Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
They kissed while I averted my eyes. Matt was okay as a classmate, he wasn’t mean or anything, but I didn’t like him for my cousin. He was one of those kids that was handed everything, I didn’t think that he’d ever gone without—and that made him assume that he deserved whatever he wanted, including my beautiful cousin.
“Who’d you bring with you?” he asked cheerfully once they’d disengaged. He leaned toward me and his eyes widened. “Esther? You brought Esther?”
Yeah, no kidding.
“She’s my cousin,” Becka said, laughing a little. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Matt gaped like a fish for a few moments before abruptly snapping his mouth shut. “No reason.” His eyes scanned down my body and I had to fight the urge not to tug on my button-down or smooth the seams of my long denim skirt.
“We’re finally done with school,” Becka said, leaning against Matt as she looked at me. “And she’s never been to a party. I wanted her to experience at least one.”
“Having a spectacular time so far,” I replied dryly. “I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to attend.”
Becka rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
“The more, the merrier,” Matt said, smiling down at my cousin.
Gag me.
“Come on.” He gestured, tugging Becka with him. “Let’s get you guys some drinks.”
I followed behind them as they rounded the bonfire, keeping my eyes just unfocused enough that I didn’t have to make eye contact with anyone. While I didn’t have problems with anyone we’d gone to school with, they also weren’t people that I was anxious to spend time with. I’d made it through all thirteen years of school without being seriously bullied even though I was a full year older than most of them. There had always been a bit of distance between me and the rest of my classmates, though, because they thought I was weird. I dressed different, I wasn’t allowed to play any sports, and back when I’d been invited to birthday parties I’d never attended a single one.
Becka couldn’t do any of those things either, but she’d managed to somehow find her place among them. Probably because she was fun, bubbly, outgoing. Everything I wasn’t.
“Back for more?” another familiar voice called out as we reached the cluster of people surrounding some kind of metal barrel.
“Hey Travis,” Becka sang.
“Becks!” Travis yelled excitedly. “You made it!”
“I told you we’d be here.”
“Who’s we?”
“Hi Travis,” I said, stepping out from behind Becka.
“Esther?” he gaped in disbelief.
“You guys are so dumb,” Becka said with a huff, stomping toward the barrel. “Stop staring at my cousin and get me a drink, yeah?”
“Good to see you?” Travis greeted doubtfully, his eyes still on me.
“Yeah, you too,” I replied.
We’d been there for less than five minutes and I was already waiting to leave. As I looked around the crowd, I recognized at least half of the faces peering back at me as people we’d graduated with a few months before. There were a few underclassmen that really shouldn’t have been at a party where people were drinking, but that was none of my business.
I couldn’t believe what some of the girls were wearing. While I was used to the short skirts and the barely-there tank tops, I couldn’t understand why they’d be wearing them when it was so chilly. It was still warm during the day but by the time the sun went down it had definitely started feeling like fall.
“You want a cup?” Travis held out a red plastic cup in my direction.
“What is it?” I asked stupidly, making a couple people laugh.
Travis looked down at the barrel and then back at me, like that answered my question. When I still hadn’t responded his brows pulled together in confusion.
“Beer,” he said slowly. “From the keg.”
“No, thank you,” I said quickly, taking a step backward.
So, that’s what a keg looked like. I’d heard people talking about them more than once but I’d never actually seen one. Huh. Wait, that meant that Becka was drinking beer and she was supposed to drive me home in ten minutes. I turned to tell her to stop drinking, but she and Matt had blended back into the crowd and I couldn’t see them anywhere.
My stomach sank as I searched. If she wanted to be an idiot, I couldn’t really stop her, but I had to get home before my parents noticed that we’d been gone too long for a trip to the ice cream shop.
“Travis,” I called. I wasn’t crazy about the guy but at least I knew him. I was suddenly feeling very nervous surrounded by the rowdy crowd. “Do you have any water?”
“What?” he asked, turning away from the person he’d been talking to.
“Water,” I repeated, leaning forward a little. “Do you have any water?”
“Uh.” He stared at me for a moment like he hadn’t understood. “No, I don’t have any water. Sorry.”