[2018 Wattys Short-Listed]
When Charlotte 'Charlie' Avery and her friends discover Robert Mifflin's diary, they didn't think much of it. That is, until they realize that he had hidden one million dollars for someone to claim. Now as they embark on t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Charlie gripped onto the arms of James Bond as she looked ahead into the living room. A chandelier kept swaying back and forth from the heavy footsteps and stomping upstairs. Every square inch was occupied with people in different costumes and she knew that this was such an alarming difference from the usual party that Joey throws every year. She couldn't even recognize most of the people ahead of her. In fact, she had only counted about twenty Mifflin students so far and she hoped that the rest were dispersed throughout. Women were so scandalously dressed that she felt like a nun in her own costume and she had initially thought her vampire costume was racy to her. Not only was she wearing a black corset that had pushed her breasts up, she was also wearing heavier makeup than the usual thanks to Mari. Charlie looked up to Stefan with a concerned look.
"Come on, let's find Joey," he suggested. Stefan grabbed her hand and maneuvered through the crowd to the chaotic kitchen. The strong mixed smell of tequila, rum, and beer turned her stomach upside down and suddenly, she decided that maybe she shouldn't drink... ever. She felt safe holding onto his hand as she caught the glimpse of some curious boys and girls around her. They had eyed her from head to toe as she timidly smiled and followed her friend. Maybe it was her costume. She wondered if the fake blood from the corner of her mouth was too much; she had thought she looked cool with her fake fangs. Several drunk strangers stood around the keg and the island table in the kitchen cackling and laughing at some conversation. A scrawny raven-haired boy with a burgundy robe was seen sitting on the counter with a beer can in his hand and a girl in a tiny bumble bee costume kissing his neck. Of course. Joey was Hugh Hefner.
His eyes lit up as he noticed the duo walking towards him. "Ay, you guys made it!" he cheered. The bumble bee girl kept burying her face into his neck making Charlie uncomfortable. Luckily, he had moved her off before jumping off the counter.
"So... uh... who are all these people? I hardly see anyone from Mif," Stefan asked. Joey tipped his head back and finished his beer can before crushing it against the corner of the table and tossing it behind him. Charlie watched as the can landed into the sink. She couldn't imagine the mess that he and his poor cleaning staff would have to clean in several hours.
"So my buddy, Sage from Duke, called me panicking because his frat got suspended for that big hazing incident so they closed their house on campus and so he called me up asking if he could use it for their annual Halloween thing and I thought 'why the fuck not?' Plus he's paying me some good stuff."
"So... they're all college students?" Charlie confirmed.
"Nah. I'm sure some of our own are somewhere here. Just don't really know where," he laughed, carelessly. Stefan and Charlie exchanged looks and shrugged.
"Here," Joey said and tossed two beer cans from a cooler into the air. Charlie and Stefan instantly caught it. "Feel free to fuck around here. I need to go check the pool area. I'll be back," he assured and walked out.
"So... now what? Dustin and Laurie backed out and Mari and Blake are still not here," Charlie frowned.
"It's fine. Let's just walk around. If we get bored, we'll just bail."
