PARTI
“I’ll reward you with anything you want.”
MY BUTT IS CUTE
MIA
My best friends were liars. There’s nothing fun about being in a cramped, sweaty house bursting full of teenage hormones, loud music, sweat, alcohol, and the burning sharp smell of weed that hangs in the air.
I elbowed my way through the sweaty mob of drunk people and looked for my friends who were eager to try Aaron Matthews’ ‘new stuff’ in his room. It was his house and being the rich kid of the governors of our state meant he could do whatever he wanted when his parents were out of town.
As our school was starting tomorrow, everyone from our year, including the seniors, received a video invitation—yes, a video—to come to his party and get ‘smashed.’
I know, kids these days.
“Hey Mia!” I turned around and came face to face with Aaron, the host. His pupils were wide and the whites of his eyes were red.
“Where’s Emma and Summer?” I yelled at him because the music was too loud.
“What? Who?”
“Emma and Summer? One of them is dressed as Sailor Moon because she thought this was a costume party.” Summer was the only person who would come to a party dressed in a blue skirt and white top with red thigh-highs. Emma had sighed and muttered she doesn’t know her when she came to pick us up with her driver. “Are they upstairs?”
Recognition lit his eyes as he nodded. “That blue mini-skirt chick? Yeah, she bought a lot of candies. But I don’t know where they are.” He leaned closer. The smell of weed wafted in my nose as he said in my ear, “My room is empty. Do you want to come over?”
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I don’t do drugs.”
Turning around, I walked away from him before he could finish his next sentence. I froze in my track when I saw a girl, probably a senior, squealing and running from the kitchen hallway towards the backyard in nothing but denim shorts with her hands covering her… girlie bits.
“I think I’ve seen enough for a day,” I muttered to myself and called Emma for the tenth time in an hour. I shouldn’t have agreed to Summer’s idea of going to this party, but her puppy eyes were enough to convince me.
The shrill sound of sirens rang through my ears, and my eyes widened. The DJ stopped the music and everyone started scrambling.
“What’s happening?” I asked the tipsy girl beside me and helped her up when she tripped.
“Cops are here,” she grinned dizzily at me. “The party is moving to Caleb’s house, you should come with us!” Cheers went off as the crowd rushed towards the backdoor.
A neighbour must have filed a noise complaint, but if the cops saw us all with drugs and candies—as Aaron liked to call it—we would all be in big trouble. And it was not in my bucket list to get arrested by cops and see the disappointed look on my father’s face when he bails me out and then disowns me.
I dialed Summer’s number.
“Hello?” Her honeyed voice spoke through the phone.
“Summer! Where are you guys? The cops are here—”
“Ha!” she snickered. “You fell for it, dummy. Send me a voicemail after thebeeeeep.”
I sighed, listening to her mimic a robotic beep and mentally noted to scold her for changing her voicemail. Again. “Call me when you get this. I hope you and Em are safe with Caleb.”
Caleb was Emma’s boyfriend, and I hadn’t seen him run through the panicked and excited crowd of drunk teenagers from the backyard. I was too short and petite to push through the incoming teens and go upstairs. My body was already being pushed through the throngs of people as they all laughed and shrieked in drunken glory. Panic seized me when I heard the cops barging into the house from the front doors, and adrenaline coursed through me with the fear of being disowned by my father.
I stomped and elbowed out of the crowd, running in the opposite direction of the people, sprinting down the other street and thanking past me for wearing run-down Vans and not heels. My heart burned as I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I was alone on the empty street.
Then I remembered that my friends could have gone to Caleb’s house for the afterparty.
Stupid, stupid Mia.
To make matters worse, rain started pouring, instantly soaking me and my clothes. I cursed, trying to pull the thin blouse from my skin, but it was stuck to me like a glue. I almost called Dad and remembered that he was going to watch a hockey game with his friends and how much he was looking forward to it. I didn’t want to disturb him.