Excelsior

Chapter 4: Homecoming

That Friday night was vital for Chloe: students of the most respectable schools in the city would attend a ball at St. Dominique Club, in one of the most desiderd zones. Along the way, she entertained herself admiring the palaces in the neighborhood. She felt her heart beating. The guests were heirs of the most distinguishable families, and she couldn't help herself from wishing to do some networking.

Among those guests was Meryl, from the Hamilton family. While they were two came from different circles, Meryl had never despised her friend since they first ever met. Instead, she considered Chloe her sister, and refused to think negatively of her as she valued her opinion in any context. She took her friend on her own limousine, and a portman opened the doors. Big searchlights lit the sky, yet, the outdoor was too quiet that it was nearly impossible to think that there was an event indoors.

The ballroom featured white paneled walls with gold trim, characteristic of the salons of those French palaces. The Club was previously the mansion of a banker who had fallen in disgrace with the great recession.

The crowding caused slight dizziness in Chloe as she tried to memorize the names of the guests. The ladies wore bright, elegant dresses, the most elegant she'd ever seen, and she understood Diane's disgust at buying a last-minute outfit, only she didn't seem to care anymore. She was presented to people with surnames she had already heard about, and, as anticipated, the conversations were interesting. Although she felt some arrogance, there were few who showed such an attitude, and contrary to what she herself expected, instead of being disgusted by that, she found it charming and desirable. The guests behaved in a natural way, and less formal than their looks allowed.

Among them, she met Miss Amanda Conrad, who could easily stand out in any environment, and had also the skill to be immediately liked, an attitude that is not common. They also managed to socialize with Sabrina, who greeted them with the most sincere smile and asked about the evening, much to the chagrin of Diane, who did not limit herself to even making eye contact with her. Before leaving, she delighted her acquaintances with something that did nothing but amaze:

"Have you heard about my cousin, Ronald?"

Chloe refused to do it.

"Well," she continued, "he told me he found you to be quite attractive."

The attitude of the young women was what Sabrina anticipated: even Diane did not resist seeing her at such news.

"I told him we are in the debate club, and that I could introduce you to him in a more private place, like my house. Would you be interested?"

Askance, she accepted, and when she was gone, her friends commented that Ronald was one of the city's most prominent heirs, of the Grant family. Chloe's head jumped from a simple filing to a courtship, and from there to marriage and how she would be a respectable Mrs. Grant. Her heart didn't stop and she couldn't think of anything else, until Diane, in a moment of acute lucidity, said to them:

"If Sabrina told you that, it means that she disliked your appearance and disguised it in a false compliment." She took a sip from his glass.

Her friends saw her bewildered, and Chloe frowned.

"How can you state such a thing?" Meryl asked, noticing Chloe's expression.

"It's simple. I was her friend, and I know that when she didn't like something specific, she gave herself the freedom to lie and coldly exclaim how much she likes it. I doubt that her cousin said that. She knows that her attention is very important and she put words in her mouth to envelop you."

"Why would she do that?"

"Meryl," she put the glass on a table nearby, "for the same reason that a politician lies to their herd."

Chloe, now more offended, decided not to pay more attention to the conversation, and instead remained silent, immersing herself in her fantasies. Champagne was not scarce, and at poker tables they crowded to gamble dignity, as for gambling material goods would be too pretentious and vulgar.

For a moment, Chloe disconnected from the conversation when the girls started talking about a play, and then they jumped up to talk about skiing in the Swiss mountains. Fortunately, her uncomfortable presence was saved by her mother's punctual call when the clock struck eleven-thirty.

She apologized to her friends, and withdrew from the living room to the terrace, where the noise was barely noticeable. She still was unable to answer her mother's questions due to what she was witnessing: Some guests were smoking cigars, and others were smoking illegal substances . She looked away, fearing that some of them had discovered her by sticking their nose where they hadn't called her.

She contemplated all of this in a disappointing second in which she didn't have time to react when a young woman bumped into her as she hurried. She peeked up the stairs, which led to the hedge maze, and unconsciously descended on him. She answered her mother with generalities, and her heart was still fast.

Unfortunately for her, the labyrinth also did not present a favorable image of the refined heirs: there were couples, even threesomes, engaged in intimate activities that she thought should be reserved for their bedrooms. Finally she ended the call with her mother, and put the phone away.

She returned to the building, which was not far from her, already discouraged, wanting rather to leave that dance that shone. Good things were expected of those who attended. She avoided seeing the paths of the labyrinth, for fear of seeing unsuitable scenes, and stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"Luke."

Contrary to her principles, she turned to see the source of the sound.

"Oh, Luke."

Chloe covered her mouth with her hands. Suddenly she put them back in place, assuming her gloves were dirty, and not just them. She felt that her whole body was stale, she went to the ballroom to look for her friends, debating whether she should tell them what she had witnessed, or if it was better for Diane not to know anything. For her mental peace, she no longer had make such a decision. She found Diane hugging Meryl, her face flushed and the makeup running down her tears.

"What happened?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"She found Luke kissing Monica," Amanda said quickly. "Don't cry, my dear. I have also been through the same thing."

"How could have this happened to me?"

"To be fair," Meryl said in a soft voice, "you are no longer friends with her."

"Not her," she said in a bitter cry, "I expect it from her," He straightened her posture. "Him!"

The young women then decided that there was too much, and they left for Meryl's house, where they spent the night. Diane preferred to sleep alone, and wanted to go home, only her need not to speak to anyone prevented her from expressing any opinion about what she wanted or felt.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. English is not my native language, so any feedback, suggestion or advice to change the grammar would be really appreciated.