Crushing On The Enemy

29 - party shenanigans

Soraya's POV

"You guys can't be serious," Abena says, crossing her arms. "Micah's been planning his party for months, and now you want me to hype up your last-minute, thrown-together party? On the same day, no less? Even if I agreed, trust me, it wouldn't work."

Her words hit hard. We all knew Micah's party was the event of the year, but we needed Abena's magic touch if we had any chance of pulling this off. And she knew it too. But here she is, telling us it's not going to happen because, well... Nathan's been too much of a ghost lately. And Micah? Too many people already anticipating his bash.

"How much do you need?" Nathan asks, his voice calm but direct. He didn't come here to lose.

Abena sighs, rolling her eyes. "Look, this isn't about money. It's fine, I'll help."

We all chorus a quick, overly grateful "thank you," just to mess with her.

"Ugh, stop it, you guys," she groans, but there's a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "But listen, this has to be fair. I'm going to hype both parties, and the day before, I'll put up a poll. The one with the most votes will host the party."

She pauses, flashing a mischievous grin. "Wait for the twist."

We lean in, knowing Abena always has something up her sleeve.

"If Micah wins, you all have to go to his party. But if Nathan wins, Micah and his crew are showing up to yours."

"Oh, hell no," Nathan blurts out as the rest of us shake our heads, clearly not on board with this.

Abena stands up, her expression turning serious. "Okay then. I can't help you."

She makes a move to leave, but Natalie, clearly irritated, jumps in. "Girl, you need to relax."

"I am relaxed," Abena shoots back, unbothered. "So what's it going to be?"

A tense silence falls over the group, but Nathan breaks it with a resigned sigh. "Fine. But I don't know how you're going to get that idiot to actually agree to this."

Abena's grin widens. "Leave that to me. Micah's always up for a challenge. You guys know that."

With that, she stands, brushing off her skirt like she's just set the world on fire. "It's really about to go down!" she says, her excitement almost infectious as she heads for the door.

Suddenly, Abena bursts back into the room, her phone in hand, already recording. "Battle of the ex-best friends! Whose end-of-the-year party will reign supreme? Will it be the costume party featuring some of the most epic outfits, or the pool party showcasing the hottest bikinis? Find out this Saturday!"

She stops recording and turns to us, a gleam of excitement in her eyes. "As you can see, I've already started working. So y'all better get prepared, because this is about to get real!"

With a playful wave, she exits the room again—this time, for real.

"I'd rather fight a bear than step foot at Micah's party," Henry mutters, grabbing his controller and resuming his game.

"Guys, we still have a chance. Let's not give up," I say, trying to lift their spirits. "Look, I haven't been here that long, and I know you guys know how things work better than I do. But didn't you tell me you used to throw the best parties?"

"Yeah, but that was with Micah included," Natalie says, her voice flat.

"That doesn't matter. I really feel like we can win this." I look around the room, trying to gauge their reactions. "Think about it—everyone's been going to Micah's parties for ages, right?"