Present Drifter

Chapter 11

Music blares, almost shaking the room. Shivers sneak up my bare arms as we slip through the large crowd of people crammed into the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I can make out an area that is the heart of the loud volume. It's a small area that's been cleared for people to dance. Victoria pulls me into the next room before I can observe for much longer.

After randomly showing up at my house uninvited, Victoria raided my closet, pulling out one of my more revealing dresses for me to wear. When she said she would make sure I was looking hot, she meant it. In addition to the outfit, she fancied up my hair and did my makeup. Standing in front of my full length mirror after her makeover, I felt, well, hot. Mission accomplished Victoria.

In this crowded room though, I feel anxious and nervous. It's hot in here and I believe it's just because everyone is crammed so closely together. Weaving through this crowd is like trying to get through a corn maze, except the width of the roads are about a foot long.

Luckily for me, Victoria is tall as well as feisty. It doesn't take her long to make her way into the next room, with me closely behind. As long as I stay directly behind her, I won't get left behind.

She's led us into what looks to be a really nice kitchen. Like the ones that have talking fridges and what feels to be an infinite amount of storage. The counter tops are covered in random bottled drinks and empty plates, but that's just the fault of a teen party.

"Ah Victoria!" A low voice shouts from the corner of the room, catching our attention. I turn to find one of our classmates, Rick, slowly making his way over to us.

"Hey Rick," Victoria responds.

"Lookin hot," he says as he looks my best friend up and down. He frowns briefly when he comes up to see me glaring at him. "Thea," he says with a nod.

"Where's the girlfriend Rick?" I ask condescendingly. Rick clenches his jaw and looks at Victoria one final time before walking away.

"You don't have to protect me boo," Victoria says once Rick's out of earshot.

"You'd do the same for me," I tease with a grin.

"Hey, why don't I go grab us some drinks."

"I'm good," I answer a little too quickly. She cocks an eyebrow at me as my grin turns into a nervous smile. Luckily, she just shakes her head and turns to walk away.

The crowd in the kitchen grows slightly more dense as I stand there alone. People begin brushing past my shoulders, some more aggressive than others. I decide my way to make it out back where there will hopefully be a little more space for me to breathe. I usually end up outside during parties so hopefully Victoria will be able to find me without too much difficulty.

Again, I find myself weaving through a crowd of high schoolers. This time with a little more trouble though because I don't have someone tall to fall behind. I'm kinda just hoping that this house is like most homes and that the door to the backyard is somewhere past the kitchen or dining room.

Fortunately, this house is typical and I quickly find myself standing in the summer breeze again. Unlike your typical high school party scene in movies, this yard is just a small porch with steps leading down to a flat grassy terrain, no pool. I can't say I'm disappointed. I feel like pools at parties lead to a large amount of unnecessary wet people.

This yard is instead just set up with some lawn chairs and tables. Near the door, a couple of guys play beer pong and near the back, a group of girls have set up a circle of chairs and chit chat. Some pairs and smaller groups scatter the yard. I find myself sitting down on one of the top steps leading down to the yard.