Fingered Back

Gatsby

It was the tenth party April had attended during her college career. It had started the way most of them had before, April, trapped in an unwanted conversation, drowning herself in any bottle of alcohol she came in contact with, while making eyes at the pizza delivery boy who lived across the hall. Then, it would usually end with her drinking the last of the alcohol in the fridge outside on the fire escape. Though tonight was different, there was no boring conversations to be had, no delivery boy, and definitely no left over beers in the fridge. Tonight April was leaning  on the pink tile of the bathroom, watching Violet shave her legs in the sink. Her dark brown eyes looking back at herself in the mirror, she had noticed her lips were more chapped, the bags under her eyes were darker, and her freckles were more vibrant and full of life then usual. Outside the white bathroom door, the sounds of footsteps were heard, the party had started. The emptiness of the living room had become extinct, the scented pine tree candles were soon overcome with the smell of weed and cigarettes. "You think Damien will show?" Asks Violet babying the cut from the razor blade. 

"He emailed Dennis confirming he would be here. Pretty solid I know." April smiles watching the blood trickle down Violet's leg, then dripping into the sink filled with water and shaving cream. "There's bandaids in the medicine cabinet if you want one." April adds biting her thumb nail. It had been a habit for her since she was in third grade, the day she had met Violet. 

"Shit thanks." Violet replies opening the medicine cabinet scouring through the ointments and creams for bandaids. Sitting next to an expired bottle of Aloe Vera was a box of Hello Kitty bandaids. "Classy." Violet smirks peeling the bandaid off the wrapper, applying it to her knee. "Anyway, I really hope Damien shows up, I'm getting sick of these parties." She drops her legs to the ground, gripping the edge of the sink to keep balance. 

"Trust me I know. It's a Monday night and i'm still hungover from yesterday." April sighs gripping the door knob. She opens the door revealing the sound of loud music and obnoxious twenty year olds getting wasted and singing on the karaoke machine. It was April's sixteenth birthday party all over again, minus the tacky dress she was forced to wear. 

They enter the kitchen, filled with empty solo cups, smashed schnapps bottles, and leftover weed, April, dehydrated, grabs a tipped over cup from the counter, filling it to the top with tap water, she watches as more people entered the kitchen. Water occasionally spilling on her wrinkled white shirt, she glances over at a tall man. Black wavy hair spilling over his forehead, his hands filled with two solo cups, watching Chris serenade him over the karaoke machine. Gripping tightly on the cup causing crinkles to form, she watched every movement he made over Violet's shoulder until he caught her staring. 

"He fucking showed up." Violet smiles shaking April out of her daze, her eyes still glued to his green eyes. "April look he's approaching Dennis." Turning her attention away from him and onto Dennis, standing by the giant plant greeting you as you walk through the door. Walking up to her was Damien, a suit and tie, paper bags dangling by his feet. He wraps his arm around Dennis, bends down and whispers something in her ear causing a giggle to burst out of her thin lips. 

"Are they going to have sex just like that?" Asks April watching as Dennis, one hand grasping onto Damien's wrists the other holding a lite beer, push their way through the crowd. Their bodies soon disappear, making April move her gaze back onto the unknown man standing by the window. His bangs blowing in the September wind seeping through the open window. "I'm going to go fill up my drink." April says to Violet who's now in an in-depth conversation with a guy. 

The distance seemed longer when standing in the kitchen. Butterflies filling her stomach just as the keg was filling the hand me down cup up, she stood staring aimlessly at the keg coming up with conversation topics. As soon as she designed a plan in her head and was ready to walk up to him, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. "I hear these parties were good so I decided to check them out. Do you know who throws them?" The tall man asks, piling over April's small presents. 

"My roommate uh throws them." April stutters pointing towards gap between the living room walls and the kitchen walls. "She's currently not here she's in the back." He nods leaning his body over towards the side, hoping for a better look in the hallway. 

"Ah so you don't throw these parties?" He raises an eyebrow looking down at April biting at her thumb nail again. "I'm Ezra by the way. Ezra Koenig." Letting go of the plastic cup, he extends his arm out to April. 

"Oh uh i'm April Mars." She smiles shaking his soft veiny hands in mid air. "No I don't throw these parties surprisingly, I just buy the beer." She says looking down at the foam hugging the top part of the beer. 

"Beers also important, cause without beer it's not a party and without a party it isn't beer. Sorry i'm speaking gibberish i'm very out of it." Ezra laughs, his eyes moving down towards his beer. 

"Ezra we need to get going soon." Chris interrupts patting Ezra on the shoulder. April, drinking half the beer in her cup, looks over at Violet as Ezra and Chris are talking. She had a cigarette in her hand flipping through a fashion magazine with her newly found boyfriend, Steven. He had slicked back honey mustard hair, his thin mustache covering half his upper lip. He was two years older then Violet, being they met at the dry cleaners a few blocks down from her apartment. Once again she was snapped out of her day dream but this time by Ezra, his hand pressing against her shoulder. 

"I should get going, it was a pleasure to meet you April, I hope to see you soon." He smiles slipping her a note as he walks away, Chris following behind winking at her as he walked through the front door. Standing in the middle of the half full living room by the keg stands April, her eyes glued to the front door, her hand gripping onto the note Ezra had slipped her. 

The party had soon died down into a drunken sleepover. Half April's english class had passed out on her living room floor and half her math class had thrown up in the sink. It was an early Tuesday morning, the sun had yet to rise as they sky was still painted black. On a plastic chair on the fire escape, wrapped in fur, sits April, her eyes being drawn to the different windows of the apartments surrounding hers. Looking over to her side, the fire escape two rows down from hers sits the delivery boy. His skin, red from the christmas lights handing from the escape, a cigarette in his mouth, he waves over at April, who returns the favor. They stare at each other, his face flashing christmas colors, hers staying the same. The only sound between them was the cars passing through her street. "I noticed you had another party." He yells, getting out of his lawn chair to go lean against the railing .

"I didn't see you there." April acknowledges getting up from the plastic chair, walking closer to him. 

"Were you looking for me?" He asks blowing out smoke. 

"No." She takes a puff from her inhaler. "Where were you?" He smashes his cigarette on the apartment walls, his eyes never leaving hers. 

"Had to work, do you need help cleaning up?" Looking through her bedroom window, noticing a light coming on in the halls, her attention turns back to the delivery boy. 

"Don't worry about it." She smiles crawling back through her window. Her room was dark and uninviting. Removing all the dirty clothes off of the ground, she stuffs them in her closet, closing the  door behind them. The only sign of light in her room was from the string lights dangling from the corners of her closet. April gazes at herself in the mirror, the dark bags under her eyes darker then usual. A knock appears at the front door, she closes the window, shuts the blinds, then enters the kitchen.