ASSIGNED

Chapter 4

PICTURED: Asha's party outfit

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Friday classes dragged on like nothing else. I was desperately waiting for the day to end so I could go home and prepare for the party tomorrow night. This party was supposedly the biggest party of the year since it was the first eighteenth. Some of, if not half of the grade was still sixteen, turning seventeen this year, so alcohol and partying was a big deal. From what Amanda had told me, Dylan Campbell lived in one of the richest areas in the town. His father owned an air conditioning company which earned them millions of dollars. I'm not sure if Amanda was exaggerating, but his house was apparently not a house, but a mansion.

After sitting through a double maths lesson with possibly the most boring teacher I had ever come across it was finally time to go home. As soon as the bell rang I gathered my things, quickly shoving them in my bag before running out the door. I passed the girls on the way out, yelling to them as I ran.

"I'll see you tomorrow arvo!" I called to them, "Text me your address Heidi!". Heidi had invited me and the girls over to her house to get ready for Dylan's party. She too lived in the upper class area of town and her house was only a short walk from Dylan's. I found it difficult to imagine how incredible these houses could possibly be, considering the house that my mother and I had moved into was absolutely beautiful, but by no means a mansion.

While catching the bus home I put in my earphones and listened to one of the songs I was considering playing for my audition, and possibly the charity event if I was selected. It was called 'The Call' by Regina Spektor, and it was one of my absolute favourites. I had been teaching myself to play it on the piano and I was close to perfecting it. When I arrived home I walked inside and followed the sound of my mum's humming until I found her in her bedroom.

"Hey, Mum!" I said cheerfully, walking up to her and giving her a tight hug.

"Hey darling, how was school?" she asked me.

"It was good, but I was wondering if I could ask you a question?" I asked nervously. I needed to ask her if she could buy alcohol for me for the party tomorrow night. She looked at my suspiciously, her mouth twitching into a smirk.

"Hmmm, what do you want Asha?" she asked me.

"Well, there's a party this weekend and it's an eighteenth, everyone is going to be drinking and I don't want to feel left out, and I know you would rather buy me alcohol and know what I'm drinking rather than worry about me getting alcohol off someone you don't know..." I rambled, hoping that my argument was enough to persuade her into buying me a few drinks for the night.

After going back and forth with my mum for a few minutes, trying my best to convince her that I was only going to drink a few drinks, I'd be messaging her every hour telling her that I was safe and that I had a trustworthy group of friends who were sensible. She finally agreed, telling me that she would head down to the liquor store soon to buy me the drinks. I hugged her tightly, thanking her profusely.

"Thank you Mum, this means so much to me. I promise I'll be safe!" I said excitedly, squeezing her tightly as I hugged her.

"I trust you Asha, you better not prove me wrong!" my mum said sternly. She turned and walked out of her room, indicating that it was time for me to leave also. I walked downstairs and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, biting into it. I dragged my feet over to the lounge room, throwing myself lazily on the lounge and turning on the TV. I decided to watch a TV show, and chose one called 'The Man in the High Castle'. It was a show about an alternate ending to WWII, where The Third Reich had taken over Europe and America had lost the war. It was one of my favourite shows, considering that WWII was a huge interest of mine. I hoped that we would learn all about it during Modern History, since that's the only reason I chose the subject.