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This chapter's song
Who's Laughing Now? by Jessie J
"So make your jokes Go for broke Blow your smoke You're not alone But who's laughing now But who's laughing now So raise the bar Hit me hard Play your cards Be a star But who's laughing now But who's laughing now"
***
Alyzza goes straight to the toilet without even telling Aaleiyah. She locks herself in one of the cabins and opens Facebook. She immediately finds Annaleigha McCallister and decides it's time to leave her a message. Though, she fears she might be blocked. So, she sends this via Messenger:
'Hi Annaleigha. Sorry if I am contacting you this way. It's Alyzza. Do you remember? I am the girl you bumped into earlier this afternoon. Sorry if I seemed moody to you. It was just not my best day. Now I am at a party. Would you like to come? It may be a great occasion for you to meet new people. Tell me what you think. And please don't block me. Alyzza.'
After sending the text, Alyzza leaves the toilet. On her way to the dancefloor, she meets Alanis, who is definitely unimpressed with what she did. With her hands on her hips, she asks sternly, "Where have you been? You left me alone with Ainsley and a bunch of gross guys!"
"Sorry, I had to attend a personal issue." Alyzza shows a creepy smile when saying this sentence. This is definitely not encouraging at all, at least for Alanis.
"Stop lying, Alyzza," goes on Alanis, giving the other girl the impression of whining. Fed up with all antics, Alyzza turns her back at her and decides to try and start enjoying the party, no matter if Peter threatens to close the club or Alanis says she doesn't want to be her friend again. 'I'm here to have fun. Hopefully, Annaleigha will show up, and Tracy Adair will come and sing for us.'
"Come on, Alanis," says Aaleiyah at a certain point. "Let's go and have fun. I swear that, when Tracy comes, we'll have fun, big time!" These two last words leave her with a huge smile printed on her face, though they're just not enough to cheer her friend up, for that she looks bored and pretty uninterested in mingling with the random guys there being there.
Knowing that her words had no effect whatsoever on her, Aaleiyah decides to leave her behind and reaches the dance floor, bumping on at least five guys, as well as on an annoyed Ainsley, who, by they way, is cursing at her, to reach a spot to dance.
***
At her new house, Annaleigha is just chilling and wondering whether she'll ever make friends in this town, especially knowing what happened before. Her parents have left the house for a while and, now, she's alone. 'What could I do right now? I could either stay here and watch TV or take a nap. There isn't much to do,' she thinks, to the point that it may take a heavy toll on her.
These are her main thoughts, until she receives a Facebook notification. She opens it and reads the message. In other words, Alyzza is trying to make amends with her inviting her to a party. Annaleigha isn't exactly very fond on parties; this is why she's tempted to reject the proposal.
'Though, it would be very rude of mine. Anyway, I have nothing to lose: things with Mom and Dad are not going well, so I'm definitely going.'
Without any more hesitations, she quickly gets changed and replies to Alyzza's message. 'Where is it?'
The answer comes shortly after. 'I'll come and pick you up. But, hurry up: I've heard that Tracy Adair will be in town.'
Annaleigha is confused, other than disappointed. Her experience with Tracy Adair has been anything but exciting: let's just say the singer lashed at a fan before turning her back at him. Nothing much, anyone else would say, if only they didn't know the truth...
By the way, the girl is just sitting on the couch, waiting for Alyzza possibly sending her a message via Facebook or calling her from the street. Anything, at this point, could be possible, even the most unexpected.
***
No-one seems to notice Alyzza's sudden departure, and neither does anyone care, especially because the party's atmosphere has since got heated. Even Alanis is letting go of all suspicions and is trying hard to enjoy the night.
Meanwhile, Peter has left the club for a while, saying he has "personal issues he needs to attend to", though no-one seems to believe him.
"Wow. At last, there is some peace, people are enjoying themselves and, what matters the most, Peter isn't bothering us at all," comments Aaleiyah, proving that, after all, her idea of having a party was not that bad. However, Ainsley seems to disapprove of this statement, but she, instead of arguing with her, just shrugs.
The atmosphere is so intense that everyone is even forgetting Tracy's supposed arrival. Even though her presence is planned, having or not having her as a guest doesn't really make the difference. She's just like many other people attempting to become famous, presumibly just for money.
The girls start singing loud like there's nothing else to do, and even start getting a little bit drunk, with the exception of Aaleiyah, who's trying to save the alcohol for later, possibly when more people will come or when Alyzza will be back.
A message from the latter is making her wonder what she's been doing until now. 'Hey Aaleiyah. I'm back, and I've just brought a friend. If you're okay, I'd like to introduce you to her.'
Aaleiyah always likes meeting new people, so that message is just good news for her. After all, Alyzza's "friend" may be such a cool person to deal with. She exits the club to meet with her, and is surprised but also rejoiced to find out her friend hasn't got into trouble at all at least for once.
"Shall you introduce me to your friend?" she asks, pointing at the fair-haired girl standing next to Alyzza.
The new one doesn't know what to say or do, confused by the current situation. Luckily for her, Alyzza is able to explain everything. "Ehm... Anna, that is Aaleiyah. She's one of the organizers of the party. Aaleiyah, this is Annaleigha McCallister. She's new here."
"Oh," comments Aaleiyah with a roll of eyes, mostly dictated by curiosity, "so that is your name, isn't it? Let me tell you it sounds a mouthful. No-one here will call you like that."
"You can call me Anna, if you desire." Annaleigha's reply is beyond irritated, as if she believes Aaleiyah is being rude to her. After all, everyone else has given her the wrong impression, so what does she expect?
