Quetzocoatyl (pronounced Lee) stood outside Eric’s class, leaning against the wall, anticipation written all over his face, the corners of his mouth lifted in a perpetual grin and his brown-blonde hair dancing in the breeze. Quetzocoatyl had been let out early from his last class and so now here he waited. He heard the bell ring and the door of the room opened suddenly, releasing a flood of students. Quetzocoatyl leaned forward and gazed over the heads of the teenagers who were escaping the confines of the classroom. He was searching for Eric, his roommate and best friend. At the back of the pack he finally caught sight of Eric’s familiar mop of black hair.

Quetzocoatyl wasn’t surprised that Eric was the last person to leave; being a very forgetful person, Eric had probably left something lying on his desk and then gone back to retrieve it. Eric drew near and Quetzocoatyl saw that he was walking with his shoulders hunched, his blue eyes peering intently at a book he was holding open in front of him. Really, Quetzocoatyl thought to himself, reading while walking?

He began to walk alongside Eric, watching him out of the corner of his eye, wondering how long it would take for him to be noticed. Eric continued to walk on, oblivious to his company. Quetzocoatyl eventually realised that Eric probably wouldn’t notice him until they had gotten back to the dorm. “Hey you,” He said to get Eric’s attention. “Gah!” Eric cried out and Quetzocoatyl grinned wickedly.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” Eric said, holding his book to his chest. Quetzocoatyl laughed quietly and then motioned to Eric’s book, “Whatcha readin’?”

“I don’t actually know,” Eric glanced down, “Something about sparkly vampires. I think it’s called Twilight or something…” He shrugged, “It’s not very good.”

Quetzocoatyl looked at the cover and then back at Eric. “Hmm, sounds gay.”

Eric looked up at him grinning then looked forwards, to where they were going, and stopped. “Oh, hey,” He said, surprised, “we’re at the dorm.”

Quetzocoatyl held the front door open and Eric stepped in the hallway, fished a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door marked 2; the door to their room. Eric walked in first and sat down to continue reading his book while Quetzocoatyl threw himself onto his bed and lounged there, singing a song under his breath, while he waited for Eric to tire of his book.

“Here I am, face to face with a situation I never thought I’d ever see…” He sung until finally Eric closed his book in distaste. “This book sucks, we should do something else.” Quetzocoatyl smirked. “I was waiting for you to say that. You’re quite predictable you know.”

Eric stared at Quetzocoatyl for a few seconds. “Do you have anything in mind?” He asked, ignoring Quetzocoatyls comment.

“No, not really… We could go see a movie?” Quetzocoatyl shrugged. “I’ve got no idea.”

“A movie sounds good,” Eric said. He grabbed his coat and his wallet. “Are you coming?” He asked Quetzocoatyl.

“No, not at the moment, I’m not.”

Eric looked at Quetzocoatyl in confusion and Quetzocoatyl grinned. “But I will go with you,” Quetzocoatyl’s grin grew wider.

“Oh, damn it! Why?” Eric cried, finally getting the joke.

“Why not?” Quetzocoatyl asked as he pushed past Eric, into the hallway.

“Because it’s disturbing,” Eric muttered as he followed Quetzocoatyl out of the dorms.

The cinema was very close to the school and it only took them a few minutes to walk there. While they were walking Quetzocoatyl began to regret not bringing a coat as the weather was taking a turn for the worse. When they arrived at the cinema it had begun to rain.

Once inside the lobby Quetzocoatyl shook himself like a dog, spraying droplets of water everywhere and Eric stepped quickly away from him to get away from the water.

After he had shaken himself Quetzocoatyl and Eric walked up to the counter and surveyed the choice of movies. “They’re all kid movies,” Quetzocoatyl complained, flipping his dripping hair out of his eyes, “I don’t want to watch a kiddie movie.” Eric frowned. “Nor do I,” he said, petulantly. He glanced toward the door. “We could go to the DVD store and hire out a movie instead.” Quetzocoatyl looked through the door, where it was now pelting down with rain and then down, at his coatless body. “How far is it to the DVD store?” Eric eyed Quetzocoatyl. “Just around the corner,” he said. Quetzocoatyl nodded, “Okay.” They walked back to the door.

Quetzocoatyl hesitated briefly before taking a deep breath before plunging into the rain. He and Eric half sprinted down the street and around the corner. Once through the door of the DVD store they stood, dripping and slightly dazed, before slowly walking towards the shelves laden with hundreds of movies. Eric and Quetzocoatyl padded amongst them, gazing at their colourful cases and obscure titles with practiced eyes. One particular movie caught Quetzocoatyl’s eye and he pried it from the shelf to look at the case.

“Hey, Eric,” He called, “Isn’t this the book you were reading?” Eric scrutinised the DVD in Quetzocoatyl’s hand and nodded.

“I didn’t know they’d made it into a movie,” He said, “Can we get it out?”

Quetzocoatyl checked his wallet. “I don’t have any cash; you’d have to pay for it.” Eric frowned. “How were you planning on getting a ticket for the movies?”

“I was kinda just hoping that you’d be nice and buy a ticket for me,” Quetzocoatyl said sheepishly and shrugged, “We didn’t go to the movies anyway.” Eric sighed, “I was going to get my ticket with a voucher; I wouldn’t have been able to pay for you.” Quetzocoatyl blinked. “Oh.”

Eric pawed through the various pockets in his wallet. Eventually he said, “I’ve only got enough money with me to get one DVD and, seeing as it’s my money, I’m going to choose the movie.”

He took the DVD out of Quetzocoatyl’s hand and walked up to the counter. The guy behind it watched him, bemused, as he handed him the DVD. After handing the DVD back to Eric the guy said, “Would you like a bag of popcorn? We’re giving them away free with every hire.”

“Um, sure,” Eric said slowly and took one. He looked over to Quetzocoatyl who was drenched and shivering and said, “C’mon lets go.”

They both mentally braced themselves and then stepped over the threshold into the harsh rain, which stung and froze. The rain slowly became sleet that then turned to flurries of snow and ice.

Quetzocoatyls arms and feet became numb as they were walking and he began to tremble so hard that walking was becoming difficult. He struggled to catch up with Eric, who was ploughing his way through the blizzard-like snow. He noticed that his shaking had stopped and in the back of his mind he understood that this was a bad sign, however he continued to strain to reach Eric.

Suddenly, Quetzocoatyl’s legs gave way and he collapsed, falling heavily onto his chest and smacking his forehead against the unforgiving sidewalk. His breath rushed out of him and he lay on the frozen ground, gasping for air. He could feel something warm trickling down his forehead but then everything went black and he lost consciousness.

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