Miss, Do I Know You?

11 - Saturday, October 31

The beer pong tournament was coming to a climactic end, and my legs felt like rubber beneath me. Alcohol was but a part of the equation, the rest being a sign of the hours I'd spent buzzing away in hot, crowded rooms and either dancing or trying to get others to dance with me. By then I had already forgotten why I'd agreed to enter that ridiculous game to begin with, and was having the time of my life.

"Fuck yes!" Sophia's yell pierced through the ambient noise as the last ball clattered into the cup. She drew me close, laughing. "How are you so good at this?"

"You being sober might've helped." I laughed along. "Now apologize to Lucas for making him drink your cups. Poor guy looks like he's about to throw up."

Lucas shot a dark look in her direction, but it bounced off her shield of giggles. "He'll be fine."

Gripping my hand, Sophia whisked me right back to dance. Though the night had begun with Olivia, like she had planned out weeks ago, I found her circle of friends rather annoying. Not a lot of people could turn every conversation into a chore, but they certainly managed to. Sophia and Lucas were the greatest time, though, so I naturally gravitated toward them, even with the bit of guilt that nipped at my conscience.

Not many people of any genuine importance had ever planted themselves into my life, except Olivia. And the more time I spent with Sophia, the more that strange sense of wrongdoing grew, a nagging suspicion that I was somehow upsetting the order of things. But I liked Sophia a lot. Her personality was like a hummingbird, moving a mile a minute, with another mile worth of energy to spare. And Lucas was always there to balance it out. The party took me out of that guilty headspace for the most part.

Some people simply work as great distractions. The sight of them alone was enough to draw chuckles and glances—Lucas in his wig and black dress he'd stolen from his aunt's closet along with the heels which lent even more height to his already impressive one, and Sophia in her frumpy striped suit and a twirly mustache scrawled onto her face. Apparently, some movie characters I knew nothing about. I thought it was brilliantly hilarious.

The night came to an end only when Sophia pulled her phone out and froze, alarm dawning in her gaze. "Shit," she breathed with a nervous laugh. "My mom's coming home. I have to go. But I had an amazing time, really."

I fell into a quick step beside her. "I'll walk with you."

"You sure?"

"My ear is starting to fall off. When the costume starts to break, it's time to go."

Above, in the crisp night, stars shimmered like little tea lights. The full moon hung low in the sky, nearing the horizon and casting a gentle glow on our path as we ambled down the road. And my legs felt like overcooked noodles. Only Sophia's infectious presence pulled me forward and stopped me from melting into the pavement from exhaustion alone.

In her comically absurd costume, her antics had me shuffling behind her with far more effort than it should've demanded, in a constant fit of giggles that only slowed me down. But the amusement was then repunctuated by an undercurrent of urgency when Sophia glanced at her phone again and was off like a gunshot.

I bunched my white dress up around my waist and tried to keep up, laughter still wanting to slip out of my chest and making me breathless. But my efforts quickly went awry, and rather than tangling myself up in fabric, I was entangled by mere air. The sting on my exposed knees and palms meeting the coarse ground hand-first mingled with the laughter that swelled so loud that I could hear it echoing through the otherwise silent streets.

Just as breathless, Sophia rushed over. "Oh, my god. Are you okay?"

Every chuckle made my sides ache more, a mess of limbs and fabric. The alcohol did little to steady me. "Oh, I'm great," I managed to say. "Just a bit further from the pavement than I was aiming for. Honestly, why am I like this?"