𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 23.

Caroline shrugged, as if proud of herself, "I try."

"Where are we going?" I was asking Sarah, as she began to drag me away from them and towards the hallway.

"I'm getting you ready," she said, her hair flowing behind her as she walked.

She walked me right over to the desk, and lightly pushed me down to sit.

"I love your room," she smiled brightly, looking around at everything. "Yellow is my favourite colour,"

"Me too," my lips departed into an open smile.

"My walls used to be yellow like this," she said, while turning away and stepping towards my closet, "but then my little sister took over my room so I had to switch." She was bending down, looking at my clothes.

Sarah was wearing a light pink sun dress, and I could see the straps of a bathing suit on her shoulders. Her hair was loose, and she wore her necklaces, and white sandals were on her feet.

"Do you wear makeup, Charlotte?" She asked, while flipping through my clothes on the hangers.

"You can call me Charlie, if you want," I watched her, my hands folded on my knees, "and no, not really."

"Lucky," she laughed. "I like that nickname,"

"Yeah," I smiled to myself, remembering how I'd gotten it.

"Do you have a swimsuit?" She asked, still searching my closet.

"Yeah, in that little box," I pointed down below her knees, to my small case of swimsuits that I'd brought.

She bent down, opening the box. Immediately, she pulled out a baby blue ribbed bikini, and her jaw fell open. "You are wearing this." She said confidently, bringing both pieces over to my bed, laying them out.

"Just that?" My eyes widened.

"No, silly," she laughed out loud. "Wear it under a dress or something, like me," she pulled the short sleeve of her own sundress down past her shoulder, which showed the strap of her pink bikini. 

"Are we swimming?" I asked.

"Well, normally girls just wear their bathing suits under clothes all the time," she said. "But yeah, Topper has a pool. Can you swim?"

"Yeah," I giggled.

"Is it a big party?" I questioned, sort of quietly.

She shrugged, popping out her bottom lip, "I don't know yet." She said genuinely, quiet as well. "But you can stay with me the whole time. If there's too many people for you I'll drive you home."

My stomach grew warm, a small smile rising to my lips. "Okay." I nodded slowly.

"Alright," she grinned with excitement, "You change and I'll go sit with your grandparents."

"You're gonna sit with them?" I laughed lightly.

"Your grandma seems dope," she giggled, turning away, "I'll tell you if they talk shit." she laughed out loud, opening my door.

I laughed, feeling my cheeks crease from smiling. She walked out, closed the door, and I heard her footsteps walk all the way down the hall.

___

    The party certainly wasn't small.

    When we got there, pulled up to an enormous beach house, I could already hear the booming music through Sarah's expensive tinted windows. As I gawked at the ginormous house before us, the sound of people yelling and shouting and water splashing filled my ears over the muffled rap music. Sarah had parked in the driveway since it was her boyfriend's home, and with each step we took around the bend of the house, the music increased through my eardrums.