The Last Night

Goodbye

Chapter Seventeen

"The last night I saw someone for the last time was when my mom died."

^~^

"Attention, students," Mr. Brown said. "You all should have received a package that you were told to not open until after dinner. Since tomorrow is our final day here, we'll be having a masquerade luau!" he announced, excitedly.

There was lively chatter among 1A besides me.

"So inside the packages are what you're going to wear for the luau along with a mask. The masks have been paired with those of the opposite gender. For the last dance, you'll find your partner by finding the pair to the mask in your possession. You are allowed to switch masks if you'd like. There will be an unmasking at the end of the dance."

The talking got louder. Great. Now I have to deal with getting paired with someone unfamiliar.

"You'll have most of tomorrow to prepare. But be sure your dialogues are done. They will act as your tickets to the dance."

People groaned.

"Well, the bus tomorrow will leave at six. Enjoy the rest your dinner," Mr. Brown said, taking his seat.

"So what do you guys think of this?" Alice asked.

"It could be interesting," Erik said.

"Yeah," Evan said.

Caden smirked. "I'd like to see how people act differently because of this."

Sarah smiled. "I think it's romantic." I knew this would come from her. "It's fun thinking of how people and different pairs seem fated because of the mask thing. But because of the switching thing, it's romantic to see what kind of lengths people would go to find the mask of the one they like."

Caden patted Evan on the back, sympathetically. Good luck, Evan.

"To be honest, I think it's kinda stupid," Alice said, cynically. "I mean, who would really do that for someone else? People are selfish so I don't expect it from anyone."

Sarah pouted. "Fate works in different ways, Alice. The right guy just hasn't come along for you. Ame, what do you think?"

I thought for a moment. "I'm neutral, I guess. Sarah, your way of thinking is a bit too naive for me. Alice, you do have a point. But, honestly, I don't care either way. I agree with the guys that it would be interesting, though."

Sarah gasped. "Guys, I just remembered something."

"What?" Evan asked.

"Where's Cindy? I haven't seen her since before the picnic."

Shoot. I glanced at Erik and Caden.

"She probably got too tired out by the hike so she went to sleep and skipped dinner. Lisa's here, though." He pointed to the said person at the Clown table. "She'll probably just pass the message about the luau on to her when she goes back to their room," Caden lied.

"Yeah, she did seem pretty worn out," Erik said.

I nodded.

"Oh, okay," Sarah said.

"Sure..." Alice said, pushing up her glasses. She narrowed her eyes at us.

Note to self: be extremely careful about things around Alice.

^~^

"God, that was close," Erik said, falling onto his bed.

I nodded. I took the package labeled with my name and sat down on my bed.