Constant

Chapter 10

Hannah and I had prepared all afternoon at her house, putting on makeup, clothes, and dancing around to terrible music on the radio. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed so much. At five o'clock, we rode with Hannah's mom to the community. Her mom kept smiling at me through the rearview mirror.

I didn't know what to expect from the gathering, except for 'exceptional' food and champagne. I had only had wine a few times in my life, and I had never gotten drunk. For the simple reason that I never had any friends to experiment with. I wondered if this would be the first time, or if the champagne was limited since we were minors.

When we arrived, there were people milling around everywhere. I hadn't seen so many people there before. Tiki-torches lit up the way to the main building, where the double doors were wide open. My eyes wandered over the crowd, having no idea where to go or who to talk to. Hannah, however, walked with a purpose, since she knew the ropes. She held my hand, and I followed her willingly.

"You look amazing," she said to me, smiling.

"You too," I replied. Hannah's dress accentuated her gorgeous look, and she had her long hair twisted into a side braid. I didn't feel comfortable in the dress, afraid that I would stain or break it beyond repair, but I was glad that I had a pair of flats and didn't need to keep steady on heels like Hannah. I didn't voice my concerns because I didn't want to ruin Hannah's good mood.

"Let's see which table is ours," she said when we reached the party. A large seating chart stood on an easel. "Ah, next to the bathroom. Of course." She rolled her eyes. "Usually the kids get the bathroom-table, but this time they're not here so we get it."

With my eyes low, avoiding anyone's gaze, I followed Hannah inside. Everyone looked so fancy and proper in their white clothes. Who were all these people? Were they all part of Lumenoil? They all seemed so happy and excited. For me, it was just an awkward dinner with people I didn't know. But tonight was supposed to change that. These were my people, right? I was one of them... sort of.

We stepped into the main hall, and I gasped. The room was completely white. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling. The round tables had white linen tablecloths, and the flower arrangements were an assorted collection of white flowers. The only things that weren't white were the green leaves in the flower arrangements and the golden utensils.

"Looks good, huh?" Hannah said. "Welcome to our world. Where the light always shines, and the food is delicious."

Some guests had already sat down, and I let Hannah guide us to our table. Our names were written in gold on small white notes. I sat between Hannah and Greta. I glanced at the note on Hannah's other side and raised an eyebrow. Douglas.

"Is that the Douglas?" I asked.

"Yeah, the one and only," she said, smiling. "I'm so happy you decided to come. It's so exciting!"

"It's dinner... with champagne, I don't find that too exciting," I replied.

She waved in my face. "Shush you," she said. "Don't be a buzz kill."

A tall girl, with slim figure, and long straight blonde hair, walked up to our table. It took me a second to recognize her – she looked different from when I saw her last. Greta. Hannah got to her feet, making the cheek-to-cheek kiss greeting. Greta looked stunning in a silky floor-length dress, with spaghetti straps.

"Greta, meet Maya Crowe," Hannah said, gesturing to me. "I know you already met, but not officially." I awkwardly got to my feet, holding out my hand. Greta glanced at it before taking it in hers. Her eyes were striking green, which I assumed were contacts, because they looked radioactive.