(Ab)Normal

As if a giant spotlight were shining on them, the golden glow penetrated the room, leaving no corner untouched by its light, including its inhabitants.

Arnold felt it deep inside; there was something strange about the phenomenon, as if an immeasurable energy were bombarding his bones, flesh, blood, and cells. His body froze, unable to react to the onslaught, and even if he had tried, he doubted it would have been effective.

He could see it without burning his eyes; it wasn't perceived as harmful, but rather as possessing a cosmic mystery impossible to describe with mere words.

And just as suddenly as it had arrived, it was gone. The event vanished with a speed as unbelievable as its manifestation. Arnold blinked several times, unsure how long it had lasted; he couldn't tell if it had been minutes or hours.

Then he adjusted his glasses to observe his surroundings more closely.

The computer, the flashlight beside him, the window, the ceiling, the floor, and everything else. Everything seemed exactly the same, showing no significant alteration.

Even so, SOMETHING was different. He couldn't see it, but he felt that things weren't in their place. SOMETHING had changed. He didn't know if it was the air, the lighting, the sounds, or himself, but he did know that SOMETHING had shifted.

He remained like this for about a minute and a half until his mind remembered the other people in the room. He turned to the bed, and there were the three girls, staring out the window, frozen like mannequins in a store.

He tried to speak, but his mouth was so dry that it came out as a murmur.

"Ladies," he said, getting no response from them.

They remained focused, beers in hand, watching something in the window that had already passed. They were breathing, their eyes were open, they were sitting up, and they had healthy color, yet it seemed as if a part of their brains had shut down.

“Ladies… Are you alright?” This time his voice was clearer, though the result was still the same.

He was about to go to them when they reacted suddenly. All three of them gave a slight shudder at the same time and continued drinking as if nothing had happened. Arnold looked at them with the same concern as someone standing in front of a bomb.

Just then, Iris saw him out of the corner of her eye.

“Is something wrong, kid?” she asked, opening another bottle.

The nerd’s mouth stopped mid-sentence, catching itself in the sight of the trio’s composure. He struggled once more, but the words refused to come out.

“Come on, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at us like that?” Iris insisted, now with the other two watching him.

Finally, Arnold won the battle with his words, and pointing to the window with his trembling hand, he spoke.

“Um…uh…ladies, you…didn’t you feel anything strange when you saw him?”

The girls turned to look at the sunny day peeking through the window, their eyes searching for a few seconds.

“See what?”

“You see… for a while that I can’t say exactly, the sun showed a strange color variation, specifically to a sky-blue hue, and…”

He tried his best to simplify his explanation, although in the end he couldn’t avoid throwing in technical and complex words that he knew few understood. The curious thing was that while he was speaking, none of them showed any displeasure or frustration; for a moment he even thought they were enjoying his story.

“What are you talking about? You’re the one acting strange here, but in a good way,” Astrid cheerfully took a sip of her drink. “And you girls?”

The other two shook their heads, denying any strangeness.

The young man couldn’t understand how none of them remembered the event of the century that had happened right before their eyes a few moments ago. It could all be a hallucination of his; it hadn’t been very real. Another theory was that the girls had been affected in some unknown way.

At that moment, Britney gave her friends an unusual smile. Apparently, Iris and Astrid understood perfectly, since they were smiling too. Soon they were all laughing heartily at a joke Arnold had never heard.

"Girls, don't you think he's been working too hard...hehehe... I mean, maybe he's getting tired," said the cheerleader, pulling out another can. "I think the guy needs to relax a little."

"Hehehe...not a bad idea."

"Hehehe...I'm with you, girls. Nothing better than a good drink after a hard day's work."

The redhead walked over to the confused boy, bent down without bending her knees, and extended a can of beer.

"Here, for your effort."

"Ehhh!"

With a look of alarm on his face, the nerd's breath caught in his throat, not because of the gift (which was already unusual for Britney), but because her prominent cleavage was now at the mercy of young Allen. Thanks to her outfit, he managed to see the center of her perfect breasts, swaying with her every slight movement.

He had to use a ridiculous amount of energy to keep from letting out a scream that surely could have been heard from space. He abruptly turned to the computer, pretending to check his work, doing so with such force that his glasses almost fell off, dangling on his nose.

A comical laugh erupted from Britney, which the others echoed.

"Hehehe...oh, how shy, I suppose you've never done it before...hehehe," Britney said softly.

Arnold's legs snapped together, and his hands went numb.

“Um…uh…uh…Miss Dunst…I…I…I don’t know…What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She talked about drinking, silly…hehehe…it’s clear you’ve never had a drink.”

“Hmm…ha…never, Miss Dunst…no…it’s not my thing.”

He heard Iris and Astrid stand up at the same time.

“If you’re already 18, that makes you a man,” said Iris.

“And real men drink,” Astrid added.

Leaning close to his ear, Britney whispered:

“So there’s only one question left: Are you a real man?”