The front door is open.
That's not a good sign.
That's never a good sign.
I push on the heavy wooden door. It gapes wider without a sound. A large, modern, and airy living room appears. It's full of teenagers I've never met before.
"Ah!" I cry out when a tall boy in a bomber jacket steps on my toes while passing by. "Sorry," he lazily says, tilting his beer bottle at me, without remorse and walks away.
His foot must've made of iron for being that heavy on my fragile toes.
I limp out of the house and pull out my phone. I check the address Joe's mom texted me against the address Google Maps is showing for my current location. They match.
Is this place a hostel then?
But there are too many people inside for the house to accommodate. And the red solo cups in their hands definitely give off a gathering vibe, along with the rap music playing in the background. They're all here for a party. A party I wasn't informed about.
Massaging my temples, I regret not letting my parents come with me and help settle in. This is so much trouble.
I grab the handle and maneuver my suitcase around, and get back inside, being careful this time of everyone's feet. I try to find a familiar face. I should've asked for at least one of my new housemate's number.
Deciding to call Joe's mom and ask for Joe's number, I scroll my contacts when two tipsy girls bump into me and leave. It was a close call for my feet, for the weight of their heels would've been far worse to bear than the shoe my foot was stomped on with before. I lift the suitcase that almost slipped out of my hand, and that's when I notice Jennifer by the stairs.
In a short aquamarine dress that clings to her breasts, waist, and hips; and shows generous amount of her long toned legs, Jennifer's figure is every girl's #bodygoals.
A layered gold chain around her neck ends right where her cleavage begins, drawing attention there, as if no one would notice it otherwise. She twirls her long blonde hair while talking and laughing with her friends.
Every time I see her I'm amazed at how impeccably straight her hair is.
Pushing my chest out, I start walking straight to her, as straight as possible in a crowd of partying teenagers.
From the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Joe. He enters from a door at the back.
Just in a blue checkered shirt and dark jeans, he looks irresistible. I'm not sure how much of his lure is the truth and how much is it my hormones talking to me, but does it matter?
He wipes the sweat off his forehead and unbuttons the top of his shirt.
I nearly trip and fall after letting my foot be run over by my suitcase, because my attention was somewhere other than where I was going.
Today is a bad day for my toes.
To prevent my toes from being squished down again, I come to a stop, and leisurely watch Joe comb back his light brown hair with fingers before he heads for the center of the room.
After the show is over, I turn back to what I was doing before getting distracted, and charge ahead.
Jennifer sees me coming to her. "Hey, Belle," she says as her glossy lips make a smile. She gestures at the room and says, "I told the boys we should ask you, too, before throwing the party. They didn't listen."
Deciding to be all businessy from the get go with the other girl, I bring up my hand. "That's okay. Where's my room?"
Jennifer opens her mouth to answer but suddenly the crowd erupts. They've gathered in the middle of the room.
