Asher slapped the door frame easily as he entered the Sung-Won house. The school year was finally over, and this was going to be a great party. He was arriving a little late, held up by his mother's uncharacteristically late bedtime. The house was already packed with teenagers, sweaty bodies bumping into him the moment he walked through the door. The overhead lights were off, replaced by rotating lights with colored lenses. He glanced over the crowd easily, at least a head taller than most of his classmates. A few people nodded or waved upon seeing him.
Wading through a sea of peers, he headed for the kitchen in the back of the house. Goose practically tackled him as he rounded the corner, throwing his arm around Asher's broad shoulders. "Look at this, dude! This is slammin'!" he shouted over the pounding bass.
Asher laughed, patting his friend on the back "Good job, buddy."
Goose shoved a red solo cup full of murky liquid into Asher's hands and bounded away toward a gaggle of senior girls across the room.
Asher sipped the liquid hesitantly as he surveyed the room. It was too sweet and burned on the way down. Definitely not his favorite, but he wasn't about to turn it away. He adjusted his Chai, tucking the small gold pendant further under his collar. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck. Time to take a lap.
Closest to the kitchen was a gaggle of theater kids huddled close together and whispering back and forth quickly. They all eyed him suspiciously as he moved past. He decided to leave them be.
Asher lingered for a moment with the cheerleaders by the back door, fighting the urge to cover his ears when they squealed at his approach. He chuckled and hugged them all in turn, thanking them graciously for coming on behalf of Goose. He took a big swig of his mystery alcohol as he rounded the couch. It was better this time. He patted Ethan Davies and Derek Lopez on the back as he shuffled behind them, pausing for a minute to take a few hits from Ethan's joint.
Feeling significantly foggier, Asher let himself drift through the crowd to the front of the house. He settled into leaning against a wall next to Keyleigh and her entourage. He watched them with mild interest as he sipped his drink, barely listening to their conversation. His eyes drifted past them, lingering on Cameron. He stood with a few other athletes, but Asher wasn't paying attention to them. The strobing party lights washed over his angular face, casting a fuschia wash over his copper skin. He held an identical red solo cup in his hand, liquid nearly sloshing out as he laughed at something a teammate said. The colored light reflected in his pale eyes as they flicked up, looking right at Asher. Shit.
Asher suddenly became very interested in his cup, praying he was quick enough to avoid being caught. He could feel his ears burning, but was powerless to control it through the fog in his head. His mouth felt horribly dry, which he tried and failed to remedy with a sip of the booze in his hand. Turning around, he quickly looked for somewhere else to hide away. He spotted Rachel in the other corner, struggling to read a book in the inconsistent light.
Pausing once or twice to greet an acquaintance, he wandered towards her. He reached the corner and bent down at the waist, his lips a few inches from Rachel's ear. "You'll go blind trying to read in the dark," he said, just loud enough to hear.
She pulled away and glared at him over her glasses, tucking the book under her arm. "Asher Bernstein, what do you want?"
He straightened up and gave her a lopsided grin. "And a Good Sabbath to you too, Rachel Applebaum." He exaggerated the accent they all shared, a perfect impression of his saba, Rabbi Saul.
She rolled her eyes at him, flipping a braid over her shoulder. "So what are you doing out of the house then?" she asked suspiciously.
He laughed. "Ma doesn't know. And I bet yours doesn't know either." He nodded at her to punctuate the point. "Your secret is safe with me, don't worry." He winked.
