December 31st, 1990
8:00pm
"Yes Laura, I'm ready" I growled while holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder.
If someone saw me in my current state, they would immediately back away. I have this habit while applying mascara, I tend to open my mouth really wide.
And that's exactly what I was doing. Trust me, I'm dangerous with mascara.
"Hey, don't freak out, because there will be quite a bit of people there. I know most of them, so just say you're my sister and you'll be fine" Laura said nervously on the other line.
"I know, I know" I grumbled, "We went over this earlier, I'll be fine, pinky promise"
Laura sighed into the phone, "Okay, just looking out for you Annie"
"Trust me, I'm fine" I assured her as I hung up the phone.
I patted myself down in front of my mirror and made sure I looked neat, but not too neat so I don't look all preppy. As I stepped out of my apartment, I braced myself for anything that could happen tonight, as I've heard her friends can be a little... special.
As I took the same road to Chris and Laura's, I started to get all excited and giddy, as this was a chance for me to make a new image of myself.
I'm no longer going to be the insane girl with even more insane parents and horrible anger issues. I'm going to be a people person. A fun loving person, and I won't make a fool of myself anymore.
Well... I'll try anyway. No promises.
As I walked onto their property, I heard loud music, and loud voices. I took a deep breath in and prepared for the shit fest I was about to endure.
I cautiously opened the door, and to my surprise, it wasn't too hectic. Yet.
It was just a bunch of people chatting and drinking, but the concerning part was that there were no females in sight. That's one way to stand out... I mean, all these guys have long hair, so maybe they are just blending in.
"Boo!" a lanky leg kicked in the back of my right knee.
I turned around, scared out of my mind, to see Stone.
"Oh, hey. It's just harmless little Stone, not a serial killer," I said, relieved.
"Hey Annihilator. Want one?" asked, while holding two red cups.
"Oh sure. Thanks" I said while taking a cup from his hands. I took a large sip, not expecting it to taste like rotting shit.
"What the fuck is in this!?" I spat.
"Ehh... It's just leftovers from rage cage... So, have you talked to anyone yet?" Stone queered while taking a sip of whatever the hell is in these cups.
"Uhh, not yet." I said while looking at all the unfamiliar faces, hoping to see Laura or Chris.
"Go talk to people. Trust me. I know them, and if they bite, then just come back and hang with me" He patted my back and walked away.
Thanks Stone.
I stood awkwardly in a corner all by myself, sipping away at whatever this is. It most definitely had high contents of alcohol, because A. You can taste it B. Everyone looked drunk out of their minds.
I put the cup down, and pulled my lighter out. I always keep cigarettes in my bra, because it helps me deal with dreadful situations.
Yea. I know I need a different coping mechanism.
I took a puff and started staring at the roof, to make it look like I was busy. Then I just kept looking around and praying that Laura would come to save me.
In my peripheral vision, I saw someone walking towards me, but I couldn't tell if it was a female or male knowing the crowd I was around. Maybe it was Laura.
I stared right ahead, so I wouldn't make eye contact with the emerging person.
Fuck it
I looked at the person.
So it was a female. And it wasn't Laura either.
She was absolutely beautiful, with brunette hair and a pretty face. She smiled at me so humbly, and started walking towards me faster.
"Hey, I haven't seen you before" She said while getting two cups of... Battery acid.
"Well.. I just moved here from Olympia, so yea you probably haven't seen me" I rubbed my arm and smiled back.
"Ahh I see.. So how do you know Laura and Chris?" She paused for a moment, "And what's your name?"
I looked down at my feet, "My name is Annahlise, and my sister is dating Chris, so I guess that makes us friends by association" I shrugged.
She slowly nodded, "Ohh, your Laura's sister? That's cool! I'm Demri by the way"
"So... You don't know many people here?" She asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well... Sadly not, it's kind of awkward since I know like 3 people, and none of them are currently in sight,"
"You should come and meet my boyfriend then!" She got excited.
I didn't really want to meet any new people, but she was so nice and she was so excited so how could I turn her down?
"I mean why not" I smiled.
She grabbed my arm and linked it with hers, trying not to spill any alcohol. We rummaged our way through people and out to the backyard. It was silent compared to the rest of the party and way less crowded. But it still reeked of alcohol.
She led me to a man with wavy blonde hair, sitting underneath a tree with his head against it and his eyes closed.
As we approached him, he heard our footsteps and opened his eyes.
"Demri" He smiled.
"Hey babe" She looked at me and then back at him.
She sat down and patted the spot next to her. I sat next to her while she leaned on the man's shoulder.
His eyes were now fixated on me as he looked me up and down. He slowly smiled after a minute of looking at me.
"Annahlise, right?" He questioned.
"How'd you know?" I asked, confused.
"Well, I mean you look like Laura, and I talked to Stone" He mumbled that last part. I squinted my eyes at him and I could hear Demri chuckling.
"What did that little turd say about me?" I interrogated him.
"He said you had a stick up your ass. And that you said he was ugly," The man laughed.
I slapped my head in embarrassment. "Don't listen to him, we got off on the wrong foot"
"Alright, I'll believe you for now" He said while kissing Demri's cheek.
He propped his head up from the tree.
"I'm Layne" He gave me a smart look.
I grinned and shook my head, "I'm gonna kill Stone"
"And since we're on a first name basis, don't snitch on me, por favore" He yawned and laid back down.
"Yo! Layne!" A man shouted from behind me.
Layne sat up once again, "Hey Jeff, what's up?"
"Where is our entertainment source?" Jeff chuckled.
"You mean Jerry right?" Layne asked and Jeff nodded, "He's not here. I think he's caught the flu. Either that or he has severe HIV. Both are probable scenarios,"
"Well damn, that's why it's so boring here. I best step up to his role," Jeff put his hand to his chest.
"You mean you'll try?" Demri whispered under her breath.
As Jeff walked away, I turned back to Layne and Demri.
"Whose Jerry?" I silently asked.
"He's my best friend, and he's insane I'm telling you." He started cackling uncontrollably.
"Ooh, what about the time he jumped in that random guys pool from the roof and belly flopped so hard you could hear it a mile away" Demri tuned in.
"Oh God, yes. And he was still red from it on stage"
"Well now I'm sad he's not here, I'm really missing out" I huffed.
"It's okay, I'm fighting a hangover. I need the silence of the good old outdoors. Not a dickhead" Layne took a breath of fresh air, but it wasn't really fresh because people were smoking everywhere.
I looked out behind me, there were about six other people in Chris and Laura's backyard, all smoking too.
"So are you here with Laura? Or anyone for that matter?" Layne sighed.
I sighed "She's not here yet, I don't think so anyway. I was just planning on drinking so much that I forget about my loneliness"
Demri looked at me with her mouth slightly opened, and slightly disturbed by what I just said.
"You should just chill with us. We don't bite, I promise. Unless you wanna go talk to Sean over there" She pointed to a guy passed out with his arms sprawled across the grass.
"Uhh, maybe when he's not half dead" I muttered.
"I'll tell him you said that," Layne laughed.
I spent the majority of the night talking to Layne and Demri, they weren't bad at all, better than hanging around Stone.
As we welcomed in the new year, I remembered where I was this time last year.
Alone and sitting on my couch, eating ice cream. Although that wasn't that bad, it's good that I'm with people this year, even if I just met them.
A lot can change in a year.
And I can tell this year will be an interesting one.