Revenge

Chapter 2 - Celebration

As evening drew near, I decided to get ready for the annual celebration. I had done my make-up and was now curling my hair which was a rather difficult task. My dark warm brown hair fell all the way down to my lower back and was silky straight which made any curl only last up to 30 minutes. When I finally completed my hair style for the evening I put on my cat suit which appeared to be more like a dress because of the see-through layers flowing from my waist down almost touching the floor. Before leaving I grabbed my keys and glanced at myself in the mirror one last time. I looked elegant. My deep red lipstick matched my red dress and hugged my waist perfectly making me seem slenderer. The silver heels I wore matched my earrings and necklace and made me appear taller. I have only lived in Creede for about a year and I was determined to make a good impression. It was very important to me that I do so. I had met most of the town's residents already and the rest I was going to meet tonight.

I grabbed my purse and headed towards my car feeling excited for the evening ahead. As I was walking down the driveway towards my car I noticed my neighbours, Jessica and her husband Mark also ready to leave for the party. Her shoulder length honey blonde hair was shaking back and forth as she waived gesturing to come over before I leave. Jessica was 23 years old and her husband 24. They dated all throughout high school and college and after graduating college Mark decided that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Jessica. They've been happily married for 2 years now. There are almost no other young people currently still living in the town. Most left after graduation to seek better opportunities and the other which were left behind married older men and had to adapt to their husbands' more mature lifestyles. This made Jessica and Mark about the only friends I had and visa versa.

I was admiring how beautiful she looked as I crossed the street. She was wearing a champagne coloured silk dress that fitted her body beautifully. Her back was fully exposed showcasing the gold chain attached to the dress hanging loosely down her back. I was snapped out of my train of thoughts by a loud shriek. "OMG Riles you look stunning!!" she shouted happily almost jumping up and down from excitement while taking out her phone to try and take a selfie of us. "Thank you. So do you. That dress is breath-taking!" I replied gesturing to the dress while trying to duck out of the selfie. I didn't like photos. I turned around to greet Mark noticing he had his hands on his ears. "Hello Mark" I said while laughing at his childishness. "Hello Riley!" he shouted back pretending to be death from Jessica's loud shriek. Jessica lightly slapped his arm and we all laughed. "Let's get going. We don't want to keep the old people waiting" Mark said with a bit of annoyance echoing in his voice. It was clear he was not happy about being dragged to the party at all. He wasn't very fond of the other residents. They were kind people, but they didn't miss an opportunity to belittle the younger people. They believed that they knew better because they are older and went out of their way to "help the youngsters" even though most of the time we didn't need their help. Jessica found it cute while Mark got extremely annoyed by it. He tried to avoid the town's people all together.

We arrived at the great town hall. As we entered the main doors to the function room where the celebration was being held we noticed that most of the people had arrived already as expected. The room was beautifully decorated with shimmering gold draping on the walls and the balconies. a Big grand chandelier hung in the centre of the room sparkling as the light hit each crystal that made up the whole chandelier. Round tables were placed all around the room decorated with gold table cloths and fancy golden chairs like the ones used at an outdoor wedding. a Small gavel with the word "not guilty" written on the handle was placed next to tiny bouquets of white roses as an, I assume, "thank you for coming" gift. The centre of the wooden floor remained open decorated with square tile mirrors to serve as the dance floor. To say the hall looked beautiful was an understatement. It was exquisite.

Everyone was dressed elegantly in dressed of all shapes and sized. Some with modern beautiful gowns and others looked like they went a few years back with puffy arms and everything. Some even went as far as to wear old white powdered wigs resembling a scene from an old Romeo and Juliet movie. Even some of men wore these wigs with long tailcoats and tights. "Is this normal" I asked Jessica with a confused expression looking around like someone who walked into the wrong room. Jessica laughed at my bewildered expression. "We're in the right place Riles. This was originally the dress code for the celebration party. The residents wanted it to be as formal and "high society" as possible. They believed they would gain more respect by dressing up like this and apparently it worked. It became something like a tradition after that and some still dress up like that today afraid the tradition might die out." Jessica explained as if this is something she saw every day. "But if they're so strict about the tradition wouldn't they teach the children to wear the costumes too?" I questioned when I noticed a little boy and girl running around in a modern suit and dress. "Yeah but the children around here wouldn't be caught dead in those. I mean, would you?" Jessica stated smiling when she noticed I still looked a little bewildered. "I guess you have a point. This is going to take while to get used to" I sighed thinking of ways to distract myself. If I stared I knew someone was not only going to explain why they're wearing what they're wearing but also why I should wear it also.

I didn't feel like having my night ruined by a lecture and getting scolded by some older lady tonight and luckily my attention was taken by someone entering the great hall...the Mayor's son. Justin.