Tomorrow's Blues

4. The Party

"Right," Alice announced, fluffing her hair one last time before nodding at herself approvingly in the mirror. It was the night of the party, and we'd all been getting ready together at Ellie's house. "I'll be designated driver. And before either of you two protest, you both need to relax a little. I honestly don't mind not drinking."

I gave Ellie a look, and then shrugged. "If you're sure. I mean, I suppose your car is here anyway." And it would stop her from pulling an Alice.

"Exactly. Okay, let me look at you." Alice placed her hands on my shoulders, spinning me around to face the mirror. "You look fantastique. Did you buy that dress today?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Ellie helped me pick it out."

"I have excellent taste," Ellie said absent-mindedly, looking at herself in a compact mirror.

"Of course," Alice agreed, grinning. I examined myself in the mirror. The dress I was in was short, red and tight, making my legs look longer and more tanned. My makeup was natural but still enhanced my features, and I'd just left my hair as it was, since it was my favourite thing about me – long, dark and wavy. I looked good – even I could admit it. Ellie and Alice looked good too, wearing green and black dresses respectively. We were all ready to go.

"Okay, shall we set off then?" I suggested, putting my phone down the side of my bra for safekeeping. Ellie laughed at this and nodded.

"Yeah, let's go. You ready, Alice?"

"I sure am." She applied one last coat of lipstick before smacking her lips and swinging her bag around her wrist. We made our way downstairs and squashed ourselves into Alice's car. As we were driving there, I began to feel nerves creeping in.

"Hey, Ana, you look a little pale," Alice commented, glancing at me in her rear view mirror as I was in the backseat. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine," I assured her. "Just a little nervous about seeing everyone, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But you'll be fine."

"The option of a bodyguard is still there," Ellie sang.

"No, definitely not," I said quickly. "I'll be fine. It'll be fun."

"We will definitely make it fun," Alice agreed, and I nodded in agreement, but I could still feel the tendrils of doubt worming themselves inside me. What were people going to say or do? I could already picture the scene as I walked in: stares, whispering, people coming up to me and tilting their heads patronisingly and asking me how I was doing. God, I hated that head tilt.

When we arrived, the party was in full swing. A few people had ventured outside and were standing on the lawn, either chatting or kissing. We avoided those people and went on inside.

The music was seriously loud, but that didn't stop me from noticing the whispers, the stares. It was just like I'd pictured. I plastered on a very fake smile and pushed my way through the crowd to the makeshift bar.

"Shots, anyone?" I said to Ellie and Alice as I turned around to face them. Alice pouted. "Oops, you can't drink. My bad. Ellie?"

She grinned at me. "You know it. What are the options?"

"Well, we have tequila, vodka or anything else that might take your fancy," said a low voice in my ear, and I whipped round to see Dylan standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Dylan," I said tiredly, turning back towards the drinks. I didn't need to look to know that Alice was glaring fiercely at him. "How lovely to see you."

"So you came," he said, grinning. "Honestly, wasn't expecting that."

I gritted my teeth and poured Ellie and myself a shot of tequila each before handing one to her and then downing mine. "Seriously, I'm not in the mood."