Obviously not reading the room, Tiana runs in for a hug from our bubbly bestfriend-turned-ice princess, Kaylynn. What the hell has gotten into her?
"So, pizzas have already been ordered; cheese and pepperoni okay with you two?", I inquire.
"Sure, of course, except I need to take the cheese off of mine", Kaylynn and I give her disgusted looks. She explains, "It's part of my new diet", she looks Kaylynn and me up and down. A little rude, but whatever. Tiana was known to be rude. That is literally why people like her so much. They think that if they can break down her walls, and get her to pay attention to them, they'll win a medal or something. Sometimes people ask Kaylynn, Lisa, and I what our secret to seeing the real Tiana (as if there is one) is, and the fact is that we have all known each other since we were toddlers. The real Tiana, under all that makeup and dieting, was our normal Tiana. She covers her basic personality with dyed hair, makeup, and her meanness. We, her real friends, know she watches Keeping Up with the Kardashians religiously, she basically owns the "vsco girl" style, she loves spending time with her parents (no matter how much she tries to hide it), and spreading rumors about other girls in the bathroom, or occasionally cursing out a freshman would not change any of that. We just know she wouldn't spread rumors about any of us, Kaylynn, Lisa, and me, her real friends, because she can get brutal.
"What is pizza without cheese?", I roll my eyes, "You need to quit those diets and let yourself eat like a normal person", I sigh.
"I am eating like a normal person", she says while applying lip gloss.
"Why are you dressed so formally?", I ask. This is a sleepover after all.
"I said 'party's here'", she explains, without actually explaining, "I mean a few blocks from here. Andrew is having a rager at his house, and we must attend".
"This is a sleepover, Tiana. Girls' night", Kaylynn emphasizes. At least someone has the spirit.
I rearrange my braids into a ponytail, "You should just change into a T-shirt and shorts so we can do sleepover activities, no parties", I plead.
"No, you guys need to put on party clothes, and come to Andrew's rager because something crazy always happens at his parties", she sighs, "It will be worth it, I swear! Pleeease, she tugs on my arm. I look to Kaylynn, and she massages her temples by rubbing little circles around them. While doing so, she shakes her head slowly. I can predict her answer. Then, I look back to Tiana's pleading eyes. We usually outvote her with activities, Kaylynn, Lisa, and I ultimately choosing to stay home or watch movies together instead of partying. Kaylynn usually wanted to appease Lisa's shyness and social anxiety by staying in with her, and I usually wanted to hang out with Kaylynn. I hated that Tiana was almost always left out, and that she only hung around us when she looked "ugly", which is a lie because she always looked gorgeous, and truth be told, she ruined it with excessive makeup and her fake personality. I guess we wanted the old Tiana back, and she wanted us to change for the new one.
With her makeup perfectly slayed, a newly applied spray tan, and a fabulously completed outfit, I knew Tiana had planned for a fun night at the party; I don't want to let her down.
"Fine, what's the worst that can happen?", I shrug, knowing full well that every time I say that, things go to shit.
I change into a two piece skirt set I got from Fashionnova. The bright yellow bandeau top hugged my bust, and perfectly displayed my double D chest. I wonder if it's a little too showy... meh. I shrug the thought off. The yellow pencil skirt bottom has a cute slit over my left thigh, showing my black birthmark midway. I let my braids down, and I'm done. Tiana looks me up and down, again, with impatience.
"Come on, Kara! You look as good as you are going to. At some point, we have to leave", she groans.
"Hey, you probably took hours on your look, and I can't have 30 minutes?!", I reply.
"You don't care how you look any other time", she says.
"Hey!", Kaylynn snaps, still in her pajamas, "Be nice, you two". She keeps glaring at Tiana, and I'm officially suspicious... what the hell is going on?
"You're covering for us, okay?", I tell her.
"Yes, of course", she throws herself onto my bed, "I will cover for you, and participate in sleepover activities on my own". She looks so down; maybe I should not have agreed to come with Tiana to the party.
"Okay, call if you need anything", I smile at her, hopefully conveying that everything should be fine with Lisa soon.
"Let's go, bitch", Tiana booms. She can be totally oblivious to her friends' feelings sometimes.
I follow her to her car, but something does not add up.
"Why are we going to your car? When are you ever a designated driver?", I raise my left eyebrow in disbelief.
"We're just taking my car there, but I'm trusting you to be our designated driver", she replies, sashaying to the drivers' seat. Hmm.
"So, when we arrive, are you just gonna leave me alone to meet some of your superficial fake friends?", I ask bluntly.
"What? No, I never leave you at parties", she says defensively. Sure, whatever. I beg to differ, as I have been her drink holder, purse guarder, hair holder (as she's throwing up), and many more. Part of me feels like her sidekick friend. Is my best purpose as a designated driver or drink holder for the "main character" of our friend group?
Once we arrive to Andrew's street, the bright neon lights coming from a large white mansion remind me which house is his. He's known for having some of the wildest parties I've ever been to. I'm not totally popular at school, but I get in by being associated with Tiana, one of our school's wannabe socialites, and being the girlfriend of one of the star basketball players helped, too--can't use that one anymore, though. Tiana is officially my only in to our school's social scene. Maybe I should socialize more to make friends with the rest of our student body, but tagging along with Tiana, Kaylynn, and Lisa had always been enough for me.
We approach the front doors, and Tiana accidentally pushes this cheerleader to the ground. I recognized him from our last football game. He spontaneously twerked on one of our football players during the half time break. He quickly mutters a "Sorry", and scurries away like a frightened squirrel.
Speakers are propped up in the corners of the foyer and living room where the bulk of the party-goers reside. I can feel the vibrations, and soon I honestly cannot think straight. The room is literally shaking. Once my vision focuses again, I realize that Tiana is nowhere to be found. Am I surprised? Hell no.
I head over to the drink and chip table. I don't even look at the open bag of potato chips twice; anything can be in there. Grabbing a fresh Corona, I sigh, what to do, what to do. I swear I thought I saw Shawn before I bent over to retrieve a bottle, but once I looked up, he was gone. I must be seeing things. I take a swig, and there he is in front of me; not my imagination.
I gulp, "Shawn, what the hell are you doing here?", I ask.
"Well, it's a party, so what the hell are you doing here?", he inquires sardonically.
"I came with a friend", I explain.
Looking me up and down, he says, "You look nice".
"Thanks", I take another swig. Anything to get out of this conversation.
"Not you, but nice", he shrugs. What?
"And what do you know about me?", I ask.
"You are weird and goofy. You wear ice cream uniforms and jeans, not", he gestures, "this", which he says with what seems like disgust.
"Okay, Mr. Black Vans and gray flannel", I over-exaggerate, "basically Mr. All Black. Even your bed sheets are black", I blurt, then cover my mouth.
"My bed sheets?!", he smiles all coy, "stalker alert".
"Whatever, we were in your room", I roll my eyes.
"About that", he starts, "We're having another", he whispers, "anti-New Worlders meeting".
"Okay", I widen my eyes, "when?".
"It's next Wednesday at 8 pm. Can you make it?", he asks, tucking his blonde strands behind his ear.
"Of course. I'll be there", I nod.
"Then after this, you'll stop?", he asks. Stop what?
"What?", I ask, confused.
"You'll stop blackmailing me?", he explains.
"Oh right", I click my tongue as I remember our conversation in his car, "I won't tell anyone about what I saw". Like hell. How naive could he be? Of course I'm telling any adult who'll listen. This group, of course, has freedom of speech and assembly, but it could be dangerous.
"Want to dance?", he asks, holding out his hand.
I must look confused (which I am) because he rolls his eyes, "Just because you are blackmailing me, it does not mean I won't extend the gift of dancing with me to you", he pushes his hand into mine, and drags me onto the dance floor. I toss my Corona into a nearby trash, and set Tiana's purse down.
A techno song plays, and the electric beat brings the party animal in me to life. In front of me, Shawn bobs slowly to the beat. Cool as always, huh. I tap him, "Watch this!", I shout over the beat. I perform my best robot moves for him, forcing a smile onto his face. The only other time I'd seen it, a genuine smile, was when we were being questioned by the two cult members dressed in blue. I don't know what he was laughing and smiling at, but finally another mood, separate from his regular program of gloom had surfaced.
He looks into my eyes, "No, you watch this!", he announces. Of course he has to one-up me. I roll my eyes while his honey pools are still on me.
Suddenly, he busts out into a sloppy Harlem Shake, which looks more like a seizure. He is an embarrassment. I swear, I almost burrowed into the marble floor right then and there. He throws his wiggling arms onto my shoulders, nearly knocking down my bandeau top. After a little more chest than I wanted comes into view, I quickly pull my top up before too many people see.
"Shawn, what the hell?", I asked angrily.
"Sorry!", he mocks, "but it looks better like that anyway", he finishes, shrugging.
"Haha, funny", I say. I don't mean it of course. He rolls his head back and pulls his flannel off.
"Here, and button it so that you don't flash these innocent party-goers again", he scolds.
I stick my tongue out, and he snatches the flannel back.
"Shawn!", I exclaim.
"Ask for it, nicely", he demands. I roll my eyes. Is he really denying me the jacket? Granted, it's his, but I'm blackmailing him, for God's sake!
"I'd rather flash this whole crowd!", I threaten.
"You wouldn't!", he dares. I slowly raise my hands up to my top, and pull it down, taunting him. 1/4 of an inch, 1/2 of an inch, then 1 inch. Suddenly:
"Okay, okay, you made your point!", he gives up, "Put it on".
"Oh, I thought it looked better that way?", I say, exaggeratedly turning my head, and swinging my braids. He rolls his eyes, and they go back to their original gloom as he buttons the flannel up. He had seemed to be having fun... until a second ago. His black tank top became visible, and his chiseled arms, too. I followed his gaze to a group of sexy popular girls (wannabe socialites) in our grade. Among them is Tiana. So they're who she ditched me for, I think as I cross my arms. As we bounce to a pop song, Tiana approaches us. Shit. The way she's looking at Shawn, I can tell she's interested in him. She always looks like a lioness hunting down her prey when she finds a hot guy. Although he is arrogant and kinda depressing, I am sad to watch Shawn go because once Tiana has him, she's not giving him back. She always restricts her boyfriends' contact with any other girls--especially her friends. Shawn says he only does flings, but with Tiana, that is bound to change. So, once I attend the anti-New Worlders' meeting with him next Wednesday, it really will be over. I hadn't even wanted to know Shawn before finding him at that first meeting, but after seeing that there's more to him than gloom and sarcasm, I want to know even more. All Tiana wants is his dick... plain and simple.
"Kara, where the hell did you get that horrendous flannel?", Tiana asks, disgusted. If I didn't know any better, I would think she were talking to a roach under her heel.
"From me", Shawn interjects, raising his right hand, "Guilty".
I cross my arms even tighter, looking down.
"And what's your name?", Tiana asks in her seductive voice. She bats her lashes so much that I'm afraid they'll fall off.
"It's Shawn", he says with the most emotionless expression... classic Shawn. "Is your eye okay?", he asks. He seems genuine but I crack the hell up because I know it's her long ass lashes flapping so much, she might fly away. Tiana shoots me a sharp glare, clearly telling me to back the fuck off. I roll my eyes so hard at that, they could have fallen out.
Tiana turns fully toward him, blocking his view of me, and says, "So you know--"
"You want to keep dancing?" he looks around her at me.
"Me?", I ask quietly.
"Duh, loser", he says with hopeful eyes. Is he asking me to save him from Tiana. Because that's all I am: a patsy for the "main characters" of society? Rage builds up inside me, because I want to do more than hold bags and bail people out of uncomfortable situations.
I look him right in those honey pools, and say, expressionless, "You two have fun. And Shawn, don't forget about our conversation from earlier". That's right, I can pull off "expressionless", and it's a badass feeling when done right. I think I hear him call my name, but I don't stop until I reach Tiana's car. I glance back once to catch them going upstairs--we all know what happens upstairs at parties. I don't even know why I'm upset that they're hanging out. Shawn can have his "flings", and Tiana can catch whatever the hell he has. What the hell do I care? Shit. I promised myself I would not get emotionally involved... I care too much. Now I'm in a humid car, alone--wait, the key! Damn it, it's in Tiana's purse. Now I have to re-enter a party, which I had just made a dramatic exit out of. I smack my forehead... dumbass! We were dancing and having a chill time; sadly that ended when Tiana approached us. If only she could master that one skill she never had: reading the room.