Pomegranate

Benji - 5

Rita must have been some kind of psychic because later that week, Benji got a Facebook notification. Corey had invited him to a party that Saturday. It was in another senior house at a walking distance. Benji wondered how Corey knew all the people living there, and then noticed that Meredith and Seth had already confirmed they were going.

Meredith hadn't mentioned the party before. Sure, Benji wasn't exactly known for going to social events, but she usually invited him anyway, even if she knew the answer. Before he could chicken out, he pressed the Going option, as not to allow himself to back out later. Then he wondered if people still confirmed their presence in Facebook events and if he had already managed to commit a social blunder.

He stared at Meredith's and Seth's profile pictures. She smiled against the sun, leaning over a fence in front of a deep turquoise lake. Seth sat on a plush couch, looking away from the camera with a pensive expression. The picture had been taken on the Midnight Cafe — probably by Meredith, he realized. Benji's picture was a headshot taken for the orchestra profile. He had a serious expression and wore a suit and tie. He was always so out of place, even there.

On Saturday, after Benji was done with violin practice and work, he paced in his room, pulling clothes out of his dresser and closet. He didn't want this party to be the same as the last one. This time, he was going to be sober, and not looking like a fish out of the water, and would actually try talking with Meredith and Seth instead of excluding himself again. He would do something.

As he approached the house, he could see people smoking on the stairs leading up to the front door, and some blue-ish light coming from the windows. Benji braced himself at the steps, hating that he was arriving alone in the first place. He pushed the door open.

He shouldn't have been surprised, but he was taken aback by how loud the music was, the number of people, the sound of laughter and shouted conversations. It was like his brain was a hive, filling his head with bees, flying and vibrating, bumping into each other in the space of his skull. Benji blinked, stuffing his hands in the jacket's pockets, and set about to look for Seth and Meredith.

He found Corey first.

"Benjiii!" They chanted, squeezing his arm. "I'm so glad you made it!"

"Yeah." His head bobbed. He decided he didn't have the composure to make small talk. "Um, have you seen Seth and Meredith around?"

In true Corey fashion, they threw their head back and yelled so the whole party could hear. "MEREDITH!"

A laughing Meredith emerged after a moment, followed on her heels by Seth. She stopped on her tracks when she saw Benji, the thick eyeliner framing her eyes making her green irises pop. Her lips were magenta, slightly smudged. Benji glanced at Seth, at the small bloom of lipstick staining the corner of his lips. The place was filled with people, but Benji definitely felt like the third wheel there and then. Like he was invading a private moment.

"Benji! I didn't know you were coming." Meredith smiled at him and greeted him again with the one-armed hug.

"I mean, why not." Benji shrugged. He knew he did not look casual.

They all shared an uncomfortable silence, heightened by the noise all around them. All three of them kept trying to say something but always changed their mind last minute. Benji had a distinct feeling Corey, Meredith, and Seth were having an internal conversation he was not a part of.

"Let's get drinks!" Corey said suddenly, pulling Meredith away. "Drinks!"

Benji and Seth stayed there, glancing at each other. Seth was never awkward like that, which made Benji even tenser. What were they talking about before Benji got there? Were they laughing at him? Making fun of how he acted the last time he went to a party? Mocking his desperate messages to Meredith, his intimate whispers to Seth? Did they share that with each other?