After the girls had left Grace alone, she had decided the only option was to blend in with the crowd so she wouldn't look out of place. Her plan didn't work for long though as Raymond caught her not long after.
"Gracie!!" He called with his hands up as soon as he sighted her. "I swear I didn't think you'd come." He said as he got closer to her.
"Well I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yeah, you are. And you said this night is about bygones, so why are we dulling eh?" He curled up his lips. "I'm almost done with this bottle, it won't do us any good. Let's go to the bar."
Not waiting to hear Grace's response, he dragged her towards the bar.
"Barman, one bottle of Henny please." He ordered as he took a seat. Grace didn't and he noticed.
"What's up with you?" He asked.
'Yeah Grace, what's up with you? You finally found the excitement you were looking for and now you are acting like a baby.' She thought.
She gave a slight shrug. Her caution still didn't change the fact that she could be dead at the end of the night.
"Nothing." She said then joined him.
The bartender soon placed a bottle and two red party cups in front of them and Raymond poured out some. Grace raised her cup in a toasting gesture and downed her drink in one gulp.
"Hey, easy there. I'm supposed to be the wild one, remember?" Raymond said, taking the cup from her and pouring out some more for her.
"Okay that was a lie, I'm loving this part of you." He said, handing the cup back to her. "By the way, where is your friend?"
"You mean Veronica?"
"Hmmm, that's a nice name. She didn't come?" He took a quick sip off his cup.
"Oh, I am sure she is somewhere around."
"Okay, but she seems way off your league though, no offense. How did you meet? Don't tell me she was your only friend after I left."
Raymond was getting on her nerves again. But she had bigger things on her mind. She placed the cup in her mouth and swallowed another gulp.
How did you meet?
All of this started because she met Veronica, but still, Veronica was the only reason she had any hope left.
"I have friends, Raymond. And they are here too." She cut back. "And Veronica is a new student in my class."
Just then her phone rang.
"Excuse me, I have to pick this." She said, sliding off her chair.
"Hello." She said as she walked away from the loud music. Veronica's next words had sent her heart beating in a million different ways.
"Guys listen, whatever you do, don't drink anything!"
Again, life wasn't on her side. Nothing was.
"Uhm, I think it might be a little late for that."
* * *
"What do you mean it's too late?" Margret asked, puzzled. June wore the same confused look on her face.
Grace and Veronica had given them a description of Bright before they started their quest. A thin tall yellow-skinned boy with little strands of beards growing across his jawline.
"He's probably going to be wearing a cap too." Veronica had highlighted. She was right. They found him by the pool and quickly confirmed who he was from one of the girls. Luckily, he had not taken his clothes off yet.
"So how do we approach him? What do we say?" June asked as they watched Bright from a distance. He squatted at the edge of the pool flirting with a girl in a bikini.
"I don't know. I should be asking you, you're the jovial one." Margret lamented in frustration.
"But I'm scared," June murmured.
Margret bit her lip hard as if to prep herself.
"Let's go."
Bright was quick to notice as they approached him.
"Ladies, hello." He stressed as he gave a big grin.
"Hi, Uhm. You're--"
"Yes I'm Bright and I'm the birthday boy." He said cutting June off. "Now what can I do for you? Or you wanna get in the pool? By all means, please." He said grinning again.
"No no," June said. "We just want to ask you some questions."
'Questions? On my birthday? Are they mad?' He thought.
"Look if you are here for anything other than to party, then I can't help you. Now if you will excuse me, Regina is waiting." He said then winked at the girl in the bikini.
Margret's uneasiness had moved from anxious to desperate. They were losing Bright and if they didn't act fast it would all be over before it even started. Something told her that he would only agree to talk if they had something to offer him.
'Think Margret Think!'
Somehow, an idea came forth.
"But you haven't heard about the present we have planned for you." She chimed in.
He looked at her with skepticism. "You two?"
Margret leaned closer to his ear.
"Come with us and I'll show you all the naughty things I can do with my hands and mouth."
Bright's eyes got wide. It all seemed too good to be true. The girl in front of him was nothing like any of the slutty girls he had seen before and he could tell. She seemed like she was cajoled by her friends to be at the hotel. As usual, Margret was insecure about her dressing and she had decided to go for a simple, maybe a little too simple- a plain blue T-shirt and black jeans trousers and a pair of black sneakers. June wore a white T-shirt on a pink pinafore dress that extended above her knees and white sneakers. Too Bright, if he were to decide who would be the bad girl between the two of them, he would pick June. Anyone would.
"You're lying!" He said in disbelief.
Margret didn't flinch.
"The only way to know for sure is if you come."
Bright considered his odds. Two beautiful girls wanted to see him in private and one was offering him pleasure for his time. He looked at the girl in the pool who had swarmed off to the other end and was heading back towards them already. The night wasn't as sure with her unlike the two girls in front of him. He hadn't even known her name yet.
"Okay, where do you want us to go?" He asked finally.
Margret didn't know what else to say. Luckily-unfortunately- she was saved by Veronica.
"Please excuse us." She had said before walking aside with June to pick the call.
"Grace, what do you mean it's too late?" Margret asked again.
"Raymond offered me a drink at the bar," Grace said.
Back in the room, Joana imagined the worse.
"Let's not panic yet. There's no way he could have poisoned all the drinks at the party." Veronica tried to reassure the rest. But did they know the extent their killer could go to?
Veronica could feel them losing hope, as they had lost already. She couldn't let that happen.
"Forget that, we still stick to the plan. Right now, Joana would try to find out what kind of poison this is. Grace, do not leave Raymond. Margret, have you guys seen Bright yet?"
"Yeah," June chimed in. "He asked us where we want to talk."
Veronica took a brief pause to think.
"Bring him up here with you, room 22. Joana and I would go over to the bar to ask the bartender and waitresses some questions."
"Okay, we're on her way," Margret said finally then hung up.
"Gracie, are you still there?" Joana called. "Can you hear me?"
Grace remained silent.
"Listen, we're here for you okay? Nothing will happen." Joana promised.
"Thanks," Grace said. "We can't keep wasting time, let's continue."
She had hung up and turned back to Raymond who to her surprised wore a worried look on his face.
"Hope no problem?" He asked.
Grace forced a smile.
"No, can we just go somewhere to talk? Just the two of us."
* * *
Margret and June walked into the reception with Bright just as Veronica and Joana walked out. They nodded at them and went off their way, leading a clueless Bright up the stairs. Veronica and June on the other hand went out to discover more complications to what the night had offered.
"John, what are you doing here?" Joana said immediately she saw him. John raised a brow as if to ask her if she was okay. He wore a black jacket on a grey shirt, a pair of blue jean trousers, and brown boots. He was dressed for the party.
"But how'd you--"
"The whole class was invited... You didn't know?"
Lie! She could feel Veronica silently screaming the word inside her head.
"No, I did. I just didn't think this was your kind of gathering though."
John raised his arms in defeat.
"Oh well, but no harm in trying new things right?"
Just then the DJ played an instrumental and everyone went wild into the dance floor.
"Oh my God! This is my jam!" He grabs Joana by her hand. "Let's go show these people how it is done."
Veronica glared at both of them.
"But Joana, we have something to do, remember?" She objected before they moved an inch.
John stared at her with shock.
"So you guys are friends now?"
Joana breathed a sigh.
"John, give me a few minutes okay?"
"But the beat."
Joana pouted her lips and gave him an angry look.
"Okay Okay!" He said then gave them enough space to talk.
"Look, Veronica, John is here and he doesn't look like he's leaving anytime soon. If I don't follow him, he'll be unto me and I can't let him find out and drag himself into this."
"So you're just going to abandon me?"
"No, it's not like that... But admit it, you could do this yourself. You're the master detective and you could solve this if I'm with you or not."
Veronica bit her lip at Joana's logic. Yes, she could solve it but Joana leaving her made her scared, scared that their separation was all part of their killer's plan to strike. If it was, it was working.
"Fine, go." She said finally. "I'll go over to the bar and ask some questions. But once I call, you pick."
"Deal," Joana said. "Thank you, Veronica."
She waited for Veronica who replied with a nod before she joined John and together they went into the dance floor.