessing, Nolan was actually approaching their table... Was it a setup? A double dare? She scanned the crowd for Josh...

         Zara felt her pulse race as he advanced her way, was he really heading her way? Nolan looked even more handsome in the club, the way the lights bounced off his glossy hair added to his unique style, his eyes even glistened in the lights, he looked so serious and sexy in his new merchant attire.

         "Hello, I think we met before?" He held out his hand. "It's Zara isn't it?"

         Blown away that he even remembered her name, Zara extended her hand, terrified he would be disgusted by the sweaty outbreak in her palm.

         "Yes... Hello... Nolan... Yes... I think we met on the boat?"

         "Ah, the boat… Yes it was!" He smiled, noticing her Vanilla scent, it suited her, she was sweet. "You look fabulous in Tangerine might I say!"

         The twinkle in his eye sparked a blaze of emotions exploding inside, Zara felt her body being sucked into the spinny vortex trip again, what was happening? Was it really a malfunction? Nolan made her want to malfunction, they hadn't learned how to handle this sort of thing in school.

         Nervous, Nolan held her hand, so small in comparison to his, so gentle and warm... He gazed into her eyes, searching for the right words, he didn't want to scare her off. "I wanted to ask you... Would you like to dance?"

         It was easier to believe this was a prank than a genuine request, but even a prank would be fine. "Yes" she whispered, bravely, unable to say no, filled with desire, his aromatic wafts of frankincense made the vortex even spinnier.

         Surprised to see this caliber of acting come from Nolan, Dena was beginning to question his authenticity and studied the maneuvers with growing concern as the couple joined on the dance floor, convinced it was more than a setup now. Nolan was a natural, when he wanted to be... This was real.

         Bell noticed the blonde bombshell sitting alone and headed her way. 

         "Hello Dena, can I get you a drink?"

         "Hello Bell. Thank you, not tonight. Tonight I need you to entertain Sugar Cheeks...." She nodded towards the dance floor. "Tangerine dress."

         Bell studied the subject dancing with Nolan for a moment, wondering if he was seeing right. "The Golden dancing with Nolan?"

         "What do you think? Can you handle it?"

         He looked Zara over, she was obviously crazy about Nolan... "Ha, Nolan needs to be rescued alright!" 

         The chemical reaction taking place on the dance floor was an eruption about to happen, anyone could see that.

         "She needs to join the club tonight, and it can’t be with him."

         "Ahhh…" Bell returned his gaze to the dancing Golden. "Sure, no problem, I’ll handle it. Can I get one of my friends to get you a drink then?"

         Dena scanned the room. "What’s Josh up to?"

         Bell smiled and kissed her forehead. "Done."

         "Hi there" Josh wandered up to the table and sat down beside Dena.

         "Hi Josh" Dena liked Josh, he was always fun to be with.

         "Can I get you a drink?"

         Dena nodded towards the dance floor and Josh flagged the waitress down. "We’ll have three Orange Bubbly's and a Virgin Cocktail."

         As the beat switched tempo, Nolan spotted the waitress at their table with the drinks, Josh was now sitting with Dena, it didn’t take him long to figure the extra drinks were for them.

         "Come" he reached for Zara's hand. "I want you to meet my friend Josh."

         The friends exchanged names and connections were made, this was how everyone knew everyone in Atlan, everyone who was anyone spent time in Fina, no matter which island they went to school on. 

         "We met on the boat from Culloom!" Zara explained.

         "Culloom?" Dena echoed. "Ahhh... Culloom is where the Panthers go to school, right? So tell me Nolan, is it true? Are you really a Panther?"

         Nolan smiled, proud of his exclusive education he rarely boasted about it. Panthers were the highest class of Gens, even higher than the Vine gods and goddesses because only Panthers could be gods. Most Panthers were hidden away from society after graduation, their lives destined for Eternal Nocturnal Students of the Esoteric Arts. Nolan had been selected by the gods for the Merchant program instead, for what he knew not, but he was grateful for his lot in life. "It's true" he smiled.

         "Wow..." Dena was more amazed by his interest in Zara.
         Feeling lucky, Zara sipped her colorful drink with eyes open, it was worth joining the Vine Club just for the chance to dance with Nolan. She scanned the room, happy inside, absorbing the stimulating scene, the energy was contagious. The Green Serpent was awesome, it was like she was in a dream world, living a life she had never imagined before.

         "What are you specializing in?" Nolan tried to chat her up but the beats were suddenly so loud.

         "What's that?" Zara wasn't sure she heard right.

         Josh repeated the question, louder. "He asked what it is you're specializing in?"

         Zara tried to think… Suddenly she realized how hard it was to think… Her head was spinning, were the flashing rainbow lights making her feel dizzy? She closed her eyes for a moment but the beat was so loud she could barely follow the conversation... "I’m… I'm not sure…" Everything suddenly felt so weird, it was as if she was hallucinating...

         "She's in the Megalith Program" Dena offered some assistence. "Architecture."

         Zara clutched her stomach as a sharp pain shot through her abdomen, thoughts froze, she couldn't focus, the lights were making her feel sick as if the whole room was doing the spinny vortex thing now, in a very bad way. 

         "Zara? Are you okay?" 

         The voice sounded far away… She could barely hold her head up anymore and the stabbing pain was getting worse and worse. Suddenly, she dropped forward, knocking her drink over, clutching her head in her hands.

         "Zara?"

                "Zara?"

         "What's wrong with her?" 

         She could hear Nolan, but he sounded strange... 

         "Zara? Are you oka-ay?" 

         She wanted to answer but her lips weren't cooperating. His voice sounded hollow, as if drifting away...  

         Then, with a heavy thud she collapsed to the floor.