Chapter Two
Jess' Mum gave us a lift to Tana's house after we were both ready. Jess was right. her house was massive. I was starting to get worried that I might get lost in there. It was one of the out-of-town, Blossom-tree private estate ones. I never imagined Tana, the most popular girl in school, let alone year nine, to live in a posh house. The pieces just didn't seem to fit together. I checked my watch, half-past seven. Well, at least we were 'fashionably late', as Jess would say.
When we walked inside, we were greeted with a massive hallway and fourteen banners saying 'Happy Birthday Tana!' in massive bubble writing. There were snacks and drinks on four tables opposite each other in that hall, each table extravagantly decorated with a huge bunch of flowers and petals sprinkled over the bright pink tablecloths. Tana herself came out of what looked like the main room, and was shocked to see that we were the first people to come to her party. She was wearing a rather short miniskirt, which barely covered her knickers, and a bright pink, tightly fitted top that made her look like she was wearing a sweet wrapper. Not to mention the skyscraper high heels that made her every now and then topple over. Not a good look.
"Jess and umm,..." Tana started. It didn't surprise me that she didn't know my name.
"Cassidy" Jess mouthed.
"Of course! It's Jess and Cassidy! Welcome to my birthday party extravaganza!" She exclaimed. She strolled casually over and hugged us both, then beckoned for us to go into her lounge.
Her sofas had been pushed aside to make way for a colossal DJ stand and a built in dance floor, completed with a luminous disco ball in the centre of the ceiling.
"Wow, Tana! This..." Jess started, waving her arms around the room, "...looks amazing!"
" Thanks! My Mum helped me design it - It was so fun to do it together as she never got a big party like this when she was a kid..." I lost concentration after that. Why is it that everyone must always talk of their mothers? Of how they helped? Of how they loved them? Why is there a mother out there for someone as horrible as Tana, and not one for me?
"...and then we just got in our decorator. It must have taken two weeks. Wow, that went fast!"
The party had started to liven up by about nine. Most of our year had come, and some in the year above. Tana had also invited her eighteen year old brother, Tom, and he'd invited his friends along, and they bought alcohol. Brian had always told me to stay away from it, but I was fourteen and I was experimenting. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And anyway, I was to depressed with losing my best friend to think straight. We were all sat round in a circle and passing round a bottle of wine. I don't know why people like it so much. It tasted horrible when I tried it. My cheeks burned as I spat it back in. I don't know why I felt so embarrassed.
"It's cause you're not old enough to enjoy things like these" Said one of Tom's friends. He snatched it from me and started downing it. Everyone was cheering him on.
"Hey!" Slurred Jess. "I wanted summore of that!" She then started being violently sick all down her front and over my school shoes.
"Tana, where's your toilet?" I asked. We led a fairly tipsy Jess to her en suite bathroom. I took my hair band out of my hair and tied up Jess'. When she was looking better, I started routing around Tana's bathroom cabinet.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Asked Jess, in between retches.
"Trying to find Tana's makeup and some flannels. You don't want your parents to know you're drunk, do you?" She shook her head. I dragged her to the bath and tried to lift her in, fully clothed, but she wouldn't budge. I gave up, wet the flannel and started to wash her face, even though it looked like she was falling asleep. When she started to look normal again, I peered in Tana's makeup bag and started to pull out things that I'd seen Jess use before. To be honest, I didn't know what I was doing.
"What are you doing? You don't put that on first! Here, let me do it." Exclaimed Jess.
"There, good as new." She said.
We started to trail downstairs when I noticed the time; eleven o'clock.
"We better head outside, Brian's probably waiting for me." Jess could only manage a feeble nod. Tana suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Is she alright now? I'm sorry I couldn't help, sick actually makes me feel sick." Said Tana in her fake sugar-sweet tone. Jess smiled at her, believing the lie, then Tana disappeared into the thumping music coming from her house. Some 'friend'.
"Hey, sweetheart! Want to come back with us?" Someone shouted, I couldn't see who it was in the pitch black darkness.
"No, thank you." I replied meekly, starting to get scared.
"Oh? You're no fun. What about your little friend?" He laughed.
"She's not feeling up to it." I heard Jess whimper from the corner of my ear.
"Oh, too bad. Well maybe I should just make you." He spluttered. I started to back away into Tana's house but I was stopped by a firm hand.
"Where are you goin'? We were having a conversation. Don't be rude!"
"Come on, Jess. Let's go." I whispered, desperately trying to find some way to escape. But the hand blocked all possibilities, leaving us trapped with Jess slumped against my shoulder, helpless.
"You're not going anywhere. You're coming with me." He sneered. He pushed us both to the floor. OK, what was the best way to attack someone? 'Come on memory, don't fail me now' I thought. But I was interrupted when the heavy weight of the hand on my shoulder abruptly vanished.
"Cassidy, are you alright?" Asked a familiar voice. I knew it from somewhere...
"Ron? You saved us! Thank you, thank you!" I rejoiced. A big smile spread across my face when I knew that Jess and I were safe.
"No problem. Here, let me help you with her." He was talking about Jess, who was still lying on the floor, probably asleep. We half dragged, half carried her to the bench outside the house, then slumped her in the chair.
"How did you know we were in trouble?" I asked.
"My sister, Kayliegh, saw those guys causing trouble and rang me." A loud snore came from Jess' body and we both burst with laughter. Then, as if on cue, Brian's car swung into the driveway.
"Bye, Cassidy." Ron called.
"Just call me Cassy." I smiled. I dragged Jess to the car and explained to Brian that she would probably need a lift home .
"So how was it, other than a load of people getting drunk?" Brian asked when we finally reached his house, after a detour to Jess' house and a long conversation and half argument with Nicky. She had blamed me for letting Jess get drunk and then Brian argued that I would never touch alcohol and that I would never have misled Jess to do so. After that, I decided that I shouldn't tell Brian about my little experiment.
"Uh, fine." I replied. I also decided that I shouldn't tell him about what happened after Jess got drunk. I put my ready meal in the microwave and set it for five minutes.
"Didn't you have anything to eat?" Asked Brian.
"It was party food; all cakes and biscuits." I replied. I wasn't completely lying, I just didn't really have time to eat any when I was looking after Jess. I was sitting at the kitchen table with Brian in my pyjamas, seeing as it was well after midnight.
"Oh, well clear up when you're done and go straight to bed. Well, goodnight." Brian paused for a second, then continued out of the room. He never did really know what to say and wasn't one for words either. The microwave beeped and I got right on to preparing my meal consisting of spaghetti and a weird gloopy sauce that I didn't recognise.
I'd just finished eating when I realised the best before date on the packaging; 14th Jan, ten days ago. Jeesh. It looked like Jess wasn't going to be the only one throwing up tonight.
