Power 35

Chapter VII: And I Look

Lianne Angelita Hacinto

Fun fact: I have never been in a school party before. Victory parties? Nope. Classmate's Birthday party? Nah. Even Intramurals Last Night parties? Not a single one. I skip every single one. The only parties I've attended were business meetings and family birthday celebrations.

I didn't have any close friends anyway so I didn't bother attending useless events which teenagers use as an excuse to sneak in bottles of beer. But in Everleigh Institutes? Attending the annual student party is compulsory, apparently.

With Carlos' advice to wear casual clothes, I picked out a simple sleeveless black top, denim shorts and tied a navy-blue jacket around my waist. I also wore black converse shoes to match the look. Even if I really didn't care about my appearance, I still wanted to look decent, hence, the outfit. I left out my hair though. It was less messy today so that was a good thing.

After adding final touches, I went out of the room to see Mariya putting on black sandals that gave emphasis to her ankles. Unlike my get-up, Mariya wore a short mint green dress that was perfect for her complexion. She then matched her outfit with the necklace Andrew gave and one golden bracelet. She also had her hair down but it was wavy compared to my straight locks.

Mariya's laugh shook me out of my thoughts. I turned my attention to her, with one eyebrow raised. "You look pretty excited for someone who doesn't care about parties." She said and stood up. I blushed and looked away. "No, I'm not." Mariya laughed again but let the topic go. I looked at my watch. It was already 6:36 pm. The party starts in 7.

"Welp. I guess we should get going but there are some tips you need to know before entering this layer of hell." Mariya said and gave me a serious stare. I shrugged and waited for her to continue. "First of all, don't eat the party food." "What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"Do you go to a party to eat?"

"Ye-"

"No. You don't go to a party to eat. So why is there food? It's either stale, useless or the Gammas put something in it. They love playing pranks. The food is merely there for decoration and entertainment to whoever sees a person intake it. This is why you should eat something before going to the party." Mariya finishes. I stare at her, still confused.

"Secondly, don't get too drunk. I know that parties are cool and a way to have fun but not in a Class 3-Gamma party. Getting a bit tipsy is fine but getting fully wasted is suicide. You might find yourself in another dorm or with your pants turned inside out. If you do want to be a fool, just make sure you have a buddy that you can count on that isn't drunk himself. You got that?" I nodded. I hated alcohol to no ends so I can pass this rule.

"Thirdly, avoid running into certain people. By certain people, I mean Mizuki Ohara, so-called "leader" of the Sultan Gammas, Julian Kokkinos from Beta and his crew," Oh no. "Akio Rao, a member of Sultan Gammas, he's the ultimate trickster and knows all the tea, and just all Sultan Gammas in general." Mariya said and looked through her phone. She then handed it to me. "That is the Sultan Gammas." It was a goofy, low quality picture of nine men that were posing for a weird family picture. Okay then?

"Lastly," Mariya takes a deep breath and puts her hand on my shoulder. "Just let yourself go and have fun. This party is meant to welcome students for the new school year, meet new people, befriend some people and make some enemies. So, don't worry, you'll do great." Mariya finished with a smile of assurance but I was far from feeling okay. Am I really going to do great?

After Mariya and I grabbed a tuna sandwich that Chandni left for everyone, we started walking to the Class 3-Gamma building. Earlier, Carlos told me that each building had a large auditorium and the party was going to be held in the one Gamma had. A lot of people were heading there too and I even spotted some of my classmates.