Slumber Party

Cologne and Candy Lotion

The car pulled over in front of an extravagant front gate.

Politely thanking my family's driver, I pulled the door handle and stepped out. It was getting dark and the gate loomed over me, reminding me I was walking straight to my own personal nightmare. Taking a deep breath, I headed for the doorbell, though not without peeking at what would be waiting for me inside. I couldn't see much past the gate, just a dimly lit, long road and pristine rows of trees lining each side. Somewhere in the distance where the tree lines nearly joined, I could see a glimpse of a brightly lit white mansion.

It was the last place where I wanted to be.

Much rather, I would've been curled up on my couch with a good book in my hands. Or even practicing the never-ending art of playing the piano. Being the stereotype of an Asian nerd girl – and proud of it – these types of events weren't my jam in the slightest.

I rang the doorbell before giving myself a chance to talk my way out of it. The gate opened instantly, which was a bit odd. I wondered if it was programmed that way for just tonight. Shrugging, I stepped inside and started to make my way towards the mansion through the well-kept gravel road. Sigh, even the road screamed rich, spoiled and brat.

How I landed an invitation to a slumber party hosted by the prettiest girl in my new high school and the top cheerleader – Amber Moore – was beyond me. She and her gang of minions had - very randomly - approached me in the hallway Thursday afternoon, asking if I'd be interested to come to their start of a school year slumber party. Not being very interested in making friends with them, I had thought of declining at first... but I also didn't want to make a social suicide so I gave it another thought. Counting on that my parents would've declined; I had promised to try. What a brainfart on my part – I should've known my parents would be thrilled to have me out of the house for a change.

My heart had skipped a beat as the blond queen bee had written her address on my math book's cover. She even winked at me while telling I should wear a pajama. That night had been the first night I had dreamt about her. The whole thing made me wonder why I always crushed on the girls I could never ever have.

The road leading to the mansion was a lot shorter I had thought, I was already half-way through. The faint echo of the bassline reached my ears, probably from whatever pop song they were playing inside at the top volume.

Once again I cursed myself for ever actually asking the permission to come. Then I cursed my parents for not being the stereotypical Asian parents, as they had gladly given permission. They had even urged me to stay over. Mom had been thrilled. She had forced me to go shopping for pajamas with her. She would've even wanted me to wear something sexier, so I'd finally bring a boy home.

That's where I put my foot down and opted for the white satin top with spaghetti straps and matching loose pants I was now wearing. Instead of the red, skimpy, baby doll-like thingy, that my mom was insisting on and which made me shudder... meanwhile cursing myself for not having the courage to come out of the closet to mom, as it would've made explaining the lack of potential boyfriends just that much easier.

The closer I got to the huge mansion, the more I wanted to run away. Soon enough, the enormous building was standing tall just in front of me. The music was booming, bombarding my eardrums, getting louder every step I took towards the house. Picking the right staircase, I hopped them up skipping every other step so I wouldn't stop to think and hesitate. The double mahogany door was left cracked open, so I figured I wasn't supposed to knock or ring the doorbell. Not that anyone would've even noticed anyway as the noise inside seemed to be quite the lot to handle.

Yanking the door open, still not stopping to wonder what I had gotten myself into, I stepped inside. My heart thumped annoyingly hard inside my ribcage. Before I could even digest the sight I met, the door banged shut ominously behind me.