Room 16

story & illustrations

by Sophia Chang

Seeing beautiful Nikki at the school gate, I definitely don’t want to go to that goddamned cram school today. I want to go somewhere else, somewhere I don’t know. The weather today is just right for an adventure.

  Nikki is the party animal in our class. She’s also the cheerleader. She’s boys’ dreamboat and girls’ idol. If girls want invitations from the sexy athletes, they’d better hang out with Nikki. She always gets the best clothes, the best shoes, the newest cellphone and everything. I know what you are thinking. No, she’s not a bimbo. Instead, she’s super smart. Simply put, she has it all. Compared with her, I’m nobody. Nikki is everything I want to be.

  Curious about where Nikki is heading for, I grab her, asking, “Nikki, can I tag along?” Surprisingly, she gives me a friendly grin saying, “Of course!”

  Now we’re here. 

  I’m worried and I’m sweating and I’m anxious because this is the first time I skip class. I don’t even know where I get the guts, but I’m so excited. It’s like Romeo and Juliet running off, but my Romeo is a she, Nikki. Standing beside her bathes me in her glamour.

  “Okay, so where are we going?” I hold on to Nikki’s arm and ask in high spirits. “I’ll tell you later.” “Huh?” Before I figure out her words, Nikki seizes my hand and takes me to the end of the street. There stands a tall and well-built guy. I can tell that he is so not 16. He’s about 20 or something.

  “Surprise!” Nikki lets out a shout. 

  “Who is he? You didn’t mention there would be somebody else.” Though the guy looks friendly, I still gotta make sure who he is and where he is from, just in case. “He’s Dayton. I met him on the Internet.” 

  “The Internet? Hey,” I whisper in her ear, “are you sure this is okay?” 

  “Come on, we can’t go anywhere without him. Trust me, this will be fun!” claims Nikki with her charming smile.

Wandering and wondering where we are going, well, it’s only me doing the wandering and wondering—Dayton and Nikki walk in front of me, leading me to the unknown. After two right turns and a left and another three rights and four other lefts, we finally arrive at the “destination.” I guarantee that I can never keep the roads and alleys and lanes in mind. Truthfully, it is a little scary for me to find Dayton being so familiar with the place, which somehow looks like a pub—hey, no, it actually is one. Getting nervous, I stop.

“Hey, why are you stopping here? Let’s come on in!” Nikki pushes me forward lightly. 

“I …, ” 

“What? Are you regretting? Are you thinking about going home? Don’t be silly, girl, you said you want to do something interesting! Come on, let’s go!” I’m not sure if Nikki’s getting mad or something, but I surely see Dayton frown when he senses my hesitation.

Yeah, I asked for this, and so I’m gonna deal with it. What’s more, this is what an adventure should be like! There’s nothing to fear since I have Nikki.

After taking a deep breath, I follow Dayton inside this place I call a world for the grown-ups, inside this world named Room 16. “What the heck is your friend doing? Tell her to stop acting like a wimp!” That is Dayton’s voice, sounding violent. And then it is Nikki’s, which I think sounds kinda nervous. It is so not Nikki, “I’m sorry, but it’s the first time for Jasmine. Just please give her another chance.…” Another chance? I mean, Dayton is annoyed about this? Moreover, I find it puzzling when Nikki said “give her another chance.” It sounds more like Nikki’s asking to be forgiven. How come? Nikki never needs to give in to anyone. Who on earth is this Dayton?

“Hey, Nikki, may I ask you something?” I put forth this sensitive question carefully, “Is Dayton your boyfriend?” 

“Uh … Not really. He … he …,” 

I can see Nikki’s hollow smile is a really bitter one. Thus, I decide to keep the question to myself.

My train of thought is pulled back to the reality by the booms and the clap-claps and the ahhhs and the lalas. The pop music and hubbubs are about to rock the roof. I see men and women, or you can say boys and girls, shaking their butts, nodding their heads, putting their hands up, slapping their thighs, singing, yelling …. It’s a bit too much for me. They act like total lunatics!

Nikki drags me to the center of the dance floor and asks Henry the DJ to add her song to the playlist. “Whoop!” Nikki is herself again, the energetic and seductive Nikki when she dances. Now it’s our turn shaking our butts, nodding our heads, putting our hands up, slapping our thighs, singing, yelling and everything. To be honest, this is fun. I’m like floating on a bed of clouds that taste like marshmallows. Meanwhile, I can tell that half of the boys stick their eyes onto Nikki’s sexy curves. They are all trying to flirt with her.

That’s when I suddenly smell something awfully weird. It’s like some tobacco or—BOOM! The word I never dare to think of crosses my mind. Marijuana.

 God, why am I here? Just when I feel like leaving, someone taps me on the shoulder. “Hi,” a young guy with a mustache greets me. “You are alone? Want some of these?” He hands out some pills. This, totally freaks me out. “Eh, I’m sorry, but my man is over there waiting for me. Thanks anyway.” I lie instead and get away.

When I luckily get rid of the mustache guy, I bump into Dayton, who is also heading back to Nikki. “Not bad, huh?” He says with a sly smile, holding two glasses of greenish liquid, “Want some?” He says as he hands me one glass. “Uh, thanks dude, but I’m not thirsty.” My throat is as dry as day-old toast, but I don’t want to take any risks. “Hey, just relax and take it.” Oh, that’s a big misunderstanding. I’m not trying to be modest or else, I just don’t want the wine or whatever in his glass. I just know that.

I try to act natural, “Umm … where’s the restroom, excuse me? My stomach doesn’t feel well.… I think I’m about to puke.” I know this is an out-of-date excuse for getting away, but I’m doing my best. To my relief, Nikki speaks right before Dayton is about to say something, “It’s right beside the gateway. Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.” Where did she say the place is? Right beside the gateway. Bingo! That is more than a perfect geographical location for an escape.

Of course I don’t go to the exit right away, just in case Dayton will come right after me and give me a back suplex. Don’t ever call me crazy because you’ll never want to further piss off a furious man. I decide to hide behind the door with the sign reading W.C. on it and see what happens next.

Taken by surprise, I see Dayton slapping Nikki’s face. I am about to shout out loud, but force myself to stop before I make a sound. Dayton looks so angry. His eyes are burning with fire. I can’t hear what they say, but I guess it is about Nikki’s letting me go. She’s a goof, for she ruins Dayton’s plan of roping me into their world; and I’m a chicken, for I run away. I’m sorry, Nikki, but I can’t help. I’m so sorry.

I need to go. I call a taxi and go home directly.

It is a sleepless night. I keep thinking about what happened during the day. I have finally figured out Nikki’s words—give her another chance. I think, Nikki was begging to be forgiven for herself, not for me. It gradually dawns on me that their relationship is more complicated than I thought. They aren’t simply a couple; neither is their relationship based on true feelings. Dayton offers all kinds of “fun” stuff for Nikki, so she has to dance to his tunes.

Nikki is always the leader in our class. People like to parrot her ideas. She’s trendy, bright, and looks like the happiest girl I’ve ever known. But that’s what I knew about her. Now I know I was totally wrong. No matter how brilliant she is in front of us, she’s nothing but a yes-girl in Dayton’s presence.

Maybe I don’t have Nikki’s glamour, but I have something else she doesn’t.

I’m honest with myself and I have a free soul.