Dear Evalynn Hansen: Be More Chill

The Party: Part 1

Two weeks later, Evalynn stood in her room trying to get ready for the party at Chloe's house. Several outfits lay out on the bed and she stared at them, anxiety building in her chest.

'You need to be more chill.'

'What do I wear?'

'Any of the outfits would be acceptable.'

'Can't you envision possible futures? What do you envision me wearing?'

'That's not how I work.'

'Then what's the point of having you?'

A familiar shock went down her spine and she barely flinched at all. They had reached over forty now, and she had decided to stop keeping track.

'Help me pick out an outfit.'

'Fine. That one.'

Evalynn grabbed the outfit the SQUIP pointed to and changed into it quickly. When she was done she began putting away the other clothes on the bed.

'Hair and makeup?'

'Head into the bathroom.'

She did as she was told and SQUIP Evan had her curl her hair again, leaving it all down this time. When she moved on to makeup, the SQUIP went a bit different route than usual. She put on some pink eye shadow that sparkled a bit, mascara, blush and lipstick the exact same shade of pink as her blouse, but darker than the eye shadow. The blouse was simple, similar to the cream one, and she wore skinny jeans with black flats.

The SQUIP had her go to the mall and buy several more outfits including this one and then throw out her old clothes. Once she was done, she headed out to the living room, watching t.v. while she waited for Connor to come pick her up. Five minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. Evalynn went to greet her boyfriend.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hey," she greeted him with a kiss.

"Ready to go?"

"Absolutely."

The couple headed to Connor's car and climbed in. They talked and laughed the whole way to Chloe's house. Inside, the place was crowded since the party was already in full swing. Anyone who was anyone was there. This was always the second biggest party of the fall after Jake Dillinger's Halloween party.

"I'm going to get us some drinks."

Evalynn nodded her head and Connor disappeared into the crowd. As she moved around the edges of the room, it was clear most everybody was already drunk. Eventually, she found herself pinned in a corner next to Rich, one of those people.

"Hey, pretty thing. Wanna see something cool?" he slurred.

Not waiting for a response, he started toward the stairs.

'What do I do?'

'Follow him.'

'But-'

Another shock made her obey the command, her feet taking her away from all the noise and crowd. She had a bad feeling about the situation, and another shock was sent down her spine. Swallowing, Evalynn followed Rich through a door into a dark room.

"Rich?" she asked.

The door shut behind her and she spun around to see Rich standing there.

'Oh no...'