Clandestine

three

-diane-

The after effects of the party drip from the walls in our house. A crushed cup that one of the staff missed while cleaning. A piece of furniture pushed out of its place. Two teens are curled in the corner, passed out.

I shake my head, and push the chair back into its place along the wall. My father won't see the effects. By the time he returns from whatever meeting he is at, the evidence will be cleaned up. I'll have to help the few staff that we were able to hire clean up. I'll pay them with the money my father has set aside and they'll leave by the afternoon. I'll have to shove the last few stragglers out the door and then I can finally have peace.

A staff member hustles past me. I nod at the woman as she carries the big bag of leftover trash and sets it down to pick up the cup. I recognize her face, but I don't know her name. She's part of the staff that my father hires after the party. His money isn't quite stable enough for us to have a staff full time, but he saves it up for after parties. Both he and I are too lazy to actually clean up everything.

I move on to the teens in the corner. It's two females, both of them drooling all over themselves. I shake my head, wondering why they would do this to themselves.

I push the nearest girl's shoulder and try to rattle her awake. She just snores loudly and rolls over. I move on to the next girl. I lay a hand on her arm and her eyes flash awake. She stiffens and glares around the room.

"Where am I?" She mumbles.

"You are at a party. Well, you were. It's over now. You need to leave and take your friend with you."

She seems to notice her friends for the first time. She pushes the girl's shoulder, "Lily, we need to go."

The girl murmurs something in her sleep and another drop of drool falls down her chin. I leave her to get herself out of my house. I won't stay to watch the pathetic displays. I move into a different room to finish with the staff.

My father's parties are a waste of my time.

He knows what I think of them. He knows they are a waste of his time too.

But he does it anyway.