And Then There Was Victor

Chapter 3

Most people can conclude that there's a nostalgic quality to High School parties; the way the music played and the people who were there. The short conversations that would have gone differently in your head and being obsessed with all the wrong people at the wrong times.

The "ridiculous" party was hosted by the Ramirez brothers – they lived on 478 Westpalm Court in a large house isolated from neighbors that lent itself as a perfect place to throw a raging high school party. By the time we arrived the beer was flowing and 'Come Baby Come' was heard a block away.

Yara had been flirting with middle brother Tay for the better part of the last two years they had made out like water eels in Homecoming. The three Ramirez brothers were infamous because they were all handsome and despite not playing sports, they were effortlessly cool, suave, and popular. They dressed well, their parents were well off and they were often home alone while their parents traveled for the family business in Puerto Rico. Jon, the oldest, had graduated the previous year and he had been known as the class clown. He loved staying as the responsible adult over his brothers as it provided him with ample ability to be with impressed High School girls. Tay was a senior like us and Han was the cutest freshman to ever walk through the halls of Colony High.

We agreed to meet in Mercy's house because we had to pretend we were sleeping over at her place and since she lived with her flight attendant mom this was the best course of action. Our moms didn't need to know that she was on a long flight to London. Plus my mom would never let me go to a party. Actually, had it been for my parents, I would have been transported to a Catholic nunnery the moment my breasts hinted at growth.

The trick to a perfect party entrance was in the arrival; you had to arrive about an hour late, the important people were already there or arriving the same as you. You also needed your girls around you, dressed to perfection, with a scandalous amount of cleavage and eyeliner that only looked good in dimly lit rooms. I felt my heart aflutter; Clem would be there, we would be graduating soon and my time would be tonight. Even Mercy, stingy with compliments, said I had looked so hot Clem was sure to finally put the moves.

The varsity volleyball team, which held red cups and lounged on the porch, announced our arrival much to Yara's pleasure and my discomfort.

"Hey, hey, hey, Patty Girls are here!"

Yara and Mercy's names were called out. Not Rosalind and I; we were their friends and not the main attraction. We entered the house, ignoring the inebriated assholes, and went into the large kitchen, bouncing as the song switched to a new group called Backstreet Boys. My heart lurched when I spotted Clem wearing a tight black shirt that clung to his chest, his arms straining against the sleeves. He was sitting on a counter with a girl I did not know dancing between his legs. He had his own private dancer and I felt ready to run out of there. How could I have been so stupid to think that he would be as excited to see me as I was to him?

"Ugh." Yara groaned and glanced at me but I could not meet her eyes, I was concentrating on not fleeing. I felt Mercy slip her hand into mine and give it a squeeze, a sharp contrast to the raptor look she leveled at Clem. If I let Mercy, she would grab him by his collar and shove him at me, demanding he gave me what I desperately wished but love did not work that way, not even in High School.

I forced a smile on my face despite the shortness of breath. I had been here twenty seconds and already my best-laid plans had crashed. Clem looked up when we entered, he blinked at me, our eyes meeting and then his jaw tightened. He forced himself back to his private dancer and I fought the urge to yell at him the way I yelled at Victor.

Tay Ramirez appeared before in a sea of strong cologne. He held a beer in each hand and a lazy smile formed on his face as he studied Yara.

"Patty Girls have arrived."