I've always been the kind of guy who was told to mind my own business a lot. Curious, inquisitive, perhaps a bit nosey, I admit, but always with good intentions. I promise. So when Halley's Comet passed recently, and news stories of particularly pernicious partygoers started to proliferate, I took notice. It first began as most things in my rather uneventful life did, in a messy living room watching the only luxurious item in the apartment: a big-screen smart television. Gathered around it was myself, my best friend and I hoped in the future my best man Wes, and the big brother I idolized my entire life, Kyle.
We were fairly inebriated during our own celebrations of this once-in-a-lifetime event, having been watching the news broadcast of a high-definition telescope keeping a static line of the Comet passing by. Kyle had to make room on the coffee table littered with cigarette butts and various bits of trash before he could safely put down his prized gravity bong(a rather haphazard result of half of a full gallon container of milk, and half a mountain dew bottle). We had been discussing all manner of the usual topics we three found interest in. Philosophy, politics, the economy, the favorites of potheads who whilst enjoying their high acquire the strange delusion of being able to fix the world with a simple conversation.
"Dude, the point is, we don't 'know' anything, it's all filtered through our senses, which can be wrong," my brother retorts to a point I had made a moment before he took a rather generous hit. For his part, Wes was entirely disinterested in this sort of talk and had been focusing more on the news about various celebrations, with one thing on his mind more than anything: All the lovely ladies out and about enjoying their nights. It was precisely this that prompted him to interrupt our pseudointellectual conversation.
"Guys, check it out!" he points at the television, getting our attention on the news report. A reporter wearing many rows of beads on his neck was chuckling and explaining what he was seeing whilst on the streets of our wonderful city.
"I've seen it all today guys I swear! The police had to be called, not a moment after the Comet reached the apex of its journey overtop our skies, several couples began engaging in incredibly lewd displays! The police have been called to break up the commotion, but the more they engage the more it seems the crowd wants to see. I'm gonna have to get out of here before I do something that'll get me in trouble!"
The live feed was doing its best to avoid anything which could cause issues to the station airing the broadcast, but the sounds of moaning and almost bestial yells and snarls filled the air around the reporter, and many people in the background were, while still clothed, almost glued to each other, tongues wrestling and hips gyrating, hands groping and quickly beginning to tear off the clothes that kept them from needing censoring. My brother laughs and slaps his knee, "Holy shit people are CRAZY on nights like this huh? Full moons, meteor showers, nuts."
I keep watching the broadcast before the acts on television become too inappropriate to show with a look of interest somewhat different from Wes' jealousy and my brother's amusement. Not long after, Kyle looks at me and seems to recognize the look, giving a bit of a sigh as he lights up a cigarette and shakes his head, "Don't," he says simply, getting my attention back to him as we lock eyes for a solid moment, my eyebrow raised inquisitively. "Just don't. You read into shit too much. It's just party people doing what party people do. Nothing more, nothing less."
Well, perhaps so, it's not too strange to see people engaged in lewd behavior publicly during celebrations, but actual sex acts passed a usual bar for the norm around here. So because of that, my brain started working through the haze of pot smoke and alcohol. The rest of the night was more or less uneventful. Wes had his third shift job at the gas station to get to, and Kyle was far too out of it to stay conscious for more than an hour after our talk. I stayed up far longer than I should, looking up whatever I could on odd happenings during lunar and astrological events, to almost no real headway.
When I awoke the next afternoon, Wes was home and relaxing in his uniform, odd since he's usually asleep by now, but the wide grin on his face told me he was too excited about something.
"What's up with you? Meet someone special at work?" I asked, mostly teasing, not expecting his answer.