“Remember me?” the note taker screamed.

We were at a party and I was already wondering if I knew anyone here
besides the hostess, who had made herself scarce to the point of having
French exited her own soiree.

The character in front of me had too many underscores for me not to realize
I was supposed to remember her.

“Did we work together?” I asked, with fingers crossed behind my back.

She seemed crestfallen. Her ambersand fell in like a sinkhole.

“Oh, you have to be kidding me!”

Before I could answer, my arm was grabbed as my interrogator was swooshed to the side.

“Hey, Nellie, don’t hog the guest of honor!”

My new friend was my new friend for all of three to six seconds.

His name was an almost endless array of letters and numbers that
I wouldn’t have tried to pronounce but, knowing this, he pointed
to his nametag and proudly proclaimed himself,
“Sa5555Kaw9!%win8@_tha_R3^^^^3&.”

He beamed out of sight immediately after I told him my name.

If anyone had noticed the moment, it appeared I was talking to myself.

I sat down at a small table and listened to the chatter above my head.

One of the other guests was telling another that her name was Imp3ach18! I did know her,
but didn’t want to be the third-party intruder.

“Maybe this party won’t be so bad,” I was telling myself when one of the other guests came
to me on his knees and reeking of fluids both organic and inorganic.

“Will you tell me your name again? I think I have a message for you about your account.”

This time, I made no attempt to be polite.

I stood up and reported him to someone who knew the hostess and seemed already aware that
the troublemaker, now turning a spongy pink color, had a nest of complaints surrounding him.

My mind scrolled the room, certain I’d meet variations of the same individual no matter to whom I spoke.

It had been a long night and hearing the beginning of a joke was all I needed to find the door.

Just as I was making my exit, I heard “How many passwords does it take to enter a new password?”

The cacophony was shambolic.