Is Not in the Village

When I came to, I was cold and wet. It was dark. Panic briefly overwhelmed me as I didn't know where I was. I was also alone.

Once my panic began to fade, I decided being alone wasn't the worst thing in the world. During the period I was in the Land of Nod, I had been divested of the majority of my clothing, it being replaced by some brief furry garments. While much of my person was on display, my private areas remained so. I had some sort of furry coverings on my hands and feet, designed to look like paws. There was also a head covering that I would later learn resembled a cat. Another thing I was unaware of at the time was the legend across the back of my bottom covering that read 'Kitty Frou Frou'. In an effort to help these loose fitting garments stay on, they had been applied to me with duct tape, including a piece that acted as a chin strap for the cat head. Until I received assistance, I was trapped in this costume.

Even in the dark, its difficult to walk confidently when dressed as stupidly as I. Carefully, I walked around the dark park, there were too many trees for this place to have been anything else, and tried to orientate myself.

I didn't know how long I'd been out. I could sense the lake so I was in one of the many parks near the Lake but which one? Was I in the one off Lake Drive, not all that far from the party? Had they had the time and cruelty to drop me in Cudahy, all the way in a suburb on the other side of town? Until I saw something familiar, I had no way to tell.

As I walked, I pondered my current situation and what had led to it. Who could I blame for this? Myself? I hadn't wanted to come to the party so perhaps I instinctively knew this would happen and I was trying to avoid it? Honestly, no. I was lazy. I also suspected there would be jerks at the party, so partial credit I guess.

It wasn't Heather's fault, at least probably not. I didn't believe she was in on this. It just wasn't her style. Now I could see them explaining this to her as some sort of playful 'hazing' event to invite me to their group. I could see her believing that. I would disagree. This was beyond playful. Hiding your shoes is playful. Filling your shoes with pudding would not be playful. This was closer to pudding shoes than hidden shoes. Removing the duct tape from my beard was not going to be fun.

It wouldn't be the As fault. Abigail was not much of a schemer. While she may have had her issues, she was very sweet and not good with secrets. Had she been planning this, she would have said something. Angela would do something along these lines and would have assisted with it if it would assist Heather. Yet, she would not have let me be by myself. She would have been nearby, toying with me as a cat toys with a mouse. She would have made her presence known, in order to enjoy herself.

As I cleared the park, entering the neighborhood nearby, it occurred to me that I had no plan. Instinctively I'd been returning to the party but that made no sense. They would just further humiliate me there. Yet what else could I do? They had my pants, my brand new  khakis!, with my wallet and keys and everything. I had to go back, but I couldn't go back. I was stuck.

“There he is!”

I jumped in surprise and fear, panic rising as the car quickly pulled up near me. My panic faded as a door popped open and the interior light came on. It was Scott and Mike. “Get in dude,” Mike encouraged, grinning madly. This made sense. I dove into the car.