Daisy in a Meadow

39 - Confessions

"Daisy, there you are!" Malcolm roared.

He immediately ditched the pretty brown girl he'd had his arm wrapped around, and pushed through the throng of dancing bodies to join my side.

After much convincing from my friends, I'd decided to head over to the jock's party that Friday night. I'd just finished a long shift at work, meaning my mind was weary from the endless flow of orders and the clatter of dishes. To put it simply, I was exhausted. Nonetheless, I figured it couldn't hurt to let loose for a little bit. After all, I wasn't going to stay very long—perhaps have a drink, chatter with some friends, dance for a little, and then head on out. What was the harm?

"Yup," I eventually grimaced at Malcolm, although I was afraid he couldn't hear me due to the loud rap music blasting throughout the house. "But I can't stay too long. I just came here straight from work, so I'm pretty worn ou—"

"What'd you say?" Malcolm yelled before I could even finish my sentence.

Annoyed, I pinched the top of my nose. "I said, I can't stay too long because I—"

"I can't hear you," he obnoxiously interrupted, before grabbing my arm. "Come on, let's take shots!"

"What? Malcolm!" I attempted to protest, but it was to no avail.

The blond daredevil dragged me through the sea of teenagers and along over to the kitchen of the house, where thankfully, the music was a little bit quieter.

"Where is everyone?" I asked while Malcolm poured us drinks.

"Last I checked, Chelsea was arguing—or flirting—with some nerd on the debate team, and Andre's standing over there in the corner like the tight-ass he is."

I chuckled at the sight of Andre, who was indeed standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed. With his eyes spectating the crowd of drunk teenagers, he appeared to be almost supervising the party. Suddenly, his brown eyes widened as they caught sight of me. He did a double take to make sure he was seeing things correctly, even going as far as to move his dreads out of his face. His features immediately lit up. Likewise, a grin fell onto my face at the sight of my dear friend, and I waved him over.

"Daisy," Andre cleared his throat, quickly approaching me, "when did you get here?"

"Just now. I'm straight off the clock," I said, tucking my frizzy hair behind my ears and wiping at my sweaty forehead. "Someone could've warned me that this party was going to be massive. I look a mess."

"No, you look perfect," Andre interjected.

"Thanks, Andre, but you're just being a good friend," I laughed. Oddly enough, this caused him to frown.

My eyes wandered over to the other side of the kitchen, where Chelsea was indeed having a heated argument with a fellow member of the debate team—which of course, I was captain of. Malcolm was right... it kind of did seem like they were flirting. Chelsea briefly glanced at me and paused to cast me a happy wave. I returned it with a coy wink, causing her to grin in return. Go Chels.

My smile faded as I realized I'd happened to see all of my friends, except the very one I'd been eager to see the most.

"Anyone seen Elias?" I casually asked, poorly concealing my impatience.

Malcolm hummed thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, no, I haven't seen him."

My shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Really?"

"Well, yeah, I was a bit busy with my friend, Diya," he boyishly grinned, referencing the girl I'd seen him with at the start of the party. "Y'know, the chick from our English class."