Post by appifanie on May 15, 2017 9:35:16 GMT -5
NEW:
Maybe the first big party of the year isn’t the place to make my debut. I lag behind Sydney and Hannah as they walk up the front steps, their hands interwoven. Guilt churns in my stomach. I should be home, working on my Physics paper and keeping an eye on Mom. But I can't handle missing out on another party, especially this one. It wouldn't kill Mom to not have me around for one night.
The giant white Colonial pulses with music and activity. I have to do this. I hold my breath, step into the foyer, and take a look around. My classmates are more alive than I’ve ever seen them. Everywhere I look, they’re dancing, drinking, kissing, moving. Hannah twists her way through the crowd, moving with the pounding bass and disappears.
"Well?" Syd asks.
I nod. "It's good. Fun." She raises an eyebrow. "Really, I’m good." I'm not convinced. My toes already ache and my heart’s beating so fast that I feel shaky but there is something about all of this.
Hannah returns with two beers and a water. “Who’s driving?” Syd grabs the water so I take a beer--my first--out of Hannah’s hand. It’s cold and wet and I pop it open and take a swig. I scrunch up my face and Hannah smiles. “Acquired taste. It gets better, but not until the third can.”
I take another sip as I look around the room, my eyes landing on a tall redhead moving across the room.
Updated (actually it's the original):
While I’m upstairs missing another party with my best friends, Mom’s downstairs having a party of one, complete with all the vodka she wants. Which is fine, really. I’ve never actually been to a party, but Syd and Hannah keep saying that’s no reason to stay home, that I can be their third wheel. Except after three and a half years of high school without attending a single party, I’m pretty sure my tire’s gone flat.
Normally she and Syd call before they get to the party, a last ditch attempt to get me to go out with them. They’re in a whole different social circle than me. Not that “loner with a family secret” is a social circle, but whatever. I’d wrongly assumed I was off the hook for today.
My phone buzzes from my bedside table; it’s Sydney FaceTiming me. I answer and a flash of red hair is the first thing I see before a freckled face fills the screen. Okay, so not Syd but her girlfriend, Hannah. Thumping bass booms through the phone’s speakers, and I turn the volume down a few notches. “Jordan! You’re home?” Even with the volume down she comes through loud and clear.
I settle back against my antique wooden headboard. “Of course. What’s up?” She moves around a little, her image jostling around, and classmates drift in and out of view. “Is everything okay? Where’s Syd?”
“She ran to the bathroom but I had to call you.” The right corner of her mouth curls up a little. “There’s an unexpected visitor here, and I wanted to know if maybe you could make it out tonight?”
I check the clock. It’s ten fifteen, and I work tomorrow morning. My morbid curiosity about what happens at parties isn’t enough to get me out of the house. “Yeah, definitely staying home.” I’ve been in my pajamas for hours, and these frog covered pajama bottoms don’t scream party; they scream home alone on a weekend night.
Dad used to say that our house was way too small, but after he left us he bought a two hundred and forty square foot tiny house. I thought he was nuts, but on nights like tonight when Mom is drunk again, I'd trade our gorgeous old colonial for any space of my very own. I don't know if I resent him for leaving or if I'm just jealous that he escaped.
Okay. Best case scenario, I'm out of here and off to college in 6 months. Worst case, Mom's drinking spirals out of control and I spend the rest of her life babysitting her. I abandon my dreams, my friends all leave, and I turn into a townie, just like Mom.
My phone buzzes from my bedside table. My best friend, Sydney. I answer and a flash of red hair is the first thing I see. Okay, so not Syd, but her girlfriend, Hannah. Thumping bass booms through the phone's speakers, and I turn the phone down. "Jordan! You're home?"
I settle back against my antique wooden headboard. "Of course. What's up?" I've been in my pajamas for hours, and these frog covered pajama bottoms don't scream party; they scream home alone on a weekend night.
"I just thought maybe I could inspire you to get out tonight." She moves around a little, her image blurring, and classmates drift in and out of view. The camera reverses and somehow, even in a room full of people, he's the first thing I see.
Maybe the first big party of the year isn’t the place to make my debut. I lag behind Sydney and Hannah as they walk up the front steps, their hands interwoven. Guilt churns in my stomach. I should be home, working on my Physics paper and keeping an eye on Mom. But I can't handle missing out on another party, especially this one. It wouldn't kill Mom to not have me around for one night.
The giant white Colonial pulses with music and activity. I have to do this. I hold my breath, step into the foyer, and take a look around. My classmates are more alive than I’ve ever seen them. Everywhere I look, they’re dancing, drinking, kissing, moving. Hannah twists her way through the crowd, moving with the pounding bass and disappears.
"Well?" Syd asks.
I nod. "It's good. Fun." She raises an eyebrow. "Really, I’m good." I'm not convinced. My toes already ache and my heart’s beating so fast that I feel shaky but there is something about all of this.
Hannah returns with two beers and a water. “Who’s driving?” Syd grabs the water so I take a beer--my first--out of Hannah’s hand. It’s cold and wet and I pop it open and take a swig. I scrunch up my face and Hannah smiles. “Acquired taste. It gets better, but not until the third can.”
I take another sip as I look around the room, my eyes landing on a tall redhead moving across the room.
Updated (actually it's the original):
While I’m upstairs missing another party with my best friends, Mom’s downstairs having a party of one, complete with all the vodka she wants. Which is fine, really. I’ve never actually been to a party, but Syd and Hannah keep saying that’s no reason to stay home, that I can be their third wheel. Except after three and a half years of high school without attending a single party, I’m pretty sure my tire’s gone flat.
Normally she and Syd call before they get to the party, a last ditch attempt to get me to go out with them. They’re in a whole different social circle than me. Not that “loner with a family secret” is a social circle, but whatever. I’d wrongly assumed I was off the hook for today.
My phone buzzes from my bedside table; it’s Sydney FaceTiming me. I answer and a flash of red hair is the first thing I see before a freckled face fills the screen. Okay, so not Syd but her girlfriend, Hannah. Thumping bass booms through the phone’s speakers, and I turn the volume down a few notches. “Jordan! You’re home?” Even with the volume down she comes through loud and clear.
I settle back against my antique wooden headboard. “Of course. What’s up?” She moves around a little, her image jostling around, and classmates drift in and out of view. “Is everything okay? Where’s Syd?”
“She ran to the bathroom but I had to call you.” The right corner of her mouth curls up a little. “There’s an unexpected visitor here, and I wanted to know if maybe you could make it out tonight?”
I check the clock. It’s ten fifteen, and I work tomorrow morning. My morbid curiosity about what happens at parties isn’t enough to get me out of the house. “Yeah, definitely staying home.” I’ve been in my pajamas for hours, and these frog covered pajama bottoms don’t scream party; they scream home alone on a weekend night.
Okay. Best case scenario, I'm out of here and off to college in 6 months. Worst case, Mom's drinking spirals out of control and I spend the rest of her life babysitting her. I abandon my dreams, my friends all leave, and I turn into a townie, just like Mom.
My phone buzzes from my bedside table. My best friend, Sydney. I answer and a flash of red hair is the first thing I see. Okay, so not Syd, but her girlfriend, Hannah. Thumping bass booms through the phone's speakers, and I turn the phone down. "Jordan! You're home?"
I settle back against my antique wooden headboard. "Of course. What's up?" I've been in my pajamas for hours, and these frog covered pajama bottoms don't scream party; they scream home alone on a weekend night.
"I just thought maybe I could inspire you to get out tonight." She moves around a little, her image blurring, and classmates drift in and out of view. The camera reverses and somehow, even in a room full of people, he's the first thing I see.
