Rhythm and Ray: A DJ’s Journey

[Chapter 36: Elizabeth]

As night fell, a five-story dorm on the New York University campus was brightly lit. While many large universities often provided fraternity and sorority "Greek life organizations" with separate houses for their events, NYU, situated in the space-constrained Manhattan, lacked those facilities. However, an entire floor of a historic dorm had been designated for Pi Beta Phi as their activity base.

"Where are you?" Ryan asked over the phone amid the loud music.

In the lobby, the scene was wild. After the first round of drinks at the nightclub, the internal party had really opened up. Various new and old "party drugs," colorful drinks, and different supplies circulated among the students. Though they were NYU students, they let loose just like those at any high-energy party.

"When are those model friends you mentioned getting here?" Ryan had just hung up when the vice president of the sorority wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"They're on the way, they're on the way," Ryan said, gently prying her arms off.

Ten minutes later, a group of male models who mingled in New York arrived downstairs. Each was tall and handsome, their sparkling eyes emanating confidence, and their physiques were impressive.

"Everyone's here," Ryan said, handing each of them a few bills. This was the "appearance fee" that the sorority paid per person. Ryan took a cut for himself, but of course, this just covered the initial show-up; he didn't involve himself with what happened next between the sorority members and the male models.

"Did you grow a beard, Piero?" Ryan asked one of the male models.

Piero was about the same height as Ryan, with a well-groomed beard, giving him a very masculine look, though he was actually a bit younger than Ryan.

"Stylist's idea," he replied in an Italian accent, resembling a classic Italian heartthrob with chiseled features and deep-set eyes. He had dropped out of school at 16 and had once shared an apartment with Ryan.

"It's the vice president's birthday today, so say it was my idea that you chat with her for a bit," Ryan added, slipping him two extra bills.

"What does she look like?" Piero asked.

"Braces, short hair, red glasses, dresses like a forty-year-old lady," Ryan described.

Piero's eyes widened slightly, but in the end, he nodded, swayed by the cash.

...

With everything in place, Ryan sent the group upstairs in the elevator. Just as he was contemplating whether to have Joel pick him up, he heard a voice behind him.

"Need help getting out? It's pretty twisty in here."

Turning around, Ryan saw a girl with golden-brown hair, bright green eyes, a sharp nose, and well-defined features. Objectively speaking, she looked more attractive than Taylor, standing nearly 5'7".

Ryan nodded, and the two walked side by side across campus.

"I thought you'd stick around up there; a few people seemed to really like you," she said, seemingly trying to break the awkwardness.

"I have to get back to making music," Ryan responded with a casual excuse. He definitely didn't want any embarrassing photos or videos caught in that chaos upstairs popping up online.

"What about you? Why did you come down?" Ryan asked.

"I don't like the vibe up there," she replied slowly.

After a while, they parted ways at the school entrance, having not asked each other's names from start to finish.

...

The next morning, Ryan returned to the sorority's base. Pinching his nose, he walked into a room and found Piero and the vice president sprawled out on a mattress on the floor, surrounded by trash -- used tissues, plastic bottles, and a small umbrella among the mess.

Ryan leaned over and nudged the vice president awake.

She stifled an oddly fragrant yawn, and upon realizing it was Ryan, raised her hand to greet him, looking like she had a great night.

"I know plenty of models like Piero; if the sorority needs, I can fill a few SUVs," Ryan told her.

"But I need a small favor from the sorority as well. I want everyone to gather for a funny video set to one of my dance tracks," he continued.

"You want to promote your music?" she guessed smartly.

"Not just that; it'll promote the sorority too," Ryan explained his video idea to her.

She scratched her head with her pinky as she assessed the still-unconscious Piero and didn't refuse. "You'll need to talk to the events coordinator... Since the position is open now, you should contact a girl named Elizabeth from the drama department. Her contact is on the roster. Just say it's my arrangement." She knocked her forehead as if still recovering from a hangover.

Ryan then woke Piero, who reacted much faster, quickly getting dressed.

"You have to pay me more!" Piero exclaimed, looking like he might cry -- perhaps the vice president preferred heavyweights.

"I'm just asking you to chat with her; I didn't say do anything else!" Ryan retorted.

"I'm just being honest here; I'm practically unemployed right now. Fizz is only focused on one 16-year-old model, treating her like her own daughter," Piero complained.

Fizz was the head of the modeling department and the sister of one of the co-founders of Next Management.

No agency would turn down work; furthermore, male models couldn't wear women's outfits anyway -- not at least in this instance.

"She's 16?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, she became popular last year during New York's Spring Fashion Week for walking for Calvin Klein's women's collection..."

Ryan tuned out Piero's rambling, flipping through the roster until he found the name Elizabeth.

It was common for people to share names, so the roster usually included last names. Strangely, though, Elizabeth's last name was left blank, as if she didn't want anyone to know.

...

The following afternoon, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, at Washington Square Park...

"Hey, it's you!" Ryan recognized Elizabeth, the girl who had escorted him out of campus last night.

"Wow, what a coincidence!" she said, looking equally surprised.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ryan noticed a large group of students walking toward the park -- all college students.

"I didn't mean to call so many people, but I had no classes this afternoon, and thought it would be fun, so here we are," Elizabeth explained.

It was really just Ryan being lucky; the girls in the sorority were active in social circles and good at dressing up. A girl could easily rally five or six guys, who then informed their friends, and so on -- leading to the sizeable gathering that had arrived.

And that suited Ryan just fine; the more, the merrier.

...

"Everyone should chill on the lawn, just act casual -- sit down reading, lay down napping, stroll around -- just treat it like a break at the park," Elizabeth instructed, standing on the iconic fountain steps of Washington Square Park with a megaphone.

Nearby, another person stood on a ladder, taking pictures with a digital camera. Though the crowd was large and coordinating was tricky, capturing the shots was straightforward.

In just a few minutes, the first part was completed.

Next came the "wild party" segment, which required everyone to don various eccentric outfits, cosplaying as ninjas, superheroes, and characters from Dragon Ball, or holding unrelated items. In short, the wackier, the better.

"Jump a bit crazier!" Elizabeth called out anxiously.

"How can we jump without music?" someone complained.

That remark sparked an idea for Ryan. He pulled out his phone and placed it near the megaphone...

♫Do the Harlem Shake!!!♫

*****

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