The Year I was Queen

Chapter One

It's a hard thing to explain_
Knowing that you don't belong somewhere, even when a word hasn't been said.

I see the short tense stares directed at me, and know exactly what they mean.

The dirty scowls that say, 'You don't belong here. You're an outsider to our world.'

"Thou shalt not pass!" A shirtless Gandalf-wannabe bellows, as he stands in front of the main entrance,
a bottle of beer swinging from his outurned hands.
He has fake abs drawn on his abdomen with a marker, and a fake white mustache on his face.

A group of girls clamor around him and pretend to be unable to get out the door, their drunken giggles rising with every resistance from Gandalf.

A riotous cheer breaks out to my right as someone is declared the winner, and hence, new king of beer pong.
Few feet away from me, three girls and a boy dance feverishly atop a wooden table.

I don't know whose party this is.

Hell, I don't know who any of these people are.

I know the majority of them are people I'll be spending the rest of my senior year with at Hurtwood Academy. But for now, they're all strangers to me.

A flash of irritation courses through me as I wonder where my cousin, Wunmi, is.

She'd invited me to this party, and promised to introduce me to some of her friends to ease my entrance to a new school, but she'd bailed on me the second we got in the house.

So throughout the night, I'd busied myself by taking small sips of beer, and hanging out in a secluded corner of the kitchen_ too scared to make conversation with anyone, and yet, dieing for someone to talk to.

Chris Brown blares through the speakers. In the living room devoid of furniture to create more space, beautiful bodies sway together in youthful abandon.

Around me, all I see are mouths and more mouths. .. talking, laughing, drinking, kissing.
The accumulated experience is mind-numbing.

I glance at a wall clock in the hallway_ an antique regulator.

Midnight.

I try calling Wunmi for the fourth time, hoping she's had enough for the night, but she doesn't answer her phone.

She's supposed to be my ride home.

I would call an Uber, but the last money in my bank account is thirty dollars which I've been saving for new sneakers, seeing as my current ones are detrimentally worn out.

Calling my dad to pick me up is an option I don't even want to consider.

I lean against the grey marbled kitchen counter, drinking more beer against the resistance of my tired throat.

Despite being cluttered with reckless drunk teens, and empty alcohol bottles, the kitchen remains an admirable work of art.

From the grey marble slabs, to the crystal chandeliers, and sleek appliances which look like they've never been used before, the kitchen is Hgtv worthy.

It's obvious that whoever lives here has great taste, and a lot of money to quote.

Most people who live in Antacel do.

They're the upper class folks with old old money. People who've never known a day of hunger, lack, or fear of being homeless.
Folks who wouldn't understand the impoverished life I'd left behind in Louisiana.

"Watch out!" A body suddenly crashes into me. The content of my cup spills, and I'm drenched in ice cold water.

The culprit, a beefy guy with arms huge enough to easily wrangle me, stares down at me with a glazed expression in his eyes.

"Oh shit, my bad. Didn't see you there," He clumsily bunches some tissues from the drawers and begins to wipe down my shirt before I can stop him. He's unstable with his movements and just ends up pushing roughly against my boobs.

"Ow! Stop.... get off me!" I shove, and successfully get him off me for less than two seconds before he's back again_ this time grabbing both of my shoulders to hold me still.

"Holy shit! Chill out, I'm just tryna help you," His glare is fixed, and borders on maniacal.

"I don't need your help," I shove his hands off me, and push past him, searching for the nearest exit.

"Fucking bitch!"

I'm too desperate to escape from him, to come up with a response to the insult.

Taking a look back as I maneuver past swinging bodies, I'm appalled to find jerkface still glaring at me.

I need to be anywhere but here.

The path to the front entrance is still tightly packed and barricaded by Gandalf-wannabe, so I make my way up the stairs, past several couples in lock tight embraces.

I don't let my eyes linger too long on them, or I'll remember how alone I feel.

It doesn't take long for me to find a sliding glass door that leads to a dimly lit rooftop deck.

The doors are thankfully not locked, and there's no one out in the open space.

The music fades into a silent thump behind me as I close the doors_ The hot night air prickles my pores. The stillness is a welcome oddity.

Author's Note:
What do you think is going to happen next??!!! Read on to find out 😊😊
Ladies and gents, If you enjoyed this chapter please don't forget to leave a like. Means a lot to me.