It was my freshman year at a small HBCU in the south. It had always been my dream to come here. I grew up a die-hard fan of the school's football team. I was in disbelief when I received my acceptance letter. Tyler Miller was headed to college!
The players were treated like kings at our school. You couldn't get close to them or any of their parties unless you had a certain level of status.
My step-brother Max was a junior in the business school. Max was a couple of inches taller than me and a tad more muscular. We were both unimpressively skinny. Max managed to get in with the football team early on. They let him come to all of their parties. Max never specified what occurred at them, but he always emphasized they were the best on campus.
Although he wasn't my real brother, I looked up to Max. He was always very popular no matter where he went. I did what I could to impress him.
My only connection to the football team came through class. I happened to be placed next to Reggie Wix in math. Reggie was our starting running back. He stood at 6'3" with dark skin, diamond earrings, short dreads, and big tattooed arms. He typically wore a hoodie with gym shorts or sweats. I was a skinny white boy at a generous 5'7". If I didn't look small already, standing next to him certainly didn't help.
Although I wanted to, we didn't speak much. He was hardly in class to begin with. When he was present, all we discussed were the answers to the homework.
As the fall semester progressed into October, Halloween rapidly approached. Outside of some lame freshmen orientation events, I had not been to any parties on campus. Halloween was a weekend packed with parties. The holy grail of them all was the football party.
Somehow, my friend Sam received an early invite to the football house. Sam was a freshman like me from the same hometown. Like Max, he was also an inch or two taller than me, however, he was among the skinniest guys I knew. We always remained close friends throughout our childhood. Sam was timid unlike me. I couldn't believe he of all people would get an invite.
Eventually, the week of Halloween arrived. I didn't have a costume or a party to attend. I headed to class each day hoping for a last-minute invite. To no luck of mine, my final class of the week began with no prospects. Surprisingly, Reggie attended class that day. No real conversations emerged as usual until the bell rang.
"Aye bro, what you got going on this weekend?"
Taken by surprise, I awkwardly replied.
"Oh umm...I don't know yet. Still figuring things out I guess."
Reggie got right to the point.
"You should come to the football house. We need one more for our group costume."
It seemed too good to be true. Not only was I being invited to the football house, they had a costume for me as well. I tried my best to play it cool.
"Yeah, I guess I could come. I haven't figured out my costume yet anyway."
Reggie and I exchanged numbers before parting ways. I headed back to my dorm in shock. I texted Sam right away. We had to show up separately with the guys who invited us, but at least I would know someone there.
I waited patiently all day Friday and Saturday for a text. As Saturday night drew closer, I feared Reggie had forgotten about me. Just when I thought all hope was lost, a rare vibration came from my phone. It was Reggie.
"Ayo brotha you ready?"
I quickly texted him back. He shot me his address and a time. I quickly showered, shaved, and got dressed. I threw on a polo, shorts, and some flip-flops.
I finished up and headed to Reggie's. I texted him once I arrived and was let up to his door on the 8th floor. Another black man a few inches taller than Reggie peaked at me suspiciously through the cracked door. It was one of our defensive ends, Von Royce. He had freshly braided hair and was dressed as Fred from Scooby Doo.
Before letting me in, he called for Reggie's attention.
"REGGIE! Your boy's here."
Nerves overwhelmed me once I entered. The air was filled with cologne and loud rap music. Reggie's apartment was spacious and modern. It had floor-to-ceiling windows and a lot of nice furniture.
I approached the back of the couch where Reggie reclined between two beautiful light-skinned black girls. The girls looked like models dressed in their skimpy Velma and Daphne costumes. They both had crop tops and tiny skirts on with heels. I couldn't help but stare as they headed to grab drinks from the kitchen. Both of them looked me over and giggled as they walked past me. I was too shy to introduce myself.
Reggie slowly looked over his shoulder. He had on a green shirt and brown pants like Shaggy. He spoke in a smooth chill tone as he rose from the couch.
"Aye, what's good fam? Welcome to the crib!"
Reggie went in for a dap-up while I clumsily grabbed at his big hand.
"This Von. The two girls are Britney and Keisha. We the Mystery Crew for the night though!"
Von gave me a silent nod. The girls remained in the other room. I felt out of place but managed to get some words out.
"Dope. Sick place by the way."
Reggie nodded.
"Yeah appreciate that. Ayo we gone pop over to the party soon. You said you'd join the group costume right? We could use a Scooby Doo."
I had no choice. I couldn't show up to the party without a costume.
"Of course, where is it?"
Reggie looked at Von. He looked back at Reggie and headed to the other room.
"I got you. It's a little DIY, but it'll work."
Von came back with the two girls and a bag. He poured it out on the floor in front of Reggie and me. The contents were a black leather dog collar, 2 black leather mittens, black latex booty shorts, and a dog mask.
The mask didn't look like Scooby's face at all. It was a black leather hood with a zip-able snout, two small eye holes, and 2 black leather dog ears on top of it.
I tried not to think about the costume too much. Scooby was a dog. As long as I stayed with the rest of them, people would understand.
I returned to the living room after changing into the uncomfortable skin-tight shorts in the bathroom. It was difficult enough to get them on. I wasn't sure how I would get them off.
Before the girls helped me with the remaining items, Reggie and Von insisted I lose the polo. They felt it detracted from the costume. They assured me I could throw it on later if I felt uncomfortable once we got there. Though I didn't want to be shirtless, I figured I would at least give it a shot.
With nothing but my new shorts on, the girls tightened the collar around my neck, fit each hand firmly in the mittens, and pulled the dog mask over my head. The costume made me incredibly self-conscious, but I was at the point of no return. I swallowed my pride and followed along.
Moments before we left, Reggie presented 3 mysterious pills in his hand. There were 2 disc-shaped blue tablets and a smaller pink diamond-shaped pill. Reggie claimed they were the same drugs from different batches. He insisted they would make the party more fun.
Reggie and Von popped the two blue pills. Recognizing my inability to use my hands, Reggie playfully held the remaining pink tablet over my head.
"Jump for it!"
Without thinking, I bounced on my toes with my mouth agape like a seal begging for fish. After a few embarrassing seconds, Reggie placed the pill on my tongue and zipped up my mask.
"We ready! Let's dip!"
Reggie and Von took to the front of his blacked-out Jeep. I squeezed between the two girls in the back. I sat silently on the short drive over.
A bouncer awaited us at the door. Before he let us enter, he took issue with my costume. He made a sly comment to Reggie that all dogs should be leashed. I thought he was joking until he called me out directly. The bouncer stated that if I wanted to be let inside, I would need to get on my hands and knees and crawl. According to him, my costume wasn't convincing enough.
I was already half-naked and collared like a dog. Having to act like a dog would be even more disturbing. Besides, Scooby never wore a leash and walked on his hind legs often. The mask muffled my words as I hopelessly pleaded with the bouncer. Eventually, Reggie cut me off.
Reggie insisted that I would only have to act this way until the costume contest. There was no hope of me getting in otherwise. The mask left me no way to say no. I was in too deep. I had no choice but to trust him. I reluctantly got on all fours while Reggie retrieved a leash from his car. After being clipped to Reggie's leash, the door opened and we were let inside. Reggie called out as we entered the house.