Tom - dressed in jeans and a denim jacket over a black t-shirt – sat nursing a chocolate milkshake. He had arranged to meet Eddie and Sandman at eight, and they were ten minutes late. The diner, a run down little joint called 'Fluke', was three customers and two staff members away from being empty. Tom considered going home; maybe he had been ditched, or they had decided not to go, but just as he was about to get up and leave, he saw them walk in the door.
"Hey," he beckoned them over.
They slid in opposite him and called over the waitress. They both ordered cokes and then Sandman asked Tom how he was.
"Looking forward to tonight," Tom replied. "I still don't know that many people in town."
"You will after tonight," Sandman said.
They all finished up their drinks, paid the bill and headed outside. Tom followed them down the street, asking; "How far is it?"
"Just at the end of this block," Eddie replied.
Tom heard the party before he saw it; heavy rock music was blaring through the streets. A disturbance of the peace, he thought, in every sense of the word. There were kids hanging out on the front porch, and Eddie and Sandman greeted a few of them as they passed. Tom smile politely and inclined his head towards those who made an introduction.
When they were inside Eddie wanted to get a drink, while Sandman insisted on hitting the dance floor. All Tom could think about was meeting the infamous Alex. He waited twenty or so minutes, before bringing up the subject. By this time, Sandman was devoting all his attention to some giggly blonde called Nancy, and Eddie had completely disappeared from view.
"When do I get to meet Alex," Tom called over the music.
"Huh?" Sandman said.
Tom repeated himself.
"Alex? Oh, I don't know."
Tom watched as Sandman whispered to Nancy.
"Alex?" She said. "Upstairs I think."
"You alright on your own?" Sandman said.
Tom knew it would not matter either way; Sandman was not about to leave Nancy's side. So he just gave a sarcastic smile, and replied; "Yeah, you two kids have fun."
Tom managed to push his way through the living room and into the hall. As he went, he kept asking people if they had seen Alex, and finally found himself standing outside one of the bedrooms.
"Alex in there?" He asked one group of kids, who we clustered together just inside the doorway.
"Alex?" One guy called into the room.
"Yeah," came a reply.
Tom did not know what he was expecting of Alex. Maybe he had some idea of a James Bond style villain, with a thick European accent, and a Persian cat sitting on his lap? Maybe he expected a weedy seventeen year old with glasses, greased back hair, and Star Trek posters on his walls?
Since he had been working at Jump Street, he had learnt not to prejudge situations, but as he looked down at Alex, sitting barefoot and backwards on a swivel chair, he realised he had prejudged this one. For starters he had assumed Alex was a guy.
"Hey," she said, with a smile. "You Tom? Eddie said you were coming."
She was sitting in front of a computer, in the process of shutting it down, and now she swung the chair around to face him. Her eyes were green, and her hair was jet black hair and cut in a close crop. It was a style that might have looked boyish and unflattering on another girl, but because she was so pretty, she carried off. It made her cute and funky looking, Tom thought to himself. Like a pixie with a punk twist.
"Hi," Tom said. "I've heard a lot about you."
"What?" She said, eying him suspiciously.
"That you're some kind of a computer genius," Tom replied, shifting nervously under her cat-like gaze.
She arched an eyebrow, and there was an uncomfortable silence as she looked him over, as if trying to figure him out.
"Want a soda?" She said finally, hopping up from her chair.
"Yeah, great," he replied.