Misfits 2

Chapter 11 - Lina

LINA

I'm holding my son. After all these years, I finally get to hold him again.

I was skeptical about meeting him. Not because I didn't want to but because I thought he would hate me. I never expected him to run out of the restaurant or cry in my arms. He's been through a lot. I don't have to know his story to know that. I can see it in his face, in his eyes, and in the way he carries himself.

Thinking about what happened hurts. I just wanted to go to a party with my friends. I wanted Danny to like me. He was cute. I was young and free, in college, away from my parents. I was inexperienced. Then, I didn't know how fucked up the world was. Who knew it could be so cold? Who knew that the world could be so cruel to a girl who tried her best to get good grades? The girl who never did drugs? The girl who obeyed her parents? The "good" girl?

The memory of that night is clear in my mind:

"Here," said Miranda, handing me a mixed drink of vodka and lemonade. I'd never drank before that night, so I declined. "Please? Don't let us drink alone. That's no fun."

I sighed and said, "Fine." Miranda smiled as I took the red cup from her. I took a small sip. It didn't taste that bad, so I took a gulp next. It was strong but, with the lemonade, it tasted kind of good.

"How is it?" asked Tammy, coming out of the closet in her bra.

"It's not bad," I replied. She took her cup from Miranda and started drinking.

Tammy went back in the closet and picked up two shirts. "Which one? Blue or purple?"

"Blue," I said.

"Definitely blue," agreed Miranda.

Tammy smiled and put on the crop top. Then she did my makeup.

Before long, we were tipsy. I felt good. I'd never been drunk before and I liked the way that the alcohol made me feel. I'd never really felt so free. We walked to the party together, off campus. There seemed to be a bunch of other people heading the same way.

I remember the walk well. We laughed. We danced in the middle of the streets. We talked to the other people walking by. We were free, without a care in the world. It was our first semester of our freshman year and we had nothing to worry about.

We got to the house party around eleven. It wasn't too early and it wasn't too late. There was a nice amount of people already there. I recognized some of the people. I'd seen them around campus, in my classes, in the cafeteria . . . The music filled my ears.

Tammy leaned closer to me and whispered, "Danny's here." Then she winked at me, making me smile.

My crush was here. Danny Diaz. He was tall, tan, and had an amazing body. He was on the baseball team and I had history with him. I talked to him once or twice when we were doing group work in class. He sat with us at the cafeteria once because Miranda is friends with his friend and we all ate lunch together. I hadn't talked to him much, in general. I wasn't sure if I should go talk to him or not. What if he didn't recognize me? What if he doesn't even remember my name?

Miranda came back with three beers—one for each of us. I opened the can and took a sip. It tasted shitty but I drank a little more. Danny walked toward us, posted against the wall, talking. He said, "Hey."

I said, "Hi." My friends greeted him, too, and then quickly disappeared, in search of the bathroom. I knew that they did it on purpose and I hated them for a moment, until he continued talking to me.