Worst Impressions

Bonus Chapter - Asking Beth to Dance

Beth's party arrived with their usual exuberance. As I'd predicted, Charlie swept Jenny away before she had a chance to properly greet his parents or to appreciate the hard work that had been put into the decorations. The girl didn't appear to mind. Although she was the quiet sort, she seemed attentive to Charlie and hung on his every word with a smile. There was something very calming about her, and she was a pretty girl from an excellent family.

I couldn't say the same for the rest of her friends.

The two silliest and noisiest of the group broke away immediately. They were like tornadoes tearing through the guests, quickly catching single young men along the way and dragging them off to dance without so much as an introduction. Such behaviour might have been acceptable at an informal school party, but it drew the whispers and stares of several important people and family members. They were oblivious to their impropriety, of course, but I couldn't ignore it.

Jenny might have been a credit to her social circle, but even her resounding goodness wasn't enough to cancel out the wildness of Lisa and Chrissy.

Beth had arrived in their same group, as had the quiet, bookish girl. Meg? Yes, I was sure that was her name. While not a tearaway like the others, Meg seemed to exist in her own world, and that was not conducive to a social situation. Rather than giving thanks for the invitation and offering compliments to her hosts, she drifted off as though in a dream. Even at a distance, I saw the wires trailing from the headphones in her ears before she disappeared into a throng of people and was all but lost.

Someone else was in their party, and I bristled at the sight of him.

It wasn't Charlie's cousins I needed to worry about. Not that I needed to worry at all. In fact, I wasn't so sure that this Wyatt person was as much of a threat as I'd supposed him to be when he'd first arrived at the school. It was clear that Beth wasn't interested in him, and yet he still towered over her at every opportunity, invading her personal space and making it clear to anyone who might approach that he considered her to be his property. The moment they were alone, the man snatched up her hand and I felt the bristling anger needle at me immediately.

How dare he?

All this time I'd thought that Gideon was the sort who'd flout propriety and forget that he was in a position of trust as a teacher, and yet here was Wyatt with his hands on a student. I almost forgot where I was and stalked over to the pair to punch the man square in the jaw. Such a scene would have been unacceptable at Charlie's party, and it was only by reminding myself that it wasn't my place to cause any upset that I found the strength to hold back.

My attention was claimed momentarily by some friend of my father's who claimed that he'd last seen me when I was a toddler. I supposed it was plausible and apologised for not remembering him. Toddlers didn't tend to remember much, so no offence was taken. When I looked back to find Beth, she had gone to find one of her other friends. Any relief I felt was short-lived. Wyatt was soon back at her side.

Again, the urge to interrupt almost overwhelmed me. It was overridden when Charlie approached with Jenny at his side. They made a good pair, I observed, if only in looks. I was still apprehensive to approve of their relationship as anything beyond friendship, especially considering her friends. I didn't know that Charlie's family would take kindly to any extended acquaintance with any of the girls. Even Beth may be deemed to be beneath them. Chantelle had made no secret of her opinion of the girl, and her parents may very well share her sentiment.

'Why are you standing over here by yourself?' Charlie asked. 'Hasn't Chan' asked you to dance?'

'She's busy with her friends,' I said.