Shards

Octavia's First Party

She's incredibly uncomfortable. There are too many people here for her.

Multicolored lights strobe and bounce off the disco ball hanging in the center of the blacked-out room. Beats pulse in the air. Men and women wearing short, flashy outfits dance around to it. Some partiers are sober, but most are drunk off the not-so-mini bar tucked away in a corner.

A group of familiar people dance near the bar - one person more familiar than the others. The girl wears short, shiny, silver cloth around her body in a way trying to pass as a dress and dances with a Martini glass in hand. Her thick hair corkscrewed in countless curls bounce and sway to her movements. Mindy's shimmery eyes meet hers. She leaves the dancing group to meet her.

Mindy, meeting her uncomfortable friend, says, "Do my eyes deceive me? Is that the Octavia Rhinehart?"

"Unfortunately," Octavia says. She crosses her arms across her half-naked chest. Gold shapes the dressed half in a heart and hugs her body half-way down to her knees. Fishnet covers her exposed legs crossed at the ankles. She teeters from standing like this in silver platform shoes she's still learning to walk in.

"Look who's smoking tonight! I never took you as a glitter girl." Mindy playfully flicks a lock of Octavia's black, glitter-coated hair back behind her shoulder.

Octavia teeters, again. "I'm not."

Mindy hooks arms with Octavia and walks her to the bar. They sit in mix-matched barstools.

"What are you doing here, Octi? I know this thing is definitely not your style. Especially the whole crowd thing."

Mindy places a now-empty martini glass on the bar and flags the bartender. "Another, please."

He swipes the glass on command. The bartender pauses for a moment when he notices Octavia but hurries to fill Mindy's drink.

Octavia sighs. "My parents found out about the party-"

"What!" Mindy almost screams.

A few partiers look in their direction. Octavia snaps her face away from them and hides in her straight hair like a curtain until she feels their eyes off of them. She waves at Mindy to quiet and calm down.

"Don't worry, Minty," Octavia tells her. "They didn't rat anyone out and won't talk about it unless the media finds out about it. At least that's what they told me. My parents actually told me to come to meet other politicians' kids and make 'friends'. Plus, they said if I didn't go, they would rat out everyone involved. So, I came."

The bartender puts a frosted, pink-filled martini glass in front of Mindy. She slides it to Octavia. Mindy raises her fingers. "Another, plea-"

"On it, Miss Winters." The bartender nods and zips away.

"A Rhinehart with a heart? Surprising... if it wasn't you of course. And since you're here, why not let loose?" Mindy watches the man prepare her drink. "And enjoy such friendly service." Her eyes hang low and her tongue sticks out the slightest bit.

"Must you stare at every guy like that?" Octavia says.

Another pink-filled glass is presented to Mindy.

A soft, giggly sound rises from Mindy. "You have to at least admit this guy isn't bad. I wonder just how friendly the service is..."

Octavia rolls her eyes as she sniffs the drink. She takes a tiny sip of the pink martini mix. It's tangy and bitter, slightly sweetened by the sugar ice on the rim. Taking a second sip, she deems it's not horrible, yet not good enough for a third sip. Octavia scoots the drink away.