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“Here we are,” Sylvie states as she opens the door to the dining hall, “this is the party.”
Ines stands in the doorway and gives herself a moment to take in her surroundings.
To the right of the entrance, a large space has been left, most likely for the activities Rana has planned, and the far right wall has been decorated with three banners that each say ‘welcome home’ in the main languages spoken by the group: French, English and Turkish. Ines remembers the young scientist nagging Horst for extra paper, and she smiles now knowing the reason why. It’s a sweet gesture, and she makes a mental note to take a picture of the display later and immortalise Rana’s efforts.
To the left of the doorway is where all the furniture has been arranged. Whilst scavenging, Rana and Felix had discovered sets of white, circular tables with matching chairs at an abandoned café. They carried them back to the base a couple of nights ago, and Ines wasn't sure why they'd bothered. Now she understands. The small tables that are dotted around the left of the room light up the dreary space with their cheerful appearance. There is also a long buffet table, which is decorated with the rare few snacks not ruined by the sun, as well as a bar that had been constructed by Osman.
Furthest from where she's standing, she spots Yonca and a couple of men from the military submarine sitting around one of the said tables, sipping drinks and happily chatting. The Commander had been hostile at first, but given the chaos that occurred in Svalbard, her reaction was understandable. It was then the cooperation between her and Sylvie that allowed the two groups to combine forces and work together. She watches as Yonca takes another tentative gulp from her plastic cup before laughing warmly at something said by one of the men; in the two months that they've known each other, Ines doesn't remember seeing the military woman as relaxed as she is now.
The table beside them has been taken by Laura and Horst, who sit opposite from one another as if they are on a date. Horst appears to be in a deep discussion about something, probably scientific, as his eyes are wide in thought and he's gesturing wildly with his hands. As he talks, Laura watches him with her chin resting in her palms and her face painted with gentle bemusement and admiration. Ines finds it amusing, but sweet. After all her teasing, it seems the nurse actually made a move, and the couple are as inseparable as ever- despite their differences.
Commotion from across the room stirs Ines' thoughts and she turns to witness Osman, Jakub and Ayaz playing some sort of drinking game. The mechanic is attempting to down something that is particularly strong, with Osman patting his back and Ayaz chuckling along as he watches his fellow survivor try to consume the liquid. Jakub appears to be enjoying the offer of free drinks slightly more than everyone else, which can be identified by the plethora of plastic cups that litter his table's surface in spite of the fact that Osman and Ayaz refrain from drinking alcohol themselves.
Ines giggles to herself as Jakub pulls away from his cup with a grimace, spluttering.
"No way!" Osman grins, looking into the empty cup that has been slammed into the table.
"I have to say, I am impressed," Ayaz laughs heartily.
The next table is occupied by a less rowdy crowd, consisting of Théa and Mathieu, who sit quietly. It appears that the pair are content with just peacefully taking in the party atmosphere. The pilot notices Ines and Sylvie in the doorway and happily waves them over. After they settle down at the table, and he passes Ines a plastic cup, his bandaged hand still shaking slightly in the process.
"Here. I poured myself this drink but, uhm, I don't want it, I think I've had enough. I don't want to end up like him."
He gestures to the louder table, where Jakub is currently struggling to not fall off his chair.
"Thanks," Ines says graciously, taking the cup and trialling an initial sip of the beverage. She squints at the peculiar flavour.
"What is this-"
"There you are!"
Rana weaves herself in between the tables as she makes her way over to the group.
Ines notes how the young scientist has ditched her usual style, and has instead pulled up her long, wavy hair into two neat buns on the top of her head; her look accompanied by a frilled, white blouse. Ines looks around and realises that everyone has smartened their typical outfits to some extent for the party. The soldiers are in their full, proper uniforms, looking more pristine than usual, Horst is wearing a tie- although, it is noticeably wonky, and Laura is begging him to let her straighten it out-, the rest of the men are wearing clean shirts, and even Sylvie has switched out her regular jacket in favour of a formal, black jumper. Ines looks down at her own outfit, the camouflage suit she had obtained in Bulgaria, and suddenly feels a little insecure, especially since fashion was an aspect of her life she’d used to pride herself on. She wishes she had worn a dress, although, it’s not like she owns one anymore.
Rana stands in front of Sylvie with her arms crossed.
"You were gone for ages looking for Ines, what happened?"
Ines and Sylvie glance at each other knowingly, a flicker of amusement in their eyes. Sylvie goes to speak, but Ines gets there first, switching to English in the presence of the young scientist.
“We were getting this CD player to work-” she picks up the device from under her chair and places it on the table with a thump- “it has a disk with some songs on, you can use it if you want.”
Rana gasps slightly before smiling widely, her hands meeting one another in an excited clap. She turns around and gives an enthusiastic thumbs up to Felix, who has just finished raiding the last of the buffet.
“That’s sounds perfect, I’ll go set it up!” She grabs the bulky device from the table, and ducks a little under its weight.
“What songs are on there?” Felix calls out, as he weaves between the tables to go and assist Rana in carrying the CD player.
Sylvie furrows her brow and looks to Ines.
“What was the song that started playing before you turned it off?”
Ines takes a sip of her drink before responding.
“Uh it was a Mika song. Grace Kelly, I think.”
Felix nods over his shoulder as he follows Rana into the centre of the room.
Jakub’s head shoots up from amongst the crowd of tables and he swivels his chair around to face the other table.
“Did you just say Mika? Grace Kelly?” He questions, shuffling closer with wide eyes, eagerly looking between the two women.
“Yeah?” Ines responds with a tone of confusion, now switching back to French. The universal language of the group had changed from French to English with the addition of the Turkish soldiers and scientists, much to the inconvenience of the mechanic.
He grins and slaps the table, causing the cups around him to shake and slosh dangerously.
“No way, that’s my song.”
“Your song?” Ayaz laughs, raising his eyebrows from the opposite chair. His look contains a hint of judgement, but mostly fondness. He had recently found great comfort in the company of the other man and considered him to be like a brother.
Ines giggles, the sound being muffled slightly by the cup raised to her lips.
“But Jakub, the lyrics are in English,” Sylvie exclaims, setting her own drink down and shaking her head in bemusement.
The mechanic huffs out a laugh and rubs his hands together restlessly.
“It doesn’t matter. This song was all over the radio during my first mechanic job, I could sing every word.”
“Go on then, prove it.” Osman dares, placing an encouraging hand on the mechanic’s shoulder.
Jakub rises from his chair, and Mathieu shoots a bewildered, and slightly concerned, glance at Sylvie.
“I think I will,” he declares, jumping on his toes and standing up straight as if to ready himself for the moment. His eyes dart around the room in an overly-expressive manner and he grins broadly upon seeing Rana plug in the CD player on the other side of the hall.
“Rana, wait for me!” He drunkenly yells, throwing his hand up in the air with sudden oblivion to the language barrier between them. The young scientist looks up at him from across the room with a lightly alarmed expression.
“He wants to do Karaoke, Rana.” Osman translates with a mischievous grin across his face, which causes himself, Ayaz, and the submarine crew who were listening in, to cheer. Rana’s expression relaxes and she goes back to eagerly setting up the device, now with Jakub staggering over to help.
Ines holds her head in her hands and groans.
“Oh my god, it’s the end of the world and we’re doing fucking karaoke.”
Théa laughs under her breath before sighing.
“I think it’s appropriate now for everyone to try and enjoy themselves, even if it’s just for a moment, no?” She absently taps the table with her fingernails, trying not to think about the cat hair she found on the bottom of her socks earlier today.
“I guess so, but karaoke, really? With Jakub?” Ines complains in a tone of voice that makes Sylvie smirk.
“Let’s just wait and see what he does,” the helicopter pilot says, turning to face the open space where the mechanic seems to be readying himself, “although, he does seem to be quite-”
“Drunk?” Mathieu finishes, raising his eyebrows.
The opening notes of the song begin to play from the CD player and the rest of the group whip their heads around to witness Jakub standing in the centre of the room, wielding a short stick.
“I got him a microphone,” Rana mouths at the crowd as she rushes back to her seat with Felix.
The drunken man begins to sway in time to the song’s introduction, tapping his foot to the beat.
“What the hell.” Ines curses under her breath.
“Do I attract you? Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?” He begins, slowly rocking his hips from side to side and leaning into his pretend microphone. Members of the crowd, particularly Rana and Osman, cheer encouragements, causing Laura and Horst to notice the situation and swivel around with their mouths agape.
“Am I too dirty, am I too flirty? Do I like what you like?” Jakub continues, his singing voice deep but wavering from the copious amounts of alcohol. He lowers his eyelids lazily as his eyes search the crowd, a weak smile appearing on his face.
“I feel like I’m being serenaded.” Sylvie whispers in her typical, nonchalant tone.
“Is that a good thing?” Mathieu mumbles, his eyes still firmly glued to the spectacle in front of him.
Sylvie scoffs and can only shake her head in response as she watches her fellow survivor now strut across the room.
“I tried to be like Grace Kelly mm, but all her looks were too sad.”
Jakub dramatically gestures with his free hand, his fanned palm slowly gliding through the air in a circular motion.
“So I tried a little Freddie.”
He then pumps his fist up into the air and jumps a little to add to the theatrical effect.
“I've gone identity mad!”
As he belts those four words, putting punchy emphasis on each syllable, his voice cracks slightly in a way that makes Horst want to hold his ears. The majority of the group, however, joyously clap and cheer as the mechanic hurtles towards the song’s chorus. Ines has to admit, although the key was pretty off, the fact that the mechanic managed to hit the high note was impressive.
“I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky. I could be hurtful, I could be purple, I could be anything you like.” He shouts out loudly, raising hands in the air passionately.
“Gotta be green, gotta be mean, gotta be everything more. Why don't you like me, why don't you like me? Why don't you walk out the door?” Jakub manages, running out of breath and flinging his body around to compensate.
As he begins to croon the second verse, Laura places a hand onto Horst’s wrist.
“Oh, I feel so bad. We can’t let him dance up there all by himself!” She tugs lightly at the fabric of the scientist’s sleeve, “we should join him, it’s not right.”
Horst turns away from the performance to face her, blinking quickly with a disgruntled frown on his face.
“I’d rather not.”
The rest of the performance goes significantly downhill from there. Upon the brink of the second chorus, Jakub’s complexion starts to fade to a worrying shade of green, although, he thankfully doesn’t seem to show any symptoms of nausea. He continues to vocalise the song in a some-what tuneful chant that is comprised of pure drunken enthusiasm and forgotten inhibitions, going off-key for many of the lines. His dance moves also grow increasingly eccentric, and what started as a simple click of the fingers becomes full body movements that make the room gasp and laugh.
When the song finally comes to an end with a high note from the mechanic that lasts a lot longer than it should, the room erupts into noisy applause. Jakub momentarily soaks up the attention and even gives a small bow before attempting to walk back to his table.
“Woah, careful he’s going to fall over!” Horst calls, pointing at the drunk mechanic who clumsily trips over the cable connected to the CD player. Laura quickly comes to his aid and puts a supportive arm around his shoulders to prevent the man from toppling over.
“No more karaoke for you friend.” Osman chuckles heartily patting him on the shoulder as he goes to grab the nearest bucket as a precautionary measure.
“And no more alcohol. Rana what is in these drinks you’re serving?” The nurse questions, grimacing as she helps the stumbling mechanic back to his seat.
Rana looks up from her table and shrugs her shoulders.
“I made it up as I went along,” she admits sheepishly, “I mixed raki with some other spirits and- “
“You’re meant to serve raki with water, Rana,” Yonca exclaims. The submarine commander tries to remain sincere, but fails, and finds a small, exasperated smile creeping up the corners of her mouth.
“Oh.” Rana says guiltily, biting her lip.
Yonca laughs, but not unkindly. She finds Rana’s sheer innocence and naivety endearing, and has developed a soft-spot for the young scientist.
“I’m okay,” Jakub slurs, as he finally settles into his chair, “I just need to sit down for a moment, you guys dance without me.”
Music continues to play from the CD player, and the party begins to liven up considerably from when Ines had first arrived. The submarine soldiers soon descend into the open space, that Rana now refers to as the ‘dance floor’ and begin to jive and shimmy amongst themselves. Ines finds it entertaining to watch, especially when Felix introduces the idea of limbo to the men, and it subsequently becomes overly competitive. A few of the other survivors join them, and it doesn’t take long for the room to be laughing as Felix attempts to duck under the lowering pole. Jakub seems keen to partake also, but a responsible Ayaz holds him back.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he states with a chuckle.
When slow, romantic ballad starts to hum, and the group collectively gasp and whistle as Horst cautiously takes Laura’s hand and leads them both to the floor. They embrace awkwardly, but everyone finds themselves smiling as the couple begin to rock back and forth, appreciating the fact that love has still found it’s place in this new world. Mathieu also kindly asks Théa for a dance, and the pair sheepishly sway together as the lulling tune creeps on.
As the night continues to crawl, Sylvie remains seated. She’d danced a sufficient amount already for her liking with Ines, so instead she enjoys watching her fellow survivors let loose and move their bodies in ways that generate feelings of happiness and freedom. During their journey to safety, she’d become far too accustomed to witnessing the group have to move their bodies to dodge bullets and sprint from danger, so now seeing Osman attempt to jive with Ayaz gives her a sense of accomplishment. That her efforts to help create a new world were not in vain.
She turns to Ines, who is contently drumming her fingers on the table in time to the punchy beat of a song.
“You should dance.”
The younger woman grins and looks towards the ground with an almost shy expression on her face.
“I want more of what Jakub drank before I do that.”
“Absolutely not,” a passing Laura warns, “I only have one bucket, so if you begin feeling sick you’ll have to share.” She gestures to Jakub, who is sat cheerily clapping along to the music despite the bucket positioned on his lap.
Before Ines is even able to consider her response, a small- yet surprisingly strong hand is grabbing at her wrists and dragging her to her feet.
“Ines please, you have to dance,” Rana pleads jokingly.
And she gives in.
As a particularly lively rock song echoes around the room, Ines finds herself basking in the sensation of moving her body in a way that is wild and untraditional, and she looks to Felix who is doing the same, bouncing up and down and bopping his head freely. She isn’t entirely sure what Rana is doing, as she watches the young scientist rotate her arms in a robotic manner, but it’s dancing nevertheless, and Ines giggles and feels alive in a way that isn’t just from not being dead.
“So, are you glad you came to the party?” Sylvie asks her as they wander back to the dormitory after the long night.
“Well, I’m mentally scarred from the karaoke, but apart from that, yeah I guess.” Ines laughs, clumsily bumping shoulders with the older woman as they travel down the narrow corridor.
Sylvie chuckles and looks down at the younger woman.
“I’m glad you did too.”