It's finally Friday. The first week of classes is always mundane. Everybody's brains are still on summer vacation, and they need to reel them back into reality.
I am surprisingly pleased that we had a project assigned to us in photography. It has forced me to shift my brain into drive.
I finished the edits for the photos and I sent them to Riley to review which ones he likes better. Our professor gave us a week to complete the project, so he has the weekend to pick which one he wants to turn in.
Scarlett and I have been sitting on my bed for what feels like hours. We have been going back and forth on what we want to do tonight. Scarlett usually tries to convince me to go to a party and I always decline the offers.
"Any more ideas in that brain of yours?" I say to Scarlett.
"Well. I have one more suggestion." Scarlett says to me.
"And what is that suggestion?"
"Jake is having a party tonight."
"Scar, you know I don't do parties."
"C'mon! Have you ever been to one?"
"No, but I know I won't like it. Big groups of people are not my thing, especially when everyone is getting drunk or drugged."
"Okay, not all parties are just big groups of people drinking or doing drugs."
"Well is this one?"
"I don't know. I guess we're just going to have to find out." She says with a smirk.
"Scarlett."
"Please!" She climbs on the bed and kneels down like she's begging for her life."If you don't like this one, I will never ask you again. Please please please!"
"Ella did want to go to one. But she isn't feeling good today, and I should be here for her."
"Hear me out. Let's go to Jake's party, and you can tell Ella that if she needs you, she can call you, and then we can just leave. Let me find out how many people are going, and if I don't think you can handle it, then we won't go. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Yes! Oh my God, thank you!"
"Why do you want me to go to a stupid party so bad?"
"Because this is my crowd, and I want to share it with you. Is that so bad?"
"Possibly." We both laugh.
It's about 8 p.m. and the party starts at 9. Scarlett found out that there are only going to be fifteen people at Jake's party. Tonight is only for close friends. How the hell does he have fifteen close friends?
I'm not close with Jake at all, but Scarlett has known him for 6 years, so she asked him for a plus one.
"What should I wear?" I say to Scarlett, who is sitting on my bed while I look through my closet. I always try too hard to impress people. I've never met Scarlett's party friends, and I don't want to come off as dull.
"Well, tonight is a very casual party, so casual."
"What are you wearing?"
"This." She points at the outfit she is wearing which is a grey t-shirt tucked into her blue mom jeans and ankle boots.
"Okay, great. So how about this?" I pull out my insanely ripped skinny jeans that look like they were mauled by a bear along with a black tank top and a jean jacket.
"That's perfect. You really think too much about these things." She shakes her head.
"Yeah, I know."
I'm starting to get ready, even though it's still pretty early. Scarlett doesn't want to leave until 9 p.m. since she says it's weird to show up early or even on time to parties.
The party is going to be at Jake's apartment, which is 10 minutes away. I do a light makeup look and get dressed. We have so much time to kill from now until we leave, so we just lay on my bed and chat.
"How is Ella doing? I heard things didn't end well with Michael." Scarlett asks. She is friends with Michael, and I'm friends with Ella, so it feels like I'm in the middle of all of this.
"She's trying to get over it. What has he told you?" I ask as I sit up.
"Just that he didn't really feel connected to her anymore, so he decided to end things. Why? Is that not the true story?"
"It's really not my place to say."
"He cheated didn't he?"
"How did you get to that conclusion so fast?" I'm astonished at how quickly she figured it out.
"I've had enough friends get cheated on to piece together the puzzle. Usually, the guy says that they broke up with the girl because they had a falling out. Also, Michael has tried to hit on other girls when we all go out anyway, so it's not really a surprise."
"Oh wow. I didn't know that. Ella was so shocked when she found out."
"Yeah. Every time he was around Ella he would treat her like a princess, but the second she wasn't around him, he would jump at any shot he could get with another girl."
I shake my head in disbelief.
It's time to leave for the party. As we leave my room I see Ella in the kitchen.
"Hey, Ella."
She looks at me with a surprised look on her face, and says to Scarlett, "Did you convince her to go to a party?!"
"Yes. I. did." Scarlett says with a smirk on her face.
"Yeah yeah. Jo's finally not anhedonic anymore." I say with intense sarcasm. "Ella, are you going to be okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm going to be fine. Alex invited me out with her friends, so I'll be leaving in a couple of minutes anyway. Have fun at your party!"
"I'll try," I say as Scar is pulling my arm out of the door.
We start to head to the parking lot, and we see Scarlett's friend, JC, sitting in the lobby.
"Hey, Scarlett! You going to Jake's party?"
"You know it."
"Who's your friend?" JC says, looking at me.
"This is Jo, and don't even think about it."
"Think about what? I wasn't going to do anything." JC says with a guilty smile.
"Yeah. Sure you weren't. What are you still doing here? You usually like to help set up parties."
"Yeah, but Jake said he had it covered, and I'm driving Riley there."
My heart plummets into my stomach. I had no idea Riley was going to Jake's party. Scarlett never mentioned him, and she has talked about all of her friends to me. She loves to talk about everyone and their business.
"Riley?" I say.
"Yeah. Riley is one of my new roommates." JC says.
"He moved here from Oregon," Scarlett adds.
"Oh cool." I couldn't keep myself from smiling this time.
"You know Riley," JC states as if it is written on my forehead.
"We've met," I say in a soft tone.
"Hey, JC. Sorry for taking so long." Riley says as he approaches us. He looks at Scarlett, and then at me. "Hey, stranger." He says smiling at me.
"Hi," I say smiling back.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Scarlett says with a laugh as we start to walk toward the parking lot. "Hey. Do you guys want to all ride together?"
"I'll drive!" JC insists.
Scarlett winks at me at the same time I squint my eyes at her and shake my head, trying to hide the beam of light that has been lit in my heart.
Once we get to the car, Scarlett jumps into the passenger seat, leaving Riley and me the seats in the back.
Scarlett takes the aux cord and puts it on her party playlist. She is the cliche college partier from the movies. JC starts belting the lyrics at the top of his lungs, and we copy him.
The noises of blasting music and yelling can be heard from the end of the hallway. I can feel the presence of consternation within me. I want to back out of this and go back to my apartment. I can feel my hands start to shake right before Jake opens the unlocked door.
As soon as the door opens, Scarlett spots Jake on the opposite side of the room. She tells me that she'll be back and walks over to him. I immediately feel like a dog whose owner just disappeared without warning.
"I want to introduce you to some of my people," JC says as he pats Riley on the back. They walk to a group of people on the other side of the room. Panic sets in as I stand by myself.
Scarlett looks over at me and waves me in her direction. She always seems to have perfect timing when saving me.
"Hey, Jake. This is Josephine. The incredible, gorgeous, immaculate..." She says with an immense amount of drama.
"You flatter me way too much."
"Actually, I don't flatter you enough." She says earnestly.
"It's finally nice to meet you, Josephine."
"My friends call me Jo."
"I like it. Can I get you a drink, Jo?"
"Jo doesn't drink. But I'll take one." Scarlett interjects.
"One drink coming up for the queen herself."
As Jake walks away, I turn to Scarlett.
"Could you be any more of a flirt?"
"I wasn't flirting. I was just..."
"Flirting." I tease. "So what's with you and him?"
"Nothing. I actually wanted to set you two up."
I shouldn't be surprised. Many of my friends have tried to set me up with their friends. I've met many guys from the time I moved in to now. I became friends with a few of them, but I never dated any of them.
Scarlett and I don't exactly have the same taste in men either. She has tried to get a sense of what I like, but I am quite critical.
"He's your type. Not mine." She gives me a look. "I know I know. I don't give you much to work with."
"I think I'm better off looking for myself."
"Here's your drink, m'lady." Jake hands Scarlett a red solo cup. I wink at Scarlett.
"You're free to get some water whenever you'd like. We also have pop in one of the cupboards." Jake informs me. "Oh somebody keeps eyeing you, Jo."
I give him a confused look.
"That is her little friend, Riley." Scarlett teases.
"I wouldn't say, friend. We have a class together, and we are partners for a group project."
"But you will become friends."
"How do you know?" I say teasingly.
"Because, Jo. Anybody who meets you wants to get to know you. And any sane person would want to be your friend."
Scarlett and Jake abandon me to talk to people I don't know.
I take Jake up on the offer from earlier and head to the kitchen to get some water. My body is getting overwhelmed. This is considered a small party, but there are too many people for my comfort. I'm starting to feel hot and irritated.
Scarlett makes her way into the kitchen right after me. "Jo. How are you holding up?"
"I just need a minute."
"I'm sorry. I thought you would be able to handle it. Maybe my small gatherings are still somewhat large."
"I can handle this. It's not a lot of people. I just need to be on the outside for a second."
"Jo, I can take you home if it's too much."
"No. If I leave, people will know something's wrong. I don't want people to think I'm weird. I don't want Riley to think I'm weird."
"Honey, he won't think you're weird. People are more understanding than you give them credit for."
"Maybe. Scar, if it gets too much, I will come look for you. Then you can take me home. But I need to stay to shut my anxiety up."
"I'm proud of you. Just don't push yourself too hard." Scarlett rejoins her friends. I hang back in the kitchen and watch the party. They make it look so easy. Having fun should not be this hard for me.