After Everything

Chapter Thirty-Three: Beach Party

The beach party Cassie and Jake planned together was going smoothly.

Jake managed to steal the keg stands from his sister as Toby and Max were able to bring the alcohol. Brittany added to the collaboration and allowed them to throw the party on her father's private beach so that way it would be harder for the police to spot them.

Juliana was attempting to do a handstand above the keg, supported by Jake and Jordan. Even if it was already her third attempt, she couldn't shake off the disgusting taste of beer, which she claimed was bringing down her ability to successfully stay in the air for more than five seconds.

"You're getting better," said Jake as he and Jordan sat her down. "That was seven seconds this time."

Juliana playfully rolled her eyes at his comment, but she knew she wasn't the best at kegging. "You know drinking's not my thing," she told him. "Especially beer."

"I know," he chuckled. "Maybe next time you'll last eight seconds."

"Oh, shut up," she said before the two of them shared a laugh.

Cassie watched as Giovanni lasted on the keg for only eleven seconds, which he blamed on drinking too much beforehand that the beer was starting to sicken him. She thought about how long she would last, and then decided to give it a shot.

"I'll go," she volunteered, feeling confident in herself.

Giovanni clapped as she walked over to Jake and Jordan to be lifted. "Baby Mendez versus Juliana. Who will win?" He commentated from the peanut gallery. "I don't mean just the keg. I mean homecoming queen."

Juliana felt her cheeks flush red. She wasn't seeing it as a competition like Giovanni was. It could never be that way between her and Cassie. They always wanted different things. She knew Cassie wasn't one to care about titles or popularity, but she didn't know if her views had changed since last year. Being best friends with Brittany, last year's homecoming queen, might have changed her viewpoint.

"Oh, I forgot I was nominated," said Cassie as Juliana laughed. She was glad nothing had changed about her.

"I don't care who wins," Juliana added. That was a lie. She cared more than Cassie. She thought it would be nice to win something for once. Cassie did rank second place last year and she didn't rank at all. She thought it was her turn to rank... but yet again, it wasn't a competition.

Giovanni was uninterested in the calmness. "I hope Cassie and Jake win."

Jordan rolled his eyes, knowing it wasn't offbeat for him to say something like that.

Toby, who stood beside him, furrowed his eyebrows. "That would be weird."

"That would be funny," he corrected before taking a sip of his drink.

Jake and Jordan figured he was too drunk to know what he was saying and let his comment slid. They then proceeded to lift Cassie, who mentally prepared herself. Once she tasted the cheap beer, she knew she was in trouble, but tried her hardest to stay in the air. This was her first time doing something like this. Trying new things always made her excited.

When she finally tapped out, she heard the cheering from Jake and Jordan, including Giovanni and Toby who were watching. "Fourteen seconds!" They were yelling, making her jaw drop in astonishment.

She knew it wasn't record setting high, and also only two people had given it a try since the start of the party, but she still felt proud of herself for getting the highest time so far. It made her feel like she was good at something, even if was only for the time being.

Those past two weeks she had been feeling a lot better about herself and her life. Even though she still had her bad days - days where she thought she wasn't good enough for anyone and that she was a failure - she was still making progress with her self-worth. That's what mattered, after all. She thought it could only go up from there.