On a panic attack, Litz ran out of Hamlet’s castle. Only a few hours before she had lied on the rocks in front of the sea, reading aloud the famous Shakespeare’s monologue, but the castle’s inner environment – from the underground to the throne room – seemed too overwhelming for her nerves. She had always considered madness a fascinating yet creepy subject.
A warm traditional Danish lunch with Tom made her feel at ease again quickly. A hot bowl of meat and potatoes stew with beetroots and mustard, served with cold amber beer. Tom was a quiet talented artist and a good-tempered man. They had been friends for a long time, finally reaching out in Copenhagen to join their mutual friend Daisy’s Halloween party.
– Are you going to dress up tonight?
Litz asked Tom with a hilarious tone.
– Of course, not!
Daisy was known to be a maniac for planning and organization, so Litz wouldn’t be surprised to find at the party tenths of people wearing weird Halloween outfits. At least she wouldn’t be the only one in casual clothes, she thought. Her backpack contained the minimum required to spend a few nights out and definitely nothing fancier than a pair of jeans.
– Are you going to ask her out?
Litz went straightforward to the point. She suspected Tom had feelings for Daisy and she loved gossip.
– No, we are just friends.
Tom’s love affairs had always been mysterious. Some of their friends even joked that he was gay.
Then here she was: Daisy. You could hear her laugh from a long distance, she was incredibly energetic and optimistic. The kind of girl whom Tom could easily fall for. She came with Tom’s best friend, Matt, hugging him like a boyfriend, clearly to his disregard. Matt was the typical caveman, as sexy as embarrassing. With his slow dramatic walk in gym suits, he had quite an appeal on women like Daisy. Being a personal trainer, he was used to date a different girl every night or so.
Litz was happy to meet all of them again and she was sure the party was going to be legendary. Daisy had reserved an area at Tivoli amusement park, just in the city center.
Tivoli was very crowded that night. The atmosphere was special, though, with all the lights and the decorations. The party started with an abundance of burgers and frites as dinner. Litz was eating voraciously until Andrew ruined her appetite talking about his odd sexual orientations. She was sitting at the same table as Daisy, Tom and Matt. Andrew had come later, but as usual, he had taken the lead of the conversation and the topic was not going to be ordinary. With tattoos and piercings, a pale look and a Mod style, Andrew simply represented what a girl’s father would never want her to marry. Nevertheless, his culture was huge and despite his eccentricity, Litz enjoyed listening to him.
When the music hit the dance floor, boys and girls split apart so as to maximize their chance to date someone. Daisy and Litz were soon asked to join a darts tournament. The two were competing against a couple of Danish guys and a couple of Arab-French guys. Litz was astonished to realize that the Danish guys were more flirtatious. As far as she had experienced, Northern countries had always been colder at dating.
She didn’t like any of the guys, but she enjoyed the moment, especially being an absolute disaster throwing darts. Daisy was doing the same. They even drank a couple of beers offered by the guys to warm up the situation. Unfortunately, the bravest of the Danish buddies got too drunk and started talking erotically to Litz. Nothing that she couldn’t manage. She rapidly wore her jacket, politely but firmly declined his rude invitation to sleep with him and left the party. Daisy followed her.
– The taller Arab guy asked my phone number. What happened to you, why did you leave?
Daisy asked.
– One of the Danish guys asked me how to say in Spanish “I would really like to have sex with you tonight”.
Litz replied.
– What? How rude! And what did you say?
– I said I don’t speak Spanish.
