To Color Your Life

Emily Hayes. So that's the name of that girl. Justin memorized it.

"Well, she's quite something," Aaron said, evaluating her photo. "But I'm not a fan of the ladies with glasses. So, who else is there... Oh! Look here, what a chick! Kelly Ohara. But this one is right in my taste." Denver chuckled, rubbing his chin.

"Oh yes, Ohara is not a girl, but a fiery fury! I've seen her," Caleb confirmed. "Her ass is really begging to be played with. But she doesn't let anyone get closer to her. She's got the temper like the one of the last bitch. But I heard," the guy leaned forward and winked, "This Ohara is a fan of 'Colors of Life'. You understand what I'm sayin?"

The guys nodded to each other, understanding the hints without words. No matter how unapproachable the girl is, few can resist the attention of their idol.

And Denver was a master at seducing his female fans. He made himself a tradition to end each concert with a threesome with a couple of girls from the audience. And so far this tradition has not been broken even once.

His drumming was so impressive that few could remain indifferent. For all the other negative qualities of Aaron, even Justin considered him a genius performer.

Not surprisingly, their band, Colors of Life, which in addition to Aaron included Caleb, Elon and Gregor Barkens, was gaining popularity every day.

And given that Aaron Denver was the heir to a large media empire, his daddy will do everything to ensure that his beloved son gets Queen-level fame. Moreover, their soloist, Barkens, sang no worse than Freddie Mercury himself.

Justin snatched a sheet of paper with names and photos of the girls from Aaron's hands. The latter began to look too closely at them. Evans knew how such attention ended up.

"Do you want to participate in the game?" Denver wondered, "Come on, Jus, you are the last of our group who wasn't the lead. I'll even triple the rates if you join."

Their favorite game, "Take Someone Else's Girl to Bed," started the first week of every month. Aaron, as its main initiator and, naturally, the winner, set himself an additional condition - the girl must still be a virgin.

And if by the end of the month she was in bed, then the leader (winner) got an excellent jackpot.

"Nah, I'm too lazy. I see no reason to strain," Evans replied in his most indifferent tone. He pretended to study the list of girls, but actually, he was looking at only one name.

[Emily Hayes, 20 years old. Specialty: History of Literature. Additional majors: violin, information technology and strategic management.]

Wow, the girl has wide interests. Evans was surprised.

He would need to check his schedule, maybe they were even taking the same classes? He thought. And she will have a birthday in three days. And why did he decide to remember this?

Justin quickly crumpled the paper into a ball and, with a light movement of his hand, threw it into the far bin.

"Hey, that was valuable information!" Caleb became angry, "Throw your three-pointers for the uni basketball team!"

"There are two more pages left on the table! Will it not be enough for you?" Evans glared back at the guy.

"Jus, if you're out of sorts, don't spoil the fun of others," Aaron intervened with a lazy smile on his face. "Caleb has been waiting in line for over a month. Last time, even Elon won him. He got the girl into bed two weeks ahead of schedule."

Elon, who was sitting next to Caleb, looked up from his phone for the first time in the entire conversation. He looked out from under the long bangs. "Two weeks and two days," he clarified and stared at the display again.

In general, he did not like to talk a lot and seemed quiet in appearance. But only in appearance. In illegal races, Elon was a formidable opponent who did not shy away from dangerous stunts, and always came to the finish line one of the first.

"When do we race again?" Justin decided to change the subject.

Elon jerked his head, tossing his bangs back. "Race? Evans, are you serious?" Cars and racing were probably the only topics the guy showed interest in. "You and you," he jabbed his index finger at Aaron and Justin. "Yesterday the police almost shot you. Because of this, all suitable tracks are now under the gun of the cops. So no races this week. The people will not accept such a risk."

"God, Elon, when were we afraid of such risks? And what do you suggest I do all week? Jacob threw all my yesterday's winnings out the window!" Justin ran his hand over his face, clutched his hair. Looks like everyone conspired to bring him to hell today. 

"The whole prize?" Elon and Caleb asked at the same time. "Damn, bro, there were three grands in there," Caleb whistled. The latter's sympathy was clearly fake, given that Caleb himself had lost half of that amount to Justin yesterday.

Aaron patted Evans sympathetically on the shoulder. "We were clearly out of luck with the brothers. But at least I won't have to share the inheritance with the geek of my father's prostitute in the future. So hold on."

Justin's relationship with his brother was far from ideal. The so-called special connection of the twins in their case, apparently, was cut along with the umbilical cord during childbirth. But the way Aaron spoke of Christian seemed over the top, even for Evans.

On the other hand, it was not his family and not his business, what "high" relations they had there.

Elon frowned as he considered the options. "We can race after the concert, at the end of the week. I'll think about which location to choose."

Damn, a whole week. His little Ferrari will be unhappy.

"And what are you suggesting that I do all this time?" Justin asked rather rhetorically, but got an answer.

Elon shrugged. "You can try to study something."

There was silence for a moment. Then the guys burst into wild laughter.

"Fuck you!" Evans got up from the couch, grabbed the two folders he had brought with him, and, showing his friends his middle finger, left the room.

Wandering around campus was a stupid idea. And going back to the apartment was even more delusional. Justin hoped to avoid meeting his brother today. Which, however, was unlikely. They lived in the same apartment.

Immersed in his own thoughts, he did not notice how he found himself near the arts building. Looking around, and not seeing any of his acquaintances, Evans went inside and began to wander through the corridors.

The students cast puzzled and wary glances at him. Twenty minutes later, he stopped next to some audience and sighed.

What the hell are you doing, Evans? Why did you come here at all? The guy scratched the back of his head. An inner voice wanted to answer his question, but Justin shut it up. The thought was absurd.

Was he really hoping to see that strange-haired girl again? If it weren't for Caleb with this stupid list, Justin would have forgotten about her!

He pushed open the audience door and looked inside. The room was dark. It turned out to be a small room with several rows of chairs. At the end of the room was a low stage, illuminated by a pair of lamps. There was a piano on the stage.

Justin went inside and closed the door behind him. He sat in one of the seats in the last row in the farthest corner.

Why did he do it? He didn't know himself. Suddenly he wanted silence and solitude.

He stretched out his legs, leaned back and closed his eyes.

BANG!

Justin flinched and nearly fell off his chair. The door flew open with a crash and a girl entered the hall, or rather - flew in like a hurricane.

She pulled the panama hat off her head and threw it up. Long purple hair fell over the shoulders, dropping down to the waist.

Her voice, like an ancient spell, echoed through the hall.

"Behold my might and kneel before the great dragon! From now on, your soul belongs to me!"