Spydrummer06
Cadet
They are getting dangerously close to being in over their heads with all of this. Hopefully they get through the rest without too much problem.
Great update
Great update
In With the A Crowd
- Thread starter SkyGirl5
- Start date
texasalias2004
Cadet
I bet that the girls are going to do something to her at the party.
texasalias
texasalias
gtwallichs
Cadet
I am sure that he would LOVE to see her in her slutty skirt! 
Syd_Vaughn4ever
Cadet
wow.....mitch...that was really stretching! haha can't wait for more! I'm sure the party will be TONS of fun.....yeah right....I HATED those parties in high school.....always the same ppl doing the same thing....getting trashed and getting into cat fights with other girls over the "best" guy who only wanted to sleep with the trashiest girl..........and the TOTALLY sad thing is......it's the same in college........to which I constantly say WTF? I thought I left that in h.s......but I didn't....unfortunately! but when are they gonna go on a real date?????
SkyGirl5
Cadet
Chapter 14
For Sydney, the beginning of her two week long winter break should have brought relaxation, but it did quite the opposite. Winter break meant Christmas was just a few days away, giving Sydney stress about meeting with Michael’s parents. To her, meeting a significant other’s parents was not a step to be taken lightly, and since she and Michael had only been technically together for two months, it seemed very early in their relationship to take this step.
Sydney knew that Michael was not intending their trip together to be part of a true ‘meet the parents’ situation; he was just making sure she did not have to spend another holiday alone, and she appreciated that. Still, she worried about making the right impression with Michael’s parents, who would obviously influence their son’s view on whether or not their relationship should continue.
Michael’s parent’s home was located about an hours drive away from where Sydney and Michael lived close by to McMillan high. At first, this distance gave Sydney concern that they would be spending the night at the elder Vaughn residence. Sydney, how was not very experienced in the boyfriend area, had never spent the night over at a boyfriend’s parents’ house, or anyone’s house for that matter. She was not sure the proper houseguest protocols, but luckily she did not have to stress over them; Michael informed her that the two of them would just be spending Christmas day there and no more time.
A Christmas Eve tradition in Michael’s family had always been going to church, no matter how crowded it was. When he moved away from his parents home, he found a church to go to close by his new home, and had been going there ever since, especially on Christmas Eve. Since Sydney had never been to church, he wanted to share this tradition with her, but he could not; their secrecy decree prevented it, especially since the church he was a member of also had many members that went to McMillan as well.
Instead of going to church Christmas Eve, Michael broke his tradition in favor of spending time with Sydney. She went over to his apartment for the first time and they drank hot chocolate while watching some Christmas Eve programs on television. As they were doing this, they could hear singing from outside and were surprised to find a group of carolers performing outside Michael’s apartment building. With blankets around them, they stood out on the balcony of Michael’s apartment and listened to the songs being sung while sharing a few kisses, which ended up being a very romantic moment for the two of them.
Much earlier than she would have liked to on Christmas morning, Sydney awoke and showered. After making herself looking as presentable as possible, she made sure she had every thing she needed, including the cookies she made for the Vaughn family. Just as she was finishing up the inventory of the items she was bringing along, Michael arrived to pick her up.
“So, um, are you sure you want me to come with you… I mean, I don’t want to intrude on your family time…,” she said hesitantly as they began their drive.
“Well it’s a little late now with you in the car and everything…,” Michael began casually. Sydney swallowed hard and he laughed loudly. “Syd, lighten up I was kidding! Of course I want you to come with me and you’re not intruding. I know I would have a horrible Christmas if I knew you were at home all by yourself so really I’m doing it so I can have a nice time – purely selfish wishes.”
“As long as you’re sure…”
“Positive,” he smiled. “Plus my mom’s dying to meet you. I told her all about our little plot and she thinks its hilarious. She says she wants to substitute at McMillan just so she can be a fly on the wall and hear all the rumors buzzing around. That’s what she is, you know, a substitute teacher.”
“Oh that’s nice. I don’t think I could ever do that, though; too much abuse by the students,” Sydney said.
“Oh I know! I don’t know how she does it; she’s insane,” Michael sighed, shaking his head.
“Is that why you wanted to be a teacher? Because your mom is one?” Sydney asked him.
He nodded. “Yeah pretty much. My dad is one too, now. Well, he’s a professor. He worked in engineering for a long time and then when he retired he decided to become a professor, which is kinda cool for him.”
“Oh yeah, very,” Sydney smiled.
“What about you? How’d you get bitten by the reporting bug?” he asked.
“Oh I don’t even know if I have been bitten by it… I mean, when I was in school I knew I wanted to do something with writing and journalism just seemed the way to go. I had an internship at The Herald during my senior year and when they offered me a job I just took it, thinking it would be a good gateway into things or at least show me what I did or did not want to do. But now… I dunno,” she sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“Um, hello?! You know what this experience has been like for me! I wanted to quit my job just to get out of it,” she grumbled.
“Well yeah, but Syd, you’re not always going to be undercover doing felgercarb like this,” he pointed out.
“That’s true… I dunno I guess I’m still young so I can decide,” she shrugged with a slight laugh.
“Of course you can still decide… man, I wish I was still young,” he laughed softly.
“Yeah because at twenty-eight you’re nearing the grave,” Sydney rolled her eyes.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way it’s just…well, twenty-eight is nearly thirty and that’s around the time people start having families and kids and…wow, responsibility. I mean, sometimes I forget to brush my own teeth!”
“Really?” Sydney asked with a scrunched up nose.
“No, not really I was just giving an example,” he explained. “Mostly I forget to buy something at the grocery store or something.”
“We all do that,” she promised him. “Don’t you want kids though? I mean, at some point in your life.”
“Oh yeah definitely, I guess I just haven’t hit the point where I’m totally craving them yet, you know? Like, there was this one guy who I roomed with during college. He wanted kids so bad when we were just twenty years old …”
“Really?” Sydney asked, surprised. To her, a guy wanted children so young seemed very unusual. She did, however, know girls who were dying for children at a similar age, but something told her that was just because of the baby cuteness factor.
“Yep. He got married during senior year to a girl who wanted children equally as bad as he did…and I think they have three now,” he told her.
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “See what I mean? I’m definitely not there yet…”
“Neither am I,” she assured him.
“Well at least we’re on the same page then,” he smiled.
For the rest of the ride, they chatted about fairly random subject, never saying on the same subject for very long. Finally, they arrived at Michael’s parent’s home, and they both hopped out of the car. Sydney was surprised at how short the drive actually seemed, but then again they had been talking the entire time, making it pass more quickly.
Inside the Vaughn residence, Sydney was welcomed into a warm hug by Michael’s mother. His father greeted her with a handshake before the parents turned their attention on saying hello to their son. After receiving a brief tour of the Vaughn residence, Sydney sat down with Michael and his parents to eat Christmas brunch, which, apparently, was a Vaughn family tradition.
As they ate, Mrs. Vaughn asked dozens of questions about Sydney’s under cover status (she promised to keep anything Sydney revealed a secret), and her experience at McMillan as a student for the second time around. Sydney answered her questions as honestly as possible without flat out saying that if it had not been for Michael she would have been curled up in a corner somewhere crying, which she knew to be the absolute truth.
After they ate, the family moved into the sitting room, where the gift exchange began. Sydney felt rather awkward sitting there as Michael received a significant pile of gifts from his parents, but as it turned out they had something for her too. Their gifts were merely practical things: some kitchen towels, gloves, and two pairs of socks Mrs. Vaughn deemed to be adorable, but Sydney still loved every minute of her Christmas there, especially since she had not had a real Christmas in a very long time.
For Sydney, the beginning of her two week long winter break should have brought relaxation, but it did quite the opposite. Winter break meant Christmas was just a few days away, giving Sydney stress about meeting with Michael’s parents. To her, meeting a significant other’s parents was not a step to be taken lightly, and since she and Michael had only been technically together for two months, it seemed very early in their relationship to take this step.
Sydney knew that Michael was not intending their trip together to be part of a true ‘meet the parents’ situation; he was just making sure she did not have to spend another holiday alone, and she appreciated that. Still, she worried about making the right impression with Michael’s parents, who would obviously influence their son’s view on whether or not their relationship should continue.
Michael’s parent’s home was located about an hours drive away from where Sydney and Michael lived close by to McMillan high. At first, this distance gave Sydney concern that they would be spending the night at the elder Vaughn residence. Sydney, how was not very experienced in the boyfriend area, had never spent the night over at a boyfriend’s parents’ house, or anyone’s house for that matter. She was not sure the proper houseguest protocols, but luckily she did not have to stress over them; Michael informed her that the two of them would just be spending Christmas day there and no more time.
A Christmas Eve tradition in Michael’s family had always been going to church, no matter how crowded it was. When he moved away from his parents home, he found a church to go to close by his new home, and had been going there ever since, especially on Christmas Eve. Since Sydney had never been to church, he wanted to share this tradition with her, but he could not; their secrecy decree prevented it, especially since the church he was a member of also had many members that went to McMillan as well.
Instead of going to church Christmas Eve, Michael broke his tradition in favor of spending time with Sydney. She went over to his apartment for the first time and they drank hot chocolate while watching some Christmas Eve programs on television. As they were doing this, they could hear singing from outside and were surprised to find a group of carolers performing outside Michael’s apartment building. With blankets around them, they stood out on the balcony of Michael’s apartment and listened to the songs being sung while sharing a few kisses, which ended up being a very romantic moment for the two of them.
Much earlier than she would have liked to on Christmas morning, Sydney awoke and showered. After making herself looking as presentable as possible, she made sure she had every thing she needed, including the cookies she made for the Vaughn family. Just as she was finishing up the inventory of the items she was bringing along, Michael arrived to pick her up.
“So, um, are you sure you want me to come with you… I mean, I don’t want to intrude on your family time…,” she said hesitantly as they began their drive.
“Well it’s a little late now with you in the car and everything…,” Michael began casually. Sydney swallowed hard and he laughed loudly. “Syd, lighten up I was kidding! Of course I want you to come with me and you’re not intruding. I know I would have a horrible Christmas if I knew you were at home all by yourself so really I’m doing it so I can have a nice time – purely selfish wishes.”
“As long as you’re sure…”
“Positive,” he smiled. “Plus my mom’s dying to meet you. I told her all about our little plot and she thinks its hilarious. She says she wants to substitute at McMillan just so she can be a fly on the wall and hear all the rumors buzzing around. That’s what she is, you know, a substitute teacher.”
“Oh that’s nice. I don’t think I could ever do that, though; too much abuse by the students,” Sydney said.
“Oh I know! I don’t know how she does it; she’s insane,” Michael sighed, shaking his head.
“Is that why you wanted to be a teacher? Because your mom is one?” Sydney asked him.
He nodded. “Yeah pretty much. My dad is one too, now. Well, he’s a professor. He worked in engineering for a long time and then when he retired he decided to become a professor, which is kinda cool for him.”
“Oh yeah, very,” Sydney smiled.
“What about you? How’d you get bitten by the reporting bug?” he asked.
“Oh I don’t even know if I have been bitten by it… I mean, when I was in school I knew I wanted to do something with writing and journalism just seemed the way to go. I had an internship at The Herald during my senior year and when they offered me a job I just took it, thinking it would be a good gateway into things or at least show me what I did or did not want to do. But now… I dunno,” she sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“Um, hello?! You know what this experience has been like for me! I wanted to quit my job just to get out of it,” she grumbled.
“Well yeah, but Syd, you’re not always going to be undercover doing felgercarb like this,” he pointed out.
“That’s true… I dunno I guess I’m still young so I can decide,” she shrugged with a slight laugh.
“Of course you can still decide… man, I wish I was still young,” he laughed softly.
“Yeah because at twenty-eight you’re nearing the grave,” Sydney rolled her eyes.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way it’s just…well, twenty-eight is nearly thirty and that’s around the time people start having families and kids and…wow, responsibility. I mean, sometimes I forget to brush my own teeth!”
“Really?” Sydney asked with a scrunched up nose.
“No, not really I was just giving an example,” he explained. “Mostly I forget to buy something at the grocery store or something.”
“We all do that,” she promised him. “Don’t you want kids though? I mean, at some point in your life.”
“Oh yeah definitely, I guess I just haven’t hit the point where I’m totally craving them yet, you know? Like, there was this one guy who I roomed with during college. He wanted kids so bad when we were just twenty years old …”
“Really?” Sydney asked, surprised. To her, a guy wanted children so young seemed very unusual. She did, however, know girls who were dying for children at a similar age, but something told her that was just because of the baby cuteness factor.
“Yep. He got married during senior year to a girl who wanted children equally as bad as he did…and I think they have three now,” he told her.
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “See what I mean? I’m definitely not there yet…”
“Neither am I,” she assured him.
“Well at least we’re on the same page then,” he smiled.
For the rest of the ride, they chatted about fairly random subject, never saying on the same subject for very long. Finally, they arrived at Michael’s parent’s home, and they both hopped out of the car. Sydney was surprised at how short the drive actually seemed, but then again they had been talking the entire time, making it pass more quickly.
Inside the Vaughn residence, Sydney was welcomed into a warm hug by Michael’s mother. His father greeted her with a handshake before the parents turned their attention on saying hello to their son. After receiving a brief tour of the Vaughn residence, Sydney sat down with Michael and his parents to eat Christmas brunch, which, apparently, was a Vaughn family tradition.
As they ate, Mrs. Vaughn asked dozens of questions about Sydney’s under cover status (she promised to keep anything Sydney revealed a secret), and her experience at McMillan as a student for the second time around. Sydney answered her questions as honestly as possible without flat out saying that if it had not been for Michael she would have been curled up in a corner somewhere crying, which she knew to be the absolute truth.
After they ate, the family moved into the sitting room, where the gift exchange began. Sydney felt rather awkward sitting there as Michael received a significant pile of gifts from his parents, but as it turned out they had something for her too. Their gifts were merely practical things: some kitchen towels, gloves, and two pairs of socks Mrs. Vaughn deemed to be adorable, but Sydney still loved every minute of her Christmas there, especially since she had not had a real Christmas in a very long time.
Spydrummer06
Cadet
Aww I'm glad she got to spend Christmas with his family.
Great update
Great update
beachdreaming10
Cadet
So they both want kids, just not yet.
Yay Syd met the Vaughn family and they love her. Glad she got to have real christmas.
Yay Syd met the Vaughn family and they love her. Glad she got to have real christmas.
texasalias2004
Cadet
Awe That was cute. I am glad the the Vaughn family likes her.
texasalias
texasalias
Syd_Vaughn4ever
Cadet
awwww that's SOOOOOOO freakin cute! The socks??? wow...how adorable! awww i'm so happy she found Michael! Can't wait for more! and I TOTALLY want to see Amelie sub at the school one day......that would be H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!!!
gtwallichs
Cadet
I'm glad that she had a nice Christmas!
farliieansds225
Cadet
awww soo sweet!
so glad they had a nice christmas
awesome update
loved it
cant wait for more!
so glad they had a nice christmas
awesome update
loved it
cant wait for more!
SkyGirl5
Cadet
Chapter 15
For the first time, Sydney was looking forward to returning to school in January. She had a wonderful Christmas holiday complete with lots of evenings spent with Michael and a few very successful idea pitches to her editor. Plus, she had the A Crowd’s party coming up, which was sure to give her the scoop she needed to write the perfect article.
The only downside to January’s excitement was the mid-term exams Sydney needed to take. Thanks to Michael’s insight on what exactly would be on the English final (he practically gave her the questions word for word since it was not like her grades counted for anything) studying for that would be a cinch. Her other three exams, however…well, she did not like to dwell on them for they gave her a stomachache.
On Friday, just three days before the exams were to begin, Sydney bumped in to a girl in her trig class, Cara, at the end of the day as she was making her way towards her locker. Cara was the tenth grader who had befriended her earlier in the year, so when she stopped to ask her a question about the review packet their teacher gave out, Sydney was inclined to help her out since, amazingly, she knew the answer. Cara thanked her for her assistance and then walked away. Sydney had barely taken two steps towards her locker when Susan and Jenny intercepted her.
“What were you just doing?!” Susan demanded.
“Um… I answered a question…,” Sydney said slowly, unsure as to how that was the supreme offence Susan made it out to be with her tone.
“But she was a sophomore!”
“A nerdy one!” Jenny added.
“Well she sits next to me in class; I was just helping her out,” Sydney said simply, not seeing any problem in what she had done. After all, it wasn’t as though she invited Cara to the mall. Heck, she didn’t even invite Cara to sit with her in the cafeteria. It was just a simple question related to a school issue.
“You cannot talk to people like that! If they talk to you, you walk away!” Susan instructed.
“Okay…,” Sydney said in a slow tone. “The next time she asks me a question I’ll ignore her and walk away…oh! and I’ll try to knock her books out of her hands as I do it.”
“Perfect!” Jenny grinned. Sydney’s jaw fell open. She, of course, had been joking, but clearly her sarcasm had not been picked up on; not in the least.
“So you’re still coming on Tuesday right?” Susan asked. Sydney nodded. “Great! Its going to start at one pm at Greg’s house. Here’s the address,” she said, handing over a piece of paper. “DO you need directions?”
“Oh no I know where that is,” Sydney assured her after glancing down at the street name on the paper in her hand.
“Terrif! See you then! Oh and good luck on your mid terms!” Susan called out as she walked away.
“Terrif!” Sydney repeated under her breath in a mocking tone. The party she was going to was certainly going to be…something. She just had to remember to get in, get the dirt she needed, and get out – that was the key to survival. That and not accepting drinks from anyone unless it was a pre-sealed bottle of water.
~*~
When Sydney arrived at Greg’s house on Tuesday, shortly after one, half a dozen cars were already parked on the street out front and in the driveway. Sydney parked her silver Neon behind a larger green SUV before stepping out and adjusting her skirt. She had decided (against her better judgment) on wearing the skirt picked out for her by Susan and the girls, hoping it would impress them on at least some level. Unfortunately, impressing them came with the downside of not being able to sit for the entire duration of her partying, but it was a worthy trade off.
When Sydney knocked on the door, Greg answered it and smiled immediate. “Sydney! I’m so glad you could come.”
“I’m glad I was invited,” she laughed softly.
“Well c’mon in. Guys! Sydney’s here! The fun can begin!” Greg shouted as he walked towards the back of the house where, presumably, everyone else was waiting. As it turned out, though, they were not in the back of the house, but down in the basement, which was completely finished with nice carpeting, leather sofas, and even a pool table.
“This is a pretty cool place you got here,” Sydney said to Greg.
“Ah yea it’s sweet. My older brother had this all done before he left for college a few years back; now we get to enjoy it, right guys?!” he called out to his eight guests. They all mumbled in return. “Anyway, there’s some drinks over there in the kitchen; help yourself.”
“Thanks,” Sydney smiled softly. Then, she headed in the direction Greg pointed, hoping there was some water, but figuring there was not. At the very least she figured there would be Coke since she knew Rum and Coke to be a popular alcohol drink (not that she had had any in her life time). While she did enjoy the occasional glass of wine, hard liquor was never her cup of tea and she certainly was not going to start right then.
“Oh Sydney we’re so glad you came!” Jenny said, rushing up and giving her a hug. In the process, she nearly spilled her plastic cup full of amber liquid, but luckily she did not. “And you’re wearing that skirt – it still looks awesome!”
“Thanks,” Sydney smiled at her.
“Did you want me to mix you a drink? My sister gave me this book for Christmas on all this mixed drinks – its so much fun!” Jenny giggled.
“Um, no you know I think I’m just gonna grab a bottle of something…,” she said. She was very skeptical of Jenny’s ability to do anything properly, especially when it involved proper drink mixing ratios, due to Jenny’s solid D in math.
“OK have fun,” Jenny giggled before skipping off.
Just as Sydney reached the kitchen area and began searching for something to carry around and pretend as though she was drinking it, she was intercepted by Nikki and Susan, who greeted her with hugs and complimented her skirt. “You know,” Nikki began quietly. “Greg is really happy you’re here.”
“Is he?” Sydney asked curiously. This was certainly news to her. Perhaps, though, he did not want her there for the reasons Nikki was implying with her quiet tone. Maybe he had an extra hotdog lying around and needed to get in some target practice.
“Yeah… he likes you, you know?” Nikki giggled. “I mean, he totally respects what you’ve got going on with Mr. Vaughn, he just thinks you’re hot.”
“Oh really?” Sydney asked, fighting the urge to gag. “Well he certainly is cute.”
“And so much more,” Nikki sighed dreamily.
After a few minutes more of speaking with Nikki and Susan, Sydney’s eyes began to drift around the basement area towards the different partiers. Over in one corner, she spotted a girl and a guy kissing one another. Though she did not know their names of the top of their head, she did recognize the girl as one who hung around Susan and her crew. When Sydney’s eyes scanned back across them, she was utterly stunned to see that the girl’s top had been removed just as though the two of them were alone in the room.
“Um,” she began to Susan quietly. “Should they, um…go someplace else?”
“Oh them,” Susan rolled her eyes and waved her hand causally. “They’re fine; they do that a lot. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay…,” Sydney said with uncertainty. Yeah, that wasn’t going to be awkward.
Interestingly, as time progressed, other couples began following in the path of the shirtless duo in the corner. Sydney had heard of ‘make out parties’ from her own high school days, but always felt they were for younger teens, and that they were a thing of the past. It appeared, though, she was about to be very mistaken in that latter assumption.
“You ladies ready for some party games?” Greg’s friend, Brad, asked Susan and Nikki. The girls laughed loudly, took long swigs of their drinks, and then followed Brad to the other side of the room.
Party games. Party games? This struck Sydney as very odd. In her mind, party games were Pin the Tail on the Donkey or Duck, Duck, Goose – games she had not played since she was seven-years-old and at Maggie Steven’s birthday party. She could not for the life of her think of what party games were played at a party for seventeen and eighteen year olds. Sadly, she was about to find out.
“Sydney c’mon,” Jenny said, grabbing Sydney’s hand and pulling her towards the cluster of her peers across the room. “Greg, really wants you to play.”
“Um…okay, but what are we playing?” she asked, still confused.
“Here give her this,” Susan said to Jenny, holding out an item Sydney could not see.
“No not that one, this one,” Jenny said, reaching for another item in Susan’s grasp. Then, she held it out to Sydney, who was surprised to see a tube of lipstick. “Put it on.”
“Oh…kay…um its there a mirror?” she asked. The last thing she wanted to do was smear lip gloss all over her face in front of so many people.
“Oh I’ll just do it,” Jenny laughed. Then she yanked the cap off the tube, grabbed Sydney’s chin, and applied the color perfectly. “Looks great!”
“Purple,” Sydney said with an almost laugh. Strange. Purple lipstick…that really did not seem to be a popular shade. In fact, Sydney was sure she looked quite ghastly in it.
A she was standing there, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, she noticed that Greg and his friend were unzipping their jeans. This seemed ludicrous at first until it all hit her like a speeding freight train. The different lipsticks. The make-out twins in the corner, who were disturbingly losing more clothing as time progressed. The alcohol. The daytime, basement setting. She was, unbeknownst to her until that exact moment, at a so called “Rainbow Party”.
“Oh my god,” she breathed at this realization.
“What?” Jenny asked, having heard her hiss.
“Um…,” Sydney hesitated. She needed an excuse – a very good excuse – and she needed it fast. “Well, I, um…is there a bathroom?”
“On the other side of the stairs,” Jenny told her, pointing.
“Thanks!” Sydney said quickly before practically running in that general direction. Once safely behind the bathroom door, Sydney leaned heavily on the counter and began to hyperventilate. No bathrooms to escape from. No back doors. No easy way out. She was screwed.
For the first time, Sydney was looking forward to returning to school in January. She had a wonderful Christmas holiday complete with lots of evenings spent with Michael and a few very successful idea pitches to her editor. Plus, she had the A Crowd’s party coming up, which was sure to give her the scoop she needed to write the perfect article.
The only downside to January’s excitement was the mid-term exams Sydney needed to take. Thanks to Michael’s insight on what exactly would be on the English final (he practically gave her the questions word for word since it was not like her grades counted for anything) studying for that would be a cinch. Her other three exams, however…well, she did not like to dwell on them for they gave her a stomachache.
On Friday, just three days before the exams were to begin, Sydney bumped in to a girl in her trig class, Cara, at the end of the day as she was making her way towards her locker. Cara was the tenth grader who had befriended her earlier in the year, so when she stopped to ask her a question about the review packet their teacher gave out, Sydney was inclined to help her out since, amazingly, she knew the answer. Cara thanked her for her assistance and then walked away. Sydney had barely taken two steps towards her locker when Susan and Jenny intercepted her.
“What were you just doing?!” Susan demanded.
“Um… I answered a question…,” Sydney said slowly, unsure as to how that was the supreme offence Susan made it out to be with her tone.
“But she was a sophomore!”
“A nerdy one!” Jenny added.
“Well she sits next to me in class; I was just helping her out,” Sydney said simply, not seeing any problem in what she had done. After all, it wasn’t as though she invited Cara to the mall. Heck, she didn’t even invite Cara to sit with her in the cafeteria. It was just a simple question related to a school issue.
“You cannot talk to people like that! If they talk to you, you walk away!” Susan instructed.
“Okay…,” Sydney said in a slow tone. “The next time she asks me a question I’ll ignore her and walk away…oh! and I’ll try to knock her books out of her hands as I do it.”
“Perfect!” Jenny grinned. Sydney’s jaw fell open. She, of course, had been joking, but clearly her sarcasm had not been picked up on; not in the least.
“So you’re still coming on Tuesday right?” Susan asked. Sydney nodded. “Great! Its going to start at one pm at Greg’s house. Here’s the address,” she said, handing over a piece of paper. “DO you need directions?”
“Oh no I know where that is,” Sydney assured her after glancing down at the street name on the paper in her hand.
“Terrif! See you then! Oh and good luck on your mid terms!” Susan called out as she walked away.
“Terrif!” Sydney repeated under her breath in a mocking tone. The party she was going to was certainly going to be…something. She just had to remember to get in, get the dirt she needed, and get out – that was the key to survival. That and not accepting drinks from anyone unless it was a pre-sealed bottle of water.
~*~
When Sydney arrived at Greg’s house on Tuesday, shortly after one, half a dozen cars were already parked on the street out front and in the driveway. Sydney parked her silver Neon behind a larger green SUV before stepping out and adjusting her skirt. She had decided (against her better judgment) on wearing the skirt picked out for her by Susan and the girls, hoping it would impress them on at least some level. Unfortunately, impressing them came with the downside of not being able to sit for the entire duration of her partying, but it was a worthy trade off.
When Sydney knocked on the door, Greg answered it and smiled immediate. “Sydney! I’m so glad you could come.”
“I’m glad I was invited,” she laughed softly.
“Well c’mon in. Guys! Sydney’s here! The fun can begin!” Greg shouted as he walked towards the back of the house where, presumably, everyone else was waiting. As it turned out, though, they were not in the back of the house, but down in the basement, which was completely finished with nice carpeting, leather sofas, and even a pool table.
“This is a pretty cool place you got here,” Sydney said to Greg.
“Ah yea it’s sweet. My older brother had this all done before he left for college a few years back; now we get to enjoy it, right guys?!” he called out to his eight guests. They all mumbled in return. “Anyway, there’s some drinks over there in the kitchen; help yourself.”
“Thanks,” Sydney smiled softly. Then, she headed in the direction Greg pointed, hoping there was some water, but figuring there was not. At the very least she figured there would be Coke since she knew Rum and Coke to be a popular alcohol drink (not that she had had any in her life time). While she did enjoy the occasional glass of wine, hard liquor was never her cup of tea and she certainly was not going to start right then.
“Oh Sydney we’re so glad you came!” Jenny said, rushing up and giving her a hug. In the process, she nearly spilled her plastic cup full of amber liquid, but luckily she did not. “And you’re wearing that skirt – it still looks awesome!”
“Thanks,” Sydney smiled at her.
“Did you want me to mix you a drink? My sister gave me this book for Christmas on all this mixed drinks – its so much fun!” Jenny giggled.
“Um, no you know I think I’m just gonna grab a bottle of something…,” she said. She was very skeptical of Jenny’s ability to do anything properly, especially when it involved proper drink mixing ratios, due to Jenny’s solid D in math.
“OK have fun,” Jenny giggled before skipping off.
Just as Sydney reached the kitchen area and began searching for something to carry around and pretend as though she was drinking it, she was intercepted by Nikki and Susan, who greeted her with hugs and complimented her skirt. “You know,” Nikki began quietly. “Greg is really happy you’re here.”
“Is he?” Sydney asked curiously. This was certainly news to her. Perhaps, though, he did not want her there for the reasons Nikki was implying with her quiet tone. Maybe he had an extra hotdog lying around and needed to get in some target practice.
“Yeah… he likes you, you know?” Nikki giggled. “I mean, he totally respects what you’ve got going on with Mr. Vaughn, he just thinks you’re hot.”
“Oh really?” Sydney asked, fighting the urge to gag. “Well he certainly is cute.”
“And so much more,” Nikki sighed dreamily.
After a few minutes more of speaking with Nikki and Susan, Sydney’s eyes began to drift around the basement area towards the different partiers. Over in one corner, she spotted a girl and a guy kissing one another. Though she did not know their names of the top of their head, she did recognize the girl as one who hung around Susan and her crew. When Sydney’s eyes scanned back across them, she was utterly stunned to see that the girl’s top had been removed just as though the two of them were alone in the room.
“Um,” she began to Susan quietly. “Should they, um…go someplace else?”
“Oh them,” Susan rolled her eyes and waved her hand causally. “They’re fine; they do that a lot. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay…,” Sydney said with uncertainty. Yeah, that wasn’t going to be awkward.
Interestingly, as time progressed, other couples began following in the path of the shirtless duo in the corner. Sydney had heard of ‘make out parties’ from her own high school days, but always felt they were for younger teens, and that they were a thing of the past. It appeared, though, she was about to be very mistaken in that latter assumption.
“You ladies ready for some party games?” Greg’s friend, Brad, asked Susan and Nikki. The girls laughed loudly, took long swigs of their drinks, and then followed Brad to the other side of the room.
Party games. Party games? This struck Sydney as very odd. In her mind, party games were Pin the Tail on the Donkey or Duck, Duck, Goose – games she had not played since she was seven-years-old and at Maggie Steven’s birthday party. She could not for the life of her think of what party games were played at a party for seventeen and eighteen year olds. Sadly, she was about to find out.
“Sydney c’mon,” Jenny said, grabbing Sydney’s hand and pulling her towards the cluster of her peers across the room. “Greg, really wants you to play.”
“Um…okay, but what are we playing?” she asked, still confused.
“Here give her this,” Susan said to Jenny, holding out an item Sydney could not see.
“No not that one, this one,” Jenny said, reaching for another item in Susan’s grasp. Then, she held it out to Sydney, who was surprised to see a tube of lipstick. “Put it on.”
“Oh…kay…um its there a mirror?” she asked. The last thing she wanted to do was smear lip gloss all over her face in front of so many people.
“Oh I’ll just do it,” Jenny laughed. Then she yanked the cap off the tube, grabbed Sydney’s chin, and applied the color perfectly. “Looks great!”
“Purple,” Sydney said with an almost laugh. Strange. Purple lipstick…that really did not seem to be a popular shade. In fact, Sydney was sure she looked quite ghastly in it.
A she was standing there, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, she noticed that Greg and his friend were unzipping their jeans. This seemed ludicrous at first until it all hit her like a speeding freight train. The different lipsticks. The make-out twins in the corner, who were disturbingly losing more clothing as time progressed. The alcohol. The daytime, basement setting. She was, unbeknownst to her until that exact moment, at a so called “Rainbow Party”.
“Oh my god,” she breathed at this realization.
“What?” Jenny asked, having heard her hiss.
“Um…,” Sydney hesitated. She needed an excuse – a very good excuse – and she needed it fast. “Well, I, um…is there a bathroom?”
“On the other side of the stairs,” Jenny told her, pointing.
“Thanks!” Sydney said quickly before practically running in that general direction. Once safely behind the bathroom door, Sydney leaned heavily on the counter and began to hyperventilate. No bathrooms to escape from. No back doors. No easy way out. She was screwed.
texasalias2004
Cadet
I sure hope that she is able to get out of the house quick. haha
texasalias
texasalias
gtwallichs
Cadet
That was interesting!
Go Janet!!!!
Go Janet!!!!
Syd_Vaughn4ever
Cadet
W.O.W. HOLY felgercarb! Welp that's gonna be a good story right there....as long as she can get out without contracting some std or another!
AliasSydney502
Cadet
...what's that? explain it to me on IM tomorrow
am i just sheltered? hahaha i don't think i am
am i just sheltered? hahaha i don't think i am
