Forbidden Party

  “Ugh! Come on! Hello?” I yelled, pressing it again. “Can anyone even hear this damn thing?”

  “I don’t think anyone can,” Freda said, eyeing the thumping walls. “We’re late, Zephy. The party’s been going on for hours.” 

I rang the doorbell for what felt like the hundredth time. Still no response.

  "We cannot possibly be late to an all night party, Freda. That's not possible."

Freda looked at me, surprised. "Oh wow! Since when did you start attending parties to know stuff like that? This can't be my Zephyria, what have you done to my girl?"

I laughed "Come on. I watch movies and listen to gossips on campus. I know what happens at a party... duh!"

  "Well, that's a good thing." She said with a devilish smile "that means you do know what goes down in a party too. The games and all?"

We stood waiting at the doorstep of the mansion Slater had texted me about. It was off-campus, and we managed to get a cab to bring us here.

  "I sure do know about the games. But no one's going to make me do anything against my will" I replied confidently, ringing the door bell for the last time.

The house belonged to one of the footballers whose parents were out of town. From the gate down to the door, students were scattered everywhere. Drunk and wild. Someone was passed out by the pool, half-naked.

I sighed, part frustrated, part relieved. “Then we should just go back. Clearly, we missed–”

  “No, no, no.” Freda grabbed my arm before I could even turn fully. “We’re already here. We dressed up. We got an invite. We’re not going anywhere.”

 “What are you suggesting?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

She smirked. “We invite ourselves in. I didn’t squeeze into this dress just to take pictures outside.”

  “Freda–”

But she didn’t let me finish. She pushed the door open, and the music hit me like a punch to the chest. Heat. Sweat. Flashing lights. Bodies grinding against each other. It was chaos. Wild chaos.

I barely had time to adjust before she dragged me inside and into the crowd. We were halfway through the first room, trying to spot familiar faces, when someone blocked our path.

  “Where did you crawl out from?” the guy sneered. “You weren’t invited.”

  “I-We…”

I stammered, panic crawling up my throat. This was it. We were about to get kicked out in front of the entire student population.

 “She’s with me,” a voice said behind him, it was calm, cocky, and unmistakable.

Of course it had to be Slater. He stepped forward, red-eyed, plastic cup in hand.

The boy who blocked us turned to look, confused. “You invited them?”

  “Yes, I did,” Slater replied, grinning. His eyes flicked to Freda. “That one’s cute. She’ll blend in just fine. But as for Teletubby over here…” He pointed at me.

Freda flushed. I caught it. The way her smile twitched under the weight of his compliment.

Slater looked me up and down. “Seriously? You couldn’t give the hoodie a break? You come to a party dressed like that?”

  “What matters is that I came,” I said, already stepping back. “But if you want me to leave–”

  “No.” He stopped me, tossing an arm lazily around my shoulders. “You’ll do no such thing. Come on, let’s get you girls a drink. You drink, don’t you?”

  “A drink wouldn’t hurt,” Freda answered way too quickly, pushing her hair behind her ear and flashing a smile I didn’t know she had.

Slater led us through the crowd to the kitchen. It was just as packed. People playing pinball, laughing, red cups everywhere.

  “I need drinks for my guests!” Slater called out, his voice cutting through the noise.

Heads turned towards our direction. “Wait, is that a boy and a girl?” someone joked.

Slater laughed, then reached over and pulled my hoodie down, revealing my ginger hair.

  “Ohhh…” the room chorused.

  “Wait a minute,” a voice said. “Is that Plain Jane? The one who embarrassed almighty Slater in English class?”

  “Oh shit!” another added. “It is her! No other girl dresses that annoyingly.”

  “Such a loser!” someone else snorted.

  “Loser! Loser!”

The word echoed like a chant, buzzing in my ears, making me dizzy all of a sudden. But just then, a voice called from across the kitchen.

  “Slater? Slater, oh thank goodness I found you. Been looking for you all over, babe.”

Freda and I froze. And the moment she stepped into view, our jaws dropped. “Lindsay!?” we both exclaimed.

She barely blinked. “Hi,” she said flatly, eyes scanning us like we were pests. “What are you two doing here?”

  “I invited them,” Slater replied, sipping his drink.

  “You what?” she scoffed. “Oh babe, you shouldn’t have. This kind of party clearly isn’t their type.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, I’ve seen enough. I’m leaving now.”

  “No one’s going anywhere,” Slater said, voice sharp. “The party’s just getting good.”

  “I can’t believe this, Lindsay.” Freda muttered. “But honestly, we should’ve seen it coming.”

  “I need a refill,” Lindsay announced, brushing off our stares.

  “If you want a refill, Plain Jane here will handle it,” Slater said, nodding at me.

  “Excuse me?”

 “You heard me. Get my date a drink. And bring me a new one while you're at it.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Freda snapped, looking at him, then me.

  “It’s fine,” Lindsay said quickly, awkward now. “I’ll get it myself.”

  “Too late,” Slater cut in, eyes locked on me. “I’ve made my decision.”

I reached for Lindsay’s cup, turning to leave.

  “Excuse me, waiter! You forgot mine.”

I turned back, stretched my hand out to collect his cup but Slater let the cup slip from his fingers. It hit the floor, splashing red all over my new white sneakers. I stared at the stain, tears burning behind my eyes.

  “Oh my God!” Freda and Lindsay gasped.

  “Oopsie,” Slater said, grinning. “I get clumsy when I’m tipsy. Now run along, I want my drink.”

Heat burned behind my eyes, but I clenched my fists and forced a breath. One way or another, Slater King was going to regret this.