The Lost Cause And The Loner

Two.

"Ebony?" My mum called.

"Yeah?" I said, walking into the kitchen.

"Can you take this paperwork down to Annika? It's for her mum." She asked me.

Annika is my cousin. She is one of the popular girls, with about a billion friends. Always throwing parties, she only lived down the road from me. I was never invited to any of them though.

When we were little, I'd been close with Annika but after a while I socially isolated myself like I do with everyone else.

"Sure." I said, rolling my eyes. She'd probably have her stupid girly friends over, and they'd giggle at me. Brilliant.

Mum handed me the papers and I slipped my coat on and started walking down the road. The sky didn't have a cloud in sight, and the setting sun was tinting the world orange. No one was in sight, so I stopped to enjoy the solitude. I've always been a bit of a loner.

A faint sound started to drift up the road, and I frowned. It was music. Loud, obnoxious pop music. Damn, Annika must be having a party. They should really play some decent music like Pierce the Veil or Ghost Town. Man, I love Ghost Town. Maybe I should just tell my mum that she wasn't home. On second thoughts, she wouldn't believe me for a second.

Looks like I'll have my first experience of a high school party. Yay (sarcasm intended.)

As I reached the door, the music was blasting my ears. I cringed and knocked on the door. When my knuckles touched it, the door flew open, so I stepped inside to reveal hundreds of sweaty teenagers dancing and drinking.

"Annika?" I yelled over the music.

I pushed my way through the hallway, dodging a few drunks and getting hit in the face by a couple of careless dancers. There was no way I was going to find her. Somehow, I managed to get my way into the lounge still clutching the paperwork to my chest.

Looking around, I couldn't see my ditzy cousin anywhere. God dang it, Annika! Frustrated, I shoved past a group of boys to get into the garden to find her. The whole house stank of alcohol, cannabis and sweat.

One of the boys I had pushed past touched my shoulder. I spun around, shrinking away from his touch. His hair was a dark brown colour, and his eyes were a dark, interesting brown. It was weird, I'd never noticed anyone's eyes this much before.

The boy had a stretched ear, wore black skinny jeans and a grey shirt. He actually had a pretty good taste in clothes. Suddenly, I felt self conscious.

He stared me up and down, and then shook his head. "What's someone like you doing here?"

"Someone like me?" I frowned. What's that supposed to mean?

"You look so... Innocent. Whatever." He shrugged.

"Oh... Erm... Okay..." I said awkwardly. "Do you know where Annika is?"

The boy laughed a little. "Annika's in the garden."

"Thanks." I said quickly and turned around and tried to scurry off as fast as I could.

"Wait! What's your name?" the boy behind me yelled, but I kept walking, pushing past two people making out.

I got over to Annika as fast as I could, and thrust the papers in front of her face. "These are for your mum." I explained, relieved that I had found her.

"Aww! Is this your little sister?" her friend asked.

"No, she's my cousin and she's in our year. But doesn't she look like a ten year old?" Annika laughed.

I dropped the paper and turned around, making my way out of the house. I'm just so done with other people. Whatever.