A Year in the Life of an American Teenager

Chapter 5

When Kendall entered Clare's bedroom, she was practically attacked by five bodies, who all grabbed her and sat her down on the bed.
"Now tell us everything," Miranda ordered in an edgy voice, putting her hands on her hips and waiting for Kendall to speak.
Miranda didn't bother to hide how pissed off she truly was, since she liked to be updated on all the current drama at school when she could, so this was a shock to her. Kendall slowly shrank back a couple of inches, since Miranda scared the crap out of her when she was angry--especially with her.
She looked at all the girls, deciding where to start. Clare was sitting next to her on the bed, wide-eyed and attentive. Laura was sitting on the floor, her back against Clare's mirror closet doors and braiding and unbraiding her hair. Miranda was still standing, but she backed away from Kendall and stood against the wall, her arms now crossed. Colleen sat in Clare's desk chair, her eyebrows raised (like always) and legs crossed beneath her. And Allyson sat in Clare's bright pink fluffy bean bag chair.
All the girls waited for Kendall to speak, and she felt a twinge of warmth from suddenly being the center of attention among her friends. Usually the attention revolved around Clare, Colleen, Miranda, or Laura, so this was new and exciting for Kendall.
She could start from the beginning of the day or just start where she caught Ethan, but she couldn't decide. What would her friends want to hear? She contemplated the options for a moment, and then she decided where to begin.
"Okay, so this is what happened," she started.
~
Kendall parked along the sidewalk in front of Keegan's neighbor's house, since every possible parking spot was already taken at his house. It was only 9:00, yet she still managed to be one of the last people to show up. Then again, what did she know about parties? The only events she had experienced that could qualify as party-esque were any birthday parties that she was invited to. This was different though, since Keegan's parties were wild and huge.
Ethan had told Kendall to come anytime after 8:00, so she decided to leave around 8:10. As she was walking out the door, however, Drew had reminded her that he was leaving for his summer internship at MIT tonight. Kendall couldn't miss that, so she had stayed and helped him pack and say goodbye before he left.
It was his first trip in his new car since his accident, so Kendall and her whole family were on edge about him driving again. Before he had gotten into the car, Kendall ran out and hugged him once more, telling him to be careful and drive defensively, making him laugh and ruffle her hair affectionately. He promised and left, which meant Kendall could now leave for the party.
As she walked toward the house, the music gradually got louder and louder, which made Kendall wonder if she could actually go deaf when entering the house. She knocked on the front door and waited patiently for someone to answer.
Then she noticed some people walking up to the door, and they passed her, entering the house without knocking. The last guy to walk into the house kept the door open and said to Kendall, "Coming in?"
She nodded, mentally kicking herself for even thinking about knocking. She probably looked stupid standing on the front porch just staring at the front door.
She was such a dweeb.
The inside of the house was insane. The music was blasting in her ears, and people were everywhere. There were so many people, that Kendall couldn't stretch her arms out more than a couple of inches, and there was always somebody bumping into her.
She finally found her way into the kitchen, which was even more packed, since that was where the (almost empty) snack table was and the coolers. Kendall went over to the cooler to pick up something to drink, only to realize that it was full of bottles of alcohol. She rolled her eyes and closed the cooler. A second later, she reopened it and grabbed one, just to look cordial, even though she wasn't actually going to drink. Then she looked around for any sign of Ethan. As far as she could see through the dense crowd, there wasn't any.
She pulled out her phone.
Text to Ethan O'Neil: Hey, where are you?? Sorry I'm late, btw.
She stood against the wall in the living room, waiting for her phone to vibrate or ring. She felt extremely claustrophobic with all these people closing around her. They smelled like beer and sweat, which made the whole situation worse, so Kendall pushed her way through the crowd to find the closest exit. She then spotted a pair of glass patio doors that led to the backyard, and she felt a wave of relief.
But before she could get to the door, Keegan stumbled into her from out of nowhere and slurred loudly, "KENDAAALLL SANDEEERSSS. WHAT a surprise t'see you here." He put his arm around her clumsily, and Kendall had a feeling he was just using her to keep himself upright. "Man, I'm gonna b'honest, I thought you 'ere just some boring try-hard who didn't have a life. BUT HERE YOU ARE!"
His dirty blonde hair was messed up and his green eyes were wild, probably from being intoxicated. His breath smelled terrible, and he had spoken right in her face. And he called her a boring try-hard. Very classy, Keegan.
Kendall forced a laugh anyway, and then asked him, "Is Ethan here?"
"WHAT?" he yelled into her ear, making her jump.
"IS ETHAN HERE!" Kendall yelled back, her voice barely rising over the music.
"YEAH, CHEESE 'N MUSHROOM ARE LEFT."
Kendall looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and exclaimed, "NOT PIZZA, IDIOT! ETHAN."
Keegan opened his mouth, showing her that he finally understood her, and nodded.
"Do you know where--?" she started to ask, but then stopped short when he was signaled by some of his friends to join them in a game of ping pong.
Kendall rolled her eyes and checked her phone. Still no response. Maybe his phone battery died?
She pushed her way toward the glass doors and slid the door on the right open. Even though it was a muggy summer night, the fresh air felt great on Kendall's sweaty face.
There were plenty of people outside too; some were swimming, and couples were lounging on the lawn chairs and the grass surrounding the pool. Other than the yelling coming from the people playing volleyball in the pool, Keegan's backyard was definitely better than inside.
She scanned the yard, looking for anyone who looked like Ethan, until she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her heart leaped and she turned around, only to see that it was Michael.
"Hey!" Kendall greeted him, feeling a mix of relief and disappointment.
"Hey," he replied, flashing his big smile. He glanced at the unopened beer in her hand and raised an eyebrow.
"For looking social," Kendall said, grinning, and Michael gave her an amused look.
"Well, what do you think of your first party?" he asked.
"Well it's.....very....overwhelming," Kendall said, making Michael laugh.
"I'm honestly amazed that Ethan finally talked you into coming. We thought you were never going to show up when you took so long to get here. After we talked about it, he disappeared. I've been looking for him, but..." he trailed off just then, his eyes caught on something. His smile faded, and his eyes widened, making Kendall turn around.
"What is it?" she asked, following Michael's gaze.
What she saw was a couple standing and kissing, shaded by one of the bigger trees in Keegan's backyard. At first, she thought the girl was someone Michael liked, but then she looked at the boy and felt her jaw drop.
His hands were tangled in her extremely long straight brown hair, which was streaked with subtle blonde highlights, while her arms were wrapped around his neck, as if her life depended on it.
Kendall cleared her throat and slowly said to Michael, "I'll be right back."
Michael was too shocked himself to even address her, as she walked around the pool and toward the couple.
She approached them and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped with surprise and turned around, his face immediately switching from annoyance to surprise.
"Hey, Ethan," Kendall said, not even bothering to hide the anger and hurt that was rapidly welling up inside of her.
He just gaped at her, while the girl just twirled her hair and watched the volleyball game, like nothing was wrong. Then she said to them, "I'm gonna get another beer," and left them. Kendall then turned to Ethan, who's eyes seemed slightly unfocused on her.
Great, that girl totally put him in a daze! Kendall thought, glaring at the guy who she thought was her boyfriend.
"Who was that?!" Kendall exclaimed, pointing in the direction of where the girl went.
"Caroline," Ethan said slowly, sounding slightly irritated.
Kendall crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain, but all he did was stare at her.
"How could you do this!" she yelled, noticing in the corner of her eye that people were starting to look.
Ethan glared and yelled back, "How could I do this? How could you do this?"
"Do what?!"
"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Kendall. You're as guilty as me," he said smugly, his words slightly slurred.
Now people were surrounding them, watching the whole argument, making Kendall's cheeks flame up.
"What--what are you even talking about!"
"I saw you with that guy!"
"What guy?"
"The one who you had your arms wrapped around tonight...before you came," he practically spat, making Kendall flinch.
The crowd softy murmured amongst each other, excited to hear her rebuttal.
Kendall, meanwhile, was thinking back to when she could have possibly embraced another guy. Then it dawned on her that she had hugged her brother before he left tonight. She also realized that Ethan never asked her about it, and instead just assumed that she had cheated on him and chose to get back at her.
Rage filled her insides and she seethed, "That was my brother, you douche bag."
The people all exclaimed, "OOOOOHHHH," while Ethan was left speechless.
She continued.
"The fact that you thought I would cheat on you in the first place is really sad, Ethan."
She felt a lump forming in her throat, but she swallowed it down and said quietly, "If this is what our relationship has been from the beginning, then I want no part of it anymore."
She turned and started to walk away, until she heard him say, "So you're saying you never loved me?"
"Well clearly you never did!" she exclaimed, thrusting her full bottle of beer at him.
Beer splashed all over him, making everyone roar with amusement, and Kendall pushed her way through the crowd to get to her car. She was done.
Michael was still standing where she had left him, and he started to approach her. All she did was shake her head and continue walking, silently telling Michael to leave her alone.
~
When Kendall finished, the girls were silent with shock.
"What a jerk," Colleen said, breaking the silence.
Kendall just nodded, trying to hold in her tears.
"I'm sorry," Clare said sincerely, hugging Kendall.
Kendall shrugged and replied, "It's done. I've moved on."
The girls nodded, and then Miranda changed the subject, "So, who's all going to Friday's football game?"