That Reckless Night

ONE

I used to be the good girl; the quiet one, the nerd. But all of that changed the moment I agreed to let go. It all happened with a house party.

I lay flat on my belly on my bed, surfing the net on this hot summer day. My best friend, Naomi, was sitting Indian style on the floor in my room, studying me.

"Ada?" She called me.

"Mmm?" I answered, not looking at her.

"I think you should let go."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since you have such a big house..." She trailed off. I turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. "I was thinking if we could throw a party." She finished.

I toyed with that idea while squinting my eyes at her. I shoved in my big glasses. I was a major nerd. Nobody ever noticed me in school. Or so I thought.

Naomi, however, was the queen of the school. She was head cheerleader and had the perfect boyfriend. She has been my friend since we were in our diapers.

Sensing my hesitation, Naomi threw her hands into the air. "Oh come on, Ada. Your dad is never home and you have this whole mansion to yourself. Throw a party for me please?" She pouted.

She's right. My dad is a CEO of a big private company that sells candy. He is always travelling around the globe to promote his candy, which means I have the house all to myself. Or should I say, property. The Pearl property sits atop a small hill in Colorado city. I don't mean to boast, but the mansion -as Naomi put it- has every room that you can think of, 8 guest rooms, a pool area, the front yard and the backyard, and last but not least a huge balcony overlooking the whole city.

It is perfect for a party.

"When?" I asked Naomi.

Her eyes lit up. "This Saturday. To celebrate the end of the summer holidays."

Maybe this was my chance to stand out, I thought.

Guess what? I agreed.

*~*~*

Saturday rolled by. Naomi had called the 'party crew' to drop by earlier to fix up all equipment to get the party pumped. Of course, before that, Naomi had sent invite texts to the whole student body, maxed out several cards and bought cartons of drinks.

I stood beside my best friend at all times. Everyone would know that this was my house, but Naomi and I will be the hosts for the night. I was nervous of course. I did not know what to expect, Night where there were parties, I was at home doing assignments. I let Naomi handle everything, as she was the expert.

At 4PM, Naomi dragged me into my room to get dressed for the party.

"Naomi? I thought the party starts at 8?"

"Yeah," She answered, looking at me funny.

"Don't you think now is a little too early to dress up?"

She grinned and put her hands on my cheeks, squishing them. "Oh, Ada, sweet little innocent Ada."

It was my turn to look at her funny.

"We need to get ready now, silly. You'll see why." She explained.

I just nodded and let her work her magic on me. She did my hair first, turning it from dull and straight to curly and luscious. The curls fell down my back in sweet ringlets that looked so delicate.

Then, she did my makeup. I started to doubt if Naomi was human or if she was my fairy godmother in disguise. I looked at myself in the mirror after Naomi finished her 'art piece' as she put it. I looked like a tramp, ready to party. She outlined my eyes with black eyeliner that made my eyes pop. Naomi was not stingy with makeup. She slapped on so much makeup that I wonder how could I possibly removed everything at the end of the night.