Chapter 2 – The First Party

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On Friday night, campus seemed to vibrate.

The calm of move-in had transformed into something electric. Music spilled from open windows. Laughter echoed along University Avenue. The air smelled faintly of rain and perfume.

Riley twirled in front of the mirror, the flashlight on her phone catching flecks of glitter across her eyelids. “You ready? Trinity Social starts at midnight. We are going. No arguments.”

Jamie sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the black invitation on the desk. The single letter A shimmered under the lamplight.

“I do not even know who sent it,” Jamie said.

Riley grinned. “Does it matter? Half of first year is pretending you belong until you actually do.”

Jamie hesitated, then stood. “Fine. But we leave together, deal?”

“Always. Buddy system.”

Outside, the sidewalks from Victoria Hall to the University District felt alive. Students moved in groups, phones glowing as each followed the music. Porch lights shone on the old limestone houses. Someone had written Welcome Gaels! in chalk across the pavement.

Jamie adjusted her jacket and glanced at Riley. “You have been to one of these O-Week parties before, right?”

“Yes. A few times. Rule one, one drink an hour. Rule two, water counts as a drink.”

Jamie smiled, some of the tension easing. A poster on a fence fluttered in the wind.

“If a friend overdoes it, walk that friend to COR. Full stop. The Campus Observation Room is a safe, confidential, non-judgmental place for students who have had too much to drink.”

The two friends kept walking. Those words would return later.

Trinity Social was impossible to miss. Strobe lights flashed through the windows, the porch shook with bass, and a massive bedsheet banner read The Night Starts Here.

Inside, heat hit Jamie and Riley like a wall. The floor felt sticky, and the crowd swayed as if the house itself had a heartbeat. Jamie stayed close to Riley and pushed through until a familiar profile appeared near the back. Alex.

He leaned against the wall, half-smiling at something a girl in a red dress said. The sight caught Jamie’s breath. The invitation. The letter A. The coincidence felt too perfect.

Riley nudged Jamie. “Go say hi. You have been talking about him all week.”

“I have not.”

“You absolutely have.”

Before Jamie could reply, someone appeared with a tray of blue shots. “Welcome to Queen’s!”

Jamie shook her head. “I am good, thanks.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “Look at you, making smart choices already.”

Across the room, Alex noticed Jamie. His expression softened as he crossed through the crowd.

“You came,” he said, voice low enough to be heard over the music.

“I was not sure if I should.”

“I am glad you did.” His eyes flicked toward the staircase. “Can we talk later, somewhere quieter?”

Jamie nodded, but a crash split through the song before another word could form.

Glass shattered. Someone screamed.

A student near the kitchen doorway had fallen, pulling half the table down as he collapsed. The room froze.

“He is not waking up!” a girl shouted.

Alex dropped to his knees beside the student. “He is breathing,” he said quickly. “Do not move him. Roll him onto his side.”

Riley gripped Jamie’s arm. “Do we call Queen’s Emergency Report Centre or 9-1-1?”

Jamie hesitated for only a moment. “This is off-campus. We need to call 9-1-1.”

Riley pressed the numbers with trembling fingers. “We are at Trinity Social,” she said into the receiver. “A student collapsed, unresponsive but breathing.”

“Good call,” Alex said without looking up. “Stay with him until help arrives.”

Around the group, whispers spread quickly. Some said the drinks were spiked. Others claimed it was a virus. The air smelled of alcohol and panic.

Within minutes, two paramedics pushed through the crowd, guided by flashing lights outside the windows. Their movements were calm and deliberate. Each checked the student’s breathing and pulse and then shone a light into his eyes.

“He is stable,” one paramedic said. “We will take him to Kingston General Hospital for assessment.”

The stretcher lifted smoothly. The crowd parted in uneasy silence, the muffled rhythm of music still beating somewhere behind the sound of sirens.

Outside, the night felt colder. Red and blue lights flashed against the row houses. Small clusters of students gathered, whispering as phones lit with notifications.

Jamie turned to find Alex, yet his place beside the stretcher stood empty. One moment he had been there; the next, he had vanished into the crowd.

“Hey,” Riley said softly. “Are you okay?”

Jamie nodded, although her heart continued to race. “Yes. Just worried about that guy.”

“He is in good hands. The responders know what to do.”

The walk back toward Victoria Hall felt quiet. Behind the two friends, someone restarted the music, quieter now, as if pretending nothing had happened could make it true.

Back in the dorm, the silence felt strange. Riley dropped onto her bed and opened a group chat, thumbs moving fast. “I am letting our residence don know. A check-in will help after that mess.”

Jamie nodded and hung up her jacket. Something slipped from the pocket and fell to the floor.

The invitation card.

Trinity Social. Midnight. Do not tell anyone.

The same words that had seemed exciting now made Jamie’s stomach twist. She picked up the card slowly and turned it over in her hands. A faint smear of condensation marked the back, as if a wet fingertip had brushed the paper. Under the light, a few words appeared, faint but visible.

You saw it. Do not say a word.

Jamie’s breath caught.

The card dropped onto the desk. For a long moment, the only sound was the low hum of the hallway outside and the distant echo of music still pulsing somewhere beyond the windows.

Whatever had started at Trinity Social was not over.

Cliffhanger

Who sent the warning, and what truly happened at Trinity Social? Is the illness serious? Why did Alex leave without saying goodbye?