Switch

It was a crowded club; the music was bumping, the couples were grinding, and the drinks were flowing. Ritchie Neville stood at the bar, nursing his third beer, and looking around at all the single ladies wafting through the crowd.

He set his beer down just as a girl caught his eye; she was standing a few feet away from him, at the end of the bar. She was holding a colorful drink and staring at him intently. A fan? Maybe.

Ritchie let himself relax slightly against his barstool, the one that was seated behind him because he hated sitting on them. It made him feel weird, so he stood beside them instead, and got some odd looks, but not many because he was so attractive that nobody cared what he did.

The good thing about Ritchie was that he could take his shirt off, twirl it around and yell at the top of his lungs that his name was Dory and he was looking for a whale to speak whale to, and no one would take much notice. Some girls would giggle, some guys would stare at him oddly, but most of the girls (and a few select guys - probably ones who got their fashion tips from Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) would salivate over him.

Yup. Ritchie was that hot. He could do whatever he wanted, and still be that hot.

Life was good.

The girl�s smile got wider, which prompted Ritchie to smile larger and give her a little wave. She sashayed over, abandoning her drink at the bar.

�Hello,� Ritchie said, ever the gentleman.

�Switch!�

Ritchie�s eyes narrowed and he frowned. What was this girl talking about? Maybe she was mentally ill and could only say a few select words?

He tried again. �Hi. I�m Ritchie.�

�SWITCH!� She began grooving to the music; either it was music in her own head, or she had no rhythm, because she was not moving to the beat from the music heard in the club, the music that Ritchie was hearing in his own ears.

Being a person who thinks on his feet, he started laughing and nodding, trying to humor the poor girl. �Do you have a name?�

�Jenny.� She smiled at him, continuing to groove crazily.

�Nice to meet you.�

�You, too.�

There. That wasn�t so bad; they were sort of even having a conversation now. Maybe she only started conversions with �switch� and then got normal and was able to speak in complete sentences.

�Do you live here?� Ritchie asked, sliding onto his stool and motioning for her to do the same. She shook her head and stood beside him, still dancing in place; her arms seemed unattached to her body as they flew around her head.

�Not here, no.�

�Well, not in the club, obviously.� He laughed nervously. �In this city.�

�Yes, I live in this city.�

That squashed his hope that she was from out of town; it would have explained her odd behavior if she were from Illinois or something, because then that would suggest to him that she�d never been in a club such as this one. It would have suggested to him that she stayed at home most of the time, growing corn.

But, alas, that was not what she did.

There were a few moments of silence; well, more or less. The music was still very loud, and people were chattering all around them, but Ritchie was quiet, so it might as well have been silent.

He attempted a switch of conversation. �Have you ever been here before?�

�Yup.� Still grooving, apparently unaware that he was very confused. The people around him were not. In fact, they weren�t paying them any attention at all. This was very odd for him, and he intended to figure out what was going on. Later.

Yes, he�d figure it out later.

�SWITCH!� She yelled, and began a new dance; this one had more hip shimmying than hand movement, and every once in a while she would jut her hip into his.

Maybe if he weren�t so uptight, or serious, he�d have joined in and not cared that she was a very odd bird. However, it was just too odd for him, so he couldn�t let loose just yet.

The loud sound of a Five song jangled from his pocket; Jenny�s eyes widened, but then she turned around and was dancing with her butt bumping into his chair once in a while, so he couldn�t tell if she still looked surprise. Maybe she knew the song? No, Ritchie thought, she was most definitely not a fan. Even fans didn�t act this weird.

�Hullo, Ritchie Neville here.�

�You could answer your mobile with a �yo� instead and it�d make you look cooler.�

�Scott.�

Scott matched Ritchie�s tone perfectly. �Ritchie.�

�What do you want? I�m a little busy.�

�With what?�

�I�m�� he glanced at Jenny, who was now smiling at him and sipping a drink that had been magically placed in front of her. ��I�m chatting up a girl.�

�Oooooooh. Good on you, Rich. Where are ya? I�ll swing by. I�m bored out of me skull, mate.�

Ritchie told him the club he was at, and the address (Scott�s memory was pretty much non existant) and then told him to hurry.

�Why hurry?�

�SWITCH!� Jenny yelled, beginning to dance again.

�SWITCH!� Scott yelled back; Ritchie stared at his phone in horror.

�What�d you say?�

�Switch. Is that your bird?�

Ritchie looked confused again. �Er, yeah, that�s her.�

�Sounds like fun. Be there in a few.� Scott hung up without saying anything else, and Ritchie pocketed his cell phone once more, feeling even more confused.

How had Scott known to yell switch back? Was this some sort of new dance craze? Was it �Getting� Jiggy With It� all over again, only cooler?

Was it a drug induced stooper that only other druggies could respond to?

Scott arrived in a mere five minutes; five minutes that were spent by Rich and Jenny staring at each other, neither of them moving. It was like a showdown, only without guns. Or maybe it was like in the wild when a lion is staring at a gazelle until the gazelle starts running away and the lion chases after it. Or something.

�Hello,� Scott grinned at Jenny, slapping Ritchie on the back.

�You gotta stop listen up. Checking out my beats. Know that they're unique!� Jenny bobbed her head around to the beat of the song.

Scott started laughing hysterically. �SWITCH!�

�SWITCH!� Jenny called back, grinning at him.

�What the bloody hell?� Ritchie asked, looking back and forth between them.

�People when they nod. Nod they don't nod to the funk. Thing that I bring. Make your head wanna ring! Here we come you know we bring it raw!� Jenny continued, grabbing Scott�s hands and twirling him around; he didn�t seem to mind, and was obviously enjoying it.

�You�re both high as kites!� Ritchie shrieked about the music, and their singing.

�I dunno about her, but I�m not,� Scott beamed at him, continuing to twirl.

�Rock it like this - Switch!� Jenny sang loudly, letting go of Scott�s hands and grooving around he and Ritchie.

�I think I need a drink. A heavy one.� Ritchie turned towards the bartender.

�She�s singing our song, ya dolt,� Scott laughed, jumping up on the seat beside his friend.

�Our song?�

�SWITCH!� Jenny yelled, dancing round still.

�Oh!� Ritchie hollered, slapping a hand to his head. �SWITCH!�

He yelled it so loudly that everyone, including Jenny and Scott, stopped moving; the music stopped overhead, and everyone turned to stare at him. Ritchie looked horrified and surprised at the sound of his own voice, and quite scared.

Meekly, he stood beside Jenny and said quietly. �Switch?�

�SWITCH!� Jenny yelled back, giving him a kiss and dancing him around the room; Scott watched, clapping his hands and yelling �Switch!� every so often.

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