Infinite

During the Storm- Part 2

Houston, Texas, at the Magnolia Ballroom, Friday, September 26th, 2030, at 6:00 pm

Rachel

We pull up outside of a rustic stone building with luscious vegetation covering a dark green lawn. Red, orange, and blue flowers add a beautiful contrast to the dark gray structure emerging from the ground. There's people filing out of cars dressed to the nines; some are showing up solo, others have someone on their arm.

My heart sinks as I think about how much I wish Lucas was here. I know that he has to finish up this project, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less when I show up to events like this alone. I watch a couple kiss a few times before they head inside, feeling my heart hit the floor.

The valet opens the door for us and we step out. Our shoes make clicking noises against the concrete pathway up to the front doors. The sky behind the building is still full of sunlight, but you can see an orange glow starting to creep up and cover the blue. Lucas would probably be making a comment about what's happening with the light during a sunset.

It's called scattering. Particles in the air cause light rays to change direction. That's why the sky is so colorful.

Lucas said that to me when we were in high school. It was our first date, and he took me to an observatory. I smile to myself as I think about that night. I was initially attracted to Lucas for superficial reasons; he was tall, had wavy dark hair that fell past his ears, and he played football. I assumed he was one of those dumb jocks you watch in movies, because he fit the character type physically.

After that night, however, I fell in love with Lucas. He was sweet, he made me laugh, and he let me hear what goes on inside of his brain. He was, and still is, the smartest person I've ever met. His intelligence quickly became the sexiest thing about him, and everything else was secondary.

"I feel like a celebrity!" Erika squeals as she grabs my arm, pulling me out of my daze.

"Honey, I always feel like a celebrity," Artemis says in a sultry voice as she flips her hair around.

I giggle at my friends as we step inside the building. The ballroom looks like it came straight out of a movie; there's elegant white table cloths draped over about a hundred tables that fill out the majority of the floor. There's a large stage all the way in the back of the venue with gold lights and flowers creating a beautiful archway.

The orchestra that Principal Jeffreys picked is sitting over on the left by the stage playing a joyous and bouncy tune. Guests are moving between tables and in the center of the ballroom where there's an open space for dancing on top of a parquet floor. The walls are draped with deep red curtains, falling from the ceiling and down to the dark wooden panels running along the ground.

Waiters and waitresses are carrying around silver trays full of appetizers and wine. The tables are already set up for the main course, with little name tags resting next to glasses of water. Black napkins sit perfectly folded in little swan shapes on top of the plates.

We did a fantastic job.

I think to myself, my pride beaming as I look around at the lively event we've helped create. My heart stops as Sam comes into my view. He's mingling over by the stage with a couple of other familiar looking gentlemen.

"Oh my god, is that Vance and Tony?" Erika must have seen them at the exact same time that I did.

"Our brothers!" Tyler shouts a little too loud, causing the three of them to look our way. Vance and Tony's faces light up when they see us, throwing their hands in the air.

"Howdy!" Tony's voice is so clear that it sounds as if he's right in front of us. The kids at Westlake Academy can't use the excuse that they didn't hear his directions with a voice like that. Tyler immediately starts walking over to them, almost knocking a few people over on the way. Erika and Artemis follow closely behind Tyler, and Anne lingers back with me.