The Tide - Completed

Part 42

** Note From Chipz**

2 to go...

Presenting...

Party Time With a Dash of Reconciliation

The DJ turns on his speakers and starts to play some upbeat music. The guests rush to the dance floor and start to move to the beat. I’m looking for my friends. Where could they be? Ah, there they are! They’re chilling by one of the chocolate fountains. Fran and Jas spot me first. They squeal excitedly as I join them by the fountain.

“Jamie, you look amazing!” Fran gasps. “Your speech was so touching! It nearly made me cry!”

“Yeah!” Jas agrees. “You really did us proud, Jamie. I think you’ve made everyone in this room proud.”

“Including me,” Lance says, grinning. He gives me a hug and looks at me. “I told you that everything would go well.”

“Thanks guys,” I say gratefully. “I couldn’t have done it without your support.”

“We’re always here for you, J!” Fran says as she dips a marshmallow in chocolate sauce.

All of a sudden one of our favourite songs starts to play. Fran squeals excitedly and swallows her chocolate-covered marshmallow.

“This is my song!” she squeals. “Who’s going to come and dance with me?”

“I’ll join you later,” I decline, smiling. “Trisha wants me to socialize with the other guests before I start to party.”

Jas shakes her head gently.

“I’ll skip this one too,” she says. “I’ll chill here for a while.”

Fran looks at Lance pleadingly.

“Lance?” she says, pouting. “Are you going to give it a miss too?”

Lance laughs and shakes his head. He links arms with Fran and grins.

“Let’s go,” he says. Fran grins and looks at Jas and me.

“You guys better join us later on, okay?” she says.

Jas and I nod at Fran.

“Sweet!” Fran replies. She tugs on Lance’s arm and the two of them head for the dance floor.

“Well, let me go and greet the guests while they’re still sober,” I say, looking around. The waiters have started serving cocktails. I chuckle and shake my head; it’s going to be one hell of a night. I look at Jas and tilt my head slightly.

“So, what are you going to do now?” I ask her.

 “I’m just going to stand here and watch people dance for a while,” Jas says, looking at the dance floor.

“Why don’t you go and dance with Fran and Lance?” I ask her. Jas shakes her head.

“Three’s a crowd,” she says, smiling sadly. “Besides, Michael’s coming soon and Lance has to go and fetch his grandmother from the airport in half an hour. I don’t want to be the awkward third wheel. So I’m going to stand here and admire the room.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be standing here for long,” I reply, smiling mischievously.

“What makes you say that?” Jas asks, eyeing me.

“Oh nothing,” I reply, grinning. “I think you’re in for a surprise, though.”

Jas opens her mouth to object but she’s stops as someone taps her on the shoulder. She turns around and looks at the person; it’s Hank.

“Hey,” Hank says, smiling.

 “H-hi!” Jas stutters. She looks like she’s about to duck under the table. I step in and smile at Hank.

“Hey, Hank, this is my friend, Jas,” I say, looking at her. She gulps nervously. “Jas, this is Hank. I’m sure you saw him earlier when he was saying his speech. He’s our age.”

Jas nods and smiles nervously. Hank is still looking at Jas; he hasn’t taken his eyes off of her. Ooo! I think he likes her!

“Would you like to dance with me?” Hank asks Jas. Jas opens her mouth a few times and says,

“You want to dance with me?”

Hanks nods. Jas looks like she’s about to decline! I step in again and say,

“Hank, she would love to dance with you.”

Sorry Jas, I’m not about to let your timidity get the better of you.

“Well, let me leave you two alone now,” I say, pushing Jas towards Hank. “See ya!”

Hank takes Jas by the arm and smiles at her. She looks up at him and returns the smile. She looks at me and mouths the words ‘Thank you’. I nod, smile and walk towards a group of guests. As I reach the group of guests, someone grabs me by the arm and turns me around. It’s Kal.

“Hey, Kal,” I greet her warmly. “Nice to see you here. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she says nervously. She looks at me anxiously. “Jamie, I want to apologize for the way I’ve treated you for the past six months. I‒”

I put a finger on Kal’s lips and smile slightly.

“Kal, you don’t have to apologize,” I say. “I forgave you a long time ago.”

“Really?” she asks, shocked. I smile and nod.

“Really,” I reply. “I’ve realized that holding grudges against people is useless. Let’s forget about what happened and let’s just move on. Friends?”

I open my arms and look at her. Kal looks at me, dumbfounded. A grin forms on her face and she hugs me.

“Friends,” she replies. It’s going to take a while before Kal and I can be close friends again, but that’s fine. I’m over holding grudges against people. Besides, I’ve missed Kal. I hope that we won’t go through another ugly phase ever again. Suddenly Kal’s phone starts to ring. She looks at it and sighs.

“That’s my mom,” she says. “I have to go. Send my congratulations to Trisha. I’m so happy for her.”

“I will,” I reply. “See you on Monday.”

“See ya,” Kal says. She gives me another hug and leaves. Things seem to be working out tonight; I’m glad. I have a feeling that tonight is definitely going to be a night to remember.

I look at one of the entrances and start to walk towards it. I’ve still got some unfinished business that I need to sort out. Jay’s standing by the entrance, looking at the dance floor. He spots me and straightens up.

“Hey, Jamie,” he says, putting one of his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, Jay,” I reply. “Is is okay if we go outside? We’ve got a few things that we need to sort out.”