Most girls would be jealous of Calliope Draycott. She seemingly has it all. The friends, the money, the boyfriend, and in a few years, if all goes to plan, she'll have the job too. So why doesn't she feel happy? It's after a disastrous family dinner...
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Isaac still hasn't gotten over the other night.
I shouldn't be surprised really, and I don't blame him. After all, I did reject him in a pretty massive way, and as if that wasn't bad enough, instead of staying to talk it out, I ran away. It's not completely my fault though, he should've known that I wouldn't have been ready for that step. It's a step I don't see me being ready for, well, for a long time. I'm only nineteen, I'm not ready for that level of commitment yet. I want to at least get my degree first. I thought Isaac understood that. I thought we were on the same page. Apparently not, and that was something we had to learn the hard way.
That doesn't mean he has the right to punish me like this though.
An unfortunate side effect of Isaac's strop (honestly is he five?) is that I don't have a date for the Halloween party Arden is dragging me to. I'd chosen my costume when I thought I was going to have Isaac there as my safety net, someone to cling on to when Arden inevitably disappears to Joshua's room, and Cece abandons us all to get an early night because she has a hospital shift in the morning. Tonight though, I don't have that safety net, and even though my costume is hardly revealing - I've never felt more exposed. I feel slightly annoyed that he isn't here - especially when he was the one that told me to dress up as a muse.
Cece has promised to stick it out, and as much as I love her, I won't believe it until I see it. Though, if she goes, at least I have a great excuse to duck out early too.
My annoyance only grows when we walk into the party and some drunk guy looks me up and down and says to his friend that he won't say he's in love. I appreciate the reference (after all, Hercules is the best Disney film) but that doesn't stop me from sending a disgusted look his way.
He holds his hands up as if to say that he doesn't mean any offence by it, and I walk past him without another comment, but it's already proved my point about why Isaac should be here, and we've only been here for fifty seconds. Not that I've been counting.
Arden just gives me an apologetic look, as if she knows exactly what I'm thinking and tells me to smile before she grabs my hand and drags me further into the house, it's only all the practice I've had at grabbing hold of Cece's arm just in time that means she is dragged along with me.
All the furniture has been pushed up against one wall to maximise space, and there is a cloud of fog hovering above the floor. If the fog wasn't here, the decor would be borderline tacky, but the fog ties it all together and turns the party into more of an experience than just an excuse to get drunk.
It does make me question a few things about Joshua and his friends though. Who on earth buys a fog machine for a party they throw once a year? Even if they're just renting it for the night, that still seems a bit... extra. Is it worth the expense?
Still, a small part of me admires how extra it all is, and I'll never admit it to anyone, but I'm secretly loving it. Maybe not all of it - the music could do with being turned down slightly, and fewer people would make a world of difference, but I'm sure I'll come around when I have a few drinks in my system.
