Find a Penny, Pick Her Up

Chapter 2

"Shots!" I said, my slurred voice contradicting me as I raised the bottle of liquor above my head. The sound of music thumped rhythmical throughout the house, bouncing off the walls and coaxing the party of our junior class to forget about the dread of the upcoming year, and just dance. And flirt. And drink. And ignore the fact that it was nearing two a.m on a Saturday night. Dad always said nothing good happened after twelve. 

Justin placed a hand on my lower back just as a laughter erupted like applause from my friends. "I think you've had enough."

I stuck out a tongue at him, rolling my eyes. "Party pooper."

His calm brown eyes blinked back, smiling before turning to our group of friends. "How much has she had already?" I had told Justin, who cared about my wellbeing more than his own, to take a shift off from being the safety monitor for the night. I wanted him to have fun too. Regardless, my selfishness proved to become the first mistake of the night.

"Shots or drinks?" Annie asked, grinning and leaning into Jack - her newest conquest of the month. Despite her ability to shut her feelings on and off, we all loved her. He didn't object though, who could to her, as he placed an arm around her shoulders and took a swig of beer.

"Both."

Annie and I locked eyes, sending a secret through our espn saying, "don't tell!" We burst into laughter, and she looked at Justin.

"If I'm being honest, I lost count." The rest of us laughed in response, excluding Justin who glanced at me worriedly. I couldn't even count the amount of times he gave me that look.

"You're cut off," he mumbled in my ear.

I pulled back, raising the bottle high in a challenge. "Who's gonna stop me?" Annie, Jess, Jack, and the rest of our friends cheered. For me. I was the party animal - I had to keep up with the standards that had been set.

I lowered the bottle to my mouth, unscrewing the cap and tossing it to the wooden floor. .

"Penny," Justin's warning tone resonated somewhere amongst the cheering, music, and junior class. Annie smiled at me, giving me a thumbs up and tipping her head up as if to say, "What are you waiting for?"

I put the bottle to my mouth, the liquor flowing freely over my tongue. At that point in the night, I couldn't taste how cheap it was or feel the burn in the back of my throat. A chug countdown rang in the background, having started from ten. Right when I was about to reach five, so close, the bottle was ripped from my hand by someone that resembled my boyfriend. Vodka dripped from my chin to to floor. I tested the floor, my contribution adding to the growing stickiness. Someone would have to clean that up in the morning.

Justin shook his head angrily, leaning close to my ear. "What are you doing?"

I swayed harshly and put a numb hand to his face. He was so cute. But his cute face just ruined my shotgun. "What is your deal?"

"What's my deal?" He jabbed a finger to his chest, shaking his head again -

I suddenly slammed into someone wearing Chanel perfume. I gasped, my neck jerking up and eyes landing on Mrs. Prickett.

She let out a sound of alarm. "Penelope! Are you okay?" Like she cared.

I nodded, mumbling an apology, and just then realizing who was standing next to her. A pretty, petite brunet who looked around my mother's age smiled at me. Faded wrinkles amongst a canvas of tight skin told me she wasn't a stranger to botox, but her smile and lack of information in my story let me feel at ease. I smiled back, my eyes daring to settle on the newest celebrity of Royal High. Out of all his fangirls, why did I have to be the one who ran into him? Literally.