“Ha-ha, yeah, I told her I didn’t want to dress up into a costume, so this is what she decided.” He quickly spins around for us and paces up and down the living room as if he’s a model at a fashion show. My mom cheers loudly the whole time and I’m happy to see her laughing again. After a few minutes, we decide the fashion show must continue another time. Duke grabs my coat for me and helps me put it on. He’s such a gentleman; always taking care of women first. After I give my mom a hug and a kiss good-bye, Duke puts on his grey pea coat and we head out to the car.
“Wait, this is Melanie’s car. Where is she?”
Duke unlocks the doors and holds the passenger door open as I climb inside. “When I got to her house she was running a little late, so she told me to come pick you up first.”
“Oh, okay. And here I am rushing to be ready on time.” I chuckle to myself as we pull out of the driveway and make our way to Melanie’s house. Duke turns on Pandora and changes the station to One Republic Radio as If I Lose Myself starts to play. Listening to good music and having Duke by my side is all I can ask for. As he sings, he glances at me, smiles, and winks. I can’t help but return his smile. No matter what happens at the party, I can never forget this night.
Raya
“Wow, Raya, your makeup looks great! I love it! You did such a great job with the costume!” Melanie reaches behind the passenger seat to give me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you. Honestly, I just improvised and put this together. I’m so happy it turned out okay.” I was really proud of myself; I didn’t think I could pull this off. Melanie tu
rns back around and tells me and Duke about the hectic day she had with her crazy little brother. Listening to her makes me wish that I had a sibling; someone to share my feelings with and even little secrets. But that means Craig would be in the picture and I wouldn’t want them to experience that.
About twenty minutes later, we pull up to Austin’s house and I see the mob of teens inside. I can hear laughter, music blaring throughout the house, and a few girls screaming from being the victims of Halloween pranks. Just your typical high school party—not that I would have any idea how this is supposed to go. My nerves have crept back and my skin begins to sweat. My legs start to tremble as Duke puts the car into park and steps out to get Melanie. Come on, girl, you can do this. It’s just a party.
Melanie opens the door for me and reaches out her hand, “Are you ready?” I close my eyes and let out a deep breath along with a silent prayer. Please don’t let me make a fool of myself. Reaching out to grab Melanie’s hand, I step out of the car. The three of us walk into the house and are immediately bombarded by Duke’s teammates.
“Duke, you made it!” Two tall, handsome, and muscular guys reach out to give Duke a quick bro-hug.
“Yeah, I’m here. You know I couldn’t resist my girlfriend’s charm.” He wraps his arm around Melanie and kisses the top of her head and she giggles.
She looks at me and pulls me up front toward the two guys. “Taylor, Adam, have you met Raya yet?” I’m too shy to even acknowledge them or say anything. Of course, of all days, I just have to flake out right now. Stupid girl.
“No, I don’t believe I have. Hi, I’m Taylor.” He winks at me and offers a friendly smile. Somehow, I manage to return the smile and even respond. “Hi, I’m Raya. Nice to meet you.” I take a good look at him and enjoy his pirate costume. Fully loaded with the hat, long black wig that’s braided, rugged and torn jeans, and equipped with the infamous eye patch. “So, Jack Sparrow, is that right?”
He laughs, “Yeah that movie rocks! Especially that chick, Kiera Knightley. She’s fuckin’ hot in that movie.”
We all laugh and Melanie pulls me further into the party as she calls back to the guys. “Catch up to ya later boys!” I turn around to see Duke, Taylor, and Adam looking at us with curious eyes.
We enter the living room to find couples dancing and others lounging around with cups full of beer, laughing and having a great time. In the corner of the room are a few people smoking cigarettes and I’m pretty sure one of them is rolling a joint. Melanie grabs a solo cup and heads over to the keg to fill it up. She offers me the cup, “You want a beer?” I stand there and think about Craig and his horrible habit. I never want to end up like him.
I shake my head, “Nope, I’m good. Thanks.”
She shrugs her shoulder, “Hmm…okay. Well, if change your mind, the keg is open.” She sips the cup and we hear her name being called from across the room. I look over to see her girlfriends approaching us. One is dressed up as mermaid, the other is a playboy bunny, and the last girl is just wearing a pink bikini with a long pink wig. Really? That’s a costume?
“Hey, girls, this is Raya. Raya, this is Amber, Stacy, and Penelope.” The three of them wave, give a soft smile, and say “Hello” in unison. Stacy, the playboy bunny, gives me a puzzled look as if she’s thinking about something and it makes me a little uncomfortable. She gasps, “Hey, you’re that new girl in Forensics class, right? You’re Duke’s partner?”
I didn’t even realize she was in my class. “Yes, I’m in that class. I didn’t even know you were in it.”
“Yeah, I sit in the back. So, which school did you transfer from?”
“I transferred from New Haven.”
“Oh yeah, I remember now. So, how do you like Lehman so far?”
“Well, it’s a lot bigger than my old school, but I like it so far. It took a lot of getting used to at first, but I can manage it now.”
I look over to Melanie and see her talking to Amber and Penelope—something about their upcoming dance team competition.
Stacy steps up closer to me and whispers softly, “So, any guys in the school catch your eye yet?” That question completely catches me off guard and I give her a quick reply, “No, not yet.”
Her eyes squint as if she’s trying to catch me in a lie, “Are you sure?” Geez, what is it with this girl and her twenty questions??
Her jaw clenches and her eyes glare with a threatening spark. “Look, Melanie is one of my best friends and I’ll be damned if I let some new girl get in the way of her happiness, so stay the hell away from Duke. You got that?”
My defenses shoot up and I retort, “Duke and I are just friends.”