Kissed by a Rose✔️

5) Staring at the Wall

"So about my family being here," I start, but Mal (who happens to be on the verge of yelling at a waiter) beats me to it.

"Your dad gave some lame ass excuse on why they couldn't come. " She tells me, still glaring at the waiters retreating form. "God, what happened to the customer is always right?"

"Mal, you can't ask for a bowl of ribs and a side of macaroni at a banquet."

"Well if my mom is paying so much for these stupid little nasty appetizers, how can she not afford a simple bowl of Kraft?"

"I hope you are joking."

"Hunger is not a joke, Ade."

"How much champagne have you drank?"

She starts counting with her fingers, and I feel my eyes widen. She looks at me and laughs. "I was just kidding. Like 1 and a half or something like that."

I shake my head "How did you even get away with that much."

"Though I don't come close to you, angry Mallory is not someone you want to argue with." She replies.

"Pretty sure it's still illegal."

" I just used the thing we did to steal the appetizers when we were in 8th grade. Tell the waiter Mom wanted us to help and take any trays that were getting empty to the back and get them refilled, then go behind the counter if the kitchen and eat all the refills. Well, the same thing more or less." She explains. The mention of 8th grade brings a sad smile to my face. I miss the days I got to hang out with my friends, go to church on Sundays, and spend time with my family...

Stop. Don't think about it now. Ignore it, and it will go away.

Mal must see me lost in thought. "Oh no, I can tell what you are thinking. That is never a good thing. Come on, let's go dance." She tells me. We go from the upper floor down the basement stairs where the dancing is. For an investor party, I really don't see the need for dancing, but Mrs.Sinclair must have some more knowledge than me on hosting if her parties turn out this well anyways. Mallory at first told me there was going to be a dance, and I was confused, to say the least. Usually, banquets don't have full-on dance numbers. After some explanation, I understood this was a business ploy to get companies of hers to mingle and get to talking about ideas. I suppose once you get enough to drink that a dance doesn't seem so suspicious at a banquet, and most of the people are from debutante and old-money backgrounds, so it's not like there would be any confusion.

"So when is this alleged dance happening?" I ask her as people who appear to have already drank more than a glass or two of champagne dance to a song I don't recognize.

"I'm getting a shot, and then I'm going to find a hot senior to dance with." She states, hesitating to walk towards the bar. I lurch my head to stare at her, my question long forgotten.

"A shot of what? Have you ever even had a shot?" I ask her. Mallory isn't really strictly a good girl, but all I have ever seen her do is the right thing for her parent's approval.