I’m in a dark room, with a few desktop computers set up. The
monitors are on and the towers glow with that lovely chroma set of colours, and
there are sleeping bags on the floor, a few of them have people in them. There’s
a party on in the house, and I show my step cousin (G) that I have FIFA
installed and ready to play on my laptop – which I know will please him. I
leave him to it, because I think I’m sort of hosting this house party?
I head into the hallway and realise I’m at my nans old flat.
It’s quite busy, and I head into the garden where there are about 40 people all
playing hide and seek. The garden isn’t at all large though, so practically the
entire border is filled with people avoiding the seekers in the centre. Somehow
one of the small trees on the lawn snaps at the base of its trunk, and so I do
my best to resolve this. It looks like it had been planted in concrete at first
glance, but it seems there’s a grey plastic covering that was on the floor
around the trunk. I lift it up to find a perfect square hole around 3 feet
deep, with a small pile of wet earth at the centre, upon which rests a pristine
silver and gold watering cannister. I place the earth in the canister and get
the broken tree inside, but then remember the plastic cover. I thread the tree
through that, place it in the cannister and close it all up.
The tree immediately falls to one side, crooked. I leave it.
The garden is still incredibly busy and people seem to be having a fun time
playing hide and seek, even given the space constraints. I want in, and ask
people what the rules are and how to play – are we allowed to go into the house,
are you a seeker once you’ve been caught, is it eyes closed? Nobody is really
interacting with me though. I spot my dad and at that point I realise that the
game is influenced by discord roles. I ask my dad if I have these roles
assigned and he’s like ‘yeah of course’. I don’t though, so I press him
further, and he continues to insist that I do until I spot the roles on another
person (just floating above them) and ask about them specifically. My dad finally
admits I didn’t have them, and reluctantly assigns them to me.
I still don’t know the rules to the game, but I hurry to the
border like everyone else as the round starts. An elderly man hobbles towards
me, arms outstretched and pupils white (the discord role effect?). I don’t know
if I’m allowed to move or not, so I plant my feet and do my best to dodge his
clumsy gropes. I manage to avoid consecutive attempts to grab me, and it’s
clear that he can hear me moving as I’m hitting the bush next to me and
breathing hard with the exertion. Several other hiders watch on appreciatively
and I feel somewhat proud. The elderly man is finding this humorous at least,
and eventually gives up and the round seems to end.
I still don’t know how this game is meant to be played so I decide
to leave them to it and fix myself an alcoholic drink. I procure a weird green
vase/flask thing that does not seem suitable as a drinking implement, but I start
pouring in vodka and some sort of fruit juice regardless |Sex Education (Netflix)
reference here|. One of the partygoers comes over as I’m doing so and decides
to tell me just how wrong I’m making this drink. I ignore them, taste it, am
happy with the taste. Another partygoer comes over to tell me that my drink
looks nice.
