The Masquerade Mask

“I really don’t want to do this,” Violet said the next night.

Both she and Chrissie were in full costume and standing outside the ballroom. The party was already in full swing on the other side of the door, which made Violet want to leave. She had managed to embarrass herself twice at the last party she attended, and feared history would repeat itself.

“Well that is too bad. You are going inside and you are going to have a great time.” Chrissie grabbed her arm and started walking forward.

No matter how much she didn’t want to go inside there was no other choice. It only made sense though. She hadn’t had a choice when it came to going shopping the night before either. By now she had learned how to suck it up and go with the flow.

“Alright now the first step is to find you someone to dance with,” Chrissie said, eagerly looking around. She was determined to make sure her friend had the night of her life.

After five minutes of arguing, Violet finally convinced Chrissie to let her sit down. There were several tables scattered around the dance floor which were decorated in gold and black. Violet thought this was a nice, and considerate, touch for the party.

The color scheme seemed to be black, gold, silver, and deep red. Even the spot lights on the dance floor were tinted with color. All of the decorations were grand and elaborate, which seemed extremely appropriate for the ballroom. It truly was a night that no one would ever forget.

Even among the grand and beautiful décor Violet was uncomfortable. She felt small and insignificant in the huge crowd of people. In the black and gold dress, which even she thought was gorgeous, she felt uncomfortable. Then again she also thought the dress would look better on someone else. To top it all off, the mask was itchy.

“Some party huh?” The deep voice suddenly interrupted her train of thought.

A man, dressed in a black suit with a matching mask, had taken a seat in the chair beside her. Because of the combination of the lighting and the way he was dressed she couldn’t gather much about him. She knew he was tall, he seemed well build from what she could see, and he had a lip ring. Immediately she felt like she had seen him before, and heard his voice before too.

“I’d say. I don’t think I’ve ever saw anything this elaborate,” Violet said, mostly just trying to be polite.

“Well Janice has a taste for the extravagant.” Even Violet could tell the stranger knew the birthday girl very well.

“Are you her boyfriend?” Despite better judgment, she was now curious about who the stranger was. If she wasn’t so shy then she might have asked for his name. The same feeling from the day before was resurfacing, which made her both nervous and excited.

The man let out a low chuckle and moved his chair closer. After a few seconds he said, “No. She is my best friend’s girlfriend. That is the only reason I’m here. If there wasn’t a dress code I might like it better. So are you a close friend of Janice?”

“I’ve never actually met her. Her cousin, Chrissie, is my best friend and she forced me here. Honestly I would have rather stayed home tonight.” As she spoke she realized that he had moved closer.

For a several moments they just sat in silence. Although Violet wanted to look at the mysterious man, there was an almost desperate feeling to figure out where she knew him from, she restrained. Instead she watched the couples that were on the dance floor. It was intriguing to watch the way the dresses flowed when the women twirled, and how the men stayed in sync with their dance partner.

The man was not as subtle. It wasn’t that he was just staring at her without looking away, but he was still looking. He would take a look at her every so often. When the lights would dance along the soft, flowy, fabric of the dress he’d notice. When the lights would hit her mask at just the right angle they would make it shine gently and then he really noticed.

When the man stood up Violet expected him to leave. It wouldn’t be the first time a man had lost interest in her. It had never disappointed her before but something was different about this one.

“Would you like to dance?” He asked, extending his hand.

For half a second she considered turning his offer down. It had been years since she had done any dancing and she feared she’d forgotten how. But there was something inside her that ached to take the opportunity. If she didn’t dance with him now she may never get to.

Placing her hand in his, she stood up. “I’d love to,” She said, her voice barely audible over the music.

Even if she hadn’t wanted to have a good time when she arrived, she was now. She had finally grasped the concept that Chrissie had explained the night before. There was a mask covering part of her face, she didn’t know most of these people, and they didn’t know her. For tonight she could be anyone she wanted. She could be the outgoing and distinguished young woman that she had been years ago, instead of the inverted and distrusting loner she’d became.

The best part was no one would ever know who she was. Once tonight ended she would go back to being herself. When she would arrive at the restaurant tonight she’d be the non-interesting waitress she thought of herself as. No one here ever had to discover her story.

“Would it Verb Confusion (consider revising) you out if I said something that sounds a little strange?” The man asked suddenly, catching Violet off guard.

“Well I’m not sure. I don’t know what you are going to tell me yet,” She said, her voice light and teasing.

“Well just promise you won’t run away screaming?”

“I promise.”

“It’s so weird,” He began, “I just met you but it feels like I know you from somewhere. I know nothing about you but it still feels like I know you.”

As the song changed so did their pace. By now neither of them was paying any attention to the dancing. Instead their feet seemed to move to the rhythm without any thought. This left their minds completely free to concentrate on what was going on.

“I know what you mean. It feels the same way for me.”

Again they lapsed into silence. On any other night, with any other person, it would have made Violet uncomfortable, nervous even. But tonight and with this mysterious person it didn’t. She actually felt at ease.

The song had changed three times before they spoke again. “Are you getting tired yet?” She asked, knowing this song would require more energy.

“Not at all,” He said, giving her a smile.

As she was spun around she silently thanked Chrissie. She had been the one to find the dress in the first place, and she had made sure that was made out of light fabric. Violet knew if it had been any heavier it could have ruined the moment.

What happened next was unexpected to both of them. As the song came to a close their lips met, which was a surprise on its own, but what they felt was the main shock. Neither of them had ever felt so alive or so complete before that moment.

As they broke apart reality hit Violet. Temporarily she had forgotten that she needed to go to work. “What time is it?” She asked frantically.

The man pulled out his cell phone and said, “Fifteen until eleven.”

“I’m sorry, I have to go.” With no further explanation than this she pulled away and rushed towards the exit.

Completely unsure what he was supposed to do, Matt rushed after her. As he entered the hallway leading away from the ballroom he saw her. She was practically running towards the door to the parking lot; her back to him and her mask in her hand.

Violet had reached the door before Matt could react. If he hadn’t been watching her leave he never would have noticed what she lost. As she walked through the door the mask fell from her hands and landed on the floor.

For a moment Matt expected her to return and get it. But she didn’t.

It was a good thing she and Chrissie had decided to take separate cars. Originally Chrissie had wanted to just take one, but that changed when Violet reminded her what time she’d have to leave. Now all Violet had to do was go home and change in to her work clothes.

Back at the party, Matt was sitting alone at the same table. The girl hadn’t returned for her mask so he had picked it up. As he looked at it he swore he would find her.

“What do you have there?” Zacky asked, taking a seat next to his friend.

“There was this girl I was talking to and dancing with. She left in such a hurry that she dropped this,” Matt said, holding up the mask.

“Well did you get her number?”

“I didn’t get the chance to. I’ve gotta find her. There is something about her.”

Patting his friend on the shoulder, Zacky said, “Good luck with that bro. You didn’t get her number so I’m assuming you didn’t get her name. And you also forget she was wearing a mask so you don’t actually know what she looks like.”

Matt knew that Zacky was right. It would take a miracle for him to find her. What was he supposed to do? Put out an add in the newspaper for the owner of the mask to come forward? For a moment he actually considered it, and then realized it was a crazy idea.

Even though Matt had no idea how he would find her he knew he had to. There was this feeling that he had that he’d never experienced before, and he liked it. It was as if there was a burning need to find her.

“I’ll find her,” Matt said, finality thick in his voice.

It was 11:58 when Violet walked through the door of the restaurant. She hadn’t realized how much Chrissie had dolled her up for the party. She had never worn so much make-up and still have it look minimal. Likewise, she had never had so much hair spray in her hair at once. Now she remembered why she never let Chrissie anywhere near her when she got ready.

“There for a minute I thought you were going to skip out on us,” Her boss said.

“Sorry. My friend kind of dragged me to a birthday party tonight. It won’t happen again.”

“Well I never said you were late. The truck isn’t going to be here for another 10 minutes or so. I was just going to have you and Shelly clean the windows a little while we wait.”

As Violet worked her mind drifted. She had never experienced anything like she just had. There was also a nagging feeling that she never would again. The part that confused her was she didn’t know what she’d just experienced. She wasn’t sure if it was the atmosphere of the party or the mystery guy she had spent time with.