Tuning Heartstrings

Chapter 19

(Written August 11, 2014)

The activities turn out to be quite childish, so I stand near the drinks counter. As people play beer pong, I look down at my dress, and it flutters slightly in the air. It truly is beautiful, and I am grateful to Jason for it. As I lean against the counter, a drunk guy approaches me and takes out his phone. I turn around to ignore him and see a flash. Why did he just take a photo of me? I turn back to give him a piece of my mind, but he takes fifteen more photos, blinding me with a series of flashes. "STOP," I yell at him, but instead, he smirks and walks closer to me. "Get away from me," I shout, but just as I finish, a strong punch lands on his face. We both turn around, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Liam.

This pisses the guy off and he reaches to grab me. Scared by the idiot's erratic behavior, I quickly move to Liam and hug him. He hugs me back, then turns to the drunk guy. "Hey, creepy photo dude, pass me that piece of shit you have in your hand." The guy nervously looks at Liam, frozen. "Oh, hello, cat got your tongue? I'm talking to you like a decent person, so pass me your phone." The guy glances at me and then at Liam, passing him the phone. Liam hands it to me. "Liz, kindly delete any photos you wish." Hesitating, I open the photos app on his iPhone and delete all the photos of me. For revenge, I delete fifty other random photos from the guy's phone and give it back to Liam. We both chuckle, and Liam hands it back to the guy after seeing what I've done. The guy doesn't dare to say or do anything, so Liam speaks. "You creep, do you want some more of this?" He shows his fist. The guy shakes his head and immediately runs off into the house, leaving Liam and me laughing. Liam grabs my arm and starts walking. "Come on, Liz, the new activity is starting, and everyone has to participate."

Kiara starts speaking just as Liam and I find Jason and John. "Okay, everyone, this activity is very simple." Jason smiles at me, and I smile back before turning my head to hear Kiara deliver the instructions. "We are going to have a talent show. Everyone here has their name written in this bowl. When and if your name gets called, you come up and show some talent for entertainment. Let's begin."

Two guys bring out a small table, and the big bowl is placed on it. Kiara takes out the first name. The first person is a guy named Brad, who has big muscles that he's obviously proud of. He comes on stage and starts flexing, which only leads to laughter. The next person is a girl named Madison, who comes on stage and dances to Beyoncé. This continues and about seven people later, Kiara yells, "JOHN!" We clap for him, and he goes on stage, chewing gum. He blows a huge bubble and pops it. Then he says, "Did you see that infinite bubble? Einstein said a few things are infinite: the universe, human stupidity, and the number of times you have to tell your mother you can't pause an online game." We laugh at his joke and cheer for him until he returns to us. He laughs and says, "I'm a pro comedian," and Liam responds, "You're an idiot," sticking his tongue out at John.

We quiet down as Kiara pulls out the last name. Suddenly, she yells, "LIZ!" Holy shit, I freeze and whisper to Liam, "I'm not going up there, I can't." Then, everyone starts chanting, "Liz, Liz!" Jason smiles at me and motions for me to go up. I go and grab the mic, and look down at my dress. I glance at the guy with the aux cord and say, "Please play 'Summertime Sadness.'"

The song begins.

"I got my red dress on tonight
Dancin' in the dark, in the pale moonlight
Done my hair up real big, beauty queen style
High heels off, I'm feelin' alive
Oh, my God, I feel it in the air
Telephone wires above are sizzlin' like a snare
Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere
Nothin' scares me anymore
(One, two, three, four)
Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That baby, you the best."

I look down, and it's quiet. Shit, I messed up. What have I done? I can't even sing. Then, all of a sudden, Jason yells, "HELL YEAH, LIZ!" and the entire crowd erupts in cheers and applause. Wow, thank you, queen Lana.