Ocean Blue & You

the invitation

At lunch I met Anna and Faith on the bleachers just like we said. I saw them ahead of me as I walked over, on one of the benches, and chatting excitedly.

"Okay, so what is it?" I asked, coming over and sitting next to Faith.

"Well- ugh, it's so exciting! Faith, you go," Anna said, grinning.

"K, so you know Emma?" Faith started.

"Yes?" I said, wondering why this had something to do with Emma.

Emma was a girl in my tutor, but I hardly every spoke to her and she wasn't in any of my classes. I stayed away from her though, because she was known to gossip, and had a pack of girls swarming around her wherever she went. I suppose you could say she was Miss Popular. She was alright, and spoke really nicely to you if she met you. She might even compliment your outfit or offer for you to join her table at lunch. But I knew better than that. You could never really be sure if it was genuine, or if she was about to start bitching with her friends about you behind your back. So I stayed a safe distance away from her.

"Basically, she's throwing a party," Faith continued.

"No surprise there," I sighed. It was true, even though Emma was a bit two-faced, her parties were known to be amazing, but we were never invited.

"And we got invitations!"

"Really?!" I gasped.

"Yes! She's inviting the whole year. And of course, all her friends."
"I can't believe we're actually invited! Her parties are so cool."

"I know! And I've heard she's even managed to smuggle some alcohol from her Dad for the punch at the party. You know, 'I'm serving mock-tails daddy. The party will only cost a couple hundred!' "

Faith did a very accurate impression of Emma's spoilt voice. We all laughed.

"So what time is it then?" Anna asked.

"8pm this Friday. The rest of the details are on the invite. And they're here!"

Faith hands us both little invitations, with the party details on the front.

"You're invited to my annual party!

Time: 8 pm

Address: The Woods Mansion, Camellia Grove, Littleton, PR2 8LT"

THEME ~ Costume party

Dress in whatever costume you decide, but masks are compulsory."

"Masks are compulsory?" I read out loud questioningly.

"Oh, yes. That," Faith said," It's for the whole hype-costume-thingy. Just dress in whatever costume you want."

"Okay," I said.

"Emma lives in that huge mansion doesn't she?" Anna said.

"Yes. She is a bit of a spoilt brat, but we're going to have fun at this party, and probably won't bump into her, with all the people she's invited."

"So, should we meet up or something on Friday night?" I suggested.

"Yeah, sure. I was thinking of maybe you guys coming round to mine to get ready, and then we drive to the party together," Faith said. Faith had recently got her drivers' licence, and was very excited to use it at every opportunity she could.

"Cool. At around 6.45?" I said.

"Yeah okay," Faith agreed.

So we went off to lunch together, chatting happily about the party.

                                                                                                      *

As we were just queuing in the line for lunch, Emma spotted me with her giggling little friends, and leaned over to me from ahead in the queue.

"Hey-" she started, but then stopped, hesitating and squinting her eyes like she was trying to remember something. Ugh, she was unbelieveable. I was in her tutor!

"It's Posy," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Right," she says, as her stupid swarm of girlfriends giggled, muttering things under their breath. "Posy, you're coming to my costume party aren't you? I invited the whole year, so..." That was what Emma and her girls did. They never asked you. Just sort of told you, so you had to do it.

"Yeah, actually, I am. So's Faith and Anna," I say, gesturing towards them. Anna smiled sarcastically at Emma and Faith crossed her arms at her.

"Great!" she said, her pink-lipstick coated mouth stretching into a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. But her brown eyes were glittering; excitedly and mischievously, like a vulture staring at it's prey. "I'll see you there," she said, turning back around in the lunch queue. But then she turned back around again.

"Oh, and by the way, I love the romper. It's so-" she did that thing again where she squinted her eyes, thinking of a word to describe it. She ended up saying,"cute!"

"Thanks," I say, not falling for her nice girl act like all the other girls did.

"Do you wanna sit with us at lunch today? I'd love to get to know you better," she said, completely ignoring Anna and Faith, who were glaring at her angrily.

"You know what?" I begin, "I'm good. But thanks for asking. And it was lovely to meet you again," I say in a fake nice tone just like hers, smiling sarcastically and sticking out my hand. Her fake smile slowly faded, and she was now staring at me like she wanted to rip me to pieces with her long, false nails. She looked like she'd never been turned down by this offer before, or really at all, and seemed quite flabbergasted that someone would ever say no to her.

"See you at the party," she said, gripping my hand and holding it so tightly it felt like she was trying to snap it off. Then she flicked her long, brown hair in my face as all the girls around her started muttering words of comfort, or whispering furious things about me. Meanwhile, Anna and Faith laughed at her, and I did to, and even some of the boys went "oh!" and jeered. I winked at Anna and Faith.

"That was amazing!" Anna said. "You just turned down Emma Woods!"

"That's like turning down Regina George. That snake. She was looking at you like you were a fly she wanted to swat or something. But she got what was coming to her," Faith said.

"What goes around comes around I guess," I said, sighing. "Now, should we get lunch? I'm starving!"