Carter

Chapter 5: Not the Punch!

"I decided to stop by your house to see if David picked you up or not. I saw his car out front, but when he walked outside without you, I knew something was up. That's when I got a text from Carly Clayson. I am soo sorry Carter! I should have made myself clearer when I talked to him today!" Lissy explained to me as her dad listened to his GPS. "Turn right." It said.

"It's fine Liss. I don't like him anymore. He's a jerk." I informed her.

"Oh, okay. Well it's over and done with anyway. Lets get our party on!!!"

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We arrived at the Logan Hotel in under ten minutes. We hear the loud booming music from outside. Lissy and I hook arms as we run inside the ballroom with our fancy shoes on.

The room is CROWDED with people. There's people everywhere.

There are little tables set up by the stage with pop, and snacks on it.

The smell of the room is revolting. Teenager sweat mixed with loads of perfumes. I gag.

"Where is Ben?" I ask Clarissa.

"He's not going to be able to make it for another hour. His birth mother just passed away out in the states. They're going back out tomorrow and won't be back for a month, but we'll still text and stuff." She tells me.

"I didn't know that Mrs. Teal wasn't Ben's birth mother. Was he adopted?" I asked.

"Yep. Him and his mother were really tight, but she had to put him up for adoption when he was eight because she was a single mother, and she didnt have a job. The only reason she could keep Ben for that long was because she was living with her sisters. Thy eventually kicked her out though. You can only take so much, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"But anyways, we're not here to mourn the dead, we're here to have fun! So let's go!"

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Two hours and fourteen punchbowls later, I was very tired. Dancing is exhausting! I go to the bathroom to re apply my makeup. On the way there I bump into a guy that I've never seen at school before.

"Oh, sorry!" I say. He stares at me, like he's seen a ghost, and then runs off. I push my way through the crowd of people and finally get out into the hallway. I start looking for the bathroom. I find a giant line of girls and walk up to the first one in line. It's Carly Clayson. I roll my eyes. She's an annoying brat, but I didn't know any of the other girls in the line.

"Carly!" I say. "Good to see you!"

"Oh! Hi! You're Carter, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. That's me!"

"Wow, why haven't you changed your name yet Carter? It's like, totally a dude's name. Are you a dude?" Annoying brat on the loose!

"Um, no, I haven't changed it yet. Would you have time to change your name after getting a mani/pedi? I ask mockingly, but she's too stupid to know. I do NOT get mani/pedies.

"No, I guess not." She said looking disappointed. "Hey! I didn't know you get mani/pedies too!" She grabbed my hand and inspected my nails. "Ugh! Who does your nails? Your dog?"

"Um no, but-"

"Who does your nails then?"

"Oh, I go to this little nail and hair salon called.....Nelly's Nail and Hair! Yeah, she's good with the hair but not so much the nails!" I say fake laughing at my lie.

"Ah, I see. Um, if you ever want to get a manicure that doesn't look like a dog did it, ditch Pelly and come with me to my salon! It's called Carly's Nails. Sadly, my daddy hasn't bought it for me yet. He just changed the name. Don't worry. He'll probably buy it for me for Christmas. Then you can come and get a discount. When I own the store, getting your nails done will be so cheep! Only like, three hundred dollars per two nails!" She squeaked happily. Yep. She's a RICH annoying brat.

"Oh, ya! You can definetly count on me! I'll be there. I.. um.. I just have to clear my schedule. I mean, I love the girl, but Selena is just so annoying! 'Carie! When are you coming back to LA! We soo need to hang out together more!' I mean just leave me alone already!" I said lying.

Her face lit up. "You know Selena Gomez!? OMG!!! We are SOOO bff's from now on. So, was there something you wanted to ask me Carie?"

"Yeah, what is this line for?" I asked.

"The bathroom. I've been waiting in this line for an hour already. but you always need to re apply." She said. My eyes grew wide. This is the line for the bathroom? I mean, it's always good to put more make up on, but I would never wait in line for that long.

"Oh, wow!" I said. 'You know Carly, I gotta go. My... my date is waiting." I said sadly, backing up.

"Ooh! Oh ya. Thank Clarissa for me Care! Me and David are together now and we're never breaking up."

"Oh, sure." I said turning around quickly. I was suddenly soaked with sticky liquid.

"EWW!! GROSS!!" I yelled. I opened my eyes and saw that I'd accidentally bumped into a geek from school who was carrying in a big punch bowl. My white dress was now pink. I felt my mascara running down my cheeks, and my hair was wet.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" He said. I remembered his name. We were in grade four together.

"Carter! What happened!?" Clarissa ran out of the ballroom and ditched her heels. She ran to me in her bare feet.

"I accidently spilt the punch bowl on your friend here." The geek named George said. "I'm really sorry Carter. I didn't mean to, it was an accident, really."

"It's fine George." I said in a whisper. Just then, Liss walks out of the ballroom confused. When she sees me, I think her head is about to fall of from screaming. I explain what happened. I took Lissy's hand as we walked up to a short man who was in the hotel's work uniform. I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, my friend here just had an accident, so...."

The man turned around and I saw that it was the guy at the dance who I'd bumped into looking for the exit of the ballroom. Lissy didn't stop talking until I pinched her hand.

"I'm sorry, she's just a little hyper off the juice." I said pulling her away.

"Liss, it's fine. You know what? I'm gonna call JoJo and ask her to come pick me up." I told her.

Ben came walking out of the ballroom. "Clarissa! Where have you been? Carston, what happened?" He asked, noticing my dripping wet hair, stained pink dress, and running mascara.

"Nothing Ben." I looked over to Lissy again. " Liss, go have fun with Ben and the rest of the school. I'm going home. "

Lissy looked sad, but she knew that she couldn't talk me into going back into the ballroom looking like this.

"Alright. I'm really sorry about what happened Carter. I wish you could stay." She saidi back to me.

"It's fine. It's not your fault, or George's fault. Everything happens for a reason, right? Maybe there's a store across the street with the exact same dress on clearance. And a hair salon with a shower." I said, almost giggling.

"Come on Claire." Ben said, pulling Clarissa back into the ballroom of the hotel.

That's when I felt a small tap on my shoulder.

"Excuse me, Carter?"