This choice: Forget all of it; just enjoy yourself • Go Back...Chapter #15Fiesta de Mascaras by: rugal b.   You toss whether or not you want to worry about the masks over and over in your head before finally coming to the decision to worry about faces later and you're far more interested in seeing if you can pass yourself off as Cassie without anyone noticing anything really wrong; that and just enjoying yourself for the night. You're only about a fourth of the way to the building so you make a quick dash back to your truck, toss the bag in and lock up before heading back to the building.
As you come up to the building you see a small handful of guys, large and intimidating, standing around the entrance. You don't recognize all of them and figure they must be Eastman students but you certainly recognize two of them.
Jeff Spencer is large and thick and a compelling argument against the theory of evolution. His brains are inversely proportional to his strength and any time you've overheard him talking it's in sentences that are short and not overly complex. George Mendoza meanwhile is tall and brawny; intimidating in spite of his baby faced appearances. He's not the smartest around but certainly a fair deal smarter than his compatriot.
Both are thugs and goons and regular tormentors of not just you but of nearly anyone they cross at school. You'd spit on them if you could but that would be horrifically out of character (and would earn you a trip to the hospital under normal circumstances) so as they glower you can do nothing but smile at them as you pass by and enter the Warehouse proper; it takes everything to not want to throw up at that.
* * * * *
It might still be relatively early, maybe around nine thirty at this point, but the Warehouse is no less active. People are dancing, there are bartenders serving drinks to patrons and a band playing loud music. It's a bit of a sensory overload and you're feeling overwhelmed right off the bat. It's only a voice that snaps you back to your senses. You can only mutter a confused response as you look to see who's talking to you. Melissa Adams giggles as she repeats her question.
"I said that I don't think I've ever seen you out here," she says loudly to try and speak over the music.
"Ah, yeah this is my first time out here," you reply with nervous laughter. "But I got off of work and didn't feel like going home just yet so I figured why not?"
"I'll look out for you then. Come with me," she says as she grabs your hand.
Melissa's a girl who you yourself only vaguely recognize as "the cute brunette" who sits a few seats over from you in your eighth period astronomy class. Cassie knows her much better however and if she's not talking to you then she's talking to Melissa and Beth Tanner and the two get together outside of school every so often so as she brings you to a back corner and a dilapidated booth to a group of people that you're not quite as familiar with you don't feel as uncomfortable as you think. Though Cassie's natural sociability likely helps.
"Cassie Harper at the Warehouse? I can't believe it!" exclaims Brianna Gould, one of the others that Cassie recognizes due to sharing a class with her.
You can do nothing but giggle. "Like I told Melissa I didn't want to go home yet and I've never been here so I figured that I should fix that," you say.
"You don't really strike me as the Warehouse type though," Brianna says as she motions to a shaggy-haired boy who slides his beer across the table to you. You can only pick it up and regard it curiously. "I just want to see if you can drink it," Brianna grins.
Cassie has never had a taste of alcohol in her life but when in Rome you suppose so with a shrug you raise the bottle to your lips and take a large sip... that promptly causes a coughing fit once you've swallowed which causes laughs as you hand it back. "I guess it's an acquired taste," you joke.
"Yeah I don't think she's Warehouse material," Brianna laughs.
"Oh stuff it Brianna," replies the non-Melissa girl that sits to your right who you recognize as Mia DeWitt from second period. She turns her attention to you. "Don't listen to her," she coos sympathetically as she clasps your arm, "it's just some hazing they do to those who aren't alcoholics. I got it too when I first started coming."
"Yeah, same," replies a skinny doe-eyed girl, her short hair dyed a brilliant turquoise. "I don't do anything so they're always on my ass."
"Are you fucking kidding Lori?" asks the boy as the turquoise-haired girl, Lori you suppose, can barely keep a straight face.
"Lori's the worst of all of us!" declares the girl hanging off of him. "She does shit that none of us would ever touch!"
Melissa grasps your other arm and leans in close. "Yeah if you're going to hang out here don't be like her unless you want me babysitting you because you're freaking out," she says while staring and grinning right at her.
"That was just one time," Lori protests in a tone of voice that's flat and disconnected from what she's saying. "Also months ago. I'm used to that stuff now."
And so goes the first hour or so of your time at the Warehouse. You hang out in the booth with Melissa's group that includes Mia, Brianna, Lori Sherman, Rebecca Sykes and Eric Harlen as you eventually learn. When the band playing finishes the singer, an Eastman student named Ricky Jeffries, comes over as well to nuzzle with and sloppily kiss Lori. You're largely overwhelmed and thus quiet at first but gradually you're able to loosen up and enjoy taking part in their conversations though you temper Cassie's inclination to keep talking and take things over.
Eventually the music begins to change to something more booming and pounding and the booth starts to clear out as everyone heads out to the main floor to dance, either with their significant others (as the Eric-Rebecca and Ricky-Lori pairs do) or with whoever they can find. Cassie, by nature, is not much of a dancer so you largely just copy what you see other girls doing as you move from guy to guy.
You're not sure how long you're on the floor before you end up with a blonde who makes an opportunity to get to know you as the two of you dance. The two of you eventually make your way to another booth where you continue to talk and are joined by a few of his friends. You eventually find out he's a junior named Timothy Hyland and a member of the JV soccer team. He's certainly handsome and very nice and you find yourself getting caught up in Cassie's own feminine emotions as you find yourself hanging off of him.
Nothing worse happens than you grasping him and laying your head on his shoulder but eventually another girl, a sleepy-eyed but serious looking girl, makes her way over and glares hard at the two of you. Quickly you scramble off of him and Timothy's quick to apologize to her and claim nothing happened. Feeling like you've done something wrong you excuse yourself and get up. You're caught by another member of the group, a rather well put together hispanic boy, who tells that she's Natasha Cabot, Timothy's girlfriend. He assures you that you haven't really done anything since their "relationship" is basically nothing.
You thank him but still feeling bad about potentially screwing things up between the two of them you continue on your way eventually making your way back to booth where Melissa's group had gathered. You hang out with them a little bit longer until a little after eleven before telling them that you have to get home and excusing yourself.
It's only when you get back to your truck that you notice your phone on the seat. You'd forgotten it in the truck and your face falls when you see that there's a missed call from your dad.
* * * * *
You moan as you wake up and remember last night. Not that you didn't have fun and you're certainly not hung over. No, because you'd missed your father's impromptu check-in you'd gotten chewed out when you'd arrived home. Your protests that you'd accidentally left your phone in your truck and that it's not that long past your curfew and even the offering of the car buffer you remembered to grab from the school basement aren't enough to turn things in your favor.
It's only from the intervention of your mother, bless her, that you're saved from an outright grounding. Instead you're expected to be home by nine the rest of the week and you'll have to do extra chores over the weekend essentially picking up what your brother would have otherwise done. You still think it's a little pointlessly harsh and unfair but you don't argue and instead apologize and accept the punishment. And for as much as your mother stepped in for you she still gives you her own stern talking to afterwards about responsibility.
The curfew is doubly annoying because it means that getting the dirt needed for the next spell is going to take much longer. You're resigned to having to get it yourself and even if you could get, say, Gordon's face that doesn't mean you can sneak out at night.
That likely also means no Warehouse parties as Cassie come the weekend either. Speaking of which, you're curious to see what the follow up to last night is. You grab your phone and check the Westside x2z feed and just like you figured, Cassie's appearance at the Warehouse has raised eyebrows and caused chatter. It's largely positive though initiated by the likes of Mia and other members, you presume, of that clique of students as they hope to see her out again some time.
But there's one picture that gives you concern. It's a picture of Cassie hanging off of Timothy Hyland. Homewrecker, ho, skank... those are some of the comments attached to that picture and you suspect they're largely coming from that Natasha girl and any friends she might have.
Suddenly you're not feeling as good about last night.  You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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