Oh Rocky − 31 October, 2006

Our group, clustering together to stave off the cold, shuffled our way to the Capitol Arts building. Our destination: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A first for me, and I couldn't say that I was entirely interested in the whole affair. But what else is a body to do on Halloween?

As we entered the building and paid our dues, our hands were stamped and we were ushered into the theater. There was more than enough eyeliner and fishnets to go around as we made our way down the aisle, squeezing past one transvestite after another. I sank into my seat, taking in the hooplah and taking pictures of friends before the show began.

The wait was long, and before the spotlight shone to initiate the annual horror movie-themed drag show, I turned nineteen. My birthday began as I sat behind a tall hairy man in a garter. As my birthday wishes were issued from all sides of me, the room grew dark and the stage was illuminated by an electric circle of light. A stocky blonde woman stepped into the light and asked us how the fuck we were doing.

When it was over, and the applause and shrieks had subsided, I met my friends outside. In the nearly post-coital aftermath of the show, we stood under the the glowing marquee with our arms wrapped tightly around ourselves. We headed back to the dorm, the girls looking as if the were coming home from a one night stand, their outfits painfully unnecessary and out of place now that the commotion of the night was over.