Painkiller

Nine

Xavier looked at himself in the mirror in Madeline's room.  The red long sleeved shirt and overalls fit his body nicely, and the red cap on his head with the letter M on it put the entire costume together.  And what would Mario be without a stick-on mustache?

"Alright, I'm finished," Xavier told Madeline, who walked into the room.

She looked at him and clapped her hands before telling him, "You look great!"

Madeline was, of course, Mario's green sidekick.  She had the option of picking the female costume, but of course Madeline had to go classic.  So here she was, in the exact same costume as Xavier, except her shirt and hat were green, and the letter L replaced the M on the hat.

Rylan and Tatiana came out of the bathroom, big smiles on their faces.  Rylan was dressed as a huge tube of toothpaste, and to match, Tatiana was a huge toothbrush.  Xavier smiled at the couple, they were no doubt happy together.  Xavier didn't have a doubt in his mind that the two would work out in the end.

"Alright, so it is five forty-eight right now, and the party starts at seven, so what do we do until then?" Madeline asked, looking at everybody.

Xavier jumped up, suggesting, "Let's play some Mario Kart."

The four booted up the Nintendo Switch and started playing Mario Kart 8.  Xavier, being the Mario Kart master he is, zoomed by all of them and won first place each time.  After a good four games, the group decided it was time to go.

The four of them piled into Madeline's mom's grey Nissan Armada, Madeline taking shotgun.  Her mom hopped in the front seat and started the car up.  Xavier gave her the address, and she began to drive.

"So, no drinking, right kids?" Paula, Madeline's mom, asked.

"Of course not," Xavier answered.

He could see her smile in the mirror.  After about fifteen minutes, they were outside Eden's light blue house.  It looked huge, and Xavier hadn't thought about how much money she might have.  Suddenly, the intimidation grew on him.  Who would be there?  Would be fit in?

Suddenly, Madeline was dragging him out of the car.  "Have a good time!" Paula called from the car before driving away.

Madeline rang the doorbell as soon as they got to the top of the stairway.  After a few seconds, Eden answered the door.  She had on cowgirl clothing, and her hair was in a braid; Jessie from Toy Story.  "Howdy there partners!" she greeted in the best Southern accent she could muster.  "C'mon in!"

The group entered the house, and it was obvious her family was higher class.  She showed them around, since they were the first to arrive.  In the kitchen, Xavier noticed they had soda, but also some alcohol.  He was curious, but wasn't sure he wanted to have any.

Soon, people started showing up.  Eden put on her music, a mix of pop and rock.  The house quickly got crowded, it was obvious how many people she had invited.  Xavier tried to stick by Madeline's side, scared of being alone in the huge crowds of people.

Eventually, Madeline had found a way to leave Xavier's side.  Girls in slutty costumes surrounded Xavier, and he started screaming out, "Maddy?  Where'd you go?"

Xavier found his way to the kitchen, pushing through already sweaty bodies.  He got to the drinks, and his eyes moved to the liquor.  How tempted he was to get a class of that.

Suddenly, a familiar face popped up in front of him. "Hey Xavier," Frederick, one of Xavier's classmates, greeted him.

Frederick was a good looking guy, not popular, but not a loser either.  His red hair fell before his right eye, and he quickly moved it out of the way.  "Hey Fred," Xavier replied.