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The sound of shoe heels echoed through the hallway. Whispers were not uncommon and most days, Noelle would ignore them. Today was not one of those days. As her locker opened, her ears twitched at the mention of a name: Susie.
"Yeah, I know, it's weird."
"I just... don't get it. Like, bellbottom disco?"
A nod. "Bellbottom disco."
Noelle closed her locker as slowly as possible to hear more, but the ring of the first bell would lead her to believe she'd need to change her plans. Instead, it was simply a slight delay. The murmurs continued once in the classroom and with the low words came more information.
"That's crazy. Why the 70s? She doesn't seem like the type."
"I agree. 80s greasers or 90s grunge seem more like her style. I just can't see her in a glittering top dancing the night away."
The hot gossip of the school kids was that of Susie's interest in the 1970s. Was it the style? The music? Literature? Maybe movies? Noelle didn't know. She inhaled, saying to herself: "Maybe I'll... ask her." A rare burst of confidence that even she had little knowledge of where it originated from.
The second bell rang and class was set to start. Susie had but a few moments to spare, but those moments became minutes, then hours, and once those ran out, that's when the monster girl finally showed her face. The door opened and the ending bell rang. As the students left, so did Noelle's sudden burst of confidence.
Noelle approached her regardless, wanting to say something. Susie stared back as if she too had words on her mind. Noelle put her head down and Susie turned her back to her, both girls seemingly embarrassed of their lack of communication skills. They entered the hallway together but parted ways just as fast.
House Holiday was a quiet one more often than not and a lonely one, too, for Noelle. She wasted no time arriving back home regardless, she had plans and homework was not a part of it. Her parents had a collection of old boxes up in the attic that was mainly decor, but there was one exception: an old, dark, damp cardboard box that had seen better days in the corner. It was the opposite of small so she couldn't even lift it, even if the risk of the panels deteriorating wasn't there.
The side of the box had "'77 - '78" written in black marker. With no one to advise against it, the abandoned case had the new title of found treasure and Noelle was the one with the key. Or, in this case, scissors. She ripped the tape and pulled the sides, being greeted with decades of dust. She coughed and sneezed, but it was so worth it once her watery eyes weren't being attacked by grime.
Noelle grabbed the first thing she could and it was obvious which parent it had originated from: her mother. A pale pink dress with bell sleeves and flowers scattered about, mainly consisting of white, tan, and yellow. Just underneath, a hair curler and a scrap piece of paper wrapped around the tool with several rubber bands. After setting the dress down, she released the sheet from its containment to look it over. It was a tutorial on how to make your hair as large and curly as possible. Her excitement only continued when she uncovered a pair of red wine-colored boots.
Digging around past the things she had no interest in (yearbooks, her father's clothes, expired cigarettes), right at the bottom was a record player. The box was opened, but the piece of technology was safely stored inside. There was no hesitation to unearth it from the heap of fabric.
"If there's a player, there's got to be..." Noelle took a guess and looked behind the large box. To her surprise, there was another box, this time small enough for her to lift. She brought it closer and after taking off the lid, a collection of records awaited her with a flyer for a long past "GRAND OPENING" of a disco club.
She reclosed the container and laid the dress on the top for easier transport. The first stop was to her bedroom where the records would be staying. The dress she immediately put in the washing machine, not knowing when it was last cleaned. Noelle then returned to the attic to grab the record player and hair curler, when she noticed something glistening in the little remaining sunlight. Approaching the large box once more, the culprit of the shine was that of a one piece. The set had bell bottoms with a V-neck top, all black with rainbow sparkles. The sun's rays just barely hit it, meaning to Noelle, she was meant to find this. Moving the books off the outfit (Stephen King's The Dead Zone, The Wiz by William F. Brown, and many others whose covers had fallen off), to go with the one piece, Noelle found a pair of large, square sunglasses and a black belt with a silver buckle. Noelle made a mental note of her discovery, then traveled back to her room with the items she originally sought after.
Noelle set up her newfound record player and took the first sleeve that caught her eye: Abraxas by Santana. She had no clue what she was doing other than the undusting of these objects, so she had to guess. Trying to recall media where she had seen characters on page or screen attempting to do what she was now, she moved the needle to the side and gently as she could, placed the record down. She then moved the needle back and used a nearby lever to lower it onto the record. It began to play as she pulled out one of the books seen a few minutes prior. She wasn't concerned about her schooling--this was her homework for today in her eyes. This music and reading continued throughout the night until she noticed the time had switched from P.M. to A.M. and forced herself to sleep.
The following morning, Noelle pulled out the dress from the dryer. She stared at it for a moment, contemplating if she should wear it that day. Would it be too on the nose? Was she trying too hard to impress Susie? What if Susie didn't like the 70s at all and the rumors were just that--rumors? With doubts weighing on her shoulders like she was the titan Atlas, she brought the dress back to her room, just to hang it up and put on her regular style of clothes.
When at the school, just like the day prior, she opened her locker where she was face to face with the unfinished homework she didn't bring home. "Jeepers creepers I am so screwed..."
"What did you just say?" a familiar voice questioned, their tone more out of concern than confusion. When Noelle shut the door, she was face to face with Susie, a box of chalk in her hands as she lay against the array of lockers.
Noelle, her face turning red, chuckled awkwardly. "Uh... What's... crackin'?" She smiled followed by finger guns and another uncomfortable laugh. But Susie didn't respond to anything, only raising a brow and walking off. Noelle, in turn, closed her locked door and shamefully pressed her forehead against it. "Damn it..."
At home again, the shame returned. She threw her novels onto her bed, with herself following, and a huff. She stared at her collection of dusty music, knowing that she was going to continue her studies... but for now, all she felt was embarrassment. She buried her face in her hands as she thought about what next to do. She put on another record (Rocket to Russia by The Ramones) then went back up into the attic. Noelle opened her usual capsule of treasures and dug around.
"These seem good as any," she spoke to herself, pulling out V.H.S. tapes and bringing them down to her bedroom, just like she did with her records. Several types of films were available for her viewing: Halloween, Cabaret, and Fantastic Planet. There were television shows, too, including old episodes of The Price is Right that were taped over another recording now long forgotten, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and El Chapulin. She blindly picked one and put it in the player. She jumped back on her bed with the book she was reading. Her room was a loud echo chamber of different sounds from different players, yet her eyes were more focused on the words on the paper.
If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. Prepare for anything and everything.
Another day rolled around and a more determined Noelle had a plan. She took the dress she had cleaned earlier that week, the boots, and put them on. She stuffed her backpack with various things she collected from her prize box in the attic before walking into the school; anything that could fit would be taken just in case it was needed. She did her best to act like there weren't sets of eyes lying upon her with each step into the classroom.
Then Susie walked in.
She sat directly behind Noelle and it wasn't long before she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Hey, got a pen?"
Noelle smiled and dug into her bag. She reached in and pulled out an orange one with a disco ball on the top. "Nice threads."
Susie, her eyes now widened with shock, slowly took the pen. "Thanks, uh... stone fox."
Noelle turned around and did her best not to kick her feet with excitement. She inhaled. "Okay, you can do this. Remember that flyer..." She was the most anxious she had ever been, but also the most excited.
There was no hesitation on Noelle's part when the bell rang for the final school day of the week. She rushed out of the classroom and waited by the door for the only person who mattered at that moment. When Susie finally walked out, Noelle eagerly extended the flyer out toward her.
"What is this?" she questioned, taking the paper and reading it.
"Well, I know I'm sorta a jive turkey, but I think this would be fun. I thought you would like it, too." Noelle shrugged with a grin.
Susie pondered for a moment. "Sure, why not."
"Alright...! Radical--I-I mean, um, well, never mind. I'm stoked. See you tonight."
Susie nodded. "Yeah... Later."
It was a fast run back home, the entire time Noelle's face was as red as Christmas lights. It was finally time to put what she learned from her tapes and books to the test. She had thrown the one piece into the washing machine that morning, so as she waited for her outfit to dry, she took the hair curler. It smelled awful as the dust burned off but once it had passed, it was straight onto her hair. Noelle did her best to follow the faded instructions on the page. Despite the burns she inflicted on herself once or twice, she managed to get her hair up with some pins and hairspray after she was done.
The moment the machine let out its alert, Noelle went straight for the clothes she had claimed as her own. She dressed slowly, making sure not to ruin the hard work on her head. With a wet cloth, she did her best to make the belt and sunglasses that went with the outfit look like new. Then, she checked the time.
"I'll be late if I don't leave now..." She rushed putting on her pair of sneakers, too worried about the sky darkening to care about how out of place they looked on the outfit.
With each step outside, no matter how fast she went, it felt like the sun went down more and more. Then suddenly, tragedy struck. She made it to the disco before the stars could appear in the sky, but the building was boarded up, abandoned, and condemned. A fence was set up around the building, full of signs saying not to enter.
Noelle heard something on the other side of where she was. It was the sound of the metal being shaken, so she decided to follow the noise. She jumped when she saw a person, but quickly calmed down when she saw it was just Susie, who was still in the same clothes as earlier. She was kicked it in a poor attempt to break through.
She backed up closer to Noelle, still frustrated as she stared at the gate. "I didn't bring anything sharp. Didn't think I needed to because--no offense--you don't seem like the type to be doing something like this."
"Like what?" Noelle questioned.
"Breaking into run-down buildings."
She nervously rubbed her cold arms. "I didn't know it shut down... I-I'm sorry to waste your time." She went to turn around but was stopped by Susie's strong grip on her shoulder. Noelle froze.
"There's still a way to rescue this."
"How? Walking around town all ni--" She was cut off by Susie pulling out a music player from her pocket.
She pulled out the earbuds, a slow tune emerging from the speakers. "I've got a... personal... mix." She looked up at Noelle. "I-If you still want to dance, that is."
Noelle didn't waste any time agreeing. She grabbed her hands gently. "It's no disco... but it'll do." She smiled, leading Susie's hands to her waist. Noelle put one hand on Susie's side and the other on her shoulder. "This isn't like the movies either."
"Is... that okay?"
"Hm." She rested her head on Susie's chest, causing the latter to grow nervous. She didn't know how to respond, so Noelle continued, "This is better."